| January 24, 2009 | Saturday | Muharram 26, 1430 |
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Importance of maritime education
Questions the nation asks
Patience is a virtue
Calling cards companies
Appeal to FPSC
Encroachment in MDA Scheme-I
The culture of wall chalking
Remembering Brig Atif
Readers are requested to restrict their comments to a maximum of 400 words. We reserve the right to edit letters for reasons of clarity and space. Letters, including those by e-mail, should carry the complete postal address of the sender. The views expressed in these columns do not necessarily reflect the views of the newspaper.—Editor
APROPOS of Humair Ishtiaq’s article, ‘The highs and the lows’ (Jan 11), the Higher Education Commission believes that it is important to base opinion on facts, which has not been done in this case. Consider, for example, that not a single HEC scholar is studying in Poland or the Czech Republic.
On the issue of medical education, it is important to get facts straight. In the public sector, there are five universities: Dow University of Health Sciences, Karachi; University of Health Science, Lahore; Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences, Jamshoro; Khyber Medical University, Peshawar; and King Edward Medical University, Lahore. In the private sector, there are only three, namely: Aga Khan University, Baqai Medical University and Ziauddin Medical University.
Real universities such as those that can be seen functioning are not created at a whim as suggested. Since research in the health sector, especially in the basic health sciences such as anatomy, pathology, physiology, pharmacology and biochemistry, has been negligible in the last 55 years, the government felt the need to introduce an opportunity and environment that would bring the required change.
Universities have a two-fold responsibility. One, of course, being the dissemination of knowledge, but what is more important is acquiring of new knowledge through research.
The HEC has done what was possible to enhance the quality of medical education. It has twice modernised and revised the curricula to bring medical education up to international standards for MBBS, BDS, nursing education and eastern medicine. The third revision is under way.
At present 68 scholars are studying in technologically advanced countries while 485 are availing themselves of indigenous scholarships in the medical sciences. Moreover, under the Post-doctoral Fellowship for University Teachers Scheme, 88 university teachers have received training in biological and medical sciences so far. While 48 development projects in medical and health sciences have been approved and are at various stages of implementation, general universities have been selected to house medical sciences and medicine departments such as Tissue Culture Technology Park at University of Karachi; Forensic DNA Laboratory at Centre for Molecular Biology, Lahore; Nuclear Medicine Research Laboratory, University of Peshawar; and College of Conventional Medicines setting up Herbal Analytical and Histopathology Laboratories at Islamia University, Bahawalpur.
Public-sector universities receive a percentage of their recurring grants from the government which only covers their salaries. This percentage ranges from 48 per cent to 64 per cent in their total budget as these grants are based on student enrolment.
While the grant in rupees, taking inflation into consideration, was Rs38,352 in 2006-07 and came down to Rs22,995 in 2007-08 and may decrease further in 2008-09. The financial difficulties facing universities are not due to mismanagement of any funds but rather due to the budget cuts imposed by the government.
No lavish expenditure has been incurred on any project. In case the writer proposes to decrease expenditure on education, it would be prudent to recall what Derek Bok stated: “If you think education is expensive, try ignorance!”
AAYESHA IKRAM
Deputy Director, Media & Publications, Higher Education Commission
Islamabad
THIS is apropos of the letter, ‘Importance of maritime education’ (Jan 22), by a very competent Master Mariner, Capt Khurshid Khalid.
I had the pleasure of conducting Mr Khalid’s (title of Capt. omitted deliberately as he had not qualified as Master till then) Master’s oral examination about two decades ago. He passed in the first attempt, as he rightly deserved because of his excellent knowledge and competence.
Capt Khurshid, unlike a few other contributors on this topic, did not hide his financial linkages with a private training institution (PTI). On this score, Capt Khalid’s professional integrity deserves appreciation.
Capt Khalid’s main comments are of two types: a) subjective comments about my thinking, attitude, feelings, etc., and b) a specific observation about preparatory courses. I qoute: “Why were these mandatory in Pakistan until August 2007 vide the directorate’s circular letters No. 031 and 037 dated Dec 3, 1996 and Dec 9, 1999, respectively? The authenticity of Capt Rizvi’s declaration that ‘these preparatory courses were never compulsory’ can be judged in the light of the above directorate’s circulars.”
For brevity and objectivity, there is no need to comment on point (a) above. Observations in point (b), though, deserve a specific reply:
1. I have not said that ‘these preparatory courses were never compulsory.’ What I wrote “….that there has never been any compulsory requirement of attending these coaching classes in present or any previous examination rules….” Here the reference is being made to ‘Examination Rules’ notified in the official gazette. And I stand with the correctness of my comments. The copies of relevant examination rules can be provided to anyone, who may be interested, in support of my claim.
2. Capt. Khalid, on the other hand, is referring to two directorate’s circulars issued in 1996 and 1999. These directorate’s circulars made coaching/preparatory classes compulsory, when there was no such requirements in any government of Pakistan’s notified examination rules
3. Why were these circulars, which made these coaching classes mandatory and laid a heavy burden on poor seafarers, issued in the first place, and who were the beneficiary? The answer to this question is known to many in merchant navy. Here, I may only add that the decency and courtesy to a few senior officers of merchant navy demands that we do not seek answers to this question.
If Capt. Khalid’s college is as excellent as he claims, then why should he want the government of Pakistan to provide official crutches to his college, as seafarers would themselves join his college to pass examination, since the ministry of ports and shipping has not restrained any seafarers from attending these coaching/preparatory classes?
4. The undersigned revoked the circular of 1996 and 1999, through a circular No. 10(5)83-CNS dated August 9, 2007, to clarify the provisions of section 25(1)(C) of Pakistan Merchant Sipping (Examination and Certification of Masters and Deck Officers and Safe Manning) Rules, 2006, notified vide S.R.O 109(KE)/2006 dated November 2, 2006.
I hope the above facts clarify the issue.
CAPT MUSTAFA Y. RIZVI
Former Acting Chief Nautical
Surveyor and Principal Examiner of Masters and Mates, Ministry of Ports and Shipping
Karachi
PAKISTAN at the moment is going through a tough time in every department. Price hike, energy crisis, terrorism, women discrimination, religious extremism, deteriorating law and order situation, judicial crisis and unemployment have added significantly to the miseries of ordinary people.
Moreover, the power crisis has rendered tens of thousands of people jobless across the country. Each passing day is pushing thousands of people under poverty line. It is becoming far difficult even for the middle class to manage two square meals for their family.
Federating units are losing their faith in the federal system. A democratic government is back to this country almost after a decade but it is not able to turn things for the better of the common people of this country. The government seems to fail on every count, right from diplomatic affairs to price control.
Now bomb blasts are the things our homeland is identified with. And the irony is that our top leadership thinks that only by condemning the attacks they are absolved of their duty and no more things to be expected from them.
This state of hopelessness raises some questions: if a democratic government of the day is unable to provide basic rights to the citizens of this country, then where should this nation go? Is there any ray of hope at the end of the tunnel? Do citizens of this country deserve this treatment meted out to them?
MOHAMMAD ZUBAIR
Lahore
“Patience is bitter, but its fruits are sweet”. — Rousseau
“Everything comes if a man will only wait”. — Tancred
A. WAHEED Khalfe’s discourse, ‘Patience is a virtue’ (Dawn Magazine, Jan 18) is definitely a breath of fresh air, especially in an intellectually suffocating atmosphere of this land. Nevertheless, while delving on the topic of ‘patience’, Mr Khalfe started discussing another, though not less significant, human value, i.e. ‘tolerance’ , the nature has bestowed on its creature.
‘Patience’ and ‘tolerance’ are two most amazing human virtues, though at times used as a synonym but are having different connotations and usages.
According to ‘The New Webster Encyclopedia Dictionary’, patience means the quality of being patient; the power or capacity of physical endurance; character or habit of mind that enables one to suffer afflictions, provocation or other evil, with a calm unruffled temper, calmness; composure; quietness or calmness or waiting for something to happen; forbearance; long sufferings; constancy in labor or exertion; perseverance, a card game played by persons alone.
Tolerance, however, is the quality of being tolerant; the capacity or act of enduring; a disposition to be patient and indulgent towards those whose opinions or practices differed from one’s own.
Tolerance comes with age and the urge to coexist peacefully with others who have fundamentally different beliefs or values. According to Goethe, “I see no fault committed that I myself could not have committed at some time or other”.
Within western political philosophy, toleration was first discussed during Wars of Religion between Catholics and Protestants. When attempts to impose a single religion failed, the assumption that political stability required a common religion was replaced by the principle of toleration.
Thus with war and destruction, on the one hand, and enormous intellectual activities, on the other hand, started after Renaissance in every field of life created space for awakening: suggesting that better life cannot be achieved unless tolerance is made an article of faith. This was the period when Voltaire said: “Tolerance of all religions is a law of nature”.
Patience, however, is a cardinal virtue practised by prophets and men of exalted understanding and knowledge: having enormous capacity to comprehend universal laws of nature. These immutable laws have been functioning from times immemorial in such perfection and precision that only a discerning eye can comprehend. The Holy Quran has laid much emphasis on seeking patience.
Mr Khalfe is correct in saying that that there was a time when tolerance walked these lands. Even the best instance of tolerance for a Muslim is provided in the Quran wherein a non-believer is urged “for you your religion, and for my religion (109-7)”.
Then what went wrong? The reason is obvious, ie the basic source that develops in a person such value is the quality education, which has received the least importance in the last more than four decades.
Therefore, unless we teach and practise the significance of this important human value, the well-being of society will remain at the precipice of narrow-mindedness and bigotry, to our own peril and sufferings.
MANZOOR H. KURESHI
Karachi
MANY telecom companies are offering prepaid calling cards, for international destinations, each claiming to be more efficient and economical than the others. One of the leading was the ‘Callmate’ which some time ago vanished into thin air after a fraud of millions of rupees in unpaid PTCL dues, as well as prepaid cards sold to customers, for which no refund was paid when they closed shop abruptly.
Ironically, no action was taken against their owners by the government or the telecom authorities despite several complaints in the press and media. I still hold a thousand rupees worth of Callmate’s unscratched/unused prepaid cards (as a bitter souvenir) which I had purchsed for talking to my children receiving higher education abroad.
A PTCL call to Australia now costs Rs15/minute and a well-wisher advised me to use ‘Combo’ card of Burraq Telecom for more economical calls, I took the bait and purchased one for Rs250 today. After following instructions to scratch the card, feed that number and # key and then dial my number, I was surprised to hear that my card had already expired. The shopkeeper would not replace the card or refund my money saying that the card had been scratched.
After a lot of arguments that with ‘No expiry date’ mentioned on the card and just an indication that this card is valid for six months from the date of first use, how would a customer know it without scratching and using the card? He advised me to call the Helpline, where after a lot of explanation and arguments the the operator finally agreed to extend the expiry date and I was happy.
Following the instructions very carefully again I was finally able to dial my number in Autralia, but surprised to hear that my call duration was only seven minutes, and it promptly got disconnected exactly after that.
After that call I dialled the Helpline again to inquire their tariff for Australia. The person would not reply to my query but repeatedly insist that durations are mentioned at dialling the numbers. More annoyingly he would neither give me the name or number of any responsible person to contact for my query, nor the company address, its location or telephone numbers to lodge a complaint.
I finally accessed their web site from the card and checked their Int’l Tariff, which indicates Rs100 for four minutes for mobile. Even as per tariff my call should have been at leat 10 minutes. Only a fool would call at Rs33/mt. instead of 15 if he knew their call charges before buying their card, scratching it or going to the web site first.
All a customer can do now is to scratch his own head because probably the telecom authority cannot scratch the backs of the calling card companies. And is this the law of the day for all such authorities, or will somebody concerned hear or help the poor customers being fleeced.
IJTABA ZAIDI
Karachi
The FPSC is presumed to be a prestigious authority that recruits on the basis of merit and talent. But this time the institution has displayed negligence.
I appeared in the competitive examinations (CSS 2008) and the result was declared on Sept 1 last, but my result was withheld.
Later on Sept 8, the FPSC issued me a letter of rejection of my candidature. I filed an appeal with the chairman of the FPSC on Sept 16 regarding the rejection of my candidature and requested the authority to review my case, as conventionally the commission provides a chance to candidates and arranges hearings to decide their matters.
The same pattern has been followed this time also and many candidates have been called for a hearing, but unfortunately my case has been ignored. I earnestly appeal to the authorities concerned, as well as to the president of Pakistan, to provide me necessary assistance and relief as soon as possible, as it was my last chance to sit for a CSS examination. Any further delay will weaken my case. I look positively that my candidature and my result status will be decided fairly.
AZIZULLAH CHANDIO
(Roll No 656, CSS 2008) Hyderabad
WHILE on a recent visit to my plot, located in Sector 25 of the Malir Development Authority Scheme-1, I was shocked to see that almost the entire and probably the adjacent sectors also comprising several hundred plots have been encroached upon by the land mafia. A shanty town of semi-pukka / kutcha houses and huts have sprung up.
This encroachment on government land allotted to Pakistani citizens through balloting towards the fag-end of 1997 could not have been done without the connivance of the officials and employees of the MDA as well as of the local police.
The MDA authorities are legally duty bound to end this encroachment by demolishing these illegal / unlawful structures as soon as possible. Otherwise, more sectors will be encroached upon and will open floodgates of litigation by the allottees against the MDA.
The allottees have paid to the MDA the entire cost of the plots, including development charges, for the construction of roads, supply of water, electricity and other amenities.
Besides the MDA authorities, the city nazim, Karachi, and the minister of local bodies, government of Sindh, are requested to act quickly to get the encroachments removed and help in restoring the plots to the legal allottees.
OMAR DARAZ
Karachi
AS we decode messages inherent in wall chalking, we get to know motives behind it. The major motive behind wall chalking is ‘catharsis’. Through wall chalking, the common man who does not possess economic and political power expresses his opinion and his emotions.
In order to understand this, it is important to study society and culture where wall chalking is frequently seen. In societies where political instability is prevalent and institutions are not properly built, wall chalking is frequently witnessed. In Pakistan this is happening due to lack of political stability.
Then comes the form of dictatorial and authoritarian societies. In such societies power accumulated by one man is so immense that it tends to deprive people of their representation and even if representation is there, it is a fraud to hide authoritarian tricks. This is in fact linked with democracy because even for bad democracy, more democracy is the only situation.
Then it is significant to understand this phenomenon with reference to developing and developed countries. In developed countries attention is paid to what people have to say. In this regard the media plays a significant role. Due to these factors wall chalking is not that common in developed countries.
In developing countries the case is vice versa. Here weak institutions, political instability, economic crunch, absence of accountability and corruption are common phenomena. All these factors create a sense of anxiety, insecurity, and negative sentiments among the people. In such countries, wall chalking is frequently seen because it becomes a source of expression. Besides, it has been observed that youths or adults are more prone to wall chalking.
So, it is necessary to develop democratic attitudes not on political level only but in family relationships as well because these are basic units for determining general temperament of society.
With democratic attitudes comes an urge to create an atmosphere of tolerance, sacrifice and peaceful resolution of disputes through exchange of views and direct talk. People when trained on these lines from the very beginning will automatically create a better society devoid of frustration and suppression that leads to such activities as wall chalking.
Due to these factors the students of Imperial College of Business Studies have taken an initiative to overcome this issue and provide a better environment to the community and hope that the citizens of Pakistan join hands with them to overcome the issue of wall chalking.
ASIFA CHAUDHRY
Lahore
ON Dec 7 last Nature picked from amongst us a hockey enthusiast, wizard and great sportsman whose performance remains. unmatched. In him we have lost a great hockey man (aged 80) who left behind a void which it appears to be difficult to fill, if not impossible.
By the time he reached the pinnacle of glory, he had almost all honours in the world of hockey under his belt.
After early school and college education at Gujrat, his insatiable love for hockey took him to Lahore at Government t College where he started climbing the ladder of fame. There was nothing to stop him. He chose army as his profession and rose to become a brigadier. After the fall of Dhaka he became a prisoner of war until repatriated.
He was selected for Punjab University, Pakistan Army, national team for Olympics in 1952, 1956, 1960, 1964. Asian Games 1962. Medals that he won were one Olympic gold and two silver, besides one Asian gold medal. He scored 20 goals in Olympics and international matches. As administrator he was manager at three Olympics, one Asia Games and World Cup.
In recognition of his enviable performance the government conferred on him Pride of Performance, Sitara-i-Pakistan and Tamgha-i-Imtiaz (M). The International Olympic Committee conferred on him the Olympic Order of Merit, the only Pakistani to get the award. FIH honoured him with ‘Member of Honour’.
He was secretary of the Asian Hockey Federation 1978-1994; vice president of FIH 1982-2002 and chairman of the Rules Board 1994-2002. He held the fort of the PHF as secretary-general for several years.
In the Indo-Pakistan subcontinent only four persons played in four Olympics, two from Pakistan of which Atif was one.
To commemorate his achievements three references were arranged at Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad.
Grief-stricken lovers, some with wet eyes, paid rich tribute. Among the prominent persons who spoke were Air Marshal Nur Khan, Qasim Zia, Tariq Aziz, Kh. Aslam, Munir Dar, Hassan Sardar, Shehnaz Sheikh, Zakauddin, Parveen Atif.
He was manager of the Pakistan team at three Olympics, winning two gold and bronze medals. It was a strange coincidence that when he was manager in 1968 Olympics the captain was no other than Tariq Aziz who played as left full back as Atif did during his heydays.
He is survived by two sons and two daughters. Perveen Atif, his wife, in her own right as a well-known writer and president of the Pakistan Women’s Hockey Association, has a claim to stardom.
Atif was buried at Islamabad in the presence of many of his admirers. May his soul rest in peace. Aamin.
M. ARSHAD CHAUDHRY
University of Agriculture, Faisalabad
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