16 February 2004	Monday	24 Zilhaj 1424

HYDERABAD, Feb 15: People's Party Parliamentarian MNA Nawab Abdul Ghani Talpur has deplored the deteriorating standard of education in the country and said it needed to be improved.

Speaking as chief guest at an "Educational Conference" organized by the Ustad Bukhari Literary Forum in Kotri on Saturday, the MNA called upon parents and teachers to fulfil their responsibilities in imparting quality education to children.

He said the district government should allocate 80 per cent budget for the promotion of education. Professor Marhab Kasmi said efforts were being made to improve the standard of education. He was of the opinion that technical education was more important than formal education in this competitive age.

Professor Farida Shaikh said the pursuit of knowledge was a religious duty of every Muslim. Allah Nawaz, Abdul Rehman Siyal, Mariam Shah and others also spoke on the occasion. Awards were also given to outstanding students.

SEMINAR: The Area Study Centre, Far East and Southeast Asia, University of Sindh, will organize a two-day international seminar on "Pakistan-Asean Relations: Constraints and Opportunities", on Feb 18 and 19.

FAREWELL PARTY: A farewell party was organized in Jamshoro on Saturday for former vice-chancellor and Higher Education Commission member Dr Abdul Qadir Mughal who has retired from the Sindh Agriculture University.

The party was hosted by another former vice-chancellor of the university, Dr Rajab Ali Memon. Speaking on the occasion, Dr Mughal said the HEC was starting a student exchange programme for universities and added that outstanding students would be sent on study tours of other universities.

He said 5000 Ph.D scholarships and funds for post-doctorate studies at the local level were available for teachers. He urged the teaching community to take full advantage of this opportunity.

SAU vice-chancellor Dr Bashir Ahmad Shaikh called upon teachers to benefit from programmes initiated by the government to improve the standard of higher education. A large number of teachers and officials of the university attended the function.