Pashto as compulsory subject in KP
Pashto recommended to be taught as compulsory subject
Peshawar: A cabinet committee on Tuesday finalised its recommendations
under which Pashto would be introduced as compulsory subject in 17
districts. The recommendations would be placed before the provincial
assembly for legislation after approval by the provincial cabinet. "As
per recommendations of the committee, Pashto will be included as
compulsory subject in 17 districts from Class-I to XII, while in the
remaining seven districts mother tongue will be included as compulsory
subject in the curriculum," said a communiquÈ issued after the meeting. Besides
Minister for Information and Public Relations Mian Iftikhar Hussain,
the meeting was also attended by Secretary Administration Hifzur Rahman
and officials of the Primary and Elementary and Higher Education and
Textbook Board Peshawar. It was decided that Pashto as compulsory
subject would be introduced in 17 districts including Swat, Swabi,
Buner, Dir Upper, Dir Lower, Mardan, Charsadda, Shangla, Malakand,
Nowshera, Hangu, Lakki Marwat, Karak, Bannu, Tank, Kohat and Battagram.
It was also decided that mother tongues would be introduced in the
remaining seven districts in class 6 from the next academic year
2011-12. Pashto and other mother tongues will be included as
compulsory subject in class 7 from 2012-13, in class 8 from 2013-14, in
class 9 2014-15, in class 10 from 2015-16, in 1st year from 2016-17 and
in 2 year 2017-18. Besides nine districts i.e. Swat, Swabi, Buner,
Dir Upper and Lower, Mardan, Charsadda, Shangla and Malakand of Khyber
Pakhtunkhwa where Pashto is already being taught as compulsory subject
since 1984 in classes one to five, it will also be introduced as
compulsory subject in another eight districts including Nowshera, Hangu,
Lakki Marwat, Karak, Bannu, Tank, Kohat and Battagram from the next
academic year 2011-12. The other mother tongues will be included as
compulsory subject in the remaining seven districts from the next
academic year 2011-12 in classes one to five. The meeting also
decided to look into the bifurcation of Peshawar district into urban and
rural areas. In urban areas, the relevant mother tongue and in rural
areas Pashto will be introduced as compulsory subject. The chairman
of the committee, Mian Iftikahr Hussain, directed the authorities of the
Education Department and Textbook Board Peshawar to focus on the early
preparation of curricula of Pashto as well as the other mother tongues
and finalise timelines for preparation of curriculum, contents and
script so that the students don't face difficulties in this connection.
He added that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government will follow the
Education Policy 2009 in letter and spirit and curricula of mathematics
and science subjects will be in English.
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UoP reluctant to revoke decision on increase in fees
Peshawar: Despite the assurance by the federal government to release
funds to the public sector universities, the management of the
University of Peshawar (UoP) is reluctant to withdraw its decision of
increase in fees and reintroduction of self-finance scheme. "Mere
verbal assurance has been made by the federal government to release
funds to the universities. No formal notification to this effect has
been issued so far nor have funds been released. We can't review the
decision of increase in fees at this stage," spokesman for the
university quoted Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Azmat Hayat Khan as saying. Several
attempts were made to reach the vice-chancellor for his comments but to
no avail. This correspondent tried to talk to acting registrar of the
university Dr Fazle Hadi, who, too, could not be contacted. An official
in his office told this reporter to call him on his direct phone number,
which was done without being able to reach him. The university had
decided to raise fees for admission, examination, hostel charges and
certificate and detailed marks certificate fees several times, sources
said. The decision had been taken after the cut in grants to
the public sector universities by the Higher Education Commission. The
admission fee has been increased by 20 to 25 percent, while the
self-finance scheme was restarted in the evening shift. This time the
fee for admission under self-finance scheme has been fixed at Rs50,000,
which was Rs30,000 some years ago before the scheme was abolished on the
directives of the then governor Iftikhar Hussain Shah who was also
chancellor of the public sector universities. The admission fee for
various disciplines of Master's of Arts last year was around Rs11,000,
which has been increased to Rs13,800 this year, according to the
university prospectus. The charges for Master's of Sciences, Management
Studies and other disciplines were Rs16,000 last year, which have been
increased to Rs18,700, the prospectus stated. Some changes were made
in the fee structure even after the publication of the prospectus of the
admission for the year 2010-11. A two-page notification is attached to
the document, showing fees around 15 percent more than those stated in
the prospectus. The notification stated, "On the recommendation of
Senate Task Force, the vice-chancellor is pleased to exercise power
vested in him under section 13 (3) of the University of Peshawar Act
1974, to review fee and other related charges for the morning session." A
separate notification of similar nature has been issued for the
students of evening shift. The fees projected in prospectus were
Rs12,600 for MA and Rs17,000 for MSc and other disciplines, while the
additional papers showed the admission charges for MA as Rs13,600 and
Rs17,800 for MSc. Similarly, fees at the university-run Jinnah
College for Women and College of Home Economics have been increased
several times. The examination section of the university has also made
100 to 200 percent increases in the charges for examination,
certificate, mark sheets, etc. A senior official of the university
termed that increase in fee and other charges as illegal and ultra vires
to the university statutes. According to the university act, the
university administration could make only 10 percent increase in fees.
More than 10 percent increase could only be made by the university's
senate after the approval of the syndicate, the official said while
wishing anonymity. The news
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Students block KKH over shortage of lecturers
Mansehra: Hundreds of students of Degree College in Battagram
on Tuesday blocked the Karakorum Highway for over three hours to protest
vacant posts of science professors and lectures. "We are far
behind in education sector as compared to other areas in the province as
almost all posts of science teachers are vacant at the college since
the last two years," Gulfaraz Khan, a student leader, said while
addressing the gathering. The students boycotted the classes
and staged a protest rally. They up to the KKH and blocked the road by
setting tyres on fire. Students were chanting anti-government slogans
and demanding immediate induction of lectures. The student
leaders said that the posts of lecturers of biology, chemistry, physics,
computer sciences and mathematic were vacant for the last two years but
neither college administration nor the district authorities took the
issue seriously as a result of which precious time of students of the
sole college in the district was being wasted. The road was
opened for traffic after DPO Ghulam Hussain and ACO Mohammad Ali
negotiated with the student leaders and assured them that they would
take the issue at the appropriate forum and the post would be filled
immediately. Dawn
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