Education Thread

[Neo]

Plan to open Chinese language classes in Karachi

ISLAMABAD (April 19 2007): Mazhar Ali Khan Chairman of Pak-China Business Council of Federation of Pakistan Chamber of Commerce and Industries (FPCCI) has informed Business Recorder that the Council was planning to open Chinese language classes at Karachi, with the assistance of the Chinese Consulate General.

In an e-mail sent to the Islamabad bureau of this newspaper he said the Pakistani business community wished to do more in strengthening trade contact with China, after the signing of 29 agreements and MOUs during the current trip of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz. Abdul Sattar, FPCCI's Additional Secretary, also added that the agreement had created surge in ongoing commerce and trade relations of the two countries.

However, the surge in business opportunities might lead to greater results if the Chinese and Pakistan business professional and entrepreneurs know each other's language and establish rapport.

Nisar Memon who visited China suggested that Pakistan business should open branches of their firms in China and in addition they should also learn the Chinese language to hawk their wares with greater ease in that brotherly country.

He was in favour of a vigorous campaign on the part of Pakistani business to reduce our share in the trade deficit. He further stated Chinese officials often acquire knowledge of Urdu before arriving in Pakistan. Nisar Memon was also confident that learning Chinese language would bring the people of the countries much more close to each other.

Contacted by this correspondent Akram Zaki, a former deputy foreign minister as well as Pakistan's former Ambassador to China, endorsed it saying, learning Chinese language would help Pakistanis explore the possibilities of enhancing trade and commerce as well as establish rapport with the Chinese people- because of the much greater opportunities of trade after the signing of the 29 agreements between the two countries. Akram Zaki said it was possible to learn to speak mandarin in six months with the help of audio and video cassettes.

http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=552839&currPageNo=3&query=&search=&term=&supDate=

 

[Neo]

Saturday, April 28, 2007

50m people in Pakistan illiterate: UNESCO official

ISLAMABAD: UNESCO Country Director Jorge Sequeira has said that nearly 50 million individuals in Pakistan are illiterate while 0.6 million children are out of school.

He was addressing a walk organised by UNESCO, Ministry for Education and National Commission for Human Development here on Friday to create awareness about the importance of education.

Federal Education Minister Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli, Pakistan National Commission for UNESCO Secretary General Saqib Ali, Deputy Secretary General Mulazim Hussain Mujahid, and numerous NGO, civil society and media representatives participated in the walk.

The participants were holding placards and banners inscribed with slogans regarding the importance of education. The walk started from China Chowk and concluded on Parade Ground where students made a human chain. Sequeira said the United Nations had formulated a charter to eliminate illiteracy from across the globe, adding that a Global Action Week with the theme of ‘Education as a Human Right’ was also being observed in Pakistan.

He said Pakistan had assumed significance owing to its geographic location and it could provide a future trade and energy route to Central Asia, China and the Gulf countries. “Pakistan is on a path of development and progress and education is vital to get fruits of this development,” he added. online

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\04\28\story_28-4-2007_pg7_43

 

[Neo]

April 29, 2007
KARACHI: 2.5m children in Pakistan out of school

KARACHI, April 28: The Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc) held several programmes at different schools of the city last week to celebrate ‘Global Campaign for Education Week’ to highlight the importance of education and try to pressure the government to ensure this fundamental right of education for every child, a statement issued by the Sparc said on Saturday.

It said the campaign was part of an international movement celebrated throughout the world with the aim of bringing education on the top of every government’s agenda. The theme of the week for this year was ‘Education, a basic human right’.

During the campaign continued from April 23 to 27, the child rights group held programmes at S.D. Abro Government Girls Secondary School, Spacious Public School, CDGK-Elementary School No.8 Malir and Model School Malir.

More than 700 students and teachers participated in these programmes. The nazim of Shah Faisal Town, Mohammad Imran Pervez, Jamshed Town UC Nazim Asghar Ali, Principal S.D. Abro School Ms Saeeda, A.D.O.E Anwar Khan, Principal CDGK-Elementary Government School No. 8 Shamima Bano and Principal CDGK-Elementary Government School No.9 Ms Kausar Jehan also participated and addressed the events.

Students of these schools formed a chain by joining hands to demand quality and free education for all. Some students also took part in discussions and expressed their concern over the present bleak scenario of education in the country. They urged the government to take necessary measures to create a peaceful environment for every child and implement laws for the protection of child rights.

“An estimated 2.5 million children in Pakistan are out of schools, almost 50 per cent children are drop-outs and gender parity is very low”, said Mr Pervez. He said access to quality education was limited to a small number of children coming from the elite class. On the other hand, around 40 million children in the age group 5 to 14 were denied this fundamental right.

Other speakers said education was vital for fighting poverty and contributing to the sustainable development of communities. They said education in Pakistan depicted a depressing picture with the government spending less than two per cent of the federal budget on the sector, the least in the region. “It is half of the Unesco’s recommended 4 per cent”, said a speaker.

According to Sparc officials, during the Global Campaign for Education Week, the group focused its campaign on 21 districts of the country with the help of its Child Rights Committees (CRCs). Child rights activists associated with the organisation lobbied with the legislatures at federal, provincial and district levels to remind them of their promises of enabling every child to go to school. Several activities were conducted to help and support for upholding the promise.

An educational profile was prepared in 21-targeted districts to identify the number of schools, enrolment rate, staff strength and population of the respective district throughout the province.

“This will help in identifying the number of out of school children, gender parity ratio, number of educational institutions in comparison with the population, district education budget allocation etc,” said a Sparc official.

According to him, recommendations were also sent to district nazims and district education officers about security measures at schools, lack of educational facilities, education programmes for juvenile offenders, gender parity in education system, enrolment in schools, corporal punishment, female education etc.

http://www.dawn.com/2007/04/29/local11.htm

 

[Interceptor]

Saturday, April 28, 2007

50m people in Pakistan illiterate: UNESCO official

ISLAMABAD: UNESCO Country Director Jorge Sequeira has said that nearly 50 million individuals in Pakistan are illiterate while 0.6 million children are out of school.

He was addressing a walk organised by UNESCO, Ministry for Education and National Commission for Human Development here on Friday to create awareness about the importance of education.

Federal Education Minister Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli, Pakistan National Commission for UNESCO Secretary General Saqib Ali, Deputy Secretary General Mulazim Hussain Mujahid, and numerous NGO, civil society and media representatives participated in the walk.

The participants were holding placards and banners inscribed with slogans regarding the importance of education. The walk started from China Chowk and concluded on Parade Ground where students made a human chain. Sequeira said the United Nations had formulated a charter to eliminate illiteracy from across the globe, adding that a Global Action Week with the theme of ‘Education as a Human Right’ was also being observed in Pakistan.

He said Pakistan had assumed significance owing to its geographic location and it could provide a future trade and energy route to Central Asia, China and the Gulf countries. “Pakistan is on a path of development and progress and education is vital to get fruits of this development,” he added. online

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\04\28\story_28-4-2007_pg7_43

Sad revelation when will we learn to understand the need for education the Pakistan government must make this a priority to get enough fundung in the education sector like say 8 percent of the GDP I really mean this it really needs some high funding to get Pakistan on its feet for its new challanges ahead Pakistan needs to become self sufficient.

 

[Neo]

April 30, 2007
4,700 schools to be rehabiliated

By Amin Ahmed

RAWALPINDI, April 29: The federal government is to launch a project to rehabilitate and improve the condition of over 4,700 schools, including 81 in the federal capital, which have been found below the required standard by a survey conducted by the Pakistan Army.

These schools situated across the country lack basic facilities including computer and science laboratories, electricity, additional classrooms, drinking water, toilets, shelter and boundary walls.

Under the plan submitted to the Planning Commission for approval by the Central Development Working Party (CDWP) early next week, on an average basis, Rs1.4 million would be spent on each school to remove the deficiencies over a period of five years. The project will be implemented through the military operation directorate in collaboration with provincial and district governments under the Education Sector Reform (ESR) programme of the president.

The project costing Rs24,871 million is stated to be in line with the objectives of the social sector to address various issues. The government has already spent over Rs5 billion on the ESR programme during 2001-06, according to the working paper.

The working paper submitted to the Planning Commission states that there is an allocation of Rs1,050 million in the current Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP). The amount of Rs2,156.74 million demanded for financial year 2006-07 would not be utilised appropriately as only two months of the current financial year has been left.

The report says 4,702 schools in 19 districts are lacking facilities. After the survey, 985 schools have been selected in 13 districts where all the missing facilities like shelter, boundary walls, additional classrooms, toilets, drinking water, electricity, computer and science laboratories would be provided.

Only 21 per cent of the schools selected would be rehabilitated under the proposed programme, while the rest would be considered in the next phase.

In the 19 districts, there were 18,716 schools, out of which 4,702 were selected and the ratio of selection came to 21 per cent.

In Islamabad, 81 schools out of a total of 405 were surveyed and all selected, which means all the schools in the federal capital lacked facilities.

In Punjab, the districts of Bhakkar, Rajanpur, Kasur, Rawalpindi, Narowal and Bahawalnagar were selected with a total of 8,186 schools. Out of that 2,747 were surveyed but none was selected.

In the Jaccobabad and Tharparkar districts of Sindh, all the 343 schools surveyed out of 5,227 were selected.

In the districts of Swabi and Dera Ismail Khan, 760 schools out of 2,464 were surveyed while only 282 were selected.

In Balochistan, the districts of Dera Bugti and Musa Khel were covered, and out of 553 schools, 386 were surveyed and only 121 selected.

In Bajaur and Kurram agencies of Fata, which have 1,017 schools, 200 were surveyed while only 48 were selected.

In Azad Jammu and Kashmir, 145 schools were surveyed in Mirpur and Sudhnoti out of 570 institutions, while 70 were selected.

There were 294 schools in Gilgit and Skardu in the Northern Areas, out of which 40 were surveyed and selected.

http://www.dawn.com/2007/04/30/top18.htm

 

[Neo]

Sad revelation when will we learn to understand the need for education the Pakistan government must make this a priority to get enough fundung in the education sector like say 8 percent of the GDP I really mean this it really needs some high funding to get Pakistan on its feet for its new challanges ahead Pakistan needs to become self sufficient.

I agree, we need to increase education expenditure to atleast 5% of GDP, 8% is overambitious and simply not possible under current circumstamces.
To get there we'll have to increase our GDP from current $140 billion to atleast $300 billion before we can revolutionise the education sector.

Defence and Debt rembourcements are still sucking up the budget, at the cosgt of education and health.

 

[Interceptor]

I agree, we need to increase education expenditure to atleast 5% of GDP, 8% is overambitious and simply not possible under current circumstamces.
To get there we'll have to increase our GDP from current $140 billion to atleast $300 billion before we can revolutionise the education sector.

Defence and Debt rembourcements are still sucking up the budget, at the cosgt of education and health.

I so wish that Pakistan has more Universeties and colleges for the youth to go. The youth have been missused, they are working at the ages of 6 that is wrong they should be in schools.

What I meant by the 8% was that there a great deal of attention needed in the education department and this just a suggestion, spian spends about 7.5% of its GDP on education and that just shows how devoted their government is to education, students from Pakistan are pouring into europe for better education Pakistan needs to gets future work force to stay in the country and serve it rather than have them leave.

 

[Neo]

I understand where you're coming from mate, most developped countries put education and health as top priority.
Our GDP is still to small to realise that, you'll compromise other sectors like defence.

 

[Introvert]

Rs 246Mln being spent for Education Sector in Pakistan

QUETTA: The government is spending Rs. 246 million on different schemes in Education sector, official sources on Monday.

As many as Rs. 30 million has been allocated for provision of buses in all government girls colleges of the province of which five million rupees would be spent this year.

Women hostel in Turbat and Dera Allah Yar government colleges are constructed at a total cost of Rs. 8 million of which Rs. one million would be spent during this fiscal year.

An amount of Rs. 44 million has been specified for improvement of Inter College Sanjavi of which Rs. 4 million would be spent during year 2006-07.

Girls inter college Mastung is being upgraded to degree level at a cost of Rs. 28 million of which five million rupees has been allocated for the current fiscal year.

A sum of Rs. 33 million has been allocated for construction of Gymnasium and hostel in Balochistan Residential College Loralai of which one million would be spent during year 2006-07.

Similarly, Rs. 10 million has been allocated for construction of boundary wall for government degree college Muslim Bagh and Qila Saifullah of which Rs. 5 million has been specified for the year 2006-07.

Girls Inter College Kuchlak is being constructed at a cost of Rs. 50 million of which two million rupees has been allocated for the current fiscal year.

Inter College Mangochar is being constructed at a cost of Rs. 52 million of which two million rupees would be spent this year.

The completion of the schemes would play a big role in promotion of education in the area.
http://www.pakistantimes.net/2007/05/08/top7.htm

 

[Neo]

May 08, 2007

Rs21m set aside for schools in Galyat

PESHAWAR, May 7: NWFP Minister for Local Government and Rural Development (LG&RD) Sardar Mohammad Idrees on Monday announced the allocation of Rs21 million for construction of four schools in the Galyat area, saying the provincial government was working for the uplift of downtrodden people.

He said this while addressing a public meeting after inaugurating the newly-constructed road in the Keri Serkhali area of the Galyat.

He said the government had initiated development projects in every nook and corner of the NWFP with special focus on far-flung and less developed areas during the last four years in a bid to bring them at par with the developed areas of the country.

Expanding upon his views, Mr Idrees said the MMA government had completed a number of water supply schemes since coming to power, adding that the Galyat had been connected with a network of roads.

He said that an unprecedented number of development schemes had been launched in Union Council Nagri Bala, Nathiagali, Ali Meera and in all the villages of PF 48 constituency.

The minister said the Haqqani school of Nathiagali would be reconstructed at a cost of Rs7.8 million. He added that Rs4.2 million would be spent on construction of a girl’s school in Nathiagali, Rs4.8 million on the construction of a primary school in Keri Sarkhali, and Rs4.2 million on the construction of the Toheed Abad school.

Talking about development of the communications infrastructure in the area, Mr Idrees said that Keri, Tajwal, Bagan, Mullach, Keri Raiki and Samandar Khata villages would be linked to the Lower Galyat through a chain of roads.

He said the Rs20 million Tajwal-Bagan road project would be approved shortly, adding that a road project worth Rs4.8 million was under way in the Ali Meera-Natiagali area.

http://www.dawn.com/2007/05/08/local8.htm

 

[Neo]

Wednesday, May 16, 2007

Rs 90b required to achieve 100 percent literacy in NWFP by 2015: Haqqani

PESHAWAR: The NWFP Minister for Education, Maulana Fazle Ali Haqqani said that Rs 90 billion more were required to achieve the target of 100 percent literacy by 2015. He said this as the chief guest at a function on Thursday that was held with regard to 3.5 million students receiving free books.

The minister said an unprecedented increase in school going children had been reported since provincial education sector reforms to provide free books and free education up to the metric level had taken effect and that 45,000 new teachers had also been appointed.

Haqqani said the provincial government had allocated Rs 20 billion in the budget to the education sector, which, he claimed was ten times more than what had been allocated by previous governments.

Further, Rs 400 million worth of free books were also being dispatched to 24 districts of the province to every school in the province.

NWFP Schools and Literacy Secretary Shafiullah, NWFP Text Book Board chairman Fazal Rabi Khan, the NWFP Schools and Literacy Director and numerous locals attended the ceremony.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\05\16\story_16-5-2007_pg7_47

 

[Neo]

R&D centre at Taxila varsity approved: Renewable energy

ISLAMABAD, May 14: The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has approved the establishment of a Renewable Energy Research and Development Centre at the University of Engineering and Technology, Taxila, a statement issued here on Monday said.

Announcing the decision in its recent meeting, the HEC’s Departmental Development Working Party (DDWP) observed that the proposed centre would facilitate effective research activities in the energy sector and generally focus on renewable energy.

It will offer postgraduate study programmes at MS and PhD levels focusing on renewable energy implementation technologies. The centre will provide a conducive environment to conduct and promote research and education, and will provide training and experience to scientists and engineers in the energy disciplines of solar and hydropower.

The facility will be equipped to provide the Pakistani industry and investors with support in consultation design, component development, long-term testing, certification, resource data and site assessment and technical assistance.

In Pakistan today, the primary energy supplies are insufficient to meet even the present demand. Therefore, like other developing countries, the country faces a serious challenge of energy deficit.

The statement said renewable energy sources could play an important role in meeting this challenge which in turn would support the national security and independency to achieve the desired development and lessen the influence of the world energy instabilities on the Pakistani economy and development plans.

The centre will also help reduce the existing deficiency in research facilities in Pakistani universities, especially in the energy sector.

It will help support the Pakistani energy policy and departmental priorities for increasing viability and deployment of renewable energy by producing highly-qualified manpower in renewable energy utilisation.

The project also includes building infrastructure and provision of appropriate research training and education facilities, which will help produce 30 MS and six PhD graduates annually after the completion of the project.

The centre will undertake fundamental and applied research and development projects aimed at renewable energy implementation in short, medium and long-term. It will also create and strengthen formal and informal university-industry linkages.

http://www.dawn.com/2007/05/15/nat10.htm

 

[Neo]

Wednesday, May 30, 2007

Rs 100b being utilised for education, says minister

ISLAMABAD: State Education Minister Anisa Zeb Tahirkheli has said that the education ministry is improving the educational system by utilising Rs 100 billion funds set aside under the President’s Education Reforms Programme.

Tahirkheli said this while addressing the Social Investment Fair as chief guest. The programme was organised by the Federal Directorate of Education, Education Sector Reforms Assistance (ESRA) and USAID.

She said the ministry had completed the education census in 2006 and that the government was trying to increase the literacy rate by introducing allowances and scholarships for deserving students. She said the school dropout rate had decreased from 46 to 30 percent.

“In the future, four percent of the GDP will be allocated for education,” she said and added that Pakistan was among the countries where huge funds were being spent on education.

She said, “The government is spending Rs 210 billion to improve educational standards. The total funding reaches Rs 250 billion if private sector investment is also included.”

She said resource centres had been set up for teachers and that the syllabi of 11 subjects had been upgraded to reflect the culture and traditions of society, adding that the focus was on primary education.

She praised the Parent Teachers Associations (PTAs) and ESRA for conducting a training programme in Bharu Kahu to enhance the learning process in the capital. “The PTA has stimulated schools to offer committed leadership, trained staff and proactive parental and community engagement,” she said.

Federal Education Director General Brig (r) Masoodul Hassan said the curriculum evaluation procedure and infrastructure quality in the education sector had been improved through the civil society’s involvement.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2007\05\30\story_30-5-2007_pg11_8

 

[niaz]

Apart from the low standard of education in Pakistan, what I find most annoying is the fake degrees. Until the 1980's at I never came across fake degrees in Pakistan. IMO we have to thank PPP first government for this curse. I came across a young man with a M.Com degree from the University of Karachi when I was with Enoc a couple of years back. He was looking for a driver's job and wanted my help as a fellow Pakistani.

He admitted that he had failed B.Com twice but bought this fake degree, came to Dubai as a visitor but couldn't get a job because he couldnt get this degree verified. Nevertheless he had borrowed a fair bit to come to Dubai and would be happy to work as a driver. Good God!! Do people have no fear of God in them when they blatantly commit fraud!!!.

Later on I came to know that people have even become MP's based on fake degrees. On further investigation I found that these days most colleges place very little faith on the degree and had instituted strict Entry Tests to combat this menace. Guess who is most against these entry tests, calling these and Agha Khan board of Education as Western Stooges; MMA who else.

We call ourselves Muslims but think nothing of commiting Educational Fraud. Before anything else first step should be to eliminate this curse of fake degrees.

 

[Neo]

HEC to get Rs 18 billion for 397 projects in PSDP

ISLAMABAD (June 10 2007): The Higher Education Commission will get Rs 18 billion for 397 projects in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) for financial year 2007-08. This allocation includes Rs 14.82 billion for 224 ongoing projects while Rs 1.092 billion for 41 new (approved) and Rs 2.081 billion for the new 132 (unapproved) projects.

According to Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2007-08, the main emphasis would be laid on human resource development and faculty development by initiating Masters, M.Phil, PhD and post-doctoral programmes at indigenous and international level.

The scholarship programmes have been developed and are being developed for students to attain Ph.D degrees both within, as well as outside the country. In the PSDP, Rs 898 million have been earmarked for MS/M.Phil and Ph.D. The ongoing scholarship schemes would be continued and new scholarship schemes will be initiated to train students in important areas.

Besides allocating huge amount for various scholarship schemes and other key areas, the government has earmarked Rs 500 million for foreign faculty hiring. The government has also allocated Rs 700 million for Ph.D fellowship for 5,000 scholars.

The other areas of focus regarding infrastructure include physical infrastructure, electronic access highway, curriculum and distance education mechanism. The universities will be encouraged to send their students on internship to industry and public/private sector organisations to gain practical experience..

Similarly, Rs 114 million have also been allocated for Pak-US Joint Academic and Research Programme (phase ll).

TOURISM A total of Rs 167.453 million has been allocated in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2007-08 for three ongoing and as many new projects of tourism division. Out of the total allocation, Rs 143.923 million have been earmarked for three new projects including construction of PTDC headquarters (Rs 90 million) TFCs on provincial HQ (Peshawar, Karachi, Quetta, Muzaffarabad (Rs 39 million) and revamping/remodelling of PTDC's Tourist Information Centres (Rs 14.923 million).

The ongoing projects are bus terminal at Nankana Sahib (Rs 18.950 million) Update of Tourism Research Publications (Rs 2.080 million) and Development of website for Tourism Industry (Rs 2.500 million).

SCIENCE AND TECHNOLOGY A total of Rs 3.6 billion has been allocated for Science and Technology for its 83 ongoing and 60 new projects in the PSDP 2007-08.

According to Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2007-08, the government has allocated a considerable amount to upgrade the basic infrastructure of research and development organisations by providing international level facilities of equipment and networking.

CULTURE DIVISION Culture Division will receive Rs 378.131 million in the Public Sector Development Programme (PSDP) 2007-08 for its new and ongoing projects, according to documents.

Out of the total amount, Rs 114.025 million has been earmarked for ongoing project while the new projects got Rs 264.106 million. The new projects and amount allocated is Rs 95 million for Pak-China Friendship Centre, Islamabad, Rs 85 million for construction of Aiwan-i-Quaid, Islamabad, Rs 40 million for operation and maintenance service of national monument, Rs 12 million for Re-organising of Termite Affected Quran Gallery of National Museum, Karachi, Rs 10 million for construction of National Museum of Pakistan at Islamabad, Rs 7.500 million for publication of books on Arts and Culture, Rs 6 million for strengthening of planning, monitoring and evaluation cell (PME) Rs 5 million for Performing Arts and Rs 3.606 million for restoration/renovation of Quaid-i-Azam House Museum.

http://www.brecorder.com/index.php?id=575888&currPageNo=1&query=&search=&term=&supDate=