Virtual University of Pakistan adopts Relative Grading System

The following was the announcement made by the Rector, Virtual University of Pakistan (Dr. Naveed A. Malik) regarding the university's decision to adopt the relative grading system with effect from Fall 2013:

Dear Students,

I am writing to inform you about some very important changes that have taken place in your academic environment. The Higher Education Commission has recently circulated a Semester Guidelines document that has been adopted completely by Virtual University of Pakistan. Two major changes, that will be beneficial for our students are:

1. Grading on the curve for courses having a large number of students. This means that instead of absolute grades, you will now be competing with one another. All students will benefit from this while maintaining relative positions in their respective courses.

2. The CGPA requirements for graduating from all programs equivalent to 14 or 16 years of education will now be 2.0 while the CGPA requirement for MS level programs, equivalent to 18 years of education, will henceforth be 2.5.

Overall, we are very confident that Virtual University graduates attain a higher level of understanding in their respective disciplines as compared to students from many conventional universities. The adoption of above measures will also ensure that their grades and CGPA become commensurate with their academic achievements.

You will be able to see the effect in the result announcement of the Fall 2013 semester.

If you have any questions, please feel free to write to us at GradingOnCurve@vu.edu.pk. As always, our students’ welfare comes first and we will try to answer all your queries.

With best regards,

Dr. Naveed A. Malik

Rector

ninthd Launches International Certifications in Pakistan in Urdu and English

ninthd (9th D) is a Pakistan based initiative that has entered in the education sector of the country with an goal to train people in economically viable (EVS) skills, so the youth of the country can further excel in their fields. To meet this task, ninthd designed international certifications in association with the top universities of the UK and US like UKCET and iCarnegie Global Learnings. The highlight of these programs is that they will be offered in Urdu and English languages that will enable the youth to receive high quality education without breaking any geographic and language barriers. The certifications will also offer practical solutions of learning-by-doing tools and formats that will develop a work force, which will play a vital role in the growth of a business.        

ninthd has made this experience even more interesting for the trainees, as it  has offered the programs in blended model. This means that students will not only be limited to online lectures and course materials, but they also get the opportunity to interact with their peers and some international students during group works at satellite campuses, which ninthd will setup all over Pakistan.

The initiative has also ensured that it has a rigorous assessment process, which will evaluate and certify the learning outcome. This process will enable ninthd to develop the required work force which will meet the requirements of both local and international markets. Whereas, trainees will be able to develop economically viable skill (EVS) at most affordable price and in very short period because ninthd’s programs will last from 8 to 12 weeks and cost no more than 12,000 Rs. to 25,000 Rs. The best thing about this model is that students will be able to learn at their own pace, as they can view the lectures again and again until they feel they have achieved full command over them. 

More importantly, students can take lectures or access online course materials at anytime from anywhere through their smartphones, tablets, laptops and personal computers. With this technology, trainees will not have to make any changes in their busy schedule, unlike traditional classes. The best part is that once the training gets over, students will be the master of tools and formats that are commonly used in nearly all the major corporations of Pakistan.  

Initially the international certifications of ninthd will assist students to develop skills around entrepreneurship, information technology and business management. Nevertheless, in the future it is anticipated that ninthd may introduce some new programs that will cover other areas. At this point in time, the initiative is looking to deliver one million EVS trainings or workforce development programs in Pakistan by building over 6,000 small campuses and leveraging technology.

The confidence of the team behind the project can be judged from the fact that they have already engaged leading corporations of the country to endorse their programs.           

Careers for Pakistanis

Ratio of the labour force employed by different sectors of the Pakistani economy;

In Pakistan where unemployment exists at an alarming rate (6%) coupled with high inflation (8%), people really are left with meagre choices to opt from for earning their lively-hood. A total of 55.7 million people of Pakistan constitute the labour force (those capable of and willing to get an employment) out of the total population of 180 million. The main sectors of the Pakistani economy providing job opportunities to these people constituting the labour force are the agricultural, industrial and the services sectors. The agricultural sector employs 44% of the total labour force, whereas the industrial and services sectors employ 20% and 36% of the employed labour force respectively. Do not confuse this with the contribution of different sectors in the GDP, which is a different thing. For example the contribution of these sectors in the GDP (of Pakistan) is 21%, 25% and 54% respectively. Therefore, the services sector is the largest contributor to the National Income or the GDP of Pakistan.

FPSC Consolidated Advertisement No. 2/2014 could not be published in the newspapers due to a ban by the APNS

The Federal Public Service Commission, Islamabad has announced / advertised different job vacancies in multiple government departments on 28th Feb, 2014 via the Consolidated Advertisement No. 2/2014. A press release issued by the FPSC on the same date declared that the advertisement could not be published in the newspapers due to a ban imposed by the All Pakistan Newspapers Society (APNS) on advertisements of the Federal Government. However, for the convenience of the desiring applicants, the advertisement is available on the FPSC website. You can only apply online for any General Recruitment jobs advertised by the FPSC. The last date for applying online for the current advertisement (No. 2/2014) is 17th March, 2014.

Study in England

If you want to study in England, then the following website has a lot of related stuff for your information and guidance;

CSS Competitive Examination 2016

Screening Test (A brief History and the current status)

In the year 2014, FPSC had announced to hold a Screening Test for the CSS Examination of the year 2014, with the prime purpose to short-list serious candidates. In this connection, the commission had also published a brief syllabus for the said screening test. But later on in the same year, the Federal Public Service Commission, Islamabad issued a Public Notice which notified the cancellation of CSS Screening Test 2014 and announced that the examination for the Central Superior Services for the year 2014 will be held as per previous practice. 

Afterwards, the FPSC advertised that CSS 2016 will be held from 18^th February, 2015 (see next paragraph for a link to the advertisement). Nothing was said in this advertisement about the Screening Test, which meant that the screening test was not be held for CSS 2016. But one thing is for sure, that future prospects for holding the Screening Test still exist for the year 2019 or the forthcoming ones.

Advertisement for CSS 2016

The CSS 2016 advertisement inviting online applications from the prospective candidates was been published in the daily newspapers of Pakistan. The cut-off date for applying online for the competitive examination was 31st October, 2015 while the cut-off date for determining the eligibility of candidates was 31st December, 2015. 

The candidates were required to apply online beginning from 1st October, 2015. After making online applications, they were to take a print out of their online applications and post or mail hard-copies of it along with the requisite documents to the Federal Public Service Commission within 10 days of the closing date. The desirous and eligible candidates could apply from 1^st October 2015 till 31^st October 2015 in online mode only at this link. Hard copies of the application could be sent at any of the FPSC offices throughout the country. The cutt-off date for determining eligibility of the candidates for CSS 2016 was 31st December, 2015.

Earlier, a preliminary advertisement had been published in the National Newspapers which said that the formal advertisement to invite applications from the candidates would be published later on in the last week of September 2015. 

A Guide to Foreign Scholarships/Fellowships in Pakistan

A Guide to Foreign Scholarships/Fellowships has been compiled by the Pakistan Council for Science and Technology (PCST) for the guidance of potential Pakistani students willing to apply for foreign scholarships. The council has compiled this guide through the information collected from the concerned ministries and donor agencies. The guide provides detailed information about the type of grants / scholarships, the study duration and the subject/fields for which the grants are offered. The eligibility criteria and the addressee (to whom the application for grant is to be made) are also given in this guide. Download this guide from here.

Shariah Academy, IIU Faisal Mosque Campus, Islamabad

Shariah Academy (Islamabad) was established in 1981 as an independent Institute of Training in Shariah and Legal Profession. Its purpose was (and is) promoting the Islamic Legal Philosophy, orientation in Islamic Law and the Islamic Concept of Justice through the training of Judges, Attorneys, Prosecutors, Lawyers and other Legal Professionals who are the key players in the Judicial System of the country. Later in 1985, the Institute was upgraded to the status of an academy thus now known as Shariah Academy and attached to the International Islamic University as its constituent unit. The trainings of the academy aim at equipping its course participants with the vision and capability to Islamize the contemporary laws in the country. To meet its objectives, the academy operates with three sections; Training Section, Research and Publication Section and Correspondence Courses in Islamic Law Section.

Dawah Academy, IIU Faisal Mosque Campus, Islamabad

Dawah Academy was founded in 1985. As the name suggests its mission is to launch educational, training and research programs for Dawah (meaning inviting people through the word of mouth to accept the supremacy of Allah the Almighty and thus follow the right path of submission to none other but Him). Dawah is an obligation upon all Muslims as said in the Holy Quran:

كنتم خير امت اخرجت لناس تامرون بالمعروف وتنهون عن المنكر

(Sura Al-Imran 3:110)

“You are the best Ummah; you have been appointed for the (better of the) people, you command for the good and forbid from the bad”

In the light of this Quranic verse, it is both an individual as well as the collective responsibility of the Muslims for i) living their lives in accordance with the teachings of Quran and Sunnah and ii) inviting others to do so. A saying of the Holy Prophet (PBUH) is:

“Those of you who know even a verse should apprise others of it”

And thus whoever knows that the creator, owner and manager of every existence that we see or cannot see is Allah; and that we being creatures are answerable for our behavior before Allah should be eager to guide the wrongdoers with sympathy. As it is evident that nothing even in our world evolves of its own, there is the hard work of somebody behind who invents it; thus in the same way we the humans, our earth and all its resources are Allah’s creature.

To spread the knowledge to others, Dawah also necessitates Muslims to learn other religions and ideologies so that they are in a better position to communicate efficiently. Thus the study of mass-communication, history, languages, sociology and psychology also form an eminent part for the dissemination of the responsibility (Dawah).

Virtual University of Pakistan and University of the Punjab sign an MoU for exchanging their academic programs broadcast

Punjab University and Virtual University have signed a Memorandum to this effect on November 20th, 2012 according to which Virtual University will also utilize some of the airtime of Punjab University's FM 104.6. Read details at the following link;

http://virtual786.blogspot.com/2012/12/punjab-university-programmes-to-be.html?spref=bl