Pakistan Education updates

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President asks medical varsities to undertake research with focus on diseases like COVID-19
May 12, 2020

APP02-12 ISLAMABAD: May 12 - President Dr. Arif Alvi chairing a meeting of Vice Chancellors of Medical Universities about Covid-19, at the Aiwan-e-Sadr. APP
ISLAMABAD, May 12 (APP)resident Dr Arif Alvi on Tuesday asked the medical universities to undertake research while following international research standards to address the challenges of health sector, with special focus on diseases like COVID-19.
He emphasized that the universities were required to provide quality education and produce good quality students.
The president was chairing a meeting of the vice chancellors of medical universities here at the Aiwan-e-Sadr about the coronavirus.
The vice chancellors briefed the meeting about the healthcare initiatives taken by their respective medical institutions in view of the corona pandemic. They highlighted the measures taken by the medical universities, including arranging training courses for doctors and paramedics, developing technical and operational guidelines for the health workers, and establishing isolation wards.
It was told that the universities had established an information technology infrastructure to provide online education and continue other academic activities.
The president appreciated the important role being played by the health professionals and medical universities in the prevailing situation of COVID-19.
The meeting was attended by Professor Tanwir Khaliq, Vice Chancellor of Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Medical University, Islamabad, Lt Gen (Retd) Syed Imran Majeed, Vice Chancellor of National University of Medical Sciences (NUMS), Rawalpindi, Dr Asad Hafeez, Vice Chancellor of Health Services Academy, Islamabad, and Dr Anis Ahmed, Vice Chancellor and Lt Gen (Retd) Azhar Rashid, Dean of Riphah International University, Islamabad.

 

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KOHAT: Kohat University of Science & Technology

| #KUST #Kohat #KhyberPakhtunkhwa

(Photo: Muhammad Hakim Afridi)

 

[Syed1.]

KOHAT: Kohat University of Science & Technology

| #KUST #Kohat #KhyberPakhtunkhwa

(Photo: Muhammad Hakim Afridi)

Wow that looks like the campus of some European university. I hope the education imparted is top notch as well

 

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University of Engineering and Technology Narowal Campus Under Construction.

Reactions:A

 

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Aitchison College, Lahore

 

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Under Construction University Centre at Aga Khan University Hospital

The first highrise building on the Stadium Road Campus, the University Centre will house academic and administrative functions. Of the seventeen story structure, the first seven floors will house administrative functions and the top seven floors the new Faculty of Arts & Sciences (FAS) and the Graduate School of Government & Public Policy (GSGPP).

Inaugurated in 2021 (planned)

Functional area

262,000 sf (excluding basements)
450,500 sf (including basements)

Facilities

Administration: Offices, Conference rooms, Training and Collaboration rooms, Prayer space, Kitchen and Staff Dining.

Academic (FAS & GSGPP): Classrooms, Lecture halls, Library, Multipurpose halls, Innovation hub, Faculty offices, Seminar and Discussion rooms.

 

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There's hardly 0.1% difference between Education & Defence for FY2019-20 of GDP
Last year education (2.5% of GDP)
Punjab: 383b
Sindh: 239b
KPK: 143b
Bln: 60b
HEC: 45b
Federal:77b
Total: 947b

Defence: 1152b Share of GDP: 2.6%

 

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Beautiful View of Islamia University Bahawalpur

 

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500 Million rupees allocated in the KP Budget 2020 for the completion of Pak-Austrian Fachhochschule Institute in Haripur.
Subjects like Railway Engineering, Artificial Intelligence, Mineral Resource Engineering and Agriculture Food Technologies will be offered.

 

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Punjab makes Holy Quran teaching with translation mandatory in universities

The Punjab government has made the teaching of the Holy Quran with translation mandatory in all provincial universities, according to a notification issued by the provincial government on Sunday.

“Student will not be awarded a degree if he or she does not study the Holy Quran with the translation,” said the notification.

The notification further states that lecturers in all universities of Punjab will teach the Holy Quran with translation to all students.

It added that the Quran will be taught separately from the Islamiat subject.

 

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Gambat Institute of Medical Sciences GIMS District Khairpur, Sindh

 

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Shrinking space for academics who teach critical thinking

Umar Cheema

June 25, 2020

ISLAMABAD: On Saturday last, twitter was abuzz with discussion about academics being fired for their political beliefs. A tweet by Dr Ammar Ali Jan triggered this debate. It was about his decision to quit teaching at Forman Christian College Lahore. This was not something surprising for many who know him; it was however sad for them.

Pakistan's two prestigious learning institutions in Lahore – Government College University and Punjab University – fired him one after another for he allegedly instigated students; Punjab University went on to allege him of “fanning anti-state” sentiments. In four years, he has taught at three institutions and none could afford him; FIRs and arrests for instigating students are apart from that. He had ample opportunities to teach abroad after doing his PhD from Cambridge University but Ammar wanted to teach in Pakistan’s public sector universities.

“After returning to Pakistan in 2016,” he tweeted, “I was committed to teaching at a public sector university. I joined Government College University and later Punjab University. Both institutions fired me citing ‘national security’ as a reason.” As he joined FC College, things changed for him during the Students Solidarity March “where I was accused of being an instigator. I was charged with sedition….Unknown people began putting pressure on the FCC administration to fire me. I was called in by the Rector who told me to quit all public activities as FCC is in a ‘sensitive’ situation and cannot become controversial.”

Responding to the Rector, Ammar said he couldn’t give up as one of his students (Alamgir Wazir) was in jail for demanding education reforms and students union whereas the sedition case was still pending against him (Ammar). As he didn’t budge from his position, things started changing. His contract was revised moving him from assistant professor position to visiting faculty and finally he left. “It appears that the academic journey for me in Pakistan might be over after the unfortunate end at FCC,” he wrote in the twitter thread.

The reaction that followed was as much revealing. Where different individuals shared their own teaching experiences and how they were removed, an economics professor of the prestigious Institute of Business Administration was overwhelmed to read Ammar’s episode. He went on to offer him a job at IBA. “[Please] come to Karachi and join our institute…IBA provides liberty and power to all of our academics. Start a new journey with a new spirit,” the professor said and Ammar accepted his gesture by paying thanks and promising to visit Karachi. Later, the IBA professor deleted the tweet for the reasons that couldn’t be determined.

Other notable tweets were a reflection on sorry academic affairs where teachers are disciplined through length of contract. Where Ammar’s contract was changed from assistant professor to visiting faculty, an eminent physicist and public intellectual is also facing such a challenge and at the same institution. Dr. Pervez Hoodbhoy was hired for a three-year term as Distinguished Professor of Physics and Math at FC College and later his contract was reduced to one-year, it has been learnt. The News couldn’t get a version of college as there is no designated spokesman. An effort to get version on Ammar case from his head of the department didn’t yield results either. Dr Ryan Brasher was sent a text message seeking his opinion on Ammar’s thread regarding FC College but he didn’t respond.

Mohammad Haneef, an acclaimed author and novelist, reacting to Ammar’s ouster said he has also been “shown the door” from Karachi’s Habib University where he was in visiting faculty. However, the university’s academic affairs dean in a rejoinder said he had not been shown the door. Instead, Chris Taylor added, this was Haneef’s one year contract which has expired and that he has taught at the university before. In April 2018, this university made headlines when a visit it organized was forcibly cancelled only an hour before it was due to be held. In addition, the guest speaker was forced off campus by the university security despite the fact that he was there at the university’s invitation.

In Government College University Lahore, Ammar wasn’t the only faculty member shown the door. A couple of others were forced to quit. Dr. Amir Iqbal, a mathematician with a PhD from Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) University was forced to leave due to humiliating contractual employment wherein he had to seek extension each year. He’s now teaching at Harvard University. Amir’s crime: He had unearthed an Rs638 million scam disclosing GCU paid fake salaries to European professors. Some teachers came from Europe for 15 days and then left while many didn’t come in the first place. Amir was asked to investigate the matter and he prepared a 450-page report instead.

Zaigham Abbas, a political science teacher at GCU, is the latest casualty. He had started teaching there together with Ammar and both of them would receive a meagre salary of Rs23000 per month each. A native of Gilgit-Baltistan, Zaigham joined academia by passion instead of going for CSS. Like Ammar, he was also popular among students and would encourage them to think critically. His contract was being extended every three years until February this year. One morning, he went to teach and found a colleague teaching there. Zaigham was told that his contract has not been renewed. He was drawing Rs35000 per month at the time of his ouster.

The News spoke to Vice Chancellor of GCU Dr. Asghar Zaidi. He said that different departments are independent in taking their decisions. Talking about Dr Amir, he said it was the board’s decision to ask him to appear before a selection panel for a three-year appointment but Amir was reluctant. He said he had received an offer from Harvard and wouldn’t continue there, according to Dr Zaidi. About Zaigham, he said he should have contacted him. (Zaigham told The News he tried to meet him a number of times and also exchanged texts. VC denies). Dr Zaidi however admitted that contractual arrangement has been used many a time as an instrument against teachers and that he is trying to fix it by regularizing more and more teachers.

 

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Al-Otaibi named new IIUI president

Appointment unanimously approved by university’s Board of Trustees


July 01, 2020

ISLAMABAD: The federal government on Tuesday approved the name of Saudi educator Dr Hathal bin Hamoud Al-Otaibi as the next president of the International Islamic University Islamabad (IIUI).

He will replace Dr Ahmed Yousif Al-Draiweesh.

Dr Al-Otaibi’s appointment was okayed during a meeting of IIUI’s Board of Trustees (BoT) led by Pakistan’s President Dr Arif Alvi - the chancellor of the university.

During the 14th meeting of the BoT at the Aiwan-i-Sadr on Tuesday, President Dr Alvi said that the university was a great centre of learning which provided not only modern education but also had greater contribution in educating students about Sharia, Islamic history and culture. He directed the management of the university to set specific goals and vision, and fix a timeframe for achieving them.

He also appreciated the cooperation extended by Saudi Arabia and the Islamic Development Bank (IDB) for the university. He further thanked the Al-Azhar University in Egypt, for sending 30 teachers and bearing their financial responsibilities.

Dr Alvi paid tribute to IIUI’s outgoing president Dr Al-Draiweesh, his efforts and contributions for the promotion of education.

Addressing a meeting through video-link from Jeddah, Organization of the Islamic Council (OIC) Secretary General Dr Yousaf bin Ahmed Al-Othaimeen thanked Pakistan for offering 100 scholarships for students of 15 under-developed countries. He also expressed his condolences over the loss of lives in the attack on the Pakistan Stock Exchange, and reiterated OIC’s support to stand by Pakistan in its fight against terrorism.

IDB President Dr Bandar Hajjar assured the meeting that the bank will continue to fund the Waqf project of the university.

Earlier, IIUI Rector Professor Dr Masoom Yasinzai presented the ‘Rector’s Report’ and briefed participants about the activities and the role of the varsity in promoting education in the country. The BoT expressed its satisfaction and appreciated the university’s achievements.

Later, the board unanimously approved the Dr Al-Otaibi as the new president of IIUI.He currently heads the Imam Muhammad bin Saud Islamic University.

Professor Dr Al-Otaibi holds a PhD in work psychology and psychology of individual differences from the University of Madrid in Spain. He is also a member of the Saudi Arabian Association for Educational and Psychological Sciences and of the Spanish Psychologists Association. He is also a member of the International Conference for Training and Human Resource.

As an administrator, he has held the position of dean at thje Institute Affairs Abroad at Imam Muhammad Ibn Saud University in Riyadh, while he has also served as the head of the Psychology Department of the university and the chairman of the Graduate Studies Committee in the department at teh university.

He has also served as a full time adviser in the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Higher Education, and the Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques program for external scholarships. Dr Al-Otaibi worked as the head of the quality committee of the Psychology Department apart from being a training consultant in human resource and a member of the curricula and curriculum committees.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 1st, 2020.

 

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Top 5 Business & Management Universities in Pakistan

Top 5 Business & Management Universities in Pakistan

Here is a list of Top 5 Universities offering business degree in Pakistan


Lahore University of Management Sciences, Lahore


The Suleman Dawood School of Business (SDSB), established in 1986, was the first of the schools at the Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS). The need for a challenging and relevant curriculum suggested the use of case studies rather than conventional lectures to impart knowledge.

The Business School offers Undergraduate, Graduate and post-graduate degrees in multiple academic disciplines.

Institute of Business Administration Karachi


Despite a rapid increase in the number of business schools, the IBA has maintained its position as the premier Institution of higher learning in the field of Management and Business Administration.

The IBA initially offered its MBA program only for day scholars. In 1957, an Evening Program was started to cater to the needs of the numerous working executives and managers who were interested in furthering their careers through part-time business studies. In 1982, a three-year BBA (Honors) Program was introduced which has now been upgraded to a four-year BBA program.

Iqra University,Karachi


The IQRA University is chartered by the Government of Sindh vide Sindh Government Ordinance No.VI of 2000 having Campuses across Pakistan and is having collaboration with foreign universities. The University offers a diverse range of graduate and post-graduate courses as well as PhD programmes of International level in Business and Management Sciences.

National College of Business Administration & Economics, Lahore


NCBA&E is covering a vast range of disciplines and offering career programs at multiple levels such as; professional certifications, undergraduate studies, graduate studies, and post graduate studies in Business and management studies

NCBA&E also offer Mphill and MS in Business Administration



Shaheed Zulfikar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science & Technology, Karachi

The Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA) and the Master of Business Administration (MBA) programs are accredited by the National Business Education Accreditation Council (NBEAC). Students who complete their BBA degree from SZABIST are provided exemption in the ACCA papers F1, F2, F3, and F4.