Paris air show: European aerospace firms warn against cuts in state aid

 Airbus A380, the world's largest passenger plane, is one of the top exhibits at this year's Paris air show. Photograph H. Gousse/AP

Visitors to the Paris air show are immersed in the global nature of the aerospace business, mingling with more than 2,100 exhibitors from 45 countries as Russian helicopters, American 747s and Israeli drones compete for buyers' cheques against flypasts from French Rafale jets.

But Britain is a quiet power amid the sonic backdrop. It is the world's second-largest exporter of aerospace products, from engines to wings, and employs 96,500 people in an industry that generated British sales of £23.1bn last year, up 2% on 2009.

One of the dominant exhibits at Le Bourget airport is the Airbus A380 superjumbo parked between the showhalls and the runway. Although it is more commonly associated with mainland Europe and its French assembly base in Toulouse, Britain has played a significant part in its creation, with the wings built at a world-class facility in Broughton, north Wales.

Rolls-Royce is the home-grown pride and joy with its jet engine business, but major players also include EADS, parent of Airbus, which employs 17,000 people at 25 sites in Britain, including the Airbus plant at Filton, Bristol.

Tom Williams, head of Airbus UK and plane development, places aerospace in a triumvirate of world-leading British industries alongside pharmaceuticals and financial services.

"The UK government has tough budgetary challenges but our message is that you have got to have a growth strategy as well," he says. "I hate to use the term 'invest in winners' because that is anathema to government policy but you have to invest in the areas that are successful." Cuts in state funding for research and development are one concern. Of the £1.8bn spent on civil and defence R&D in the aerospace industry last year, about £430m came from the government. Airbus also invests in UK research and technology funds, the early-stage equivalent of R&D, where concepts are thrashed out, at higher education institutions such as Cranfield university.

"It is clearly important we have a good, strong relationship with UK research institutions," Williams continues. "We want to make sure from a government point of view that these institutions continue to be invested in. If you look at the tremendous success of the A320 it is easy to look back and say, 'That was a great investment' but that was research and technology done in the 1980s and here we are cashing in 20 or 30 years later."

Among established manufacturers there is an implicit concern that if research funding wanes, then nations such as Brazil, China and India will end up producing the workhorses of the sky in a few decades' time, rendering places like Broughton increasingly obsolete.

Randy Tinseth, head of marketing at Boeing, which employs more than 1,000 people in the UK, says the air travel market is increasingly "Asia-centric", with about 50% of all air traffic expected to fly in an and out of Asia in 20 years' time.

"You are going to be investing in markets where it will help you with access. If you develop your supplier and support network you have to consider all of these things," says Tinseth, whose company makes the 737 short-haul aircraft and wheeled out its extended 747 jumbo at Paris. However, he stressed that the UK will be one of Boeing's top five markets over the next 20 years.

Both Tinseth and Williams admit that the Boeing/Airbus duopoly is over. "It is a good thing. It is a fact of life and it will happen," says Williams. Airbus became a serious player in the late 1980s with the introduction of the A320 brand familiar to easyJet passengers. "Keep in mind that the Boeing Airbus duopoly has only existed for a short period of time."

The emergence of China, with Comac, and Brazil, with Embraer, as leading aircraft manufacturers also increases competition for engineering graduates – an area where Europe and the UK are lagging. European aerospace companies need about 12,000 new engineers a year, but the continent is producing only 9,000.

Thierry Baril, head of human resources at Airbus, says the company is creating 800 posts in the UK this year, from electricians to specialists in stress-testing. "In engineering we are fighting like hell to get the best." If UK universities are not producing enough aeronautical whiz-kids, a recruitment fair in China might be the next stop.

The prospect of enforced foreign expansion was also raised by Willie Walsh, the chief executive of British Airways' parent company, International Airlines Group.

Walsh told the Times CEO Summit BA had concluded that the construction of a third runway at Heathrow was "dead", and that the company was looking at space in cities such as Madrid. We will access growth outside of the UK.

• This article was amended on 22 June 2011. In the original, this sentence was accidentally attributed to Thierry Baril. The quote marks have now been deleted: "If UK universities are not producing enough aeronautical whiz-kids, a recruitment fair in China might be the next stop," he said.

Art clubs target talented children

 Hafizullah Karim’s drawing, which goes on show at Somerset House this week.

The young boy looks wistfully out of the window at the huge green expanse beyond, the darkness of his clothing – layered with tiny strokes of coloured pencil – contrasting with the airiness of the never-ending countryside.

This extraordinary drawing – which goes on show this week in a new exhibition at London's Somerset House – is not the work of a professional artist, but 14-year-old Leeds schoolboy Hafizullah Karim.

The exhibition spotlights the potential of more than 400 young people aged 14-16, showcasing their work in disciplines from drawing, painting and sculpture to photography, print-making, ceramics and digital graphics. All have taken part this year in the fledgling National Art and Design Saturday Club scheme, receiving free specialist tuition from their local art college.

The Saturday club is a modern version of an earlier incarnation, which bit the dust in the 1970s. The aim was – and is – to encourage disadvantaged youngsters to consider careers in the creative arts. So on Saturday mornings 14 art colleges – including Leeds, Plymouth, Hereford, Grimsby and Hastings – have been throwing their doors open to this group of young people who often struggling lengthy distances by public transport to get to the lessons.

Hafizullah seems surprised by the huge interest in his work since he won a place last year on the club run by Leeds College of Art. "I love art," he says. "It is my favourite subject at school, but I have learned so much from the Saturday Club. My tutors have encouraged me to be more adventurous in my style. In art, the more you do, the better you are. I have worked with clay, done graphics and also used watercolours." He explains that for this work, he originally took a photograph of himself sitting by the window at home but adapted it for the drawing – which he completed in about a week and a half – substituting the urban views outside for countryside. "The outside world and nature are so important to us all," he says, declaring himself an admirer of the Impressionists.

His love of the outdoor space may reflect the earlier restrictions in his life. Hafizullah's family left Afghanistan when he was three to live in Pakistan while his father went to find work in Leeds. The youngster honed his drawing skills at the afterschool Ghoighola Art Class in Quetta, which he attended for four years.

In February last year, he and the rest of his family moved to the area and he joined year 9 at City of Leeds high school. He won a place at the Saturday Club after the school's head of art, Catherine Walsh, recommended him as exceptionally gifted.

This year, more than 400 young people attending 100 schools in the UK have taken part in Saturday Club – funded predominantly by the private Sorrell Foundation to the tune of £150,000 a year – but it is hoped to increase this number to 500 next year. It is estimated that there are a further 100 UK colleges that could offer the programme using existing facilities, and the aim is to "scale it up" each year to allow more young people to take part.

The scheme targets 14- to 16-year-olds who have already shown evidence of artistic talent – many from challenging social backgrounds – who are still weighing up their academic options after GCSE and are yet to decide whether to pursue further or higher education. While the regular classes offer the kind of tuition and facilities that most secondary schools could only dream of, they are supplemented by "Master classes" given by renowned artists and designers such as Antony Gormley, Thomas Heatherwick and Naomi Cleaver. This brings the best of inspirational British art and design talent to youngsters from poorer backgrounds who might not otherwise be able to tap into such creativity, along with opportunities for longer-term mentoring. All students are also taken to London for a day – for many their first visit – for tours of major galleries.

Also studying at the Leeds club is Nida Mozuraite, a 16-year-old student at Morley Academy, who came to the UK with her family from Lithuania six years ago. She has been getting up regularly on Saturday mornings at 8am to travel to Leeds for the three-hour sessions. "I have got used to getting up early and I do it because I enjoy it," she says. "I have made lots of new friends and also been introduced to techniques I would not have been able to use at school. The tutors treat you like grownups, not children." Nida is just finishing her GCSEs and plans to study full-time at the college on its BTec national (extended) diploma in art and design in September.

The clubs' success is reflected in high attendance rates – no mean feat given that Saturday mornings are a time when you would expect most teenagers to be chilling out or hanging around with their mates – if they manage to drag themselves out of bed at all. Last year, Leeds College of Art received 80 applications for just 25 places, while at Plymouth College of Art some students happily undertake a 60-mile round trip to attend classes.

The clubs use existing resources, but the art college lecturers (helped by student volunteers) have to give up their valuable time on a Saturday to teach – a considerable sacrifice at the end of a busy week.

The drive to expand the programme into a fully national one is given extra impetus given the cuts to arts education funding that threaten to constrict the supply of talent to colleges, universities and, ultimately, the creative sector in the UK. Similarly, many teachers fear that art GCSE is at risk if schools have to comply with the new EBacc curriculum – which for the same reasons could also lead to design technology being downgraded.

Plymouth College of Art's club has been running for five years, and last year 38% of club members went on to take up courses at the college. An enthusiastic "veteran" is 15-year-old Ben Lintell, whose striking photographic work for a magazine project features in the exhibition. "I have done everything from old-style poster printing to pinhole photography, which has been great," he says. "The sky's the limit in terms of what you are taught, and I have also enjoyed the chance to work collaboratively."

Fellow member 14-year-old Eleanor James-George says: "I would very much like to go on to study at Plymouth College of Art. I have really enjoyed screen-printing T-shirts with photographs, and using  darkroom equipment, enlargers etc that we do not have at school."

Alumni of the original 1970s art clubs included designers John and Frances Sorrell (who went on to form design consultancy Newell and Sorrell and who set up the Sorrell Foundation) and advertising genius John Hegarty of Bartle Bogle Hegarty.

Sir John Sorrell reflects: "This strikes me as something the government should support as it is all about localism in action. Frances and I were lucky that we could start our careers in a Saturday morning art and design class when we were 14 years old, and by the age of 19 I was running my own business. We believe the club offers a real pathway for youngsters to develop their skills and confidence, and find worthwhile and rewarding careers. Just as we did."

• The exhibition is open until 17 July, admission free.

KU improvement of division forms

KU forms
Karachi, June 14: The registrar of the University of Karachi, Prof Kaleem Raza Khan, has announced that the registration forms of BA, BCom, BOL and improvement of division (BA, BCom and BSc) can be submitted from June 15 to July 14 at the bank counter at the university's Silver Jubilee Gate along with a fee of Rs2,300.

The registrar has also announced that the registration forms of MA (private) can be submitted up to June 25 at the bank counter at the Silver Jubilee Gate. ppi

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Education expo gets overwhelming response from students
Karachi: HS Consultants held an exhibition 'Education UK Expo 2011' at a local hotel in Karachi. The two day event went off successfully as prestigious institutions from the United Kingdom joined hands with HS Consultants in the success of the event. The response of the event was overwhelming and students actively participated.

HS Consultants used conventional and unconventional ways of marketing to get maximum response from students at the exhibition. For the same reason, it joined hands with the Jang Group of Newspapers to get maximum response from students.

The main objective of the event was to get the students admitted to their desired educational institutes. This was the second exhibition of its kind as HS Consultants had held a similar event in the past.

Participating institutions included Kent University, Leeds Trinity University College, Teeside University, London College of Accountancy, London School of Commerce, Bucks New University, Langside College Glasgow, London Metropolitan University, Glasgow Caledonian University, London School of Business and Finance, Bradford College University Centre, Hertfordshire University, Middlesex University, Robert Gordon University and University of Derby.

The groups who took part included the International Study Group ISG, INTO and Navitas. The British Council was represented by the IELTS stall.

Representatives of the institutions extended their full support and were happy with the arrangements.

HS Consultants is a counseling source for students seeking international education. There has been an increase in the number of students aspiring for education in different destinations throughout the world.

HS Consultants is an ISO-certified company and through the years has maintained a proven record of placing thousands of students in the UK and the USA. Backed by the British Council, HS has been a true counselor and consultant to the students wanting to study abroad.

HS not only provides professional career advice but also everything from help in courses and university selection to admission and visa processing all under a single roof.

The Director of the HS Consultants, Humail Khan, was very satisfied with the outcome of the event. "These events not only provide opportunities to the students to get information about their careers, but also give them a variety of universities to choose from." He plans to take the company to new levels.

HS Consultants thanked all the participating institutions for their enthusiastic participation and involvement in the education expo.

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Over 200 CDGK schools not functioning
Karachi: The city government has 228 schools which are not functioning, and all these schools are located in the less developed areas of the city.

This was stated at a meeting held at the DCO Camp Office here on Monday to discuss the modalities for adopting the non-functional educational institutions.

During the meeting, Administrator Karachi Muhammad Hussain Syed asked the business community to invest in the education sector on a no-profit basis so that the children of the poor could also acquire quality education.

Meanwhile, the administrator has also formed a committee to improve the standard of education at schools run by the city government.

The committee, which is headed by Muhammad Saeed Shafiq, president of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce & Industry (KCCI), would submit a report within a week on the improvement of education in these schools. The news

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IIUI water supply remains disconnected
Islamabad: The International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI) is without water after the Capital Development Authority (CDA) discontinued the supply over a year back.

"The civic body last June abruptly discontinued the university's water supply without any notice or warning. There have been several meetings since then but the water supply has not been restored," said an official with the IIUI.

The university has three tubewells in running condition; another two are being installed to meet the increasing water demand on the campus ? all from the university's own budget.

"The shortage is troubling the management and the students. It's going to be a while before the other two tubewells will become operational but the university will still need sufficient water to meet the needs of nearly 22,000 to 23,000 students and staff on the campus. "We have nearly 12,000 students who are children of the taxpaying citizens of Islamabad and Rawalpindi and they need this basic service," the official said.

According to IIUI, the university followed CDA guidelines to lay a water pipeline specifically for this purpose costing Rs4.6 million over 11 years ago.

Worst even was the fact that unlike all other sectors there was no water filtration plant on the campus, the official said, adding how CDA had confused priorities ? spending millions on widening the Kashmir Highway when residents were without even clean drinking water.

"The authority has installed filtration plants in every sector even in jungles and they have water for the H-9 nursery but not in Sector H-12 home to thousands of students," the official said.However, CDA spokesman Ramzan Sajid said the civic authority was not bound to provide water to the university.

"There is no such agreement in writing. In fact, it was made clear that the university would install tubewells to draw water for its requirements."

According to the official, CDA had to discontinue the university's water supply because the source was running dry.

There had been protests when the water supply was cut off, said the CDA official, adding this was exactly what the authority had explained to IIUI that it would have to produce its own water.Water for IIUI is not the only concern for its administration. The university has no service to take away its solid waste produced by 20,000 students and staff every day.

"A CDA garbage truck used to go there and take away rubbish from the campus but that too stopped service recently," the official said, adding how fumigation on the campus was as important as in other sectors. Dawn

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Summer camps opposed

Parents, teachers oppose summer camps
Rawalpindi, June 02: Parents and teachers here on Tuesday opposed Punjab government's decision to allow summer camps during vacations in public and private schools.

Unlike previous years, the provincial government issued a notification allowing private and government schools to hold compulsory summer camps from 7:30am to 10:30am for class 5th, 8th, 9th and 10th from June 1 to August 14.

The summer vacations in private schools will be observed from June 15 to September 5. However, the provincial education department ordered them to follow the summer vacation schedule issued by it.

But parents were of the view that the summer camps had been allowed just to enable private schools to earn more money by charging extra fees. "The concept of summer vacation is to provide relief to children from the hot weather and if that relief is not there the government should abolish the summer vacations," said Mohammad Tahir, a resident of Satellite Town.

He said how parents could send their children to school in the sweltering heat of June and July. "The holding of compulsory summer camps for class 5th and 8th is unfair as mostly families planned trips to their native towns or hilly areas," he said.

Irfan Siddiqui, a resident of Westridge, said during the hot weather children would suffer from heatstroke and other seasonal diseases.

The teachers of government schools also expressed resentment over the decision, saying summer camps in government educational institutes for class 5th and 8th was unjustifiable.

"The provincial government issued the compulsory summer camps directives just to please private school owners which can bring them extra money," said Saghir Alam, the president of Punjab Teachers Union's Rawalpindi chapter, while talking to this reporter .

He said teachers had no problem in performing duties during the summer vacations but it would be difficult for the students. He said government schools also lacked basic facilities like fans and water.

Teachers and parents, he added, were planning to protest against the government decision.

On the other hand, private school owners said the decision to hold the summer camps was in the best interest of the students. "The students of class 5th, 8th, 9th and 10th have suffered a lot during the last few days as textbooks were not available in the market and classes started late," said Ibrar Ahmed Khan, the president of All Pakistan Private Schools Management Association, Rawalpindi.

He said government schoolteachers remained busy in house census and anti-polio drives during the last few months. "The summer camps will also provide an opportunity to government schools to complete their study plans before examinations," he said.

The district education officials said the department would enforce the government directives regarding summer camps.

They said a conveyance allowance of Rs2,000 each would be provided to the teachers during the summer camps.

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Summer vacation began
Karachi: Students of most public and private schools and colleges in Sindh attended their last day at their institutions.

The summer vacation begins from June 1 and will continue till July 31. The summer vacation in some private schools in the city began last week while some other institutions have set the starting date of their own choice. Dawn

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Balochistan varsity professor killed in Quetta
Quetta: Professor Dr Saba Dashtiyari, a senior member of the faculty of University of Balochistan, was gunned down by some unidentified armed men on the Sariab Road in the provincial capital on Wednesday afternoon.

The police said that Prof Dashtiyari of the Islamic Studies department of UoB was out for an evening walk on the main Sariab Road when two unidentified armed men, riding a motorcycle, appeared and opened fire on him. Dr Dashtiyari sustained multiple bullet wounds and succumbed to his injuries on the spot. The police reached the spot and shifted the body to the Civil Hospital.

A large number of teachers and students of the UoB reached the Civil Hospital and mourned the killing of Dr Dashtiari. Later, the body was dispatched to Karachi for burial.

Dr Dashtiyari was associated with the UoB for the last three decades. He was born in 1953 in Lyari area of Karachi. After completing his primary and higher education from Karachi, he joined the UoB and his association with the varsity lasted till his death.

The friends of Dr Dashtiyari remember him as a humble, sociable and down to earth human being, who had a good circle of friends in the university and outside. He had authored several books and laid the foundation of a premier Balochi language academy in Karachi.

Meanwhile, the UoB has been closed for three days from today (Thursday) to mourn the killing of Professor Dashtiyari. Balochistan and Pashtoon nationalists parties strongly condemned the killing. Pashtoonkhawa Milli Awami Party (PkMAP) in a press statement strongly condemned the killing.

Balochistan Governor Nawab Zulfiqar Ali Magsi has expressed grief and sorrow over the killing of Dr Dashtiyari. In a statement, the governor prayed that may Allah almighty rest the departed soul in eternal peace and give courage to the bereaved family to bear the tragic loss. The news

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BCom paper protest at PU

KU announces BSc Annual Exam result
Karachi, June 21: Girls bagged all the top three positions in the BSc (Pass) Annual Examination 2010 of the University of Karachi (KU). KU announced the result of BSc (Pass) Part II/both parts on Monday. Sadaf Nazir of DJ Sindh Govt Science College stood first by securing 1,242 marks out of the maximum 1,600. Mishal Maria of DHA Degree College for Women with 1,233 marks remained second. The third position went to Jaweria of the DJ Sindh Govt Science College with 1,224 marks. According to statistics, a total of 3,277 candidates appeared in the examination and the pass percentage was 30.66. A KU statement said that the marks certificates would be issued in due course of time. app

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Students protest against BCom paper
Lahore: A number of students, taking out a rally at the Punjab University (PU), on Monday strongly protested against the alleged out-of-syllabus question paper of BCom, Part-II (Business Law).

The rally, organised by the Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT), started at PU New Campus and culminated at the vice-chancellor's house where the protestors also chanted slogans.

The students alleged that the paper held on June 17, 2011 was out of syllabus owing to which they could not attempt it properly. The students also went out of the campus and blocked the road outside PU New Campus Gate No 2 for quite some time. However, PU controller of Examinations Prof Dr Liaqat said the question paper was not out of syllabus and some students who could not attempt it properly were behind the Monday's protest.

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PU results
Lahore: Punjab University on Monday announced the results of various examinations. The exams include BS Computer Science, First Year, Second Year and Third Year, 2nd Annual Exam 2009 and 1st Annual Exam 2010 and LLM, Final, Annual Exam 2010 and Annual Exam 2011. The news

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BISE online facility shuts down, school authorities aghast
Lahore: The online admission facility provided by the Lahore Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) was shut down before due date, consequently creating problems for owners and principals of different schools who were yet to register students for class 9 annual examinations.

The school owners claimed that the board officials, instead of shutting down the facility after the passage of the last date, closed the online registration during the day hours on the last day of submission.

The last date of submission for online applications was May 31, which was later extended to June 8, however, the candidates and school owners had time to provide the hard copies of candidates' documents till June 15.

The website was to close at 12am on June 9 but it was shut down on the evening of June 8. A large number of school owners failed to submit the application of students owing to unannounced load shedding and early closure of website. A school owner, seeking anonymity said that he had to submit the application of more than 500 students of his school. He said that due to unannounced load shedding, he was unable to submit the applications on time.

"I had to complete the registration of my school students till the evening of June 8, however, I was unable to do so due to the nonstop load shedding that day," he said. The owner said that due to the load shedding in his area, he went to a relative's house, living in some other area, to complete the submission process. "However, upon opening the website, I was shocked to find out that the facility had been shut down," he said, adding, "I approached the board officials the very next day but they clearly denied that the website was closed on the evening of June 8."

Separately, another school principal said that he sent the hard copies of documents through courier on June 14, but the board officials rejected the courier. He said that despite having knowledge about the electricity problems, the officials are not ready to compromise and refuse to listen to the problems being faced by school owners, which is completely "unfair".

He also said that the BISE website remains busy and the server of the website was almost always unreachable. He added, "Whenever I tried to contact the IT Incharge of Lahore Board, Majid Naeem, he refused to talk properly and did not listen to my problem."

The board officials on other hand, denied all the allegations, saying that the school owners were themselves to blame since owing to their laziness, they failed to submit the applications before the due date.

BISE Secretary Mushtaq Ahmad Tahir said, "It is the fault of the school owners who were unable to submit the applications before due date." However, he added, people who were unable to submit applications can apply again when the facility is reopened from July 1 to July 9.

When asked about the unavailability of IT Incharge, Majid Naeem, he said that Naeem was a BISE consultant and answering to people's queries was not his job. "If anybody has problems or any questions, he/she should contact me, not Majid Naeem," he said. Daily times

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Of those who make it to GCU hall of fame
Lahore: The Government College University this past week celebrated the extraordinary performances of its 26 best debaters, singers and instrumentalists in the national competitions during the academic year 2010-11.

At a ceremony at university's Syndicate Committee Room hosted by Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Ikramul Haq, GCU Debating Society Adviser (English) Siddique Awan said the Society had performed exceptionally well this year and was all set to break its own record of winning 148 oratory awards in one academic year.

Although the declamation had historically been GCU's strong point, he said, the debating society in recent years had made its mark in extemporary public speaking.

GCU Nazir Ahmad Music Society (NAMS) in-charge Tariq Farani said music was a purist form of art and the most essential part of all the cultures on this earth. Its expression by human beings and by instruments had been continued since the dawn of human evolution, he said.

"The NAMS has been playing its role in honing the capabilities of students and helping them become a little bit professional in the field of music along with their academics," said Mr Farani.

Stating that the Society had secured top positions in all the music competitions, Mr Farani said the NAMS clean swept the All-Pakistan Music Conference with overall six distinctions and lifted the prestigious Syed Wajid Ali Trophy. It also lifted the team trophy for the sixth consecutive year at the 10th All-Pakistan Music Festival held at Chand Bagh School, beating the singers from 72 top educational institutions in the country.

Congratulating students on their great performances in the national competitions, VC Prof Haq said the co-curricular activities especially debates played a vital role in grooming of students. He said such debates taught students how to disagree with others while paying respect to their faiths and ideas.

He said the GCU had always promoted the culture of tolerance and intellect through debates, seminars and publications. Being the bastion of liberal education in Pakistan, he said, the GCU had nurtured some of the most prominent luminaries of the world.

Meanwhile, the GCU Debating Society also honoured the late Mohib Raza, one of the most promising orators of GCU who was murdered last week during a private visit to a tourist resort in Northern Areas.

At the condolence reference attended by a large number of Old Ravians, GCU Debating Society Adviser (Urdu) Dr Haroon Qadir said Mohib Raza had won more than 30 prestigious oratory awards during his three-year stint at GCU.

The GCU Debating Society also passed a resolution, requesting the committee concerned to award the GCU Roll of Honour to the late Mohib Raza posthumously as he had qualified for it by winning laurels for the university at the national debating events.

The reference meeting also proposed to name after Mohib Raza the prestigious trophy of the GCU Annual Safdar Meer Punjabi Takra. Dawn

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Rs 250m soft loans for PEF schools
Lahore: The Bank of Punjab has allocated Rs 250 million for the distribution of soft loans among the eligible schools partnered with the Punjab Education Foundation under its Foundation Assisted Schools (FAS) and New School Programme (NSP).

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in this regard between The Bank of Punjab (BoP) and the Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) at BoP Tower on Monday. Besides BoP President Naeemuddin Khan and PEF Chairman Raja Muhammad Anwar who signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organisations, the ceremony was also attended by MD PEF Ms Ambreen Raza, DMD (F) Salman Anwar Malik and BoP Chief Manager Tariq Aziz.

Maximum amount of loan will be up to monthly instalment of schools with cap of Rs 500,000. This soft loan, which will have no processing fee, will be available to about 2,000 FAS and NSP partner schools of the PEF.

The Punjab Education Foundation will act as a guarantor of this loan which will be utilised to improve the schools' infrastructures. According to terms of loan, it will have repayment period from one year to three years. Raja Anwar expressed the hope that the initiative would benefit the partner schools, and students would be the ultimate beneficiaries. The news

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Legal profession needs more than an aptitude test to cut graduate surplus | Neil Rose

 Many graduates who get on to the legal practice course will fail to pass it, and those who do pass may not be able to get work. Photograph: Christopher Furlong/Getty Images

Is the legal profession luring young people into training to be a solicitor or barrister at huge cost when their prospects of making a career out of it are, at best, slim?

Lawyers have been stressing about this for some time now and it is an issue that raises great passions, as evidenced by the reaction when I first wrote last September about the Law Society investigating whether to introduce an aptitude test for the legal practice course (LPC), something the Bar Standards Board is already piloting for would-be barristers.

Well, the verdict is now in, kind of. The report, by a psychologist specialising in selection systems, does not come to a conclusion either way, but says there could be a number of benefits from using an aptitude test to exclude law students who are most likely to be in the 10-20% who fail the LPC – saving them up to £13,000 in course fees and potentially improving the learning experience for those who make it on to the course.

But, as the report recognises, this would not solve the more pressing problem of too many students and not enough training contracts for them to go on to. To do this, you would have to squeeze either the number on the LPC in the first place – by lifting the level required of an aptitude test beyond those who will probably fail it, or making a 2:1 the minimum standard for entry, rather than a 2:2 as now – or the number who make it through, by raising the pass mark and limiting resits.

Clear justification would be needed for any of these steps in an era of open markets. The report also highlights concerns about the impact on diversity of cognitive skills-based aptitude tests, as those with "limited educational opportunities" will generally perform worse.

At the same time, the report notes: "One advantage of cognitive tests is that they provide an independent opportunity for a person to show their ability where external life circumstances have led to underperformance in academic assessments."

The research undertaken for the report – including a survey of 1,000 students and solicitors – found greater support for a voluntary, rather than compulsory, test. This would make it a tool for individuals rather than the profession, allowing the more self-aware student to check they were up to the LPC before committing time and money to it.

Perhaps more damning of the profession and law schools, the research identified as "a common theme" the need for better information about the real costs and difficulties of training to be a solicitor. The same undoubtedly goes for the bar, although the Bar Council has been quite proactive of late in improving the information it provides.

This debate has now been subsumed by Review 2020, a comprehensive review of legal education and training being undertaken by the profession's three main regulators – the Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA), Bar Standards Board and ILEX Professional Standards – meaning the Law Society will not take the aptitude test idea further itself.

The review will hopefully place it in a wider context, including the analysis from the leading legal academic Prof Richard Moorhead that the surplus of LPC graduates is very much a temporary phenomenon and there is a risk of over-reaction. That context will also include the SRA's work-based learning pilot, which could enable LPC graduates to qualify as solicitors from paralegal roles. Indeed, should LPC graduates be able to call themselves solicitors at the point of qualification, and only need further training and qualification to handle those areas of work which legally you have to be a lawyer to undertake, as the College of Law has proposed?

The review is much needed and has a very heavy agenda – but that will be of no consolation whatsoever to those students now pursuing a dream that is unlikely to become a career.

Neil Rose is the editor of legalfutures.co.uk

Manhandling of KU teacher

FUUAST convocation to be held on June 22
Karachi, June 08: Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology (FUUAST) convocation will be held at its Gulshan-i-Iqbal Campus on June 22. This was announced by the spokesperson of the institution on Tuesday. The passing out graduates have been asked to collect their registration cards from the Gulshan-i-Iqbal Campus from June 10 between 09:30am to 12:30pm.

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Universities must conduct joint research of environmental issue'
Karachi: The universities should jointly conduct research to help tackle the growing problem of environmental pollution. This was stressed by Vice-Chancellor Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology (FUUAST) Prof Dr Muhammad Qaiser. He was speaking at a seminar organised by the FUUAST at its premises here, an official of the institution said on Tuesday. Chairman Port Qasim Authority (PQA) Admiral (r) Muhammad Shafi was the chief guest. He pointed out that the biggest mangroves in the country are at the PQA. Admiral Shafi said that endeavours are being undertaken constantly for the protection and promotion of the mangroves. A senior faculty member at the FUUAST Prof Dr Moinuddin was of the view that latest scientific methods should be used to tackle the problem of industrial pollution. app

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Manhandling of KU teacher slammed
Karachi: The Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology (Fuuast) teachers' association (Abdul Haq Campus) on Tuesday condemned the alleged manhandling of Prof Dr Fayyaz Veed of the University of Karachi by some hooligans and demanded stern action against the culprits.

President of the Anjuman-i-Asatiza Dr Abdul Ghafoor Baloch and secretary-general Professor Nasir Abbas said the lobbiesbehind such acts of violence could not browbeat the teacher community. ppi

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MBBS exam result
Karachi: The University of Karachi on Tuesday announced the result of the MBBS Second Professional Annual Examinations 2011. According to statistics, 441 candidates appeared in the examinations and of them 277 were declared successful with the pass percentage of 62.81. A Karachi University official said that mark sheets were being issued at colleges. The news

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HSC exams second phase began

Second phase of HSC exams begins
Karachi, June 22: The second phase of Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSC) Part I and II (private and regular) Annual Examination-2011 of Commerce (private), Humanities (private and regular), special candidates and Diploma in Physical Education commenced on Tuesday.

The candidates of commerce (private) group appeared in the paper of Pakistan Studies-II and students of Humanities (private and regular) group appeared in the papers of Urdu Advance-II, Arabic-II, Persian-II, Sindhi and English Elective-II and Mathematics-II.

During the exam, 18 unfair means cases (UFM) were also reported. The UFM cases have been referred to the committee of the Board, who would review the matter before giving due punishments to the responsible candidates, Chairman Board of Intermediate Education Karachi (BIEK), Anwar Ahmed Zai said.

"Our teachers and examiners have put their lives at risk and are receiving threats from the candidates, who are involved in using unfair means during the exams. Unfortunately, the authorities concerned have not deployed the personnel of law enforcement agencies at the examination centres to control the situation," he said.

According to the BIEK chairman, 22,669 candidates of Commerce (private) were enrolled to appear in the morning shift, while 19,777 candidates of Humanities (regular) were registered in the afternoon shift.

In Commerce (private) faculty, 6,087 male and 2,611 female candidates were enrolled in the part-I examinations, while 10, 210 male and 3,761 female students appeared in the part-II exams, he said.

In Humanities (regular) group, 1,174 male and 8,517 female candidates would appear in part-I exams, whereas 1,143 male and 8,943 female students appeared in Part-II exams, he further said. Furthermore, 1,624 male and 3,483 female candidates of Humanities (private) would appear in the Part-I paper and 7,405 male and 8,026 female students appeared in the Part-II examination in the same group, he added. The news

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SPSC results
Hyderabad: The Sindh Public Service Commission has announced the result of pre-interview written test for posts of Lecturers in English and Chemistry, BPS-17. Dawn

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FUUAST VC forms committee to restore peace on the campus
Karachi: Vice Chancellor (VC) Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology (FUUAST) Dr Muhammad Qaiser had formed a nine member committee, which will devise ways to restore peace in the campus. The committee will take on board the political parties that are the patrons of the student parties in the university.

The step has been taken by the vice chancellor after the fierce clashes took place between the activists of the two political parties on June 13, in which one was killed, while many others suffered injuries. The university was immediately closed and all teaching activities, besides exams and the annual convocation that was scheduled to be held on June 22 were postponed.

FUUAST VC said that the university administration had become fed up with the continued strife by the student parties therefore; it has decided to include their parent organisations to restore peace and normalcy in the campus.

"We are really sorry that the university has become a fighting arena of the student parties and the academic programmes are affected. This university is the federal university in public sector and the students are admitted on purely merit basis from all over Pakistan. These students belong to poor, lower middle and middle classes and cannot afford the cessation of their studies. Their parents send them here for education in the hope that they will become the bread earners of the family and provide some comfort to their parents. This is not possible if the student parties continue to fight. So we have decided to take into confidence various political parties to tell them to advise and control their student wings", Dr Qaiser informed this correspondent.

The members of the committee comprises of Senior Professor of the Mass Communication Department Dr Tauseef Ahmed Khan, Dean Faculty of Business Administration Dr Salman D Muhammad, Dr Abdul Malik from the Social Work Department, Prof Syed Nasir Abbas, who is the Senator of the university; Student Adviser Muhammad Afzal, Campus Officer Prof Saleemuddin Ahmed from Geology Department, Chairman Physics Department Prof Rashid Ali Kalwar, Controller of Examinations Prof Waqarul Hasan and Prof Muhammad Iqbal from the Statistics Department.

Dr Tauseef said that it was also the responsibility of the political parties to control their student wings. "We cannot go on like this. Now it is the turn of the political parties to feel their responsibility and stop their student wings from rampage and bloodshed in the university. We are contacting the Awami National Party (ANP), Muttahida Qaumi Movement (MQM), Jamaat-e-Islami (JI), Jeay Sindh Party and others. Many of them have promised that they will control their student wings. Others are also cooperating. We are very optimistic", Dr Khan explained.

Dr Salman pointed out the moral decline in the society and requested the media to run awareness campaign for the students and their parents to let them know that engaging in such activities would ruin their careers.

"The civil society, the parents, teachers and of course the political parties have to come together and devise a solution that would end this meaningless confrontation. We should be allowed to pursue our academic goal and students should understand that it is in their interest to maintain peace in the university" he stated. The news

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Old Aligarhian Owais Qarni visits SSUET
Karachi: Owais Mustafa Qarni, an old Aligarhian and a former secretary to Sindh government, Tuesday visited Sir Syed University of Engineering and Technology (SSUET), established by Aligarh Muslim University Old Boys Association (AMUOB). Qarni, who is on a visit to Pakistan, said as an Aligarhian he fully endorses the fact that this university is the fulfilment of a dream of great educationist and reformer Sir Syed Ahmed Khan. It shows the commitment of Old Boys of Aligarh Muslim University towards the fulfilment of the cause propagated by Sir Syed Ahmed Khan, he remarked. On the occasion Chancellor of SSUET, ZA Nizami, informed this university is imparting latest knowledge in various disciplines of engineering and its graduates were today showing their mettle in various parts of the world. He said the university provides all out help to its graduates in getting a gainful job and for this purpose, its department of Career Planning and Placement Bureau is extending useful support. app

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KU BSc examination 2010 result

KU announces BSc Annual Exam result
Karachi, June 21: Girls bagged all the top three positions in the BSc (Pass) Annual Examination 2010 of the University of Karachi (KU). KU announced the result of BSc (Pass) Part II/both parts on Monday. Sadaf Nazir of DJ Sindh Govt Science College stood first by securing 1,242 marks out of the maximum 1,600. Mishal Maria of DHA Degree College for Women with 1,233 marks remained second. The third position went to Jaweria of the DJ Sindh Govt Science College with 1,224 marks. According to statistics, a total of 3,277 candidates appeared in the examination and the pass percentage was 30.66. A KU statement said that the marks certificates would be issued in due course of time. app

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Students protest against BCom paper
Lahore: A number of students, taking out a rally at the Punjab University (PU), on Monday strongly protested against the alleged out-of-syllabus question paper of BCom, Part-II (Business Law).

The rally, organised by the Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT), started at PU New Campus and culminated at the vice-chancellor's house where the protestors also chanted slogans.

The students alleged that the paper held on June 17, 2011 was out of syllabus owing to which they could not attempt it properly. The students also went out of the campus and blocked the road outside PU New Campus Gate No 2 for quite some time. However, PU controller of Examinations Prof Dr Liaqat said the question paper was not out of syllabus and some students who could not attempt it properly were behind the Monday's protest.

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PU results
Lahore: Punjab University on Monday announced the results of various examinations. The exams include BS Computer Science, First Year, Second Year and Third Year, 2nd Annual Exam 2009 and 1st Annual Exam 2010 and LLM, Final, Annual Exam 2010 and Annual Exam 2011. The news

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BISE online facility shuts down, school authorities aghast
Lahore: The online admission facility provided by the Lahore Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) was shut down before due date, consequently creating problems for owners and principals of different schools who were yet to register students for class 9 annual examinations.

The school owners claimed that the board officials, instead of shutting down the facility after the passage of the last date, closed the online registration during the day hours on the last day of submission.

The last date of submission for online applications was May 31, which was later extended to June 8, however, the candidates and school owners had time to provide the hard copies of candidates' documents till June 15.

The website was to close at 12am on June 9 but it was shut down on the evening of June 8. A large number of school owners failed to submit the application of students owing to unannounced load shedding and early closure of website. A school owner, seeking anonymity said that he had to submit the application of more than 500 students of his school. He said that due to unannounced load shedding, he was unable to submit the applications on time.

"I had to complete the registration of my school students till the evening of June 8, however, I was unable to do so due to the nonstop load shedding that day," he said. The owner said that due to the load shedding in his area, he went to a relative's house, living in some other area, to complete the submission process. "However, upon opening the website, I was shocked to find out that the facility had been shut down," he said, adding, "I approached the board officials the very next day but they clearly denied that the website was closed on the evening of June 8."

Separately, another school principal said that he sent the hard copies of documents through courier on June 14, but the board officials rejected the courier. He said that despite having knowledge about the electricity problems, the officials are not ready to compromise and refuse to listen to the problems being faced by school owners, which is completely "unfair".

He also said that the BISE website remains busy and the server of the website was almost always unreachable. He added, "Whenever I tried to contact the IT Incharge of Lahore Board, Majid Naeem, he refused to talk properly and did not listen to my problem."

The board officials on other hand, denied all the allegations, saying that the school owners were themselves to blame since owing to their laziness, they failed to submit the applications before the due date.

BISE Secretary Mushtaq Ahmad Tahir said, "It is the fault of the school owners who were unable to submit the applications before due date." However, he added, people who were unable to submit applications can apply again when the facility is reopened from July 1 to July 9.

When asked about the unavailability of IT Incharge, Majid Naeem, he said that Naeem was a BISE consultant and answering to people's queries was not his job. "If anybody has problems or any questions, he/she should contact me, not Majid Naeem," he said. Daily times

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Of those who make it to GCU hall of fame
Lahore: The Government College University this past week celebrated the extraordinary performances of its 26 best debaters, singers and instrumentalists in the national competitions during the academic year 2010-11.

At a ceremony at university's Syndicate Committee Room hosted by Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Ikramul Haq, GCU Debating Society Adviser (English) Siddique Awan said the Society had performed exceptionally well this year and was all set to break its own record of winning 148 oratory awards in one academic year.

Although the declamation had historically been GCU's strong point, he said, the debating society in recent years had made its mark in extemporary public speaking.

GCU Nazir Ahmad Music Society (NAMS) in-charge Tariq Farani said music was a purist form of art and the most essential part of all the cultures on this earth. Its expression by human beings and by instruments had been continued since the dawn of human evolution, he said.

"The NAMS has been playing its role in honing the capabilities of students and helping them become a little bit professional in the field of music along with their academics," said Mr Farani.

Stating that the Society had secured top positions in all the music competitions, Mr Farani said the NAMS clean swept the All-Pakistan Music Conference with overall six distinctions and lifted the prestigious Syed Wajid Ali Trophy. It also lifted the team trophy for the sixth consecutive year at the 10th All-Pakistan Music Festival held at Chand Bagh School, beating the singers from 72 top educational institutions in the country.

Congratulating students on their great performances in the national competitions, VC Prof Haq said the co-curricular activities especially debates played a vital role in grooming of students. He said such debates taught students how to disagree with others while paying respect to their faiths and ideas.

He said the GCU had always promoted the culture of tolerance and intellect through debates, seminars and publications. Being the bastion of liberal education in Pakistan, he said, the GCU had nurtured some of the most prominent luminaries of the world.

Meanwhile, the GCU Debating Society also honoured the late Mohib Raza, one of the most promising orators of GCU who was murdered last week during a private visit to a tourist resort in Northern Areas.

At the condolence reference attended by a large number of Old Ravians, GCU Debating Society Adviser (Urdu) Dr Haroon Qadir said Mohib Raza had won more than 30 prestigious oratory awards during his three-year stint at GCU.

The GCU Debating Society also passed a resolution, requesting the committee concerned to award the GCU Roll of Honour to the late Mohib Raza posthumously as he had qualified for it by winning laurels for the university at the national debating events.

The reference meeting also proposed to name after Mohib Raza the prestigious trophy of the GCU Annual Safdar Meer Punjabi Takra. Dawn

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Rs 250m soft loans for PEF schools
Lahore: The Bank of Punjab has allocated Rs 250 million for the distribution of soft loans among the eligible schools partnered with the Punjab Education Foundation under its Foundation Assisted Schools (FAS) and New School Programme (NSP).

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed in this regard between The Bank of Punjab (BoP) and the Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) at BoP Tower on Monday. Besides BoP President Naeemuddin Khan and PEF Chairman Raja Muhammad Anwar who signed the MoU on behalf of their respective organisations, the ceremony was also attended by MD PEF Ms Ambreen Raza, DMD (F) Salman Anwar Malik and BoP Chief Manager Tariq Aziz.

Maximum amount of loan will be up to monthly instalment of schools with cap of Rs 500,000. This soft loan, which will have no processing fee, will be available to about 2,000 FAS and NSP partner schools of the PEF.

The Punjab Education Foundation will act as a guarantor of this loan which will be utilised to improve the schools' infrastructures. According to terms of loan, it will have repayment period from one year to three years. Raja Anwar expressed the hope that the initiative would benefit the partner schools, and students would be the ultimate beneficiaries. The news

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PU sexual harassment & faculty

PU female faculty threatens to protest if Baloch is restored
Lahore, June 08: Female faculty members of the Punjab University (PU), while expressing serious concerns over the issue, threatened to initiate a series of protests if any orders were issued by the VC or Punjab governer to restore the rusticated College of Earth and Environment Sciences (CEES) Principal, Professor Dr Ifftikhar Baloch.

The faculty members expressed their concern following the rumours that higher authorities were restoring Baloch, who was convicted of sexual harassment.

PU, the largest university of the country, has a total of 900 faculty members out of which 250 are females.

PU Syndicate Member and Institute of Business and Information Technology (IBIT) Lecturer, Shumaila Gull said that a strong reaction by female faculty would be shown if any attempts for Baloch's restoration are made. "We will observe protests, stage rallies and go to the every possible limit as none of the female faculty wants to work in such an unsafe environment," she said. Shumaila added that would distort the university's image in the minds of 30,000 students and their parents. "Parents would hesitate to send their daughters to study in PU," she said. Over 14,000 female students are currently studying at PU.

Another female teacher, seeking anonymity, said that it was time to take stern action against "culprits who were a blot on the face of the teaching profession".

She said that Baloch must be punished, as he has been proved guilty after proper inquiries. She said that if Baloch is restored then female lecturers, professors and other staff members, not only from PU but also from other universities, would launch a strong campaign against the restoration.

She added that authorities should focus on providing a safe and sound environment to the female faculty members but they were favouring culprits such as Baloch who are involved in harassing females.

Similarly, another female faculty member who is also a department head, seeking anonymity, said that she would also support other faculty members if Baloch was restored. She said that it was illegal to restore him since he had been terminated by the syndicate. Like other female faculty members, she also showed her concern over the working of females in such environment where those convicted of sexual harassment are allowed to work.

Separately, the female faculty members appreciated the Punjab government's stance over the issue, saying that at least somebody had bothered to think of providing a safe environment to them. Upon contact, Punjab government spokesperson Senator Pervaiz Rasheed said that Governor Latif Khosa had committed an illegal act by pressurising the PU VC Mujahid Kamran to restore Baloch. He added that morally, the governer should not have favoured the person who was involved in sexually harassing female colleagues and students.

He said that according to the law, the governer could not challenge the decision of PU Syndicate, that had decided the termination of Iftikhar Baloch after a complete inquiry and legal procedure. He further said that it seemed as if the PPP government had decided to go against the decisions of judiciary, parliament and syndicates, which are all respectful departments.

According to reports, Khosa summoned the PU VC to Governer House on Saturday to discuss the matter of Dr Iftikhar Baloch, who was accused for sexually harassing a PhD student last year. It is noteworthy that two women lodged separate FIRs against Baloch under sections 342, 506, 376 and 511 of the Pakistan Penal Code (PPC) at the Muslim Town police station. The above-mentioned sections deal with illegal detention, threat to life, rape and attempt to rape, respectively.

The VC had formed a fact-finding committee to probe the alleged sexual harassment involving Baloch. The four-member committee was headed by Faculty of Islamic Studies Dean Professor Dr Hafiz Mahmood Akhtar, the secretary was Additional Registrar Professor Dr Aurangzeb Alamgir while other members included College of Arts and Design (CAD) Governor Professor Dr Rahat Naveed and Faculty of Commerce Dean Professor Dr Liaquat Ali.

After the committee's investigation was completed and presented to the concerned authorities, Baloch was transferred and suspended by the PU VC. Later, the syndicate decided to rusticate him. Daily times

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PU results
Lahore: Punjab University (PU) Examinations Department announced the results of various examinations on Tuesday. These exams include MA Physical Education, Part-II, supplementary examination 2010, LLB, Part-III, special annual exam 2010, held in London, UK, Doctor of Pharmacy, Third Professional, Annual Exam 2010, and Doctor of Pharmacy, Fourth Professional, Annual Exam 2010. Detailed results are available on PU website www.pu.edu.pk.

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Flood-hit UET students assisted
Peshawar: As many as 70 students of the University of Engineering and Technology hailing from the flood-hit areas were on Tuesday awarded cheques amounting to Rs0.35 million.

The Vice-Chancellor of University of Engineering and Technology Peshawar, Imtiaz Hussain Gilani, who chaired the meeting, lauded the efforts of Diya Pakistan, a non-governmental organisation for helping the flood-hit people and hoped for the continuation of such initiatives by the organisation in future as well.

Gul Nawab, a friend of Diya Pakistan and Dr Zahid Mehmood, advisor on student affairs of the UET, also spoke on the occasion. The ceremony was attended by Prof Dr Azzamul Asar, dean of the Faculty of Engineering, Prof. Abdul Jabbar, registrar, Muhammad Sarwar Khan, advisor on finance and planning, and Prof Dr Sahar Noor, director admissions. The news

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Frank Healey obituary

 Frank Healey was a pioneer in reforming modern-language courses.

My friend and former colleague Frank Healey, who has died aged 87, was a pioneer in reforming modern-language courses at universities in the 1960s and 70s. He emphasised the importance of communicative language studies and area studies, incorporating the history, institutions and politics of a country.

In 1967, he was appointed head of modern languages at Portsmouth Polytechnic, where he also became chairman of the faculty of social studies. With the help of a dedicated team of lecturers, Portsmouth launched modern-language courses accredited by the Council for National Academic Awards, of which he was a member.

Frank was born in Leamington Spa. He attended Birmingham University, where his studies were interrupted by army service during the second world war. After receiving his master's degree and a PhD, he became a lecturer at Birmingham and was then made professor of French at Magee University College, Derry, in 1960.

He spent five years at Portsmouth and then became, in 1972, professor of French at the University of Surrey, where he presided over the creation of a French course which incorporated law and international studies. In 1981 he was made an officer of the Ordre des Palmes Académiques. In 1989 he became emeritus professor of French at Surrey.

His major publications were Foreign Language Teaching in the Universities (1967) and A Reference Grammar of Modern French (1983). He was contributing editor for modern languages to the Times Education Supplement.

Frank was a talented photographer and painter. He was a kind and friendly man who helped many people in their careers. He was well known for his extraordinary sang-froid when faced with difficulties, and is remembered with much affection by those who worked with him.

He is survived by his wife, Patricia, whom he married in 1950, and his children, Frances, Richard, Alison and Marcus.

Governor against HEC devolution

Khosa speaks against devolution of HEC
Islamabad: Terming the federal role of Higher Education Commission (HEC) inevitable for the sustainable growth of research and development in the country, Punjab Governor Sardar Latif Khosa has raised his voice against its devolution.

"The HEC should not be devolved at any cost. Its present form should exist for the larger interest of the country as it has performed extraordinarily well in its present form," he said while addressing the National Conference on 'Setting Standards for 21st Century Pakistan' organised by the Higher Education Commission (HEC) here on Thursday.

The governor stated that he strongly feels that the agriculture-based universities of Pakistan could provide a strong base to boost a culture of use of innovative research for growth of agriculture in the country. "Similarly, in other sectors of national economy such as energy, textile and services, universities are the only potential source of building a strong economy and nation as a whole," he added.

Khosa appreciated the idea of showcasing achievements of the higher education institutions and their contribution in building socio-economic infrastructure of the country. Today's event would lead to a national consensus on how to salvage the economic situation and image of Pakistan through a strong network of higher education set-up which in turn is able to develop a culture for its surrounding communities and is able to serve the local as well as national community at large," he said.

Dr. Samar Mubarakmand, on the occasion, said that Pakistan needs a contribution from engineers and scientists to develop and refine the processes for conversion of coal gas to diesel and separation of copper, gold, silver and cobalt from ores through efficient means. "The role of universities in producing competent scientists and researchers is indeed commendable. The expansion of the higher education is seen as a necessary condition for integration of national economies into an increasingly sophisticated and interconnected world economy," he added.

Dr Javaid Laghari said that academics have an important role to play in the development of the country. He said that universities have three major challenges in the 21st Century, which include building economy, building communities and building leadership.

He emphasised that there is an urgent need of technology transfer by the universities.

"It is an unfortunate fact that there was not enough money to support higher education in the country. In the developed world at least four per cent of the GDP is allocated for education of which around 30 per cent goes to the higher education. If we have to move forward and stand tall in the comity of nations, there must be a higher percentage of allocation to education, especially higher education," he said.

Former HEC chairman Dr Atta-ur-Rahman said that only those countries of the world were progressing who have exploited their human resource and invested in education. He said that experiences of developed world show that economic growth is directly proportional to the university research, adding that development of South Korea is an excellent example for countries like Pakistan.

KP Minister for Higher Education Qazi Muhammad Asad Khan said that the output from universities needs to be incorporated into public policy. He also underlined the need of change in attitude of industry towards universities, adding that there is a dire need for the universities to understand their role seriously and develop such programmes and initiatives that directly support the government for increasing products and patents from Pakistan.

HEC Executive Director Dr Sohail Naqvi said that the basic objective of the conference and exhibition was to provide a forum for interaction of key stakeholders. "We wanted to provide a platform to universities to showcase their research and let the industry, business leaders and other stakeholders know about the potential and capacity of our universities for overall economic growth of the country," he added.

The conference participants agreed that a knowledge-based society and its economic growth are completely dependent on the generation of intellectual capital, which itself dependent on higher education. It is expected that discussion among different stakeholders will provide an impetus leading to a national pledge to be taken to promote university-community and university-industry linkage and technology transfer for building a strong Pakistan.

An exhibition was organised on the occasion which showcased projects initiated in various universities of the country that have already demonstrated significant commercial potential addressing the needs of the industry.

Centre of Excellence in Art and Design MUET Jamshoro has displayed variety of textile designing and handicraft that has been produced for commercial purposes. The most significant part of the stall was the natural dyes that has been used for block printing According to the experts, the natural dyes are better from artificial dyes in many ways as they are better in quality and durability besides that they have no side effects.

The research product 'OMR' of COMSATS was one of the most significant research products among all displays. It's a balloting machine, which has made the voting process easier and transparent than ever before.

The other research displays of COMSATS included the LED lights which help to cut down power consumption up to 70 per cent and have an average life of 12 years as compared with 2 years life of normal HPS lamps besides that they are environment friendly. On the other hand The University of Faisalabad has displayed their various research outcomes that mainly include the cattle feed, balanced bio fertilizer and mass rearing of larval parasite.

Quad-e-Azam University Biological Sciences Dean Dr Abdul Hameed on the occasion briefed media about their environment friendly project that mainly include bio diesel for non-edible oil seed plants, making environment friendly leather commercial use of indigenously produced enzymes in poultry feed and commercial viability of indigenously produced L-Lysine from coryne bacterium in poultry feed.

The other research projects displayed by the various universities on the occasion included remote guarding (Suicide Bomber Detector) by Dawood College of Engineering and Technology; A rugged wireless micro-sensor technology development for aircraft health management by Institute of Space Technology; lungs tumour detection from CT-Scan lungs images and sign language tutor by International Islamic University; academic institution alert management system by Kohat University of Science and Technology; design and fabrication of indigenous Thar Coal Gasifier and indigenous design and fabrication of MSW Incinerator by Mehran University of Engineering and Technology; A knowledge-based expert system to diagnose spinning faults for producing high quality yarn by National Textile University; development of light weight 3 wheeler 4 stroke slim car, prosthetic uppen limb and solar hybrid water heating system by National University of Science and Technology; building capacity in Pakistan to seismically retrofit essential structures by NED University of Engineering and Technology; animal feed bags, rose perfume, textile dying and vaccines and herbal products by University of Agriculture; absorption of alcohols/water and carboxylic acids/ water mixtures by synthetic-zeolites by University of Balochistan; design and development of low cost synthesis gas generation, development of a virtual machine monitor for MIPS64 processors and invoice processing automation software by University of Engineering and Technology, Lahore.

Campus sexual harassment & HEC

Sexual harassment on campus: Universities oblivious of HEC guidelines
Peshawar, May 21: None of the public sector universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has complied with the Higher Education Commission's (HEC) policy guidelines to prevent sexual harassment on the campus, it is learnt.

Being regulator of higher education institutions the HEC had formulated a year ago an elaborate mechanism for dealing with the complaints related to sexual harassment on university promises.

However, none of the universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had implemented the mechanism as per policy, according to investigations being carried out by a high-level committee of the provincial government.

The government had constituted a committee under provincial minister Sitara Ayaz to look into the complaints of sexual harassment at the University of Peshawar (UoP), as raised at the provincial assembly last month.

The committee besides looking into the affairs of the universities was also verifying whether they have put in place effective measures against sexual harassment or not.

A member of the probe committee, wishing anonymity said that to the astonishment of the committee none of the public sector universities in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has followed the HEC policy guidelines.

"The UoP management has no idea that they have the HEC policy guidelines on the issue," lamented this member, while citing the university management's reply to the committee's queries.

Sitara Ayaz argued that it had been a major failure on the part of university administrations that they did not implement the HEC guidelines and increased the vulnerability of different people to sexual harassment.

"Believe me, if they just implement what the guidelines say there will be hardly a complaint," claimed Ms Ayaz, when approached by this correspondent for comments.

The probe body has checked with the administration of UoP and other government-run universities about the guidelines, she said and added that unfortunately, none of them had followed them.

"This will be our major recommendation in the report to the government to make sure the universities implement the HEC guidelines," Ms Ayaz said and hoped that the committee would submit its report by next week to the chief minister for action.

The HEC policy guidelines, compiled through consultation involving all stakeholders, envisaged the appointment of Harassment Monitoring Officers (HMOs) and setting up of a full-time Harassment Complaint Cells (HCCs) to deal with such complaints.

As per the guidelines, the HMO is supposed to be an employee of the university to be appointed by Syndicate, Executive Council or Board of Governors with minimum 10 years of service experience in the same institution and bearing sound reputation.

The HMO will develop tools, educational programmes etc to promote awareness and foster an environment free of sexual harassment in the institution besides carrying out complaint resolution through informal and formal means.

Apart from this, as per the guidelines the HMO will also act as an impartial counsellor and advisor to any member of the university and maintain an unbiased attitude to all complaints.

The university administrations were required to set up an HCC to facilitate policy implementation. Complaints of sexual harassment or any other forms of harassment could be lodged with this cell.

This would require a team consisting of a full-time trained professional HMO, computer specialist and assistant, who could follow up the documentation through relevant offices.

This cell was required to sensitise all university faculty, staff and students to sexual harassment through workshops and trainings. All staff/faculty that enter the university employment would require completing a three-day essential sensitisation training programme as an ongoing activity.

Another member of the probe committee, wishing anonymity said that the UoP's step of suspending a teacher of History Department had been taken without following the procedures defined in the HEC guidelines.

Citing the guidelines, this member said that resolution of complaints could be made through counselling at first step. However, if the complainant wishes to follow through the hearing and tribunal procedures, he/she would be required to fill a complaint form that would be available in the cell.

"But it did not happen in this particular case," the member pointed out.

When contacted, a spokesperson for the Peshawar University insisted that they had complied with what the HEC had advised them. He, however, clarified that setting up of Complaint Cell and appointment of HMO involves financial implications and thus requires approval of different forums.

"Compliance with the HEC guidelines takes time," argued the spokesperson. Dawn

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"excelent discision of HEC reason sexual inharesament on universty campous"
Name: kamran
Email: kamran.ahmed55@yahoo.com
City, Country: pakistan(haripur)

"It is essential to highlight such sort of issues with possible solutions."
Name: Sajjad Hussain
Email: handy50555@yahoo.com
City, Country: Gujranwala, Pakistan

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ECP says process complete; HEC still waiting for 249 degrees
Islamabad: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) and Election Commission of Pakistan (ECP) are not on the same page about the issue of verification of lawmakers' degrees and have provided contradictory facts about the status of the verification process to the Senate Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures, sources informed.

Sources said HEC higher-ups were caught by surprise when ECP Secretary Ishtiaq Ahmad disclosed before the Senate Standing Committee on Rules and Procedures that the degrees of 1,117 parliamentarians out of 1,170 were genuine while 53 could not be verified.

"HEC officials were surprised by the ECP secretary's claim that only 53 degrees were fake. This is puzzling because 249 lawmakers are yet to provide their Degrees Supplementary Forms (DSF) without which their degrees cannot be verified. HEC are wondering how it's possible to conclude the verification process when all documents haven't yet been received?" sources said.

According to official data, as many as 1,094 graduation degrees of lawmakers have been submitted to the HEC for verification, but 249 lawmakers have yet to provide their degrees supplementary forms. Due to this, the HEC has been unable to verify their degrees in line with procedures.

Sources said a majority of the reluctant lawmakers "would like to know the relevant provision of law, under which these certificates are required to be produced before the HEC for the purpose of verification of BA degrees, since the degrees have already been verified by the relevant universities/institutions."

HEC officials claim there are many instances where people with fake FA certificates succeed in obtaining a genuine BA degree, and those with a bogus BA degree get a genuine masters degree. Thus, the HEC wants to see their previous degrees and ascertain if the basis on which the later degree was obtained was valid.

HEC Chairperson Dr. Javaid Laghari said the process of verifying degrees had not yet been concluded since the Commission had not received the supplementary forms of 249 parliamentarians. "The process of verification of degrees can't be completed until the HEC receives and verifies the degree supplementary forms of each and every parliamentarian," he said. "We wrote a letter to the ECP about a month and a half ago to ask it to provide the required documents for verification but have so far received no response," he said.

The Chairman Senate Standing Committee on Rules of Procedures and Privileges, Senator Tahir Mashhadi, confirmed that the ECP secretary had informed the committee that the degree verification process was complete and except for 53 degrees, all degrees had been deemed genuine.

It is pertinent to mention that the Standing Committee took strong exception to a privilege motion introduced by senators Babar Awan, Ishaq Dar, Wasim Sajjad, Nilofar Bakhtiar and others regarding the inclusion of their names in the fake degrees verification process. The ECP secretary presented their viewpoint in the meeting of the Standing Committee in which he made the 'astonishing disclosure' that the degrees verification process was complete.

Senator Tahir Mashhadi said he was also surprised that all degrees had supposedly been verified because no one had informed parliamentarians about it. "I asked the ECP secretary whether he informed the prime minister or issued any press release about the completion of the verification process. His answer was no," he said.

The ECP focal person, Afzal Khan, was not available for comments despite repeated calls by these correspondents. The news

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IIUI to open 250 O-level schools
Islamabad: The Islamic International University (IIUI) Islamabad is all set to open 250 O-level schools across the country in next 5 years to impart modern education in line with Islamic and traditional values of Pakistan society.

"The university has given licenses to 55 IIUI schools across the country so far and out of which 31 have been fully operationalized," IIUI Schools Project Director Dr. Saeed ul Hassan Chishti told APP here on Friday.

He said that the university has set the target to establishing 100 such schools by June 2012.

He said that launching of IIUI Schools system is aimed at imparting quality modern education with special emphasis on Islamic values and cultural traditions.

The system would be a unique combination of both modern and Islamic education which would help make young generation more patriotic and true Pakistanis, he added.

He said Islam teaches love, peace, tolerances and respect for elders and the system would help inculcate these values in the students.

Dr. Chishti said that around 4000 students have been enrolled in these schools so far which reflect parents confidence on education system of the university.

He said that the university has made complete curriculum of these schools in the light of Islamic values and tradition.

He said that special emphasis was being given on quality education to meet the needs of modern world in line with Islamic teachings.

The university appoints, principals of these schools after giving proper training to them for this purpose, he maintained.

The syllabus prepared by the university for these schools could cater the needs of future, he added.

He said that in next phase, the chain would be spread in other countries including UAE, Saudi Arabia and UK.

He said that the university is also chalking out a plan to set up university's own examination board for these schools on patrons of Agha Khan, Cambridge level.

However, he said that affiliation would not be given to other schools and colleges with the board.

Director of IIUI Model School Campus Township Lahore Zeeshan Rais Khattak said that the system is a revolutionary step towards imparting modern education to the coming generation in line with islamic ways.

However, he said the programme needs to be properly highlighted to reach out to maximum number of people across the country. app

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Gordon College students yet to receive roll number slips
Rawalpindi: Students of the Government Gordon College, Rawalpindi, appearing in the Higher Secondary School (HSSC) examinations, are worried as they have not received their roll number slips yet.

They termed the delay negligence on the part of the college administration and Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) as examinations are commencing from May 24.

The students while talking to said that they are visiting the college to get their roll number slips but no one is attending them. "College administration and the concerned authorities of BISE should issue our roll number slips as soon as possible, they demanded.

Nawaz Khan, a student, said that only three days have left in start of examinations but the roll number slips have not been issued.

Muhammad Waqas, another student, said that this is the responsibility of the college administration to provide the roll number slips in time but because of their negligence all the students are suffering. He said the college administration is saying that they should collect roll number slips on May 23, whereas the examinations are going to start from May 24. "We couldn't concentrate on our studies because of this tension," he said.

Sources in the Government Gordon College said that the board hasn't issued the roll number slips of our students and we are also waiting for their response. Students are worried about their slips but what could we do, they said.

Principal of the Government Gordon College, Professor Dr Abdul Qayyum, was not available when contacted to get his comment on the issue. The news

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Private & govt schools in Lahore

5,000 private, 1,300 govt schools in City
Lahore, June 13: Over the years academic circles have been expressing concerns over shortage of government schools especially at primary level vis-?-vis increasing population.

This shortage of government educational facility, obviously, is one of the contributing factors behind mushroom growth of private sector schools across the country. The comparison of the number of public and private schools functioning in the provincial metropolis alone should be an eye opener for those at the helm and who are never tired of making tall claims of providing facilities to the people at their doorstep.

Punjab's capital Lahore has around 1,300 government schools while it has over 5,000 registered private schools. This data was also shared by Punjab Minister for Education Mian Mujtaba Shuja ur Rehman at a function held recently. These simple figures are sufficient to understand as to how successive governments have badly and blatantly ignored establishment of new schools.

This aspect of shortage of schools has also been highlighted in a recently launched book "Education in Pakistan: Developmental Milestones" written by Punjab University Faculty of Education Dean Prof Dr Hafiz Muhammad Iqbal.

The available statistics regarding primary schools in Pakistan reveal a negative trend. During the Musharraf government, instead of expanding primary education in public sector, the number of primary schools rather decreased, from 159,330 in 1998-99 to 156,400 in 2009-10. The deteriorating standard of education at government schools and more especially at primary level is another serious concern. The government schools offer free education with free textbooks to the students but still people prefer sending their children to private schools. According to Dr Hafiz Muhammad Iqbal, enrolment rate at private schools in Lahore is 66 percent while at government schools it is merely 33 percent. It is quite clear that the difference between the both is of quality component. Therefore academic circles have been highlighting the need for focusing the quality component besides establishing more government schools to save the people from being fleeced by private schools.

Provinces asked to utilise maximum budget for education

Provinces asked to utilise maximum budget for education
Islamabad: In Pakistan, education department is not structured enough to integrate all educational, nutritional and health related indicators together. Provinces are on driving seats now and they can decide on which measures they want to take in delivering education, said Shahnaz Wazir Ali.

Addressing the participants of the World Food Programme (WFP) National School Feeding Plenary Session, She said the provinces need advocacy for improving educational facilities and utilising maximum budget towards education, enrolling more and more children in the institutions.

She said that the government has provided Rs400 billion to the provinces to design and implement good education infrastructure. "It was discussed in Wednesday's meeting with UNESCO and other counterparts that there would be free compulsory and quality education from grade 1-5 especially in KPK. Now, it is time to provide citizen advocacy to the provinces so that they can build the required and exceptional infrastructure of education in the country," she said.

She said that WFP has recognised the critical situation of education in Pakistan and came forth to assist in building education capacity of the country. "It has not only participated in the flood disaster and earthquake but also in the insecurity aspects of Pakistan," she added.

Representative of FATA Directorate for Education Fazle Mannan said that federal list has been abolished and now 18th Amendment miraculous achievement can be seen as provinces are given more authority to implement their programmes.

He said that FATA has lowest literacy rate of 32% (3 % girls and 29% boys), according to the 1998 population census. "FATA is 30 years behind rest of the provinces of the country because of internal and external issues especially law and order situation," he added.

Planning Commission Representative Mohammad Ayub said that national nutritional survey and other relevant data of six months period shows that we are facing nutritional problems emerging with double pace and capacity day by day. "1,600 calories are consumed across the boundaries within each household while the data indicates that intake of food has declined from 2,000 calories to 1,600 calories during past few years," he said.

He said that decline in food indicates has led to the increase in the dropout at school level. "Nutritional deficiency and dropout from schools are co-related. We have 30% malnourished children in Pakistan who cannot attend schools because of this deficiency," he added.

Unesco Representative Arshad Saeed, in his presentation titled 'Constitutional Amendment No. 18 - Prospects and Issues for Education Sector in Pakistan,' said the insertion of Article 25-A in the Constitution is a tremendous achievement, however, concerted efforts are needed to implement it.

He said further legislation is needed to implement this article along with passage of education act and framing of rules. Seven million children aged 5-9 are out of school and the provinces have to increase spending on education sector, he said.

Unesco Country Director Dr. Kozue Kay Nagata said that the rise in oil and food prices has negative impact on the communities. The high demand on UN economies has negative impact on poor population who cannot prioritise their needs.

"In 18th amendment, we have to work for all the children including poor, government and private etc. Our beneficiary must be most disadvantaged and challenging, suffering from nutrition," he said.

He said that Pakistan government has made a new programme of benefits for disabled today. "We have to give incentives and look at the demand side so that supply of education and nutrition should equally be provided. To reach most disadvantaged groups Unicef, Unesco and Pakistan government are working together," he added.

WFP Country Director in Pakistan Wolfgang Herbinger said there is one-third dropout in schools in Pakistan while nutritional deficiency as micronutrient is not even satisfactory. "For past three years, the situation of Pakistan has been deteriorating and environment is difficult. No doubt, there are new opportunities for the humanitarian actors as provinces who always take lead, need to be partnered with," he said.

He said that this is the time to set our priorities as we have just come out of the biggest flood in the history of Pakistan. He believes that it is an opportunity for us, now to assist these schools and provide required facilities.

"It is important to inform teachers that they should create awareness among students about what they should do in the case of any disaster. WFP's DRM is serving this purpose as it is expanding geographically to create the awareness of disaster risk management that should be taken care of by everyone in a society," he said.

He said that now, we have education atlas that visualises the progress and whole information about WFPs school feeding programme. It is a web-based version that can be accessed by anyone who needs information on education developmental programme of WFP.

Chief of Education (Unicef) Bart Vrolijk said devolution of education has fixed responsibility on the provinces to educate the children without discrimination.

UoP sexual harassment probe report

UoP harassment probe completed but no one records statement
Peshawar, June 07: The committee formed by the provincial government to investigate the complaints of sexual harassment of girl students by some teachers in the University of Peshawar (UoP) has completed its report, but could not prove the allegations as not a single victim has come forward to record statement.

When contacted, Provincial Minister for Social Welfare and Women Development Sitara Ayaz, who headed the four-member probe committee, told this correspondent on Saturday that the report had been completed and would be submitted to Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti on Monday. She said that though people admitted that harassment of girl students was an issue on the campus, not a single girl came forward to substantiate such allegations.

PML-Q lawmaker Nighat Orakzai had raised the issue of harassment of female students in the UoP by some heads of departments on the floor of the provincial assembly on April 19. Later, the committee was formed to look into such complaints.

"We had received a few emails and about eight anonymous letters, but nobody sent us reply when we responded to those emails and sought details," Ms Ayaz said.

All the committee could do was to suggest in its report that the UoP should plug the administrative loopholes and follow the Higher Education Commission's guidelines in this regard.

"Though clear guidelines exist regarding such matters, it was shocking to see that many officials concerned are not aware of them," she said and added that the university had powers to take strict action if there was ever such a complaint.

She said that it was suggested that the university should follow the guidelines and display it prominently.

Now the fate of the five UoP teachers ? against the committee received anonymous complaints (letters and emails) ? would be decided by the university administration.

The minister said that the committee also felt that teachers against whom complaints of harassment were received should be dealt with according to the university rules. She said that during the probe the accused teachers pointed at others whom they thought could have filed the complaints with mala fide intentions.

Ms Ayaz said that the committee would welcome if anyone came forward to record their statement even by Monday when the report would be submitted to the chief minister.

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PhD scholars
Mansehra: Two more lecturers of English in Hazara University have returned home after completing PhDs from an American university on Monday.

A welcome ceremony was held for them on Monday attended among others by the vice-chancellor, Syed Sakhawat Shah, faculty members and heads.

They welcomed Aisha Sadiq and Sultan Mohammad on completion of PhDs. The lecturers completed their PhDs under the Fulbright scholarship programme.

Syed Sakhawat said the education and research standard of the university would greatly enhance.

He said currently Hazara University was among the top ten universities in the country and that time was not far when it would be among the top three. Dawn

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Khyber Medical University launches MHPE programme
Peshawar: For the first time in the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province, the Khyber Medical University (KMU) has launched Master of Health Professions Education (MHPE) programme intended to produce leaders and innovators in health professions education.

A prominent cardiologist and vice-chancellor of the Khyber Medical University (KMU) Prof Dr Mohammad Hafizullah formally launched the programme after marathon meetings and consultation with stakeholders and principals of the affiliated medical colleges.

Before KMU, only the Dow Medical University in Karachi was conducting MHPE degree programme and doctors from all over the country including Khyber Pakhtunkhwa used to go there for this two-year of course.

Addressing the participants of the launching ceremony, Prof Dr Hafizullah hoped that the programme would enable the health professions of the country in general and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa in particular to bring necessary changes in training and of health educators in accordance with global challenges and regional needs.

He said the KMU had arranged well-trained medical educationists for this programme and hoped candidates after completing their two-year course would be able to bring changes in their respective institutions

The VC hoped it would produce leaders and innovators in health professions education who would pave the way for bringing innovations in quality teaching in medical institutions. The two-year programme is supposed to be beneficial for candidates in their mid level carrier.

The candidates having passed MBBS from regionally accredited medical institution, registered with the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council (PMDC), proficiency in written and verbal English, three years of clinical or teaching experience and computer literacy would be selected for the MHPE. Also, the candidates would have to appear in interview.

Dr Sahibzada Mehmood Noor, who is also assistant professor of Dermatology Department at the Lady Reading Hospital (LRH), will be the programme coordinator.

Highlighting importance of the programme, Dr Sahibzada Noor said though there would be admission criterion, personal motivation of the candidate would play a pivotal role in their selection.

Each candidate would be required to pay Rs200,000 for the whole programme in which the KMU would provide them free accommodation, meals and resource materials. There will be three contact sessions in a year and the participants would be required to study for two hours a day.

Dr Sahibzada Noor said the same degree, if obtained abroad, cost several times high than in Pakistan. Besides Dr Sahibzada Noor as coordinator, Dr Gohar Wajid, who has done PhD in medical education and MSc in health information systems, has been appointed as the programme supervisor and Prof Dr Mohammad Idrees, head of surgery of Sheikh Zayed Medical College and director medical education, Rahimyar Khan, the programme director.

Dr Abid Jameel, associate professor oncology and director education, Hayatabad Medical Complex (HMC), Dr Shahid Ayub, assistant professor neurosurgery and deputy director medical education, LRH, Dr Soba Sabir Ali, assistant professor endocrinology and deputy director medical education, HMC, and Dr Jawad Ahmad Kundi, associate professor and head of department of maxillofacial surgery, director medical education Sardar Begum Dental College, Peshawar, have been selected as visiting faculty members.

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Hazara varsity teachers return after MS studies
Mansehra: Two scholars from the Hazara University have returned after completing their MS in the United States. Aisha Sadiq and Sultan Mohammad rejoined the university after completion of their studies under the Fullbright scholarship programme. They assured Vice Chancellor Syed Sakhawat Shah of sharing their experiences with the students and faculty and contributing to the university's progress.

They thanked the sponsoring agency and university management for providing them an opportunity to learn about the latest trends in English language and literature in the American universities at Arizona where they studied for two years.

The vice chancellor said after the rejoining of university by the scholars, the education and research standards of the university would improve. He said the university was amongst the top 10 universities in the country and expressed the hope that it would become one of the top three in due course of time. The news

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