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[Jilawatan]

There is so much going on in Pakistan about education. It is one of the most important things. So post anything related in this thread.

[Jilawatan]

Plan under way to check dropout rate

ISLAMABAD (PPI) - The federal government to prevent alarming dropout rate at primary level is considering a scheme in which Rs 200 will be paid to those students who maintain at least 70 per cent attendance.
The scheme would be alike of Punjab government’s “Educated Punjab” for other three provinces where the dropout rate had mounted up in last 10 years, sources told here Thursday.
The scheme is designed not only to encourage the parents but also aimed to bridge the gap between education and poor men created by the poverty and social customs. He further said that alarming dropout rate of female students at primary level in the rural areas of Balochistan, Sindh and NWFP in last ten-year increased as 40, 30, and 25 per cent respectively.
Furthermore, only eight per cent of the female students enrolled at primary level could complete their secondary school education.
Federal minister for Education Javed Ashraf Qazi was told that among various factors, social and economic conditions of the parents were major cause for this high dropout. More than one fifth of the girls students have to abandoned their secondary education merely because their parents could not afford the cost, he was further apprised.
Therefore, the federal government considered that why not a scheme alike “Educated Punjab” be set out in other three provinces to increase enrollment at schools.
Under the scheme Rs 200 per month would be paid as stipend to those female students who will maintain at least 70 attendance besides books and free education up to Matric promised.
Promotion of extra-curricular activities stressed
Minister for Housing and Works, Syed Safwanullah on Thursday called for need of extra-curricular activities in the educational institutions to improve personality of students.
He said that the prime objective of education is to improve individual’s character and bring positive changes in ones life.
Speaking at a quiz competition on Ramazan here at City School, the minister said, our religion gives special emphasis on education, which enlightens the minds. Appreciating the quiz competition, he said, such a programme should continue to generate religious interest among the children.
He regretted that attention was not being given to Islamic education as compared to other subjects in educational institutions.
“No doubt, modern education is need of the hour, but it is also imperative that the religious education be given special attention,” he added.
He suggested that in schools, at least one period on daily basis should be dedicated to religious education to impart Islamic teachings to the children.

[Jilawatan]

Free books up to matric from 2006



LAHORE: Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has announced that the government will provide free textbooks to all public school students up to matriculation from next year.

He was addressing a ceremony held to dispatch free books to the last two districts of the province, Muzaffargarh and Dera Ghazi Khan, at the Punjab Textbook Board on Wednesday.

This decision will be helpful in achieving the target of 100 percent literacy in the province, the chief minister said. The government has provided more than 20 million textbooks for the students of around 63,000 schools in 34 district of Punjab, he said. Around 10.2 million students have benefited from this scheme, which cost the government Rs 650 million, he said. The number of students enrolled in public schools has risen by one million in one year in Punjab, he added.

Mr Elahi said the scheme whereby girl students were getting monthly stipends of Rs 200 would be expanded to other districts. He said Rs 175 million for the provision of transport facilities to students of special education centres would be set aside.

Kamran Rasool, Punjab chief secretary, said there had been a 13 percent increase in the number of students enrolled in public schools. He said that free books would be available to students from April 15. Mian Imran Masood, Punjab education minister, also spoke on the occasion.

Elahi awards medal to top MA special education student: Chief minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi has awarded a gold medal and Rs 100,000 to Zara Hussain, a deaf girl who came first in the Punjab University’s Masters of Arts in the special education annual examinations 2004.

At a ceremony arranged by the Punjab Textbook Board on Thursday, Elahi announced an award, chief minister’s special education gold medal and a cash prise of Rs 100,000, for students who came first in the MA special education annual examinations every year. At present, Hussain is studying at a college in the US and has also earned a distinction there. She is the first deaf person to achieve this distinction in South Asia. Elahi said that Hussain had set a shining example for others by winning a gold medal in the MA examinations. Hussain thanked the Punjab government for the award. She said that her studies were tough, but she worked hard. She thanked her family, especially her mother, and teachers. “I have proved that deaf children can also succeed,” she said. She urged special children to work hard and said that she would devote her life to serve them.

[Jilawatan]

KARACHI: ‘Free high school education from 2006’

KARACHI, Nov 22: Sindh Education Minister Hamida Khuhro said on Tuesday that free education up to high school would be introduced in the province from the academic session 2006.

She was speaking at a seminar, the last segment of a two-day media orientation workshop on “Education for all”, organized by the Pakistan Press Foundation in collaboration with Unesco.

“Students would get free textbooks besides a stipend of Rs100 for regular attendance,” the minister added.

Over 30 journalists drawn from different districts of Sindh, including Karachi, representing national and local dailies and electronic media attended the workshop.

Dr Khuhro rejected the notion that the federal government had allocated a mere 1.8 per cent of the GDP for education. She said that the federal minister for education told in a meeting that the budgetary allocation during the current fiscal for education was 2.7 per cent of the GDP. The allocations would be enhanced to 4 per cent in next two years, she added.

Dr Khuhro said that the government had sufficient funds. The only thing needed was the political will and motivation.

Referring to the situation prevailing in Sindh, the minister said there was a dismal situation in the province having thousands of shelter less schools besides the schools devoid of all the basic facilities like water, toilets, electricity, boundary walls etc.

“We want to lay down a comprehensive education plan to improve the situation,” she said.

The minister was of the view that there was a wide gap between the primary, secondary and higher secondary schools in the province that again were faced with shortage of teachers.

The Higher Education Commission is focussing on producing specialized persons but such targets could not be achieved if the foundation is not made sound, she added.

“We have recruited some teachers and more would be recruited soon. We will impart training to these teachers before they join the duties so that they could be able to impart quality education,” Dr Khuhro said.

She told that a Reform Support Unit was being set up to monitor and evaluate the progress made towards achieving the goal besides creating a database and networking of all the educational institutions.

The government is also introducing English as a subject from class one but this should not be construed as negating the local languages. In fact, it would be totally against the interest of people not to teach English to their children, she viewed.

To a question from the participants, the minister told that the chairman of the Sindh Textbook Board had denied that a lesson about Shah Abdul Karim of Bulri, a Sufi poet of Sindh, was being deleted from the textbooks.

Earlier, chairperson of the Sindh Education Foundation and former provincial education minister Prof Anita Ghulamali in her speech called for imparting primary education to the children in their mother tongues.

“I had been advocating that the basic education should be in the language in which a child dreams and that is his mother tongue,” she observed.

She also emphasized on enhancing the budgetary allocations for the education sector at least up to 4 per cent of the GDP.

Senior journalist Sabihuddin Ghausi lamented that money was the priority of the media organizations that could be testified by the fact that the newspapers were full of advertisements, even their front and back pages, leaving very little space for social issues.

Prof Shahida Qazi, former chairperson of the KU’s mass communication department, deplored that the VIPs and philanthropists often visited and offered donations to the well-off institutions instead of those in dire need of assistance.

Earlier, Unesco representative from Islamabad, Arshad Saeed and PPF Secretary-General Owais Aslam Ali also spoke.—PPI

[Jilawatan]

PAKISTAN: Focus on improving basic education in Punjab


Nearly one in ten primary schools in Punjab have no buidings at all to work from

With an extensively advertised mass literacy campaign carrying the slogan, 'Our dream - an educated Punjab', the provincial government of Pakistan's most populous province, has been actively trying to achieve the UN Millennium Development Goal (MDG) of universal primary education (UPE) by 2015 through a wide-ranging Education Sector Reform (ESR) programme.

"[The} Punjab's education reform programme that started in 2003 focuses simultaneously on improving access, equity, quality and governance in the education system," Ahmed Javed Qazi, deputy director of monitoring the ESR programme, told IRIN from the provincial capital, Lahore.

Home to almost 84 million people, comprising 55 percent of the total population of the country, Punjab has better education indicators than Pakistan's other three provinces, with an overall literacy rate of over 55 percent.

IMPROVING ACCESS TO PRIMARY EDUCATION

But there is still a long way to go in improving access to education in the province. According to the provincial education department, out of a total school-age population of 11.23 million, over two million children do not attend school. The statistics for children aged 10 to 12 years are higher, with over 4 million children out of school, while for years 13 to 14, the figure stands at 2.37 million.

The education department in Punjab has been facing several problems ranging from enrolment of out of school children, governance and management related issues to lack of infrastructure and facilities. However, low family income with high costs of school materials has long been cited by the educational authorities as the main reason for low attendance rates.

"As a first step to boost enrolment and bring children into schools, the government has not only waived the fee at public-sector schools but has also been providing free textbooks," Qazi said.

Under a phased three-year programme, in 2004, the provincial government provided free textbooks to all the students from grade one to five. "This year, we will cover students up to grade eight while by the next academic year, the programme will be extended to all the students up to grade ten," a provincial education department official said.

To promote female participation, the government last year introduced monthly stipends in about 15 low literacy districts across the province. "Since the start of the programme, some 200,000 girl students of grade six to eight with 80 percent and above school attendance have been awarded a monthly stipend of 200 rupees [about US $3]," Qazi said.

But some education experts are concerned about the government's 'enrolment focussed' policies and lack of concern about the high school dropout rate of over 50 percent.

Pakistan's leading independent rights body, the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), pointed out in its annual report for 2004: "Instead of offering financial incentives to join schools, policies aimed at improving the environment at schools, providing trained teachers, [and] making curricula more relevant to children's lives would play a big part both in increasing enrolment and keeping children at schools."

The physical condition of many schools in the province is another factor mitigating against high attendance. Out of more than 50,000 public-sector primary schools - with about 4.5 million students - some 8 percenthave no building, while thousands more are without drinking water, electricity and toilets.

Under the ESR programme, the Punjab government has allocated the major bulk of resources to the provision of basic infrastructure and facilities in educational institutions. "Some 150 million rupees [$2.5 million] have been given to each of the 34 districts for the provision of basic facilities in primary schools. However, the government intends to further enhance the allocations on performance and need basis," Qazi noted.

The ESR programme has been supported by the World Bank through a grant of $300 million over a period of three years from 2004-2006.

UPGRADING TEACHERS

Education authorities in the province have also been taking steps to improve the quality of teaching staff. "The basic requirement for potential teachers has been raised from matriculation to graduation, while the government has launched intensive refresher courses for over 100,000 in-service primary teachers," Qazi added.

The upgrading process of staff has been a challenge, Qazi told IRIN. "To deal with 'teacher absenteeism' and also to acquaint them with modern teaching methods is a huge task. It's difficult to change the routine of in-service teachers," Qazi noted.

Educational experts have welcomed the changes but warn that improvement will only be evident in the long term.

"To improve access in remote areas, reduce the dropout rate, and most importantly, to ensure teachers' presence in schools - only over time can we assess the effectiveness of such measures. This is a good start but we have to ensure the measures are implemented," Shaheen Attique Rehman, head of a Lahore-based NGO working to promote literacy, Bunyad Literacy Community Council (BLCC), told IRIN.
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The ESR programme in Punjab will be subject to independent monitoring and evaluation, which should help with implementation. "All the previous schemes have been missing this [independent monitoring] component, but we are having independent feedback [at] every step to immediately identify if anything goes wrong," Qazi said noting: "Hopefully, it'll help us in achieving the UPE targets in time."

[Jilawatan]

Establishment of six varsities approved

RAWALPINDI, Jan 9: A high-level meeting on Monday approved the establishment of six new engineering universities in partnership with world class centres of excellence located in advanced countries to groom young talent in modern disciplines and spur industrial development.

President Pervez Musharraf chaired the meeting, which was also attended by Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and senior officials.

The project of establishing the universities will be completed at a cost of Rs80 to 90 billion spanning over a ten-year period.

These universities will be developed in partnership with consortiums of engineering universities in Germany, France, Sweden, Austria, Korea and the Netherlands.

Speaking on the occasion, President Musharraf reiterated his emphasis on development of human resource as a way forward to sustained development.

He said the initiative of setting up engineering universities would provide synergy between higher education and the country industrial advancement and step up the pace of socio-economic development.

From the beginning, the president said, the government had realised the importance of science and technology and increased its budget.

In this context, he cited the huge difference that technological advancement makes in multiplying exports of a country and said the imparting of education in consort with requirements of fast-paced industrial development would lay a strong basis for long-term progress.

In his remarks, Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz said the government is focused on preparing the youth of the country in accordance with development needs on modern lines. The government, he said, will commit financial resources for establishment of these centres of excellence.

The six universities will be set up as part of a federal university system, close to industrial areas of major cities of Pakistan, and first classes at these universities will commence by 2008.

In the first ten years, about 300 to 400 of the brightest students would be sent abroad for training in foreign universities and during this training phase they will undergo tertiary level training.

These universities will be headed by leading foreign university academics in the first ten years.

The head of the Higher Education Commission, Dr Attaur Rehman, said the presence of leading foreign professors at key positions in the first ten years will help ensure high international standards of education at these institutions.

n addition, we will also have external quality assurance agencies located in these countries, monitoring the examination system so that we are at par, and there will be complete equivalence between these universities and the universities in the respective foreign countries so that the students who study for one or two years in Pakistan, can carry on abroad and spend additional years in foreign universities.?APP

http://www.dawn.com/2006/01/10/nat7.htm

[Jilawatan]

3 campuses of Balochistan varsity soon

By Our Staff Correspondent

QUETTA, Jan 9: Balochistan University Vice-Chancellor Ghulam Mohammad Taj has said that three new sub-campuses of the varsity will be established in Gwadar, Qila Saifullah and Dera Allahyar.

Speaking at a press conference here, he said the university was implementing development projects worth Rs588 million to take the institution to the level of other universities in the country.

Replying to a question, he said that presently the university was offering degrees in 40 disciplines and soon six more disciplines would be introduced.

The vice-chancellor said that a tenure track system was being introduced in the university for senior and qualified teachers.
http://www.dawn.com/2006/01/10/nat43.htm

[Jilawatan]

Salam,

Good news here. A brilliant College becomes University. I hope it maintains its high standards.

(Link)

King Edward Medical College becomes university
Former Principal of KEMC Prof Dr Mumtaz Hasan may be named vice chancellor

By Amer Malik

THE Punjab governor, in exercise of powers conferred upon him under sub-section (1) of section 3 of the King Edward Medical University, Lahore, Act of 2005, ordered the establishment of the King Edward Medical University, Lahore by reconstituting the King Edward Medical College, Lahore, according to a notification by the Punjab Health Department.

Consequent upon the order, published under sub-section (1), the post of the Principal, King Edward Medical College, Lahore, shall cease to exist, and all properties, rights and interests of whatever kind, used, enjoyed, possessed, owned or vested in or held in trust by or for the King Edward Medical College, Lahore, and all liabilities legally subsisting against it shall stand transferred to the University.

The Punjab Health Department, in a briefing to the Punjab government on Monday (tomorrow), shall propose that former Principal King Edward Medical College, Lahore, Prof Dr Mumtaz Hasan, may be given charge as Vice Chancellor of King Edward Medical University, Lahore, as interim arrangement till the notification of Vice Chancellor of the University on permanent basis.

The allied hospitals including Mayo Hospital, Lady Wellington Hospital, Lady Aitchison Hospital, shall directly operate under the control of the Punjab Health Department.

When contacted, Punjab Health Minister Dr Tahir Ali Javed said that the Punjab Health Department, as advised by the Vice Chancellors Search Committee, would advertise the post of Vice Chancellor of King Edward Medical University, Lahore, and fulfil all other legal requirements to fill the post on a permanent basis.

However, he said, it needed an amendment to King Edward Medical University, Lahore, Act of 2005, and it would, thereafter, allow eligible candidates, not only from the Punjab, from all over Pakistan and abroad to apply for the post. He said that the Punjab Health Department would take the matter of amendment in the Punjab cabinet for seeking the approval of the Punjab Assembly. Presently, he said, the Act allowed eligible candidates, only from the Punjab, to apply for the post of the Vice Chancellor of King Edward Medical University, Lahore.

To a question, he responded that the Health Department had, so far, not proposed any name for the post. "KEMU, Lahore, now onwards, will only be in charge of teaching components of allied hospital including Mayo Hospital, Lady Wellington Hospital and Lady Aitchison Hospital while medical superintendents of respective hospitals would be in charge of administrative affairs of the hospitals," he added.

Meanwhile, under the King Edward Medical University, Lahore, Act of 2005, the University shall consist of the Chancellor, the Pro-Chancellor, the Vice Chancellor, the Pro-Vice Chancellor and members of the Senate, the Syndicate, the Academic Council and all other authorities.

The University shall be a body corporate and shall have a perpetual succession and a common seal and may sue and be sued by the name.

The University shall be competent to acquire and hold property, both movable and immovable, and may lease, sell or otherwise alienate any movable and immovable property which vests in or has been acquired by it.

The University shall perform various functions that include to provide for instruction in such teaching subjects, disciplines or branches of learning at graduate or postgraduate level as it may deem fit, and to make provision for research and the advancement and dissemination of knowledge in such a manner as it may determine. It shall prescribe or identify courses of studies to be conducted by it and the colleges.

The University shall hold examinations and to award and confer degrees, diplomas, certificates and other academic distinctions to and on persons who have been admitted to and have passed its examinations. It shall confer honorary degrees or other distinctions on persons approved there for.

It shall provide for persons having received education/training in other institutions, such instructions as it may determine, and to award degrees, diplomas or certificates to such persons. It shall confer degrees on persons who have carried on independent research under certain conditions. It shall inspect constituent colleges, institutes and institutions.

For the purpose of admission to the University, it shall recognise the examination passed and the periods of study spent by students at other universities and places of learning as equivalent to such examinations as periods of study in the University, and to withdraw such recognition in appropriate cases after giving a notice to the student concerned.

It shall coordinate with other universities and public authorities in such manner and for such purposes as it may determine.

The University shall create posts of Professors, Associate Professors, Assistant Professors and Demonstrators and other posts for research, publication, extension, administration and other related purposes and to appoint persons thereto. It shall confer or award fellowships, scholarships, bursaries, medals and prizes as may be prescribed.

The University shall establish teaching departments, schools, colleges, faculties, institutes, museums and centres of excellence including area study centre and other centres of learning for the development of teaching and research and to make such arrangements for their maintenance, management and administration as may be prescribed. It shall arrange, administer and maintain hostels for students of the University and the colleges.

The University shall promote and organise recreational and extra-curricular activities for physical and mental growth, health and fitness of the students. It shall enforce and maintain discipline amongst the students of the University, institutions and the colleges.

Peace.

[Jilawatan]

PROFILE: Nargis Rahman – For the love of humanity




By Marylou Andrew

In spite of Nargis Rahman’s pioneering work in education, she knows that no matter how much money is put into the education sector, the problems will keep on growing because the basics are not right. She explains that she has a radical plan in mind to improve the situation, writes Marylou Andrew

In a beautiful white house, in the bowels of Clifton, Karachi, lives a woman, of boundless courage and vitality; a woman with a force of will so strong that she just might change the world through it.

Meet Nargis Rahman. If you ask anyone about her, they will call her a social worker or a peace activist, or perhaps both. But her work defies such narrow definitions. As founder and convener of the Karachi Women’s Peace Committee (KPWC), she has sought to bring together opposing groups on a singular platform for conflict resolution. As head of the Falah Trust, her work for the uplift of education in katchi abadis has been legendary.

Perhaps the reason that people know so little about Rahman is because she is unwilling to project herself, preferring instead to talk about her work. Born to an Arab father and Indian mother, Rahman’s philanthropic pursuits in later life were a direct result of her love for educating children. She recalls a time when her husband was posted to a desolate corner of the country and she took on teaching at a small village school, an experience which shaped her future work.

Rahman first began doing charity work in Lyari in the late 80s’, digging a well for the people when they needed water and providing financing for their daughters’ marriages. When she realized that their problems were constantly multiplying and the funds for her charity work were in short supply. She was forced to take a closer and harder look at the situation to see what she could do to empower the people of the area.

Working under the banner of her NGO, the Falah Trust, Rahman established a small school enrollment programme. She took 200 children from the community and enrolled them into the government schools in the area. The situation in the schools, as expected, was dismal. The buildings lay in a state of decay and the teachers were uninterested in teaching the students.

Rahman had to fight tooth and nail to keep her students in the schools. However, four years and 1,000 students later, she noticed that the drop-out rate, particularly among young boys, was very high. The reason, she says, was simple. The schools may have been functioning but they were teaching very little and even after four years of education, most of the children did not have a grasp on the alphabets.

Unwilling to give up, Rahman took 17 young women and got them free teacher’s training from the Aga Khan Foundation. She then fought with the bureaucracy to have them installed in the government schools. Rahman is extremely grateful for the help of two KMC officials, who, she explains, had the foresight to understand her vision and eventually helped her get academic control in the government schools.

Little did she know that it was going to be a constant uphill battle. With every change in bureaucracy, Rahman went through the same motions over and over again. Even though the drop-outs returned to the school with the installation of the new teachers, the problems of income generation and teaching basic skills remained. Rahman’s pleas to be allowed to start a vocational skills programme in the school fell upon deaf ears. Eventually, she understood that she could no longer be a foster parent to the schools, and turned them over to the government again.

The communities, she recalls, were alarmed by this move, but she reassured them that the government would take care of their children’s basic needs. She knew that they would have to fight for themselves, but also understood that a hitherto backward people could not be expected to have the vision to allocate resources effectively and know what was good for the children.

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“The politicians don’t want institutions because they know that these will make the people strong and eventually give the government very little control over them.”
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As expected, corruption prevailed and Rahman’s trained teachers were transferred out of the schools. Even a year long fight with the city government to have them reinstated yielded no results. In 2002, she established community schools with trained teachers, ran them for a year and then handed them over to the communities.

While Rahman was working for the uplift of the Lyari communities, she also had another project up her sleeve; a project which was a direct result of the sectarian strife of 1994-95. Working with Naushaba Burney and others, Rahman founded the Karachi Women’s Peace Committee in order to make opposing groups in the conflict see reason. Not only was the group horrified at the way in which people were being killed (in mosques during prayer) but also that large numbers of young people were participating in the violence.



KWPCs first forum invited Shia and Sunni ulema to discuss their problems. Nargis Rahman says that they were surprized to find that they had no major differences of opinion; rather it was the politicians who were playing blame games. After being disheartened by the attitude of the politicians, KWPC held a demonstration and Rahman recalls, with great interest, that the majority of the women involved in it belonged to the so-called upper crust of society. The lower classes, though affected by the violence, were uninterested in solutions as existence was far more important.

Evaluating the situation more than 10 years down the road, Rahman realizes that, in essence, not much has changed since 1995. “Individuals,” she says, “are progressing and doing well for themselves, but no one wants to play a role in national development. The poor are busy in their quest for subsistence, the man on the street has no time for politics, and the rich simply don’t care.”

Having said as much, however, Rahman believes that Pakistanis are extremely politically conscious people, but most have evaluated the situation and realized that they do not register as a collective force. She blames the political leaders for suppressing the voice of the people and for not forming the basic institutions that can make this country great.

“The politicians don’t want institutions because they know that these will make the people strong and eventually give the government very little control over them.”

The problem is about more than just corruption, she explains, it has a lot to do with educated leadership, an area in which Pakistan is sorely lacking. “We’ve had the same politicians for the last 30 years, and most of them have neither the education nor the exposure to realize that we are only as big as our country.”

Discussing the ‘soft’ image that Pakistan is so keen to project to the world, Rahman wonders why Pakistan has such a negative image abroad even though the country has had no major revolution to speak of and Pakistanis, by nature, are not a bloody-minded people. Answering her own question, she comes back to the need for the rule of law in order to protect against crime and corruption and safeguard basic rights such as health and education.

No matter which tangent she goes on, Rahman cannot stray too far away from the need for education. In response to a question about Pakistani curriculums relying too much on rote-based learning and not encouraging independent thought, she replies that we need to get the basics right before we move on to bigger issues. “Yes, the curriculum needs to be overhauled,” she says, “but first we need to focus on training our teachers properly and then giving our children basic education.”

In her quest to provide basic education, not only has Rahman worked in Lyari, she has also set up a school for the children of lower cadre policemen and women in an old thana in Kemari, and she has adopted six schools in Clifton under the banner of the KWPC. As part of the Falah Trust’s work to rehabilitate ex-convicts, she has also helped set up her own school for 125 children in a graveyard.

In spite of her pioneering work in education, Nargis Rahman knows that no matter how much money is put into the education sector, the problems will keep on growing because the basics are not right. She explains that she has a drastic plan in mind to improve the situation. “We need to give existing teachers a golden handshake and be generous about it. They are also victims in this situation because they have no money or options. Nevertheless, they need to go; young people need to be trained and the status and salaries of teachers need to be improved.

On the KWPC front, Rahman feels that change has occurred over the years but is still uncertain about whether the committee itself has been responsible for initiating it. She knows that people have yet to understand the importance of public activism and the need to object and agitate when they know something is wrong. “This is only possible when we become an emancipated and empowered people. When we lay a strong foundation, the rest will grow on it, and we will be all the richer and more fortunate for it.”

http://www.dawn.com/weekly/review/review4.htm

[Jilawatan]

www.thecitizensfoundation.org

This is a non-profit organization working to improve the state of education in Pakistan. I feel it would be good to profile it here.

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TCF is a professionally managed, not-for-profit organization, established in August 1995 and formally incorporated in September 1996. The organization was set up by a group of citizens, concerned by the dismal state of education in Pakistan. TCF runs its network of well-managed, purpose-built schools in urban slums and rural areas across Pakistan and serves all persons and communities on a completely non-discriminatory basis.

Our Mission
To promote mass-scale quality education at the primary and secondary levels in an environment that encourages intellectual, moral and spiritual growth.

Our Goals

Quality Education:
To provide children with knowledge and literary skills.

Large Network of Schools:
To establish 1,000 school units in less privileged areas of Pakistan and cater to 360,000 children.

Character Building:
To equip children with high moral values and to inculcate the confidence to act in that direction.


What We Have Achieved

As of April 2005, we have:
-224 school units in 26 locations across Pakistan
-Increased our enrollment capacity to 44,500+ students.
-More than 30,000 enrolled students.
-A balanced gender ratio; close to 50% female students.
-Created more than 2,600 jobs, of which 1,600+ are teachers and principals.
-1 teacher training centre currently providing 9 weeks of entry-level training to about 350 teachers annually & 4 weeks of developmental training to about 1,600+ teachers during summer vacations.
-High non-profit governance rating of GR-8 from JCR-VIS Credit Rating Co. Ltd.
-Gained certification from PCP (Pakistan Centre for Philanthropy). TCF is amongst the highest scoring organisations certified by PCP to date.
-Raised public awareness about the dire illiteracy problem in Pakistan.

Our Long Term Mission

1,000 school units educating 360,000 children


This organization is amazing. Support them, promote them, donate to em. Help improve literacy in Pakistan

[Jilawatan]

Waste lands to be reclaimed: Ata

By Our Reporter

ISLAMABAD, Feb 18: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) will collaborate in the massive salinity management programme with the Pakistan Atomic Energy Commission (PAEC) to bring vast areas of salinity-hit waste lands into productive use.

This was stated by Adviser to the Prime Minister for Science and Technology and HEC Chairman Prof Dr Attaur Rahman while presiding over the concluding session of a two-week international training workshop on Bio-Saline Agricultural Technology organized by PAEC’s Nuclear Institute for Agriculture and Biology here.

He appreciated PAEC’s contributions in research and development in nuclear power, industrial support services, health and agriculture.

Dr Ata said the HEC intended to develop an extensive salinity management programme alongwith the Indus Left Bank outfall canal with demonstrated technology evolved by the PAEC which utilized saline lands by growing salt-tolerant crops.

He said about 14 million acres of saline and water-logged waste lands in the country required urgent technological solutions.

He said the proposed HEC-PAEC project for utilizing these lands would help alleviate poverty and stop migration of local people by providing them means of livelihood.

He urged the scientists to use research as commercial wealth and offered to join hands with the PAEC in other areas of national importance as a step to lead the country towards knowledge-based economy.

PAEC Chairman Parvez Butt said the newly-created commission’s Biosciences Pvt Ltd aims at delivering the fruits of research to the end users.

He said the PAEC would reach out to the farmers and provide them productive technological tools and quality services at affordable rates.

He said the commission was operating 13 cancer hospitals in the country which were providing medicare to more than 350,000 patients while six more such hospitals were being built.

Besides, the existing cancer treatment facilities will be expanded and upgraded, Parvez Butt said.

He said PAEC’s research and development programme encompassed diverse areas which were mutually supportive as nuclear technology was a binding force between all of them.

He said there had been steep rise in resource allocation to PAEC for its nation-building programme which resulted in the expansion of work output and increase in number of projects undertaken during the last five to six years.

In his introductory lecture on bio-saline technology, Member Biosciences PAEC Dr Kausar Abdullah Malik said engineering solutions for reclamation of saline lands were expensive and time-taking, adding that there was a need to utilize the salinity-affected lands.

The PAEC through use of bio-tech and nuclear techniques had identified the crops/trees which could be grown on these lands, he added.

Dr Kausar said as part of its international collaboration, the PAEC was providing bio-saline agricultural technology to nine IAEA member countries under the auspices of IAEA technical cooperation programme.

He said the PAEC was already undertaking reclamation of 25,000 acres of saline land in the country under the farmer participatory programme for which the federal government had allocated Rs178 million.

Dr Edith Taleisnik, Professor of Plant Physiology from Argentina, who attended the workshop as expert lecturer informed that a bilateral agreement between Pakistan and Argentina was being drafted which would cover sharing of agricultural experiences.

The host of the workshop, NIAB Director Dr Iqrar Khan said the PAEC conducted these training workshops on regular basis to train its own human resource and those from the IAEA and OIC member countries. The workshop was jointly organized by the PAEC, HEC and Comstech.

http://www.dawn.com/2006/02/19/nat5.htm

[Jilawatan]

Rs90bn promised for new varsities

By Our Reporter

ISLAMABAD, Feb 18: The government has decided to provide incentives and financial and physical infrastructure to help the country’s engineering industry strengthen its technology and increase exports from the sector, Higher Education Commission Chairman Dr Attaur Rehman told Dawn on Thursday.

“The president and the prime minister have agreed to provide Rs90 billion to set up six engineering universities,” he said.

He said a technology-based ‘Industrial vision and strategy for Pakistan’s socioeconomic development’ had been prepared by the HEC and Pakistan Institute of Development Economics.

The engineering industry, he said, constituted one of the fastest growing economic sectors in the world and its share in trade had increased from 55 per cent in 1990 to 63 per cent in 2002. “However, in Pakistan its contribution to exports has remained negligible,” he said.

The study submitted to the government, Dr Rehman said, called for identifying specific sectors in which Pakistan should invest so that it could achieve a high growth target and achieve rapid development.

It covered major productive sectors of the economy — agriculture, industry and services –- and there was focus on engineering goods, textiles, leather, materials, chemicals process industries, pharmaceuticals, electronics, energy, telecommunication, information technology, construction and housing as well as transport sector, he said.

“In order to achieve rapid growth in each sector, we need to substantially strengthen research and development efforts and create the necessary human resources which can face the challenges of globalization and international competition,” the HEC chairman said.

Responding to a question, Dr Rehman said the six universities would be set up in 10 years and their PC-1 was being finalized for approval by the Executive Committee of the National Economic Council (Ecnec).

“For these universities, heads of the departments will be hired from France, Germany, Sweden, the Netherlands, Austria, Japan and Korea,” the HEC chairman said. He said modern system of education from abroad would be introduced in the universities.

He said that of the 10,000 teachers in the country’s universities, only 3,000 possessed PhD degrees.

“The effort is to also provide access to higher education, which is just 3.7 per cent, compared to 17 to 23 per cent in other countries,” he said.

“We are putting pressure to get universities and degree-awarding institutions with inadequate facilities closed,” the HEC chief said. By February 2007, a number of such institutions would be closed, he said, adding: “In fact, these are not universities but glorified colleges.”

In reply to a question, he said that out of 12,000 applicants, about 400 students had been short listed to be sent abroad for higher education. A German team recently interviewed some students for higher education in Germany, for which the HEC would bear the expenses.

Every year, 500 students were being sent abroad for higher education, for which a $150 million programme had been started with the support of Fulbright Scholarship. The government had agreed to stretch higher education budget to one per cent of the gross national product by providing 50 per cent increase annually, he said.

http://www.dawn.com/2006/02/19/nat24.htm

[Jilawatan]

LARKANA: SU campus in Larkana soon

By Our Correspondent

LARKANA, Feb 19: University of Sindh Vice-Chancellor Mazharul Haq Siddiqui has said that a campus of the university will be opened in Larkana.

He was answering questions of journalists at a gathering here on Sunday. Mr Siddiqui hoped that which he said would go a long way in encouraging girl students to continue their studies.

He said pro-chancellor and Sindh Education Minister Dr Hamida Khuhro had talked to him in this regard and had told him that a summary for setting up the university branch in Larkana had been sent to the Sindh government.

He said the Institute of English Language and Literature would be inaugurated in the university within six months, adding that a building for the purpose was under construction.

Mr Siddiqui also hinted at reactivating the Sindh Science Society, saying he had talked to quarters concerned about the revival of the society.

http://www.dawn.com/2006/02/20/local25.htm

[Jilawatan]

Agri research for poverty alleviation stressed

By Our Staff Correspondent

FAISALABAD, Feb 20: Punjab Governor Khalid Maqbool has stressed the need for linking agricultural research with poverty alleviation by increasing farm production.

Speaking to participants of a two-day international wheat seminar held here at Ayub Agriculture Research Institute (AARI) on Monday, he said the government was taking elaborate measures to strengthen agricultural economy on sustainable grounds.

He said: “Farmers are the focal point of all these steps and in spite of our best efforts poverty is prevailing in rural areas and now we must take new result-oriented initiatives to bring about prosperity in rural areas.”

In this connection, the governor said improvement in agriculture marketing system, value addition in raw products and an over-all quantitative change in rural society were necessary measures.

He said farmers must know that which crop would give them better price at the time of harvesting. Similarly, value addition in farm products was also imperative to strengthen the agricultural economic system.

He said Pakistan was the fifth largest milk producing country in the world.

“We can produce a long chain of various value added products, right from packed milk, butter, cheese and yogurt to flavoured ice cream.”

The governor said it was imperative to encourage farmers and cattle breeders to increase their income by further enhancing the production of milk and meat.

He said best efforts were being made to transfer new technologies to farmers. Earlier, Indian scientist Raj K. Gupta, Pakistan Agricultural Research Council (PARC) chairman Dr Ehsan Tehseen and other scientists also spoke on the occasion.

Meanwhile, the governor sent 25 truckloads of food articles, medicines and tents arranged by local industrialists for earthquake victims.

He also distributed cheques among the deserving people and brilliant students during a ceremony arranged by the Punjab Baitul Maal.

http://www.dawn.com/2006/02/21/nat29.htm

[Jilawatan]

University’s achievements lauded

Bureau Report

HYDERABAD, Feb 25: The adviser to the Sindh chief minister on local government, Mr Waseem Akhtar, has said civilizations are often measured by their institutions of higher education.

He was speaking at the convocation of the Isra University here on Saturday.

Mr Akhtar observed that one did not need to be a genius to succeed in a mission, adding that many students possessing limited capabilities achieved excellence because of hard work.

Commending services of the Isra University, he said that in no time it had been rated one of the best universities of the province by the Charter Inspection and Evaluation Committee, appointed by the Sindh governor.

He congratulated the university administration for the achievement.

He said attaining recognition from the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council and the College of Physicians and Surgeons of Pakistan and inclusion of faculty of medicines and applied medical sciences in the World Directory of Medical Schools, recognized by the WHO and the Foundation for Advancement of International Medical Education and Research, was the result of enormous efforts.

He said he was also happy to note that the Isra University had been included in the list of medical institutions for representation on the PMDC.

Directly addressing students, he said they ought to realise that failing in an examination was no humiliation but copying or cheating was a deplorable and degrading act.

He said students should not be afraid of making mistakes because one seldom learnt if one did not make mistakes.

The adviser said excellent medical facilities at the Isra University Hospital were a welcome service to the community in Hyderabad in general and the rural population of Sindh in particular. He, however, said there was a need to provide quality service at affordable cost.

University chancellor Prof (Dr) Ghulam Qadir Kazi said it was a non-profit organization that stood to serve the mankind through education, healthcare and social welfare.

http://www.dawn.com/2006/02/26/nat35.htm

[Jilawatan]

KARACHI: 390 receive MBBS, BDS degrees: KMDC seats doubled

By Our Staff Reporter

KARACHI, Feb 28: As many as 390 graduates of medicine and dentistry programmes belonging to five batches of the Karachi Medical and Dental College (KMDC) were conferred University of Karachi degrees at a convocation held on Tuesday.

The Sindh governor and KU chancellor, Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan, who was chief guest of the ceremony, gave away medals to outstanding graduates. He also declared to double the existing number of admissions in MBBS and BDS programmes at the KMDC.

The convocation in question was the second in the history of the KMDC established in 1991 by the defunct KMC. The college is affiliated with the KU since its inception and is associated with the Abbasi Shaheed Hospital for clinical side training of its students.

Dr Ibad congratulated the graduating students and their parents on the day of convocation and said that now it was the turn of the graduates to work for the alleviation of the sufferings of the ailing humanity of the country.

He praised the dedication of teachers and the city government’s commitment to the cause of medical education and assured the college and hospital administrations that he would extend all possible support in improving the faculties and related affairs and quality of education.

Dr Ibad also announced to increase the number of MBBS and BDS seats from 50 to 100 and 25 to 50, respectively. Besides, he committed to give a grant of Rs10 million to the KMDC and Rs50,000, Rs30,000 and Rs20,000 as cash prizes to each of the first, second and third position holders of the college who were also awarded medals at the convocation.

In his address of welcome, the recently appointed principal, Prof Dr S.M. Abbas Hussain, said that the KMDC was the first public sector medical college run by a city government, while Abbasi Shaheed Hospital, which was the third biggest hospital of Karachi was its teaching hospital. The college could be considered as a trend setter in many ways as it was the first college which started admitting students to its two programmes from the very beginning through entry tests which had been conducted by external testing bodies of repute, he added.

He said that the quality of education given at the college could be gauged with the fact that the top three positions in BDS and MBBS annual exams were secured by the KMDC students repeatedly. The outgoing graduates of five batches have achieved over 150 distinctions in basic and clinical subjects of the MBBS and BDS, he informed.

Talking of the uplift works at the college, he said that recently some of the ongoing civil works pertaining to halls, gymnasium, lecture-halls, and seminar- halls had been completed and the college was now looking for funds for furnishing the facilities with furniture and other related accessories and machines.

We also need fund for maintenance and appointment of faculty on emergent basis to ensure further improvement in education and get the college ready for any enhanced intake of students, he remarked. He also urged the city government to provide new buses for students.

A member of the national assembly and founder chairman of the governing body of KMDC, Dr Farooq Sattar, said that the mission of the college was to provide comprehensive medical and dental health care education at the college, which was founded as a part of the vision of the chief of the Muttahida Qaumi Movement, Altaf Hussain.

He said that keeping in view the hardship of women students of Karachi admitted to Nawabshah College, the MQM leadership had decided to establish a college exclusively for women, which was later realized as a co-education college through an autonomous body under the supervision of the local government.

City Nazim Syed Mustafa Kamal, who is also the sitting chairman of the KMDC’s governing body, said that his government wanted to carry out more uplift works to make it one of the best medical colleges of the country.

He said that city government was committed to raise the status of the college to university level and the problems as mentioned in the principal’s report would be addressed accordingly. He said that the KMDC students would get new buses shortly.

The KU vice-chancellor, Dr Pirzada Qasim, conferred the MBBS and BDS degrees on graduates of classes of 2001 to 2005.

The recipients of best graduate award and gold, silver and bronze medals for securing first, second and third positions respectively in the college are as follows:

MBBS programme;

1st positions- Naveen Naz Syed, Asma Iqbal, Mufazzal Shabbir Rawala, Darakshan Sohail and Mohammad Hanif.

2nd positions- Saira Bano, Erum Abdul Qadir, Farah Raza, Aisha Aurangzeb and Naureen Jessani.

3rd positions- Batool M. Sharif, Saira, Nadia Naz Anis, Husna Ali and Rabia Javed.

BDS programme;

1st positions- Muneeza Khan, Zohair Mazhar Qureshi, Robia Ghafoor, Marium Zaheer and Fahad Umer.

2nd positions- Gul-i-Erum, Tanveer Fatima, Saman Hakeem, Sana Erum and Omair Majeed.

3rd positions- Faisal Aziz, Uzma Patel, Syeda Saba Hyder, Aiman Abbasi and Benish Sartaj.

http://www.dawn.com/2006/03/01/local8.htm

[Jilawatan]

Rs495m approved for IMS

Bureau Report

PESHAWAR, March 11: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has approved funds for the new campus building of the Institute of Management Sciences (IMS) which is to be built on 70 kanals of land.

The IMS, which grew out of the University of Peshawar and attained the status of an autonomous body in September 2005, wanted to construct a separate building in the face of the pressing need for space to accommodate the growing number of students.

The institute is currently functioning in three rented buildings.

“Funding was our main problem and this was the reason due to which construction of a new building could not be started so far,” said Dr Nasir Ali Khan, director of the IMS.

It is learnt that work on the first phase of the new building has started and the HEC has approved Rs495 million for the purpose.

The students would be shifted in a period of two years to the new block, said Mr Khan.1

http://www.dawn.com/2006/03/12/nat13.htm

[Jilawatan]

9 science and technology universities to be set up
By Shahid Hussain, Correspondent

Islamabad: Pakistan will set up nine world class science and technology universities by 2008 with foreign assistance, President General Pervez Musharraf said yesterday.

He said the institutions of higher learning would be established in collaboration with Italy, South Korea, Japan, France, Sweden, Netherland, Austria and Japan.

The president was addressing the 10th convocation of the GIK Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology at Swabi in the North West Frontier Province.

The institute, which is considered one of the best in the country, was set up by former president Ghulam Ishaq Khan.

Musharraf said to sustain its impressive economic growth Pakistan needed to produce highly qualified people and the government was focusing on human resource development.

"Pakistan is no more in the economic stagnation of 1990s and higher education budget which was Rs600 million in the past has now been raised to over Rs22 billion," he said.

Referring to the situation in the region, the president said despite the turbulent events Pakistan would maintain its pace of economic development.

"We are not facing any external threat; the threat is from within the country in the shape of extremism and terrorism," he said.

The president condemned the elements exploiting religion for their political ends and said that Islam teaches unity.

[Jilawatan]

HEC, France helping students in higher studies

ISLAMABAD: Since the year 2000, a total of 438 students from Pakistan have been admitted in different universities and colleges of France for higher studies. The Higher Education Commission (HEC) and the government of France financially supported the students.

According to the French Embassy, the number of students has been increasing over the years as only 17 students departed for France in 2000, while the number has increased to 147 in 2006. The French Embassy has provided funds for French language classes in Pakistan or in France for 100 students, along with helping the students for higher education in other subjects. The HEC has also provided students with fully funded PhD scholarships.

During the year 2005-2006, students belonging to different subjects were provided scholarships for higher study in France. A total of 75 students for Engineering and Technology, 27 for Physical Sciences, 21 for Life Sciences, 19 for Business Education, five for social Sciences and three for Arts and Humanities were provided scholarships.

Majority of the students belong to the top universities of Pakistan including UET, COMSATS, NUST, GIKIEST, NED, Punjab University, University of Agriculture Faisalabad and others.

The latest group of students will depart from Lahore and Islamabad for Paris, from where they will be driven by bus to their French language training centres in Grenoble, Tour, Colmar and Royan. There, they will receive two months of intensive French language training. Their courses in the French Universities will start in mid September.

A previous batch of students, who will complete their studies this year, will return in August.

According to the French Embassy a total of 147 Pakistani students will travel to France to obtain their PhD from French universities. This confirms the growing interest of Pakistani students in French higher education.

The students were put through a rigorous selection process, which was first conducted by the HEC and later they were later interviewed by French professors in May and November last year. After their selection, the students have attended intensive French classes at French Centres in Islamabad, Lahore, Karachi and Peshawar. A French officer has also been counselling them according to their goals and qualifications.

France has the world's fifth largest economy and generates five percent of the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) and is home to world-class manufacturing groups like Renault, Alcatel, Michelin, L'Oréal, Total, France Telecom, Carrefour and many others. Every year, $ 34 billion are spent on research in France and the country hosts a total of 185,000 researchers in public and private sectors, providing state of the art research facilities in its network of interdisciplinary graduate high schools. The students in France have the opportunity to train with some of the world's most successful companies.

France dedicates 23 percent of its national budget to education.

http://dailytimes.com.pk/default.as...9-6-2006_pg7_15

[Jilawatan]

210-day academic year from '07

ISLAMABAD, June 29: The federal education ministry on Thursday notified a new scheme of studies for classes I to XII, extending the number of annual academic days from 170 to 210 and making Islamiyat compulsory from class III-instead of class IV from next year.

Non-Muslim students have been given the option to study ethics in place of Islamiyat.

Computer education has been made compulsory from class VI. Physical training, arts and crafts, library sessions and after-school team sports have also been made compulsory.

The number of academic days in a year has been increased from 170 to 210.

The new scheme will be effective from 2007.

Science and maths would be taught in English by 2011, it was notified.

All middle schools will get computer labs within three years. Standard exams will be conducted at the end of class VIII to grant scholarships to students at the provincial and district levels.

Under the new scheme, students of classes I and II will be taught Urdu, English, mathematics and general knowledge, which will include short stories from Islamic history, science and social studies.

The provinces have the discretion to use their regional languages as medium of instruction and no student will be retained in classes I and II.

From class VI onwards, science, geography, history and computer education will be taught in addition to other compulsory subjects. Maths, science and computer education will be taught in English, whereas, for geography and history the medium of instruction can be Urdu or English up to 2011.

For classes IX and X in humanities group, Pakistan studies and three out of 22 elective subjects will be taught in addition to Urdu, English, maths and Islamiyat. Advanced Islamic studies has been introduced as an elective subject.

In the science group, physics, chemistry, biology and maths will be taught in English, whereas Islamiyat and Pakistan studies will be taught in Urdu.

At the higher secondary school level, there will be five academic groups — science group-I (pre-medical), science group-II (pre-engineering or computer science), humanities, commerce, medical technology and home economics.

In the pre-engineering group, maths, physics, chemistry or computer science will be taught in addition to the compulsory subjects of Islamiyat, Urdu and English.

In the humanities group, three out of 24 elective subjects, including advanced level Pakistan studies and Islamic studies etc, will be offered in addition to the compulsory subjects.

In the commerce group, business maths and statistics, principles of accounting, computer skills or banking, principles of economics and commercial geography will be taught in addition the three compulsory subjects.

In the medical technology group, labs, images, operation theatre, ophthalmology, physiotherapy and dental hygiene technologies will be taught in addition to the compulsory subjects.

In the home economics group, food and house management, food and nutrition, home farming, clothing, child development, group behaviour, child care and nursing will be taught in addition the compulsory subjects.

http://www.dawn.com/2006/06/30/top2.htm