SZABIST third convocation : 200 successful graduates

Gilani speaks at SZABIST convocation: Public-private partnership vital for promot education
Islamabad, May 18: Prime Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani on Monday said that the government is committed to seeing education, especially higher education, flourish in the country and would like to encourage private sector to work side by side with the public sector to invest in education and promote research and development.

Addressing the third convocation of the Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST) here at the Jinnah Convention Centre, the prime minister said Pakistan need to respond positively and responsibly to the challenges of the times to come and it is possible only when everyone does hard work in real sense of the word.

"I am sure that together (private and public sectors) we can contribute to the educational, scientific and technological capacity building of our nation," Gilani said adding in the fast changing and competitive world, higher education and technology are essential for a dignified survival and progress of nations.

He said there is a need of complete harmony between the market needs and the quality and standards of education. He said government wishes to work side by side with the private sector in promoting higher education in areas of science and technology.

He said any effort made in this direction, either by public or private sector, was therefore most welcome and the moral and official duty of the government was to encourage and facilitate such efforts. "Access of people to advanced knowledge and skills has emerged as the single most competitive advantage at the global level," the premier said.

Gilani said, "In a knowledge-based economy, developed nations have made their place in the global community on the basis of realization of importance of knowledge and they attribute their success to strategic investment in education, particularly in science and technology."

He said it was unfortunate that education has been a grossly neglected area in Pakistan. Different educational policies were made from time to time but never implemented.

The prime minister pointed out that claims of improvement in this vital sector were made by different governments but in fact education was never given the attention which it deserved.

He said education also has a great role to play in moral, social and economic development of a society and promotion of human resources of right kind and capability. "We have so far invested in general education and there is a mismatch between what is required by the industry and what is imparted to our students."

Gilani said, "Our target is to achieve over 90 percent literacy by 2015 and obviously, it is not possible for the government alone to achieve this target within the stipulated time period." He said every rupee invested in higher education brings an exponential return of over 800 percent to the national exchequer.

He said Higher Education Commission (HEC) has brought a revolutionary change in Pakistan since its formation in 2002. It has increased the number of universities from 98 to 132, and also tripled the university enrolment, he said, and up till 2002, only 3,000 PhD degrees were awarded whereas more than 3,280 have been awarded in the last eight years alone.

Gilani said the number of research publications has increased from 815 in 2002 to over 4,000 in 2009 and were still growing by each year, as is the number of returning PhD scholars. "At present, on HEC scholarships over 2800 scholars are pursuing their PhD degrees abroad while another 3800 are pursuing it at home," he said.

The prime minister announced a grant of Rs 10 million for SZABIST Islamabad Campus and congratulated Chancellor SZABIST Dr Azra Fazal, President SZABIST Dr Izharul Haq and the Board of Trustees of SZABIST for keeping the highest standard of academic education with commitment.

He expressed satisfaction that SZABIST was contributing effectively to the cause of national building with a total commitment and hoped that the new graduates will face this challenge bravely as their potential, dynamism and ability to perform is second to none.

Gilani earlier awarded degrees to over 200 successful graduates. Dr Javaid Laghari, the HEC chairperson, Dr Azra Fazal Pechuho, SZABIST chancellor, Dr Izharul Haq, SZABIST president and Syed Asad Hussain were also present during the ceremony. Daily times

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School summer holidays to start on June 18
Islamabad: The Federal Directorate of Education has announced the schedule of summer vacation for the current year in all schools of the capital from June 18 to August 23. According to the FDE, schools will reopen on August 24. The news

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IIUI stands up for peace and democracy
Islamabad: The International Islamic University, Islamabad (IIUI) in collaboration with Gujranwala based NGO 'BARGAD' organised a seminar on 'Youth Action for Democracy and Peace-Building on Campuses' here on Monday.

Council of Islamic Ideology (CII) Chairman Dr Muhammad Khalid Masood was the chief guest on the occasion, while IIUI Rector Professor Fateh Muhammad Malik presided over the function.

CII Chairman Dr Mohammad Khalid Masood, in his address, elaborated on the concept of democracy in Islam. He explained how students could benefit from it.

IIUI Rector Professor Fateh Muhammad Malik, in his speech, shed light on the enforceability of democratic norms at campuses. He stressed the need for inculcating in youth democratic practices and principles, so that they could grow up to become true democrats.

Iqbal Haider and Salma Butt of BARGAD explained structure of democracy. "Democracy is a process, which demands constant input of new ideas," they said.

Dean Faculty of Social Sciences Dr Nazarul Hassan also spoke on the occasion and appreciated efforts of BARGAD for spreading knowledge relating to the pre requisites of democracy.

Meanwhile, preparations are underway to celebrate 2010 as IIUI's silver jubilee year. The university was founded in1985. The celebrations comprise various social and academic events from the point of view of Islam and will continue throughout the year.

As part of these celebrations, Faculty of Engineering and Technology (FET) is organising its 'First Open House' in the Department of Electronics Engineering on May 19 and 20.

This will include displays of R&D projects contributed by final year students, electronic devices made by students and visits to the research laboratories of Electronic Engineering Department.

The event will provide students an opportunity to share their technical know-how with experts on the subject. The event will also provide an opportunity to various organisations and institutions dealing in Hi-Tech systems and latest state-of-the-art electronic products to display their products. Professionals will also be available for explanations. Entry to the event is open to everyone.

Dean Faculty of Engineering and Technology Professor Dr Ahmed Shuja Syed described the event as of great significance and beneficial for students. "The universities provide academic back-up to industrial and commercial organisations all over the world. This event is an effort of IIU in the same direction. Many government, semi-government and private organisations are participating in the event," he added.

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Symposium on environmental physiology at QAU
Islamabad: A three-day national symposium titled 'Current Trends in Cellular, Medical and Environmental Physiology' started here on Monday with an aim to bring closer the basic and medical scientists and provide them with a platform to share their knowledge and experience in benefiting manner.

Organized by Department of Animal Sciences of Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU), the symposium provided the best forum to discuss current issues in pure physiology and the impact of environment as related to health and disease.

The symposium provided the best forum to discuss current issues in pure physiology and the impact of environment as related to health and disease and helped highlighting health related problems, diseases, basic physiological mechanisms at biochemical level and to draw attention towards devising state-of-the-art strategies to dealing with these problems.

Department of Animal Sciences Chairman Prof Dr M Shahab in his welcome address said that in recent times, physiology emerged as a multidisciplinary subject and has become more important due to upcoming discoveries at gene level.

QAU Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Masoom Yasinzai addressing the symposium said that since its birth in 1973, Quaid-i-Azam University has been a leading research and educational institution in the country as it provides a rich soil for scientists, scholars, researchers, technocrats, and social scientists due to its foundations laid in dedication, hard work, and bold advice to governmental authorities on core national issues through papers, talks, presentations, publications.

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NEC rejects two holidays, VAT on education
Rawalpindi: National Education Council (NEC), an elected body of private educational institutions, has rejected the government's decision of observing two weekly holidays and proposed Value Added Tax (VAT) on education, said NEC Supreme Council Chairman Professor Taj Muhammad Karim.

Addressing a press conference here at Rawalpindi Press Club on Monday, he demanded the government brings load shedding at schools to a halt, so that students did not suffer.

He said since most of the schools did not have the facility of generators and UPS, it was very difficult for students as well as teachers to concentrate without electricity in the sizzling weather," he added.

"There are already many holidays in the country's educational calendar and if we accept two weekly holidays, then educational institutions would be left with only 168 working days out of total 365," he added.

He said it was not possible to complete syllabuses and impart quality education to students in such a short period of time.

He said that schools running second shifts would suffer most on account of two holidays a week. Daily times

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Spring Gala at Beaconhouse
Abbottabad: The first annual spring gala for Beaconhouse School System, Kindergarten branch, Abbottabad, was held here the other day. According to a press released, the theme of the day was 'Earth Day.' The oath taking ceremony was integrated with the importance of environment and preserving the water and wild life on Earth.

Little children wearing specially designed costumes were looking awesome, while parents were full of excitement when they saw their little ones marching into the ground with their teachers for the march past.

Aerobic display by class KG and class I children won a great applause by the audience. The most eye catching was the tableau by Pre-Nursery and Nursery children with the rhyme upon a 'Summer Day'.

The sack race, frog race, wheelbarrow and vegetable race from different classes were the significance of the day. Children participated with great enthusiasm and exhibited a wonder full energy level. The news

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