Students facing accommodation shortage in twin cities

Students face residential problems due to accommodation shortage
Islamabad, Oct 25: Students in the twin cities are facing residential problems due to little accommodation coupled with high expenses.

Tahir Khan, living in the federal capital for the last six years, said he had to change his accommodations more than dozen times due to these factors.

Another student, Aamir, commented that due to non-availability of proper housing facilities, he had to live in a small room. He complained about the attitude of the landowners, who, he said, were usually very rude.

Aysha, a student at Bahria University, said private accommodation was so expensive in Islamabad that rents ranged from Rs 4,000 to Rs 7,000 for a single bed accommodation. She complained these hostels also lacked proper cleaning, hygienic food and transportation facilities.

Rehan, an employee of a government organization, said that in the last few years there had been an unprecedented influx of job seekers from other areas into the twin cities which resulted in increase in the rents of rooms and houses.

"University hostels cannot cope with the increasing number of students forcing a majority to find private accommodations on their own," said Salma, a student at the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIU).

Another student, Aalia, said, "We pay Rs 6,000 per head to the hostel management who provide us meals and breakfast."

Shahid, a lecturer, suggested the problem could be alleviated by establishing more hostels. app

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Balochistan education minister shot dead
Quetta: Balochistan Education Minister Shafique Ahmed Khan has been shot dead after a firing incident in Quetta.According to police, gumen opened indiscriminate fire on the education minister in front of his house on Toghi road killing him on the spot.

The body has been shifted to civil hospital where his relatives and a large number of supporters have gathered. Police says it could be a case of target killing and the area has been cordoned. The Baloch Liberation United Front has claimed responsibility for the attack. Shafique Ahmed Khan who was 55-years old, became a member of Balochistan Provincial assembly in 2008. Dawn

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Regulatory authority's role effective in quality education
Islamabad: The private educational institutions regulatory authority is taking concrete steps to facilitate educational institutions in order to ensure quality education in the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). "The authority is working on several fronts to help educational institutions of the private sector, giving them guidelines as per commitment to ensure quality education for achieving national prosperity," said chairman of the authority Atif Mahmood Kiyani.

He said the authority was providing opportunity to teachers of these institutions to participate in training workshops and the same efforts, he added, would continue in future as well.As part of such measures, he said, last year the authority invited 438 teachers to take part in training sessions wherein they were enlightened upon modern teaching techniques besides other skills.In keeping with desire of the private sector, he said the authority was making plans to enable 3000 more teachers to take part in next teacher training in due course of time.

Moreover, he said the authority had already given free books to students totalling 40,000 along with bags in future and the such steps he added, were widely appreciated by the private sector.Replying to a question, he said the private sector was playing important role in educating the country's youth with quality education.Thus, he added, there was a need to further strengthen partnership with private sector and further encourage it for investing in education sector.

He said the authority was making measures, having taken all stakeholders on board including representatives of the private educational institutions with solo aim to ensure quality education.Answering another question, he said the authority had given different timeframe as deadline to those private educational institutions that were lacking required facilities for registration.

However, he said the authority did not want to impose its orders and was adopting flexible approach towards private educational institutions and giving them enough time to fulfill required criteria.He was of the view the government was needed to come forward and start allocating of half of funds from national kitty to the authority while the rest would be met from private sector's educational institutions.

In reply to a question, the chairman said some private educational institutions kept changing fee-structure, which forced the authority to increase security fee. app

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Post-graduate classes in Chitral college sought
Chitral: The introduction of postgraduate classes in Government College Chitral still remains a distant dream despite the fact that the construction of postgraduate block was completed three years back.

A number of students said that the former chief minister Akram Durrani had announced upgradation of the degree college to postgraduate level during his visit to Chitral and had released funds for construction of additional blocks for it.

They complained that the present government had put the upgradation programme of the college in cold storage. They said that hundreds of students applied for admission to postgraduate classes in Peshawar University every year but only a small fraction was admitted. They said that very few parents afforded to send their children to down districts for higher education.

They said that under the special package of the former government, an information technology block had been erected and necessary paraphernalia including computers had also been provided which were sufficient for master level programme in computer science. Dawn

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Pathology conference at PIMS
Islamabad: The 33rd annual three-day Pathology Conference will commence from November 6 at Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS).

Over 500 consultant pathologists from across the country will attend the conference while 70 foreign delegates will also join the event being organized under the auspices of Pakistan Association of Pathologists (PAP).

According to organisers of the conference, the event will encompass new horizons and vistas, for luminary delegates, pathologists, postgraduate students, and for the first time, laboratory technologists with lectures, research papers, seminars and workshops.

They said Pathology department and administration of PIMS, is making every effort to make this conference a successful and enriched venture for the entire community of pathologists.

They said pre and post-conference workshops are also being planned to make it more diverse event.

They added an exhibition of pathology equipment, software, consumables and supplies is also being arranged to introduce the stakeholders to latest pathology products.

They said highly diversified and innovative technology and molecular probes have immensely increased the role of pathology in diagnostics and patient care. The news

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