QAU employees protest after VC sends registrator on forced leave

ISLAMABAD: A large number of the Quaid-i-Azam University’s (QAU) employees on Wednesday staged a protest against the vice chancellor for forcibly sending the registrar on leave and the university not resolving their issues.

The varsity’s vice chancellor, Dr Javed Ashraf sent Registrar Dr Shafiqur Rehman on forced leave on Wednesday saying this was according to the decision of the syndicate, which met on Monday and consists of 13 members including some lawmakers, three QAU faculty members, secretary Ministry of Education and a representative of the Higher Education Commission (HEC).

Teachers give govt two weeks for their promotion

PESHAWAR: The All Teachers Coordination Council, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa chapter, has warned of launching a province-wide protest campaign if the government failed to accept its demands for award of time-scale promotion, jobs quota for teachers’ siblings, and teaching allowances within two weeks.

Rs 6 b scholarships for girl students of 16 districts

LAHORE: Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has launched “Khadam-e-Punjab Zewar-e-Taleem Programme” in 16 districts of South Punjab under which educational scholarships worth Rs6 billion will be distributed every year in girl students and the program will benefit more than 460,000 students. Also, it has been decided to include students of madrassas in the laptop scheme.
Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif expressed these views at the Aiwan-e-Iqbal while distributing Khidmat card among the girl students. He said the aristocracy enjoyed all facilities but the poor people drastically needed even basic facilities. He said the aristocracy should stop opposition of the programmes aimed at the welfare and development of the common people.

Arrangements for upcoming National Book Fair enter final stage

The arrangements to organize the grand festival of National Book Fair in federal capital from April 22-24 have entered into final stages.
This was conveyed by the officials of National Book Foundation (NBF) during a meeting held here Wednesday to review arrangements of book fair.

Pakistan triples representation in list of Asia's best universities

LONDON: Pakistan has tripled its representation in the list of Asia’s best universities with seven Pakistani institutions in the top 300.

The Times Higher Education list for the latest Asia University Rankings 2017 shows that Pakistan has seven institutions in the top 300, five of which are new entrants.

In a first, Karachi's UIT students develop robotic legs model for the disabled

Three students of Usman Institute of Technology (UIT), Karachi have developed a model for wearable robotic legs, which will help disabled persons move and function on their own again.

“We have developed this exoskeleton model for paraplegics to assist them in the functions of sitting, standing and walking,” explained Moutasim Abbasi, who led the project. The other two students included Adil Hanif and Muhammad Usman.

The group, working under the supervision of Associate Professor Engineer Raza Jafri, exhibited their four months of hard work and research at the Pakistan Auto Parts Show (PAPS) held recently at Expo Centre, Karachi.

UET VC told to denotify appointments

LAHORE: The Higher Education Department (HED) has again directed the University Of Engineering and Technology vice chancellor to denotify the unlawful/irregular appointments of the registrar, deputy registrar and controller within the next seven days, rejecting its stance on the issue.

As a last effort, the UET administration through a letter No Univ/PS/Reg/21 of Jan 21 along with a report of the committee, had explained its point of view to prove that the appointments were made under the law. However, the explanation couldn’t satisfy the department.

HEC, French embassy celebrate cooperation

Islamabad-Higher Education Commission in collaboration with Embassy of France on Thursday celebrated ‘Pak-French Cooperation’ in higher education sector to strengthen the bilateral relations.

The Minister of State for Federal Education and Professional Training, Baligh-ur-Rehman, Dr Chairman HEC Mukhtar Ahmed, Ambassador of France to Pakistan Martine Dorance, attended the ceremony.

100 model schools to be setup in GB: CM

Chief Minister Gilgit Balistan (GB), Hafiz Hafeezur Rehman Thursday said that his government was providing free books to students of class-I to class-X to promote education and 100 model schools would also be setup during next five years in province.
He said these positive measures had significantly increased enrollment in government schools and 1,65,000 children were being provided free books. He said provision of free books would help poor students to continue their studies without financial constraints.

NAVTTC imparting technical skills

To observe the practical training being imparted to the trainees under the current phase of Prime Minister’s Youth Skill Development Program, the executive director NAVTTC, Zulfiqar Ahmad Cheema, visited various training institutes today including Govt. College of Technology, Rasul of District Mandi Bahauddin and Applied Technology Institute, Dina.

Future generations must be protected from toxicity: VC

The Vice Chancellor Sindh Agriculture University, Tando Jam Dr. Mujeebuddin Sahrai on Thursday said that we must protect our future generations from the toxicity effects due to the excessive use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers by raising awareness and promoting use of less toxic alternatives.
He was speaking at a stakeholder’s consultation workshop which was conducted as a part of the study being carried out by Global Environmental Management Services (Pvt) Limited (GEMS) for the Sindh Environmental Protection Agency (SEPA).

SU for innovative student-friendly initiatives

The Vice Chancellor University of Sindh, Prof. Dr. Fateh Muhammad Burfat has launched another innovative initiative of establishing International Standards Organization (ISO) Cell at Syed Ghulam Mustafa Shah Administration Building on Thursday.

21 e-Libraries to be set up in Punjab: Shahbaz

LAHORE: (APP) Headway on the programme of establishing E-Libraries in Punjab was reviewed in a meeting presided over by Punjab Chief Minister Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif here Thursday.

Addressing the meeting, the CM said the Punjab government was setting up state-of-the-art e-libraries in various cities of the province which would give contemplate study opportunities to residents in a conducive atmosphere that would also help to restore dying reading culture.

Fazl asks students to exercise restraint

DERA ISMAIL KHAN: Jamiat Ulema-e-Islam-Fazl (JUI-F) chief Maulana Fazlur Rahman on Thursday urged the seminary students to discourage the use of force and dedicate their lives to the cause of humanity.

He was speaking at the certificate distribution ceremony among the students who completed studies at the Jamiatul Arifia Al-Sharia here. The Maulana said that Islam is the religion of peace, adding the JUI-F believed in a peaceful struggle for implementation of Islamic law in the country.

US students term Hijab symbol of feminism, empowerment

WASHINGTON: While the issue of Hijab for students in Punjab has created a heated debate among mainstream Pakistani political parties, scarf-wearing Muslim students in the United States have termed Hijab a symbol of their empowerment and feminism.

Since the election of President Donald Trump, Hijab is emerging as a symbol of resistance to Islamophobia amid policies from the Trump administration targeting Muslim immigrants. As a part of its series on women of America, a mainstream American newspaper USA Today carried interviews of Muslim university students who defended their right to wear Hijab as an empowering tool.