Category: Science & Technology

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KP Private Schools urged to ensure students’ vaccination in drive starting from Tuesday

Director-General Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Health Services Dr. Niaz Mohammad has urged the Managing Director of the Private School Regulatory Authority to ensure vaccination of all students of private educational institutions in the drive starting from Tuesday.

In a letter sent to the MD PSRA, he urged that owners of private schools be instructed to extend full cooperation to the vaccinators in this regard. The campaign would target 9,500 private schools where 100,000 students out of 648,000 have already been immunized. He added that vaccination of students is in line with the guidelines of National Command and Operation Center to contain the spread of the virus.

Source: Radio Pakistan

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IHC Suspends HEC Notification on BSc Engineering & B.Tech Equivalence

The Islamabad High Court on Wednesday suspended the Higher Education Commission (HEC) notification regarding the equivalence of the graduate engineers and B.Tech graduates.

Justice Babar Sattar issued notices to Federal Secretary Education and HEC after a preliminary hearing into the petition filed by Pakistan Engineering Council. On behalf of PEC, Barrister Raheel Ahmed took the stance that the HEC notification was in violation of the PEC Act and the Supreme Court decision.

He said that BSc Engineering and B.Tech Technology were not equivalent degrees, but HEC declared the two equivalent and issued a letter to the provinces asking them for implementing its decision. The petitioner told the court that the notification issued by HEC had created confusion, and some institutions had started entertaining applications of the B. Tech degree holders for the posts specified for engineers only.

He asserted that the notification had created serious concerns for PEC and the engineering community, as according to the PEC Act and the Supreme Court decision, non-engineers were not allowed to perform the duty of engineers.

It is to note that PEC had challenged the HEC equivalence notification on 25 January. The notification was issued on 8 December 2021 by HEC, declaring a bachelor’s degree in engineering (16 years education) equivalent to a bachelor’s degree (16 years education) in equivalent technology.

HEC had issued notification after the decision of the 10th meeting of its Accreditation and Equivalence Committee. According to HEC, the committee had approved the modification after due deliberation and a PEC representative was also present in the meeting.

Source: Pro Pakistani

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KP to Start Shutting Down Some Educational Institutes From Next Month

The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) government has decided to seal all public and private educational institutes in the province with less than 99% of Coronavirus vaccination rate among students from 16 February 2022.

Taking to Twitter, KP’s Minister for Elementary and Secondary Education, Shahram Khan Tarakai, penned that the provincial government has decided against closing educational institutions despite the surging COVID-19.

The academic process will continue uninterrupted. All schools and colleges are required to ensure the Coronavirus vaccination of students aged 12 years and above at the earliest.

In this regard, the provincial Education Department in assistance with the Health Department will also launch a special COVID-19 vaccination campaign for the vaccination of students in both public and private schools and colleges in the province.

The special vaccination campaign will start from 1 February 2022 and continue till 15 February 2022. All public and private educational institutes failing to vaccinate 99% of their students during the campaign will be shut down from 16 February 2022.

The Minister added that the decision of the provincial government is in line with the guidelines of the National Command and Operation Center (NCOC).

Source: Pro Pakistani

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PEC Challenges HEC Notification on BSc Engineering & B.Tech Equivalence

Pakistan Engineering Council (PEC) has challenged the Higher Education Commission (HEC) notification on the status of graduate engineers and B.Tech graduates in the Islamabad High Court (IHC).

On behalf of PEC, Barrister Raheel has filed a writ petition, adopting a stance that the HEC notification is illegal. The plea demands declaring the HEC notification null and void.

The petitioner further said HEC had issued an illegal notification and declared BSc Engineering and B.Tech equivalent. He added that the matter of equivalence had been resolved with clarity years ago, but HEC issued a notification on 8 December 2021 in violation of laws. The PEC representatives showed concerns with regard to the HEC equivalence committee meeting, but the PEC stance was not reflected in minutes.

The petition contends that the notification issued by HEC has caused enormous confusion for the engineering fraternity and the stakeholders. It says that the HEC notification violates the PEC Act and is against the judgment of the apex court.

In his application, Barrister Raheel stated that in the PEC Act 1976, non-engineers including technologists were not allowed to perform any engineering work or to perform on the post of engineers.

Engineering and technology are two different streams of the engineering profession and cannot be considered equivalent, he added. He observed that on the basis of HEC notification, government institutions had started entertaining B.Tech degree holder applications for the posts of engineers. If B-Tech technologists are allowed to perform on the posts of engineers, very little space will be left for engineers, who are already jobless in large numbers, he argued.

HEC issued, on 8 December 2021, a notification declaring bachelor’s degrees in engineering (16 years of education) equivalent to bachelor’s degree (16 years of education) in equivalent technology.

HEC issued the notification after the decision of the 10th meeting of its accreditation and equivalence committee. HEC is of the view that the committee approved this modification after due deliberation and the PEC representative was present in the meeting.

Source: Pro Pakistani

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Law-GAT 2022: Deadline, How to Apply, Eligibility Criteria and List of Test Centers

For the law graduates who aspire to get registered with Pakistan Bar Council (PBC) as lawyers, the Higher Education Commission (HEC) has scheduled the Law Graduate Assessment Test (Law-GAT) for 20 February 2022 tentatively.

The LLB graduates and those who have equivalent degrees from a university recognized by HEC or PBC can register themselves online through http://etc.hec.gov.pk by 7 February.

According to HEC, the applicants will be able to download roll number slips through the website a week before the test date and will be required to furnish it along with the original CNIC before entering the test center.

HEC will inform the registered applicants regarding the test date, time, and venue through email and SMS. It has advised the candidates to provide a valid email/mobile number while filling out the online application form.

The test to be held in different cities of the country will be based on Multiple Choice Questions (MCQs). Successful candidates will be able to apply to PBC for registration as a lawyer.

Eligibility Criteria

Candidates with a bachelor’s degree in Law from a university recognized by HEC and PBC are eligible to apply.

Test Centers

The assessment test will be conducted in the following cities:

Islamabad

Lahore

Karachi

Sukkur

Abbottabad

Quetta

Multan

Hyderabad

Turbat

Bahawalpur

Peshawar

Muzaffarabad

Faisalabad

Gilgit

Applicants may select a test center of their choice when filling out the online application form. However, the test will only be held at any of the above centers if a minimum of 100 applicants select that center.

How to Apply for Law-GAT 2022

Visit the link: http://etc.hec.gov.pk

Fill out all required information using the “My Profile” section

Then, go to the “Law-GAT Test” section on the menu panel and complete the process

Upload relevant documents, and click SUBMIT button.

HEC has underlined that only ‘SUBMITTED’ applications will be considered, while applications in ‘SAVE’ mode or incomplete will not be entertained.

Other Requirements/Conditions

A 50% score is required to pass the Law Graduate Assessment Test (Law-GAT).

Applicants will have to meet other criteria, if any, as per the Rules and Regulations of PBC.

Applicants will have a maximum of three chances to clear the Law-GAT test. HEC will conduct the test thrice a year.

Source: Pro Pakistani

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Hostages safe after Texas synagogue standoff; captor dead

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NJ.com

COLLEYVILLE, Texas (AP) — A man held hostages for more than 10 hours Saturday at a Texas synagogue where he could be heard ranting in a livestream and demanding the release of a Pakistani neuroscientist who was convicted of trying to kill U.S. Army officers in Afghanistan. One of the four hostages held at Congregation Beth Israel in Colleyville was released during the standoff; three others were rescued when authorities entered the building about 9 p.m., authorities said. The hostage taker was killed and FBI Special Agent in Charge Matt DeSarno said a team would investigate “the shooting incid… Continue reading “Hostages safe after Texas synagogue standoff; captor dead”

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CLIMATE ACTION 2022: WHAT’S NEXT FOR SOUTH, CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST ASIA? EXPERTS SAY CLIMATE FINANCE IS ESSENTIAL FOR PROGRESS

Published by
Energy and Power

Many Asian countries made net-zero pledges at COP26 in Glasgow last month, but most were vague and opaque. The big question is: what now? What will countries have to do to fulfil their climate pledges and what should their governments focus on for climate action in Asia in 2022? On 14 December, The Third Pole and Earth Journalism Network organised a webinar, bringing together a panel of climate experts to discuss these questions. India: ‘The Government will Show Direction of Travel and Lay Foundations’ Ulka Kelkar, Director of Climate Programme, World Resources Institute India A regional energ… Continue reading “CLIMATE ACTION 2022: WHAT’S NEXT FOR SOUTH, CENTRAL AND SOUTHEAST ASIA? EXPERTS SAY CLIMATE FINANCE IS ESSENTIAL FOR PROGRESS”

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Sindh Promotes Thousands of Primary School Teachers to Higher Grades

The Government of Sindh has revoked the requirement of a B.Ed degree for all teachers at public primary schools to allow them to get promoted to the next grades.

Resultantly, more than 15,000 primary school teachers in the province will be promoted to BPS 15 and 16. Teachers who have served for 15 years will be promoted to BPS 16 and those with nine years of service will be promoted to BPS 15.

Primary school teachers have welcomed the ruling, stating that they had long demanded the requirement of the B.Ed degree to be repealed to facilitate their promotions to higher grades.

The Sindh Education and Literacy Department (SELD) had announced 40,000 job openings for primary and junior elementary school teachers in December 2020. Subsequently, 30,000 primary school teachers (PST) were inducted in the first stage and 10,000 junior elementary school teachers (JEST) are being recruited in the second phase of the hiring process.

It had also provided 37,000 job openings for primary and junior elementary school teachers in March 2021 to meet the shortage of school teachers in the province.

Source: Pro Pakistani