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NEWSBITS
HEC invites 67 experts from abroad to teach at local universities
The Higher Education Commission has so far invited 67 qualified and experienced experts from abroad to teach at various Pakistani public sector varsities, a senior official of the commission disclosed.
At a press briefing held on Saturday last week, HEC member Dr Sohail Naqvi said that of the 67 people offered jobs at local varsities, 10 had already assumed their duties in the country, while others would be joining different institutions soon.
He said that the hired foreign teachers were mostly Pakistanis, who had been working abroad, adding that teachers were also being hired from Russia, Rumania and Ukraine. He said that foreign teachers were being provided to only those varsities which had already applied for the same.
He stated that the HEC had planned to hire about 300 foreign teachers in a span of five years, who would be paid $3,000 to $4,000 each, per month. He said that the foreign faculty hiring scheme was introduced by the HEC as a part of its faculty support programme, whereas a number of public sector universities lacked the trained faculty in some disciplines, including Mathematics, Bio-technology and Engineering.
Replying to newsmen’s queries, Dr Naqvi said that the HEC had no foreign donors, including the World Bank, and its agenda, reforms and plans were aimed at enhancing the quality of education and research in Pakistani institutions of higher learning.
He said that in addition to making significant increase of up to Rs5 billion on development side, there had been an increase of 50 per cent in the recurring budgets of all public sector varsities during 2003-2004, while another 50 per cent increase was due in the next financial year.
He said that the HEC had also launched a digital library programme, under which researchers within public and private universities in the country would gain access to over 11,000 online international academic journals from some of the world’s top publishing houses. — Sci-tech World Report
Arsenic concentration high in potable water: study
Water quality in Punjab is fast deteriorating and the situation calls for urgent and effective measures before the situation becomes irretrievable. Speakers addressing deliberations during a seminar on ‘Safe water supply in Punjab’ expressed this concern while citing water quality studies and investigation conducted by national and international organizations on the water quality.
The Pakistan Council of Research in Water Resources (PCRWR) has launched a national-level programme for monitoring the quality of water in Pakistan since March 2001. On the basis of a study conducted in 21 cities of the country, including 11 in Punjab, concluded that:
Excess of arsenic and fluoride concentrations beyond safe limits were found in several cities of the Punjab. Out of 11 cities tested, higher arsenic content was found in six cities namely Multan, Bahawalpur, Sheikhupura, Lahore, Kasur and Gujranwala.
The results of a study by Unicef revealed that Punjab’s population was exposed to high arsenic concentration in their drinking water which caused severe health problems.
Another study conducted by the Environment Protection Agency on the quality of subsoil water in 14 district of the Punjab revealed that 239 samples out of 280 when tested were found to be unfit for human consumption.
More than two million people in the surveyed districts are drinking contaminated water which has higher than the WHO permissible level of arsenic. The studies revealed that deterioration in groundwater quality was due to disposal of untreated domestic and industrial waste in rivers and canals specially in Lahore, Faisalabad, Multan, Kasur, Rawalpindi, Islamabad and other main urban towns. Water in these areas at shallow levels was unfit for human consumption due to contamination. The seminar which was held with a concern to disseminate reports about the quality of drinking water called for several measures some of which are: (1) The permissible level of arsenic in drinking water for Pakistan may be fixed at 0.05mg/litre (50 ppb) which is safe enough; (2) population should be sensitized to use deeper water tables to avoid contamination; (3) the Punjab government may allocate substantial resources as 50 per cent urban and 27 per cent rural sector is without proper water supply system; (4) a programme be initiated to observe changes in surface and groundwater quality as well as groundwater levels; (5) water testing laboratories, presently in five cities of the Punjab only, be established at all district headquarters; (6) local governments be equipped with technical know-how and funds for regular monitoring of water quality; (7) low-cost arsenic removal filters developed by PCRWR be distributed among the people of the affected areas where no alternate water supply is available; (8) tubewells should not be promoted further in the arsenic high risk areas or they should have treatment facilities attached to them; and a comprehensive survey be initiated in other district of the Punjab.
Unicef’s Punjab chief provincial officer Dr Ayman Abulban said the agency had been working at federal as well as provincial levels to gauge the arsenic contamination of groundwater. He said: “Our knowledge of the problem is yet to improve in various important fronts to help make a difference — in the province and the country.”
Junaid Kamal Ahmad from the NGO sector said it took five to 10 years for arsenic to affect health and called for measures from the government in this regard.
PCRWR chairman Dr Mohammad Akram Kahloon said low-cost filters developed by PCRWR should be distributed among the people of the affected areas. — Sci-tech World Report
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