British Council to retake O, A level exams due to paper leak

LAHORE: Due to a paper leak, British Council Pakistan has asked all students of Cambridge O Level and Cambridge IGCSE to retake the examination of Islamiyat and Pakistan Studies.

The examination of Islamiyat and Pakistan Studies were taken in May all across Pakistan, however on Monday, British Council announced on its website that it has detected a security breach not initiated in Pakistan; therefore students will have to retake these examination.According to new schedule, paper one of Cambridge IGCSE Pakistan Studies (0448) and Cambridge O Level Pakistan Studies (2059) will be held on Thursday June 13 whereas paper two will be held on Friday June 14 from 9 am to 10:30 am.

Similarly, papers of Cambridge IGCSE Islamiyat (0493) and Cambridge O Level Islamiyat (2058) will also be held on same dates but the timings will be 11:30 am to 1 pm.It is pertinent to mention here that a controversy regarding Cambridge IGCSE was also generated in 2011 when the names of winners of Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards 2010 in Pakistan were listed in the list the list of Outstanding Cambridge Learner Awards 2011. However, it was later rectified but created panic among students.

“We are currently investigating a breach in the security of our exam papers for Cambridge O Level and Cambridge IGCSE Islamiyat and Pakistan Studies in Pakistan. In order to ensure the continuing integrity of our exams and results we are requiring that students take new examinations for these two subjects,” said a statement on the British Council website.It further stated, “We are aware that the security of question papers for Cambridge O Level and Cambridge IGCSE Islamiyat and Pakistan Studies in Pakistan has been compromised. This means that all students in Pakistan who sat Cambridge O Level and Cambridge IGCSE Islamiyat and Pakistan Studies in May 2013 will be required to take new examinations for these subjects”.

British council also confirmed that their investigation into the matter is ongoing, but at this stage the situation was not initiated in Pakistan and that the British Council Pakistan was not party to this compromise in any way.“This is a difficult situation for all concerned and we understand the inconvenience caused for you, your students and their families. Our first priority is to ensure a valid and fair outcome for all Cambridge students,” it added.Meanwhile, this announcement has annoyed students who had attempted these examinations earlier. Parents and teachers of these students also don’t want the retake of examination due to several circumstances.

Talking to Daily Times, Kamran, an O level student said he had already attempted the exam after hard work but if this is mismanagement of British council or Cambridge authorities then “why should the students pay the price of their mismanagement?” He urged British Council, Cambridge University administration and Pakistan’s education stakeholders not to put the future of thousands of students at stake due their own mismanagement.“If these students were not informed about the retake they would fail in their respective subjects. The British Council and Cambridge should think about students and not play with their future,” said Rizwan, a student’s father.

Seeking anonymity, a teacher of a private school offering Cambridge courses said that students as well as teachers are also not in a position to retake the examinations. She was of the view that 12 days are not enough for the proper revision of a subject. She demanded authorities to give more days to students for proper preparations.When contacted, Shahid Ashraf from the British Council said the paper was leaked due to time difference of exam conducted in Pakistan and other countries. He said that same paper is conducted across the world, which is a major reason of security breach outside Pakistan. He added that the students who are unable to attempt examination due to any reason will be able to sit in exam in November 2013 series. – DailyTimes

PU inaugurates centre for resettlement and rehabilitation

LAHORE: Punjab University Institute of Social and Cultural Studies’ National Centre for Resettlement and Rehabilitation (NCRR) was inaugurated through a video conference held at Undergraduate Study Centre here on Tuesday.

PU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran, Dean Faculty of Behavioural and Social Sciences Prof Dr Zakria Zakir, Incharge NCRR Rahila Rahat, faculty members and participants from India and Bangladesh joined through the video link. Addressing the ceremony, Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran said that there was a dire need of research for resettlement and rehabilitation of people especially in Pakistan as a large number of people had been displaced because of terrorism. He said the centre would help cope with problems being faced by South Asian countries.

Dr Zakria Zakir said that one of the aims of the centre was to produce indigenous experts rather than importing human resource. He said that resettlement and rehabilitation of the displaced people was not an easy task. He said the attitude of bureaucracy during land acquisition process was worsening problems for people.Representing the World Bank from New Delhi, John Henry Stein, Director Sustainable Development, South Asia Region said that the purpose of establishment of the centres was to provide a platform where they could share their experience and get benefit from each other’s research.

Manager Social Development Unit (Chair), World Bank, Maria Correia said that there was a need of mutual co-operation while dealing with the issues of resettlement and rehabilitation in the region.From Indian Hyderabad, Director General ASCI Dr SK Rao said that such networking would prove that we could resolve issues and would set a precedent for the rest of the

Representing BARC Development Institute from Dhaka, Dr Firdous Jahan said that outdated laws and bad administration were creating severe problems in land acquisition in Bangladesh and people were suffering in resettlement and rehabilitation process. She said that NCRR was totally a new experience for them and they would learn a lot.All the participants especially thanked Chaohua Zhang, Lead Social Development Specialist, World Bank for his support for establishment of these centres. – DailyTimes

Govt urged to announce youth emergency

ISLAMABAD: The National Youth Summit concluded here Sunday has demanded of the government to announce youth emergency in Pakistan to ensure employment opportunities in public and private sector and to provide equal access to education and opportunities.

The resolution adopted at the concluding ceremony of three-day NYS 2013 also urged federal and provincial governments to reflect plans in their Annual Development Programmes for providing frequent youth exchange programmes to youth from all provinces, FATA, Gilgit Baltistan (GB) and AJK to help them understand each other and develop cultural integration and harmony.  The three day National Youth Summit 2013, was an endeavor of ACT International with its partner organizations and Valley Trackers, aims to enhance leadership capacity, build confidence, introducing youth to the social challenges, ensure intercultural and interfaith harmony and provide them with an opportunity to network with the youth around the country.

Hundreds of students, aged 18 to 24 from across Pakistan participated in the event that was inaugurated by the President of AJK Sardar Yaqoob Khan. The summit encompassed 12 multi-dimensional sessions, addressed by leaders from various segments and professions, including political figures, journalists, leaders from business community and mentors from leading corporations. President AJK Sardar Yaqoob Khan, President Muslim Conference Sardar Atique, Deputy Speaker of AJK Assembly Shaheen Kauser , Minister for Rehabilitation AJK Abdul Majid Khan, Minister for Industries and Commerce Chaudhry Akbar Ibrahim and Shireen Fatima, Member Legislative Assembly Gilgit Baltistan also addressed the Summit.

It was highlighted that in Pakistan, around 63% of the population is concentrated below the age of 25 years while a significant portion of 55.53 (33.9%) of 186.76 million population is concentrated in the age range of 10-24 years old. It said that the youth can be an asset for the country if they are converted into human resources and engine for economic development of Pakistan; however, they can be a liability if their skills and knowledge are not developed.The participants of NSY urged the government to provide youth with uniform education by reforming the public institutions improving the regulatory framework for the private sector educational institutions.

They also asked for effective implementation of existing laws by reinforcing the judicial infrastructure in country from lower to higher court; meritocracy should be ensured within all segments of society.The resolution demanded government to announce youth emergency in Pakistan and ensure employment opportunities for 63% population of country (youth) by reforming the public sector and improving the private sector pro-youth reforms within country; provide for uniformity in educational system and syllabus all around the country. – Nation

Dozens disciplined in Harvard Scandal

Harvard University has doled out academic sanctions to dozens of students after a cheating probe connected to an open-book, take-home final exam.

The school implicated as many as 125 students in the scandal when officials first addressed the issue last year.The inquiry started after a teaching assistant in a spring semester undergraduate-level government class detected problems, including that students may have shared answers.In a campus-wide email Friday, Faculty of Arts and Sciences Dean Michael D. Smith said the school’s academic integrity board had resolved all the cases related to the cheating probe.

He said “somewhat more than half” the cases involved students who had to withdraw from the college for a period of time.Of the cases left, about half the students got disciplinary probation. The rest weren’t disciplined.Some athletes became ensnared, including two basketball team co-captains whom the school scratched from its team roster. Past reports in The Harvard Crimson also linked football, baseball and ice hockey players to the scandal.Smith said in Friday’s email that the school wouldn’t discuss specific student cases.

The dean said a school committee is working on recommendations to strengthen a culture of academic honesty and promote ethics in scholarship.“This is a time for communal reflection and action,” he wrote. “We are responsible for creating the community in which our students study and we all thrive as scholars.”Staples founder Thomas Stemberg, a Harvard graduate whose son is a student now, on Friday criticized the school’s handling of the probe.“If you challenge the entire faculty at the Harvard Business School and the Harvard Law School to come up with a process that took more time, cost more money, embarrassed more innocent students, and vindicated guilty faculty … that could not have outdone the process that took place,” he said.

Stemberg, a supporter of Harvard’s basketball team, knows some of the students caught up in the scandal and his son knows others.He wrote a complaint letter to Harvard’s president in early January claiming that the professor who taught the government class changed the rules after several exams in which “open collaboration” was encouraged.He alleged that for the take-home exam in question, instructions to students said they couldn’t collaborate with professors, teaching fellows “and others.”

“If the message was so clearly expressed, why did some of the teaching fellows go over the exam in open session … If they did not get the message, could one expect the students to understand it?”Stemberg went on to say that while some students “went too far, literally cutting and pasting their answers,” others only wrote answers from notes “derived in the collaborative atmosphere the class encouraged.”The class was known as “Introduction to Congress,” and widely seen on campus as an easy way to get a good grade.

Harvard Undergraduate Council President Tara Raghuveer said Friday that the cheating investigation has been a hot topic on campus for months. She said some students started the new school year without knowing if they’d be allowed to finish it because of the lengthy period of time the probe took.The 20-year-old junior also said there are a lot of questions about whether the take-home exam’s instructions were clear enough when it came to expectations about group work. She said both students and professors are being careful to discuss collaboration policies now.

Raghuveer also said the school community should make an effort to embrace the students who withdrew for disciplinary reasons when they come back to campus.“The students who are implicated in this scandal from last spring still need to be recognized as members of our community … They shouldn’t feel alienated from Harvard,” she said. “This was an unfortunate incident. Students are being punished accordingly.” – KahleejNews

University of Karachi’s 23rd annual convocation held

KARACHI: University of Karachi (KU) on Wednesday organised its 23rd annual convocation in which Vice Chancellor KU Dr Muhammad Qaiser awarded degrees to 3,366 students belonging to nine faculties of 2011 batch besides gold medals were also awarded to 155 position holder students.

It is pertinent to mention here that convocation was attended by only 771 students, including 182 PhD and 101 MPhil. Degrees and gold medals were distributed among students of various departments, who have done BA (Honrs), BS, MA, MLIS, Pharm D, BCom (Hons), BBA, BPA, MAS, MBA, MCom, MHRM, MSC, MCS, MS, MPhil and PhD.On the occasion, parents and faculties’ members were present.

Addressing the convocation, KU VC Dr Muahmmad Qaiser said, “I feel privileged to stand before you this morning and welcome you at the 23rd annual convocation 2012.“As you are well aware, our convocation is a significant event for the university because it is the time when the university academic grandeur is witnessed in the form of prolific faculty and graduating students. This glorious sight showcases the multifaceted excellence of the university in disciplines.”

“After joining my responsibilities as VC, my first priority was to hold meetings with all the statutory bodies of the university and arrange impending selection boards for different positions. Till date the university conducted selection boards for 187 posts of different cadres in various departments of the faculty of Arts, Science, Management and Administrative Sciences and Pharmacy,” he said.

VC further asserted that university, at present, offers academic training and research opportunities in nine disciplines, which provides number of academic programmes. In addition certificate, and diploma courses were also offered in various languages and technical subjects. “We will also establish a medical college,” he informed.

Qaiser mentioned that despite being ranked as the best university of Pakistan, KU also enjoys its status in the list of top universities of the world. “According to recent ranking by Times Higher Education and Quacquarelli Symonds (THE-QS), UK, KU was ranked among top 700 institutions of world in the disciplines of Arts, Humanities, Social Sciences and Life Science. KU stands 191st among 425 top universities of Asia as per QS Asian University Ranking 2012,” Qaiser informed.The research and academic output of the university is recognised globally as well. This institution of higher learning has a very good concentration of PhDs, he said.

Talking about major problems that university currently faces, Qaiser said that the major problem of KU was the acute financial crises. In order to deal with this issue, their prime focus was on resources generation. In addition, they had initiated the first official Alumni Association through which they are bringing closer all the alumni. As a result of this reunion, the university would be able to establish its Endowment Fund.Qaiser stated that he would like to extend his felicitations to the graduating students who had successfully completed a major phase of their life but students must keep this in mind that journey towards knowledge never ends.

Speaking to Daily Times, students expressed their jubilation and pleasure for acquiring the degrees. They said that it was the final academic achievement of their career. They were sad because they were about to be separated from their Alma matter, but were also happy for the achievement. They were experiencing mix felling of joy, sadness and an unknown fear due to the situation of job market. – DailyTimes

45 educational projects completed in Pakistan

Following the initiative launched by the President, His Highness Shaikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, aimed at supporting the education sector in impoverished Pakistani areas, the Emirati project has come to fruition, resulting in handing over 45 educational projects in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, as well as South Waziristan and Bajaur.

The projects have been implemented, accomplished and finalised according to the predetermined schedule and handed over to local education authorities.The Director of the Emirati project to assist Pakistan, Abdullah Khalifa Al Ghafli, stressed: “The wise leadership of the UAE places utmost importance on humanitarian causes, notably education and poverty, creating a better future for countries and people. The UAE’s political leadership has always provided support for the education sector in Pakistan on all academic levels, elementary to university and this support includes all individuals seeking education of both genders.”

Al Ghafli said there were two kinds of projects, one dealing with elementary education had 43 projects that included the construction, refurbishing and maintenance of elementary and secondary schools. The second included 10 projects for the construction of middle schools and a number of higher and technical education establishments. – Khaleejnews

Become a lawyer with no degree, pupils told

School leavers will be encouraged to skip university and train for highly-paid jobs as lawyers, bankers and accountants in a new wave of “professional” apprenticeships, a minister discloses today. 

Matthew Hancock, the skills minister, will call for more young people to go straight from A-levels into traditional City professions that have been “dominated” by graduates.Writing in The Daily Telegraph, Mr Hancock says “university is not for everyone”. High quality apprenticeships should be as “prestigious” as a degree.An increasing number of school leavers are choosing to work rather than spend three years at university, as students and parents avoid taking on debts of as much as £60,000 to cover fees and living costs.

The number of 18-year-olds heading to university fell by 57,000 this autumn. This trend is likely to continue as apprenticeships become a cheaper alternative to a degree.In his article, Mr Hancock says everyone, not just graduates, should have the chance to get “valuable jobs” in law, financial services and advanced engineering. He says that for too long there has been an “artificial and counterproductive division between practical and academic learning”.

“We are offering apprenticeships instead of university, as a route into the professions, including insurance, accounting and law,” he says.“University is not for everyone. There is no reason why you can’t reach exactly the same qualifications, without the degree, starting on-the-job training in an apprenticeship from day one.”Mr Hancock says there are on-the-job schemes already that give school leavers the equivalent of one year at university or “foundation” degree level.

People leaving school at 18 can start accountancy or legal executive training. Ministers now want to see apprenticeships at top firms that “truly match” studying for full or postgraduate degrees.Mr Hancock says the Government is in talks with the BPP Law School over an apprenticeship that will lead to a qualification as a solicitor.

He says PricewaterhouseCoopers, one of the “big four” professional services firms, is developing a master’s-level apprenticeship for a qualification in audit, accountancy or tax. The minister urges “more employers to step up to take advantage of the opportunity” of school leavers who want to start learning and earning rather than go to university.His comments come after the Commons business committee urged ministers to create more high quality apprenticeships that lead to better careers.

Last month, an official review by Doug Richard, an entrepreneur, recommended that apprenticeships should be seen as equal to degrees.The businessman, who appeared on the BBC’s Dragons’ Den programme, said standards of apprenticeships should be raised to stop them being regarded as “second class” in relation to university.Other experts warned that students should not forget about the value of university when choosing their future path.

Rob Wilson, an MP on the Fair Access to University Group, said he welcomed “high quality apprenticeships”. But he said: “Potential students should not forget the excellent value universities bring in terms of additional career earnings and the more rounded education.”

Sally Hunt, the general secretary of the University and College Union, said young people should not be encouraged to take decisions about their education based on cost.Labour claims that the drive to recruit apprentices has “stalled”.Chuka Umunna, the shadow business secretary, says too many apprenticeships are being given to adults, rather than school leavers. – Telegraph

PU produces seven more PhDs

LAHORE: The Punjab University has awarded seven PhD degrees to scholars in various disciplines after their successful public defence and favourable reports of foreign experts of their research work.

The scholars include Muhammad Samiullah, s/o Abdul Latif Saddique, in the subject of Islamic Studies after approval of his thesis, entitled “The Contemporary Western Approaches Toward Radical Islamic Movements (The Case of Bernard Lewis and John Louis Esposito), Umaira Ikram, d/o Sheikh Ikramuddin, in the subject of Art and Design.

She worked on “Thematic and Stylistic Analysis of Series of Paintings on the Ceiling of Gallery Sadequain’’. Khitab Gul, s/o Tawab Gul, got his degree in the subject of Molecular Biology. He worked on “Search for A New Deafness Locus by Linkage Analysis”. Kamran Mirza, s/o Mirza Ejaz Ahmad, received his degree in the subject of Geology. – Dailytimes

SC nullifies HEC ED’s appointment

ISLAMABAD: The Supreme Court of Pakistan on Monday declared the appointment of former and incumbent executive directors of Higher Education Commission (HEC) as null and void and directed the HEC Chairman to appoint new ED within 30 days.

Chief Justice Iftikhar Muhammad Chaudhry, heading a three-judge bench of the apex court, heard a petition and suspended Prime Minister’s directives on appointment of Qamar Zaman as ED. HEC counsel informed the bench that the Commission had extended the services of Sohail Naqvi as ED on August 27 but the Establishment Division gave charge of the post to Ministry of Education and Training Secretary Qamar Zaman.The bench noted the Prime Minister has no authority to appoint executive director of HEC. It ordered that a fresh appointment on the basis of merit be made on this post within 30 days and a report be submitted in registrar office.

The bench also directed to the Commission of the HEC, governing body, to appoint one of its members as ED as a stopgap arrangement till the permanent ED is appointed.   Chairman HEC Dr Javaid Laghari informed the court that the HEC employees tried to block the commission members from attending the board meeting of December 14, 2012, displaying rowdy behaviour in the lounge outside the board room and blocked him from attending office unless he recognise the authority of Maj (R) Qamar Zaman as acting ED.‘They were physically violent against me in my office on December 14 in the presence of three board members, damaged public property, and challenged the sanctity of the Chairman’s office.

These employees have also given me life threats, and warned me that if I ever again enter my office, I will face dire consequences’. On which the apex court also directed Inspector General Police Islamabad to provide security to Chairman HEC and his family and disposed off the case.It may be recalled that the governing body of the HEC on August 27 had extended the services of Dr Naqvi for another four-year term.

However, the Establishment Division in a letter to the HEC had maintained that appointment and extension of contract in the management scale was the prerogative of the prime minister and the commission could not extend the contract of its ED.HEC Executive Director Dr Sohail Naqvi was removed from the post and Qamar Zaman was given the additional charge. Initially, the Chairman refused to accept Qamar Zaman as ED but ,later on, on the directions of the Senate Standing Committee on Education and Training held on December 5 he had allowed the acting ED Qamar Zaman to perform his duties and start the process of hiring permanent ED.

Again reverting to its previous stance the 18-member Commission of the HEC had left the decision regarding appointment of ED to the Supreme Court and did not decide anything regarding removal of former ED Sohail Naqvi and the appointment of Qamar Zaman as ED.Meanwhile, HEC employees have welcomed the decision of the Supreme Court in which it has directed HEC authorities to follow proper procedure for selection of HEC’s Executive Director.In a press release, HEC Employees Association said the Supreme Court has given a landmark decision by declaring the four-year extension of Dr. Sohail Naqvi granted by the Commission on August 27, 2012 as illegal.

Dr. Naqvi has also been banned forever to become Executive Director of HEC. The court has ordered that a stopgap Executive Director should be appointed  for a period of one moth by the Commission within two days and a Regular ED should be appointed within one month out of  57  applicants (minus Sohail Naqvi) who have already applied for the post of ED against the advertisement for this position. – Nation

CM approves medical college

LAHORE: Special Assistant to Chief Minister on Health Khawaja Salman Rafique has said that a medical college is being set up in Bhakkar, namely Thal Medical College.

Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has approved the setting up of new medical college.Khawaja Salman Rafique said that Secretary Health has constituted a committee to make functional the proposed medical college where classes would be commenced from the new academic. – Dailytimes