August 25, 2003	Monday	Jumadi-us-Sani 26

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ISLAMABAD, Aug 24: Quaid-i-Azam University (QAU) has introduced a new procedure for the selection of assistant professors and lecturers with a view to improving the teaching standards of the institution, official sources told Dawn.

Under the new scheme, as a first step, an applicant has to appear for a written test organized by the respective departments that accounts for 70 per cent marks. After the test, the applicant is asked to give presentation for fifteen minutes in a roomful of students. This accounts for the remaining 30 per cent marks, they said.

After this, the departmental selection committee headed by the chairperson of the respective department selects five candidates against one post and recommends them for final interview before the selection board of the university headed by the vice-chancellor.

Under the old system, the applicants were straightaway called for interview by the selection board comprising the vice- chancellor, the dean and the chairperson of the respective department, representatives of the Federal Public Service Commission (FPSC) and ministry of education, experts and eminent scientists.

Talking to Dawn, Dr Dushka Hyder Syed, Chairperson of History Department, which has recently selected one lecturer under the new scheme, expressed her satisfaction over the new procedure.

She said under the old system, it was impossible for the board to pick up some good stuff because it only considered the applicant’s academic achievements during the interview and asked few questions about the relevant subject.

One of the major drawbacks in that procedure was that during the entire selection process the candidates were not subjected to some exercise whereby they could express their writing ability, she argued. However, under the new system, she said, an applicant was grilled from every perspective of teaching profession, hence in the end a suitable candidate was selected.

NEW ENTRY GATE: The university has installed an electronic gate at the combined entry of four hostels for the boys for security reasons. The students living in the hostels have also been issued identity cards in this connection.

The university has also renovated all the five hostels - four for boys and one for girls - at the cost of Rs2.5 million after a period of eight years.

A senior university professor told this reporter on condition of anonymity that installation of the gate was a good step provided the university strictly followed the new security plan. The students, he said, would definitely give a tough time to the university officials over the new security plan when the university opens today (Monday). Therefore, he added, the administration has to be steadfast in its commitment.