slamabad: Six members of a ‘Youth Parliament’ were among the victims of Wednesday’s air crash in Islamabad.
They were coming here to attend the final session of the ‘Youth Parliament’, a project of the Pakistan Institute for Legislative Development and Transparency (Pildat).
The six are ‘Youth Prime Minister’ Hasan Javed, ‘Information Minister’ Syeda Rabab Zehra Naqvi, ‘Minister for Culture and Sports’ Prem Chand, ‘Shadow Youth Minister for Information’ Bilal Jamaee, ‘Member of Youth Parliament’s Standing Committee on Information’ Owais bin Laiq and ‘Member of Youth Parliament’s Standing Committee on Information Syed Arsalan Ahmad. All six belonged to Sindh.
The Pildat management and team, its board of directors, board of advisers and Youth Parliament’s Steering Committee expressed their shock and sorrow at the tragic death of the members of the Youth Parliament.
At a meeting, members of the ‘Youth Parliament’ adopted a resolution, expressing shock and sorrow at the loss of lives in the crash.
The meeting was also attended by chairman of Youth Parliament Steering Committee, Senator S.M. Zafar, and member Wazir Jogezai.
Hassan Javed belonged to Hyderabad and worked for the Royal Bank of Scotland in Karachi, as the Team Head for Client Relationships for the Royal Preferred Banking (RPB) Department.
He did his MSc in Investment and Finance with Distinction from the University of London. During his stay there, he participated in the University of London Squash League. He won gold medals at the Hyderabad BISE Inter-school Squash Tournament in 1998 and 1999.
Syeda Rabab Zehra Naqvi from Karachi was doing BSc in Economics and Finance as an external student of the London School of Economics (LSE).
During her school years, she took part in activities of student councils and held various leadership positions. Ms Naqvi interned at banks, media firms and NGOs, and had plans to follow a career in politics after completing her studies.
Prem Chand, who hailed from Sanghar, was studying for a Masters in Social Work at the University of Sindh.
Mr Bilal Jamaee was a second year Mass Communication student at the University of Karachi and was general secretary of ‘Bazm-i-Adab’. He took part in a number of debating competitions and wrote a number of stories for children’s magazines.
Mr Owais bin Laiq from Karachi had joined the Institute of Business Administration (IBA) for a bachelor’s degree. He was the manager of the Media and Publication Society at IBA.
He had won various contests including the National Samaa TV Documentary Competition. Syed Arsalan Ahmed from Karachi was pursuing a degree in Textile Engineering. Dawn
Urdu Bazaar in a mess after monsoon showers
Karachi: The monsoon rains have badly affected Urdu Bazaar, one of the old city areas in Saddar Town, and as a result, ninety per cent shops were found to be closed on Wednesday.
Heaps of stinking garbage and stagnant water were seen all over Urdu Bazaar as well as other areas including Civil Hospital Karachi, Jamia Cloth Market, Federal Urdu University, Ranchor Lines, Burns Road and Sindh Secretariat.
Mumtaz, a shopkeeper at Urdu Bazaar, informed PPI that stagnant water had been present for more than 24 hours. “We face a similar situation every monsoon. There is no proper system to drain the rainwater from here,” he said.
Although sanitary workers were present in the locality, they were not doing anything to improve the situation. When asked, they informed PPI that they did not have the proper machinery to do so. “We would remove garbage from roads when the stagnant rainwater recedes. This situation is likely to improve by tomorrow if it does not rain. Only God can make it possible to remove two feet of accumulated water from this area in a single day,” they said.
Adnan, a book dealer, said that not a single customer had visited his shop since morning. “It will take a minimum of three days to neutralize the situation. The shopkeepers had a drain constructed on self-help basis three years ago which is the only source to divert the rainwater from market area to main Nullah,” he informed.
Yet another shop owner Sultan said that no serious efforts were being taken by the local administration to tackle the problem apart from some ‘cosmetic measures.’ “The shopkeepers have hired some sweepers to keep the area clean but obviously this is not enough. A project was planned in the first tenure of City District Government Karachi to get rid of the problem of rainwater but it was shelved when the tenure of the then mayor Niamautullah Khan ended,” he said.
Gul Zeb, one of a few customers in the market said, “Urdu Bazaar is the only market where second hand books are available at cheaper rates but the market is in a bad state. The government should facilitate the Urdu Bazaar traders and take precautionary measures to ensure better sanitary conditions here.”
PU students in Youth Camp for Asia
Lahore: The Punjab University Institute of Communication Studies’s two students, Abdul Rahman Khan and Talal Mustaman Raza, have been selected for participation in the Youth Camp for Asia.
According to a press release on Wednesday, the Youth Camp for Asia will be conducted from July 11 to August 11 in Seoul, South Korea, in which students of 23 Asian countries would participate. Seven students were selected from Pakistan for the camp after interviews.
The theme of this year’s Youth Camp is “Dream of New Asia.” The students will give their suggestions for the solution of global issues and a strategy would also be constituted for Asia’ better future through younger generation. Moreover, Talal Mustaman Raza will lead the Pakistani youth delegation in the camp. The news
UoE refuses teachers to do PhD at PU
LAHORE – The University of Education (UoE) has refused their faculty members to do PhD from Punjab University.
A number of PhD scholars who intended to do their PhD from the Punjab University and have since cleared the interview and test for getting admission in PhD at Punjab University needed necessary NOC from their parent University, but the administration of UoE refused them to issue the NOC. As a result, a number of lecturers would not be able to do their PhD while the facility of PhD studies in these subjects was snot available at UoE.
The UoE Teachers Alliance in a statement urged the Chancellor/Governor Punjab to intervene to redress their grievance.
They alleged that there was no justification in refusing the NOC, no there were any rules to prevent the teachers to do their higher studies in any university.
When contacted, a spokesman of the Vice Chancellor UoE Dr Mrs Mirza said the UoE had set its own criteria to allow its teachers to do PhD that required 2 or 3 years experience and satisfactory performance as a teacher in UoE. The nation
PU results & date sheet
Lahore: The Punjab University Examinations Department on Wednesday announced the results of MPhil Computer Science (Fall 2003), Semester System, Session 2003-2005 and BSc Computer Science (2-Years), Semester System, Session 2006-2008.
Meanwhile, the Punjab University Examinations Department on Wednesday announced the practical examination date sheet of MSc Home Economics, Part-I, 2nd Annual Examination 2009. According to the details, the exam will be conducted on August 2 and 3, 2010. Detailed date sheet is also available at PU website: www.pu.edu.pk, according to a press release.
PMDC objects to 25 new medical colleges
Lahore, July 28: The Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC) has rejected recommendations of the Federal Health Ministry to recognise 25 newly-established private and public medical colleges across the country on the pretext that the recognition of such a high number of medical colleges is against the council’s policies.
Among these medical colleges also includes Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical College, Karachi, facing PMDC’s objections.
“The PMDC is concerned about the new colleges whose documents have been sent by the Health Ministry to the council for recognition under the PMDC Ordinance, 1962,” PMDC Registrar Dr Ahmad Nadeem Akbar said.
“The council wants to limit the establishment of colleges and that is why a two-year moratorium has been enforced from December 31, 2010 on new colleges.” p
Sources say applications were sent by provincial and Azad Jammu and Kashmir governments to the Health Ministry to be forwarded to PMDC authorities for recognition. “After examining the applications, the PMDC rejected recommendations on the grounds that the recognition of such a large number of colleges was not the policy of the council,” Dr Akbar said.
He said the PMDC management, in a letter issued on July 20, 2010, to the Health Ministry, had expressed its concern over its recommendations to recognise 25 private medical colleges in one go.
These new medical colleges include Mohammad Bin Qasim Medical and Dental College, Karachi; Shaheed Mohtarma Benazir Bhutto Medical College, Karachi; Pakistan Medical College, Karachi; Rajputana Medical College, Hyderabad; Jehangeer Medical College, Tando Allah Yar; Dental Section, Bahria University Medical and Dental College, Karachi; Bhitai Dental and Medical College Hospital, Mirpurkhas; Dental Section, Women’s Medical College, Peshawar; Islam Medical College, Narowal; Rashid Latif Medical College, Lahore; Pakistan Red Crescent Medical and Dental College, Lahore; Core Medical College, Islamabad; Federal Medical and Dental College, Islamabad; Amna Inayat Medical College, Sheikhupura; Rehman Medical College, Peshawar; Al Razi Medical College, Peshawar; Medical College, Loralai; Medical College, Khuzdar; AJ&K Medical College, Muzaffarabad; City Medical College, Lahore; Gul Naseem Medical, Hyderabad; East and West Medical College, Haripur; and Dental Section, Islamabad Medical & Dental College, Islamabad.
Of these, eight colleges were recommended by the Sindh government, six by the Punjab, five by the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, two Balochistan, one by Azad Jammu and Kashmir and three by the federal capital, Islamabad.
The registrar said several new medical colleges had sprung up across the country. These medical colleges have not been inspected by the PMDC for recognition, as most of them do not fulfill the basic criteria. Dawn
HEC meeting to discuss universities’ financial crisis
Islamabad: The financial crisis faced by seats of higher learning seems to be deepening, with over 50 vice-chancellors of public-sector universities dashing to Islamabad to discuss the issue with top officials of Higher Education Commission (HEC), according to sources.
An emergency meeting of the vice-chancellors’ committee will be held with only one item on the agenda — the funding problem that has gone from bad to worse over the last couple of years. The meeting will be held on Wednesday, a concerned HEC official said.
Governors of Sindh, Balochistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in their capacity as chancellors of the public-sector universities have already informed the prime minister of their inability to implement the government’s decision of giving a 50 per cent raise in the salary of university teachers until they were provided the required funds.
The official said the raise in salary meant an additional burden of Rs7 billion, and universities had no money to meet the expenditure.
Moreover, he said, the HEC started the current financial year with a yawning deficit of Rs11.5 billion. During last year, the government under the public sector development programme committed Rs22.5 billion for the development of public sector universities.
However, until June 30 last year, it could only release Rs11 billion. This year against the demand of Rs30 billion under the development grant, the government has only allocated Rs15.7 billion to the HEC.
Almost every vice chancellor of 73 public sector universities of the country had written to the HEC for financial help for both meeting their recurring and development expenditures, the official said.
“HEC’s hands are tied; therefore, to apprise the heads of universities of ground realities, we have decided to hold this emergency meeting,” he added.
Speaking frankly, the official made it clear that the HEC was barely surviving. It has shelved almost all its major scholarship schemes. Over 200 development schemes, including both infrastructural and academic, have been disbanded. The momentum which had been created with years of hard work and investment of billions of rupees in the higher education sector of the country had come to a grinding halt, the official argued.
If the situation did not change, the official said, chances were that the HEC would ask public sector universities to increase their fees and plan more self-finance based admission schemes. “In the past the HEC had discouraged such measures because they led to an overall increase in the cost of university education,” the official added.
Answering a question, the official said the issue of degrees’ verification was not on the agenda at the meeting. But, he added, there would be no bar on asking about anything. Dawn
Universities financial crisis | Let HEC work
University facing financial crisis
Nawabshah, July 28: Quaid-i-Awam University of Engineering, Science and Technology (Quest) is facing financial problems because of a major slash in grants by the Higher Education Commission (HEC).
The HEC has not increased recurring grant of universities and cut its development funds, therefore Quest is facing difficulty in payment of salaries and has stopped development work.
According to sources in the university, recurring grant of Quest was Rs225 million in 2009-10, which was not enhanced in 2010-11 despite a 50 per cent increase in the salaries of employees in the budget of 2010-11.
The recurring grant for 2010-11 allocated by the HEC was Rs225.51 million against the university requirement of Rs420.45 million. Thus the institution is facing a deficit of Rs194.94 million.
The cut in grant would reflect an immediate impact on payment of salaries and allowances amounting to Rs99.40 million from July 1 and the deficit would increase to Rs294.34 million in 2010-11.
The cut in development grants had affected two ongoing projects, including scholarships for PhD, MPhil and others courses.
A project named faculty development and other immediate needs costing Rs440.176 million, which included 45 scholarships, had also suffered, the sources said.
Two projects, one for extension of education and the other for allied facilities, cost Rs476.420 million with 28 scholarships for PhD and master degrees, infrastructure, laboratories and other construction work.
About 45 teachers of the university are getting higher education in various countries of the world whereas 13 more are supposed to go abroad during the current year.
Apparently, no one would be able to go abroad for higher education, but the financial crunch would negatively affect the teachers doing PhDs abroad.
Vice-Chancellor of Quest Prof Dr A.B. Soomro told this correspondent that the university received Rs273 million till June 2010 against the requirement of Rs700 million in the development grant.
He said that total of the recurring grant of Rs427 million in 2009-10 and the grant of 2010-11 was Rs600 million, but they had received only Rs131 million.
In this situation, he said, the institution might obtain loan for the payment of salaries and other allowances to more than 700 employees.
Construction of boys and girls hostels, girls gymnasium, extension of laboratories and boundary walls of the campus and training of administration staff were stopped due to the major cuts in the grant, he added.
A PC-I of ‘Strengthening of Quest’ amounting to Rs492 million for IT facilities, enhancement of security, teachers hostel, transport garage, street lights, sewerage and drainage works was also withheld because Rs100 million was released for the project in 2009-10 but later the funding was frozen, he said.
He said that President Asif Ali Zardari had taken notice of the issue and directed the Sindh government to come to the rescue of the university and provide Rs300 million.
Originally established as a campus of Mehran University of Engineering and Technology, the institute was upgraded to university during the second tenure of Ms Benazir Bhutto in 1996. However, the university remained in crisis immediately after its establishment because the PPP government was removed and the university never received any development funds till the establishment of the HEC.
Karachi colleges admissions: B-graders ineligible
Over 16,000 B-graders ineligible for Inter science education
Karachi, July 28: More than 16,000 B-grade matriculates will be among the thousands of aspirants for science education set to be deprived of studies in any of the three science groups — pre-engineering, pre-medical and computer science — in the city’s public sector colleges and higher secondary schools due to the limited number of seats in the discipline.
The C and lower grade candidates stand no chance of getting admission to the government science institutions. These candidates number over 23,000 — 18,178 in C grade, 5,120 in D grade and 95 in E grade. They would have no choice but to seek admission to the science faculty in private colleges.
In all, more than 39,000 matriculates are unlikely to be accommodated in the pre-engineering, pre-medical and computer science groups in the city’s government colleges and higher secondary schools.
A cursory look at the number of seats allocated by the CAP committee in its 2010 academic year’s brochure, containing placement forms for admission to first-year classes, shows that of the total 42,165 seats allocated for admission to the science faculty, in all 23,830 seats (15,250 for boys and 8,580 for girls) will be offered in the pre-engineering group; 16,835 (5,740 for boys and 11,095 for girls) in the pre-medical group and 1,500 (800 for boys and 700 for girls) would be accommodated in the computer science group.
Statistics of the fresh science matriculates provided by the BSEK indicate that of the total 81,981 (45,403 boys and 36,578 girls) candidates who have passed the examination in different grades, 10,524 candidates (3,951 boys and 6,573 girls) obtained A-1 grades; 21,862 candidates (10,599 boys and 11,263 girls) secured A grade and 25,965 candidates (14,563 boys and 11,402 girls) got B grade; 18,178 candidates (11,937 boys and 6,241 girls) secured C grade; 5,120 candidates (4,105 boys and 1,015 girls) got D grade whereas 95 candidates (82 boys and 13 girls) got E grade.
As such, the number of candidates having passed their matric examination-2010 with science in A-1, A and B grades from the Karachi board alone comes to 58,351 as against a total of 42,165 seats available in all the three faculties of science in the city’s public-sector institutions for the coming academic session. It means that not only all the C, D and E graders but even 16,186 B graders would not be able to get admission to the science faculty in government institutions this year unless more colleges are opened in the city and the required number of teachers is provided there on an emergency basis.
Asked about the future of those who might not be accommodated in the science faculty, sources in the CAP committee said they would be offered admission to the commerce faculty and if they did not want it, they could seek admission to any private college to pursue their studies in the discipline of their choice.
However, the students who passed their matric examination with general group as regular candidates would not face any difficulty in getting admission to their discipline as the total number of admissions being offered in government colleges and higher secondary schools in commerce and humanities groups are 34,470 seats (20,300 for boys and 14,170 for girls) and 22,780 (5,400 for boys and 17,380 for girls), respectively, the sources added.
Meanwhile, senior college teachers who in the past remained associated with CAP committees apprehended that the admission process would be delayed considerably as a large number of candidates would throng the CAP claim centres after failing to get admission to the science faculty despite having B and C grades.
They said though the government higher secondary schools of the city had once again come under the purview of CAP, the previous experience was that a vast majority of the aspirants wanted to study in colleges rather than higher secondary schools and, thus, a large number of those who were previously accommodated in higher secondary schools left for private colleges.
The process of admissions to 132 government colleges and 25 higher secondary schools in the city under CAP began on Friday with the sale of brochures, containing placement forms, at 52 branches of the Allied Bank.
Word Press Training only 1 week and
make your on own website start your own business
contact : 0333-2355205
Plot 107, 401- 4h floor, block-2 P.E.C.H.S,
Khalid bin waleed Road, Karachi
websites make with word press
Prev