Job creation top priority of PPP PM Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani

Posted by admin 23 February, 2010 (0) Comment

PESHAWAR, Feb.22 (APP): Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani has said that job creation is priority of the PPP government, saying professional engineers with adequate education and experience can play an important role in establishing new enterprises, restructuring existing industrial and developing new products and services.Addressing inaugurating ceremony of Jalozai Campus of the NWFP University of Engineering & Technology (UET), here at Governor’s House on Monday, the prime minister said that encouraging entrepreneurship among engineers has the potential of big job creation and employment.

Those present on the occasion were included Governor NWFP Owais Ahmad Ghani, Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti and Vice Chancellor, UET, Syed Imtiaz Hussein Gilani.  He said that Jalozai Project of the University would have tremendous effect in every sphere of economic activity and appreciated the hard work and untiring efforts made by management of the university and officials of the provincial government converting the vision into reality.
The Prime Minister said that higher education is the engine that drives countries towards development and advancement. He said it is becoming increasingly clear that no significant improvement can be brought to any sector of the economy without introducing modern technology.
The Prime Minister said industry obviously depends directly on technology for efficiency and competitiveness, however, agriculture and the services sector also depends heavily on technology.  He was of the view that acquiring modern technology is a matter of survival for any nation, saying without actualizing this change agent, hope to defend our motherland, meet the increasing needs of our people, fight and alleviate poverty in our society, and in general, acquire and maintain a respectable place in the comity of nations.
Yusuf Raza Gilani said that that technology cannot be simply imported and assimilated to achieve long term and sustainable benefits. The assimilation, he said requires trained manpower to develop, design, manufacture, operate and maintain modern technology indigenously.
He stressed the nation should be cognizant that technology developing at a very fast pace and the technology of today, he said may become routine in five years, and obsolete in ten.  He said that it is not enough to get persons trained from abroad but must have the capacity to create and disseminate modern engineering knowledge ourselves. This is the proper role of engineering universities.  These universities, he said must be supported and strengthened to carry out research and development and spread the knowledge of modern technology to our youth.
The prime minister said there is a strong case for giving engineering education priority through targeted funding, not only so that we should assured means to produce the wealth to improve our economy, but also for meeting other desirable social and environmental goals. Engineers, he said can play a lead role in projects that clearly benefit society, such as infrastructure development, cleaning up the environment, designing prosthetic aids for the disabled, developing and maintain efficient transportation and communication systems, finding new sources of energy and in general, alleviating the country’s poverty. There is a clear and unambiguous relationship between science and technology in a country and its level of development.
Prime Minister Gilani said that NWFP University of Engineering and Technology is the only Public Sector University entrusted with the gigantic assignment of providing engineering education and training to the entire province. The task given, he said has become more challenging when HEC fixed the target to double the students strength in UET Peshawar from 4000 to 8000 in a period of five years.
He said that it is heartening to note that the progress on the establishment of the university is according to schedule and most of the preliminary formalities have been completed. On completion, the students enrolment will be doubled up to 8000, the faculty five times up to 250 and introduction of state of the art laboratories would definitely make a huge difference in the academic ambiance.
The achievement, he said would naturally be viewed in the context of expectations to produce world class engineers who could serve the country’s local needs. It will only be the quality output that would matter and submerge the cost within the benefits.
He said it is impossible to put a dollar value on each graduate engineer that joins the economy, it is quite evident from empirical date that investment tin science and technology is the one, singularly important, factor that ensures advancement and sustainable development.
Complimenting the contribution of all who have put in their minds and souls for this project, he said that such that institutions are rarely established and seldom can the country afford to divert its resources. Therefore, he said it is incumbent upon all to ensure that this institution pay back to the people who are awaiting progress and prosperity.
Source :  Associated Press of Pakistan Corporation  APP
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Matriculation exams: Notices to 85 striking boards’ employees

Posted by admin 23 February, 2010 (0) Comment

LAHORE, Feb 22: The Punjab higher education department has served show-cause notices on around 85 employees of the eight education boards in the province, who are on strike demanding release of funds in compensation for the abolition of examination fee charged from matriculation students of public schools.

The board employees under the banner of Employees Federation Boards of Intermediate and Secondary Education Punjab, are on strike for last 13 days demanding release of grant to the boards to meet the expenses of the forthcoming matriculation annual examination for 2010.

These employees held massive protest demonstrations, including on Lahore board premises.

Meanwhile, the higher education department has engaged staff including officials of different universities and schoolteachers, who had already worked as external tabulators, to conduct the examinations on time.

The protesters, however, claim that it was impossible to hold the matriculation examination as per schedule.

Punjab higher education secretary Ahad Khan Cheema said the universities and schools’ staff had been sent to the boards, who would soon start dispatching roll number slips to the candidates. He claimed that examination centres were already identified and the staff was required to stamp serial numbers on answer-scripts. “Only packing and dispatch work is left in connection with the holding of the matriculation examination,” he added.

Mr Cheema said the staff sent to boards would also hold training workshops for the superintendents and invigilators.

When contacted, BISE, Lahore, Employees Welfare Association president Chaudhry Muhammad Aslam Gujjar said the education department should realise that it was a misconception that staff from universities, colleges or schools could hold the matriculation examination, which he said was highly technical and sensitive job.

He said the board employees had expertise in checking candidates’ eligibility, setting up examination centres, issue roll number slips, provide answer-sheets and above all printing of question-papers.

Gujjar said it was imperative to release grant to meet the forthcoming matriculation examination’s expenses. He said some boards were so fund-starved that they would not be able to give salaries to their staff members.

Source: Dawn

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Education vital to economic uplift

Posted by admin 20 February, 2010 (0) Comment

Prime Minister Yusuf Raza Gilani Friday said that being a developing country Pakistan should go a long way to meet international standards of education and to groom young people to understand the diversity of the global environment.

He stated this while addressing the convocation of the Air University at the Jinnah Convention Centre here on Friday.

The prime minister said that education plays a pivotal role in the development of any economy. “Pakistan needs qualified engineers and effective managers, who can sincerely put in their best efforts to improve the technological and industrial output,” he said.

Gilani said that providing education to every citizen was a mammoth task, and the government is making all out efforts to increase the literacy rate. However, those who are literate must understand their role as responsible citizens who can participate effectively in the formal and informal events of society to increase the social capital of the country.

“The role that some of our institutes of higher learning like Air University are playing to meet these standards is commendable both in terms of maintaining their religious and cultural identity, as well as respecting global values and traditions,” He said: “We must become a self-reliant nation. For this a viable route is to begin by collaborating with advanced countries to develop the technological expertise in our own country. This way we wouldn’t just be cutting down on our expenses, but in the long run will also be able to export this technology to other developing countries.” He added that it is for this reason that the government is collaborating with Chinese friends in various fields, including defence, of which production of JF-17 Thunder Aircraft is an example.

He said that universities impart and create knowledge and today knowledge supplants land, labour and capital. “Knowledge about the latest technologies, about the latest research, and contribution to these sectors, can help Pakistan to move forward,” he said, adding that our reliance on the developed countries for advanced knowledge and technology adversely affects our economy, since major portion of that goes into its import.

He said that the Air University is contributing to the national growth with its 538 graduates in the disciplines of engineering and management sciences. “It is commendable that more than 1,000 students graduated today in contrast with its first convocation in September 2007 in which a total of 468 students were conferred degrees,” he said.

The names of the gold medalists in various disciplines included Salman Jefferi, Mansoor Ahsan, Sana Lodhi, Zeeshan Hameed, Hassan Wajahat Hussain, Hameed Waseem, Mohammad Awaise, Tahir Hussain, Syed Mohammad Husnain Kazmi, Mohammad Shoaib, Naseem Mohammad, Awaise Chaudhry, Mishal Aftab, Payar Ali and Khadija Kanwal.

The silver medalists in various disciplines included Sahar Usman, Kanwal Shahzadi, Hamad Maqsood, Uzma Mushtaq, Sundus Amin, Adil Zaman Babar, Mohammad Ameer Hamza Khan, Tahseen Akhtar, Zahra Nadeem, Syed Husnain Raza and Saiqa Kanwal.

Air University Vice Chancellor (VC) Ijaz Ahmed Malik, on the occasion, presented the university report. He said that it has a current enrolment of 10,977 students, including 10,645 under-graduates. He said that as many as 333 students were studying in the university’s postgraduate programmes, 1,016 were studying in its MS programmes, 108 in MBA, while six were doing PhD.

Highlighting the problems faced by the university, he said that non-availability of proper space for the setting up of laboratories and hostel facilities was a hindrance in imparting quality education to the fullest. The government had announced 78 acres of land in Sector H-11/2 for the establishment of a new campus, but the Capital Development Authority (CDA) is demanding Rs1.5 million for its acquisition. Being a private-public sector academic institution, the Air University cannot pay this huge amount, he added.

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Professors lecturers transferred

Posted by admin 20 February, 2010 (0) Comment

Saturday, February 20, 2010

LAHORE : THE Higher Education Department, Punjab, on Friday issued posting/transfer orders of professors and lecturers against administrative posts.

According to a handout, Associate Professor Tariq Maqbool (BPS-19), Director of Education (Colleges), Multan Division, has been transferred and posted as Principal Govt Islamia College of Commerce, Allama Iqbal Town, Lahore, against Muhammad Iqbal Chaudhry who has been transferred and directed to report to the Higher Education Department for further posting.

Associate Professor Muhammad Hussain Azad has been transferred and posted as Director of Education (Colleges), Multan Division, against Tariq Maqbool. Khalid Munir, lecturer in economics, and Tahir Mehmood, lecturer in health and physical education, have been transferred and directed to report to the Higher Education Department for postings.

Source : The News

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Youths’ access to higher education alarmingly low, says HEC

Posted by admin 19 February, 2010 (0) Comment

ISLAMABAD: Financially disadvantaged youths’ access to higher education in Pakistan is alarmingly low, Higher Education Commission (HEC) observed on Thursday during a national videoconference for developing new student loan programme.
HEC organised the conference under the USAID funded programme, which aims at providing technical assistance to HEC and USAID-partner universities across Pakistan in financial aid and fundraising. Representatives from Ministry of Finance, International Finance Corporation, State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) and public and private sector universities took part in deliberations.
While chairing the meeting, HEC Member Operations and Planning Dr Mukhtar Ahmed observed that the current situation of access to higher education in Pakistan was alarmingly low. He declared the financial constraints as one of the major reasons. The participants said due to the high cost of higher education most of financially disadvantaged youths remained deprived of higher education.
The meeting focused on different student loan models, policy issues, the feasibility and practicality of such initiatives, risks and mitigation strategies, the role of universities, HEC and the SBP.
A high-level working group has been established to analyse strategies and options for creating a national student loan programme.

Source: Daily Times Friday, February 19, 2010

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