Category: Education

Learning Resource Network Qualifications Launched in Pakistan with ECMCC Partnership

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Learning Resource Network (LRN), signed an agreement with Extreme Commerce Magna Carta College (ECMCC) for UK qualifications on to UK universities to pursue UK’s quality higher education from Pakistan.

The agreement was signed by Muhammad Zohaib Tariq, CEO of LRN, and Mr. Hameer Ali, General Manager – ECMCC. The agreement was signed in the presence of His Excellency, Mike Nithavrianakis, British Deputy High Commissioner, Karachi and UK Trade Director Pakistan.

Earlier this month, ECMCC was inaugurated by Mike Nithavrianakis, British Deputy High Commissioner, Karachi and UK Trade Director Pakistan along with Mr. Saeed Ghani, Provincial Minister of Sindh for Labour, Education and Literacy and Human Resources, Sindh.

The CEO of LRN, Muhammad Zohaib Tariq, said: “I am extremely proud and honoured that, Learning Resource Network is firmly established in Pakistan. Our partnership with ECMCC will enable Pakistani students to gain UK qualifications and progress on to UK universities thus opening up splendid opportunities to pursue a much treasured higher education.” He further said, “I would like to express my very special thanks to British Deputy High Commissioner, Mr Mike Nithavrianakis, who very kindly attended the LRN and ECMCC launch ceremony.”

The British Deputy High Commissioner Karachi Mike Nithavrianakis and UK Trade Director Pakistan appreciated ECMCC’s mission of providing top-notch education and impeccable entrepreneurial skills that will enable the youth of today to become the leaders of the future.

Sunny Ali, Founder Extreme Commerce on the launch of the institution said, “We are extremely pleased to partner with the Magna Carta College and together, we will help build human capital at par with the international standards in Pakistan. Through the ECMCC partnership, we aim to provide quality educational resources to everyone in Pakistan and help enhance their career progression chances”.

 

In his message to the participants, Professor David Faulkner, Dean, ECMCC said, “With this partnership, we aim to help deliver quality education in Pakistan. This will enable Pakistani knowledge seekers to pursue their dream for a state-of-the-art UK education in Pakistan”. Sharing his vision for ECMCC, Mr. Ejaz Chowdary, CEO – Magna Carta College Oxford, shared, “ECMCC will provide a unique platform for Pakistani youth to develop themselves as future business leaders with an entrepreneurial acumen combined with the recognised British qualifications.”

Launched in 2011, LRN is recognised as an awarding organisation by Office of Qualifications and Examinations Regulation (Ofqual). In producing its qualifications, LRN uses the skills of a variety of UK and International experts. This allows LRN to draw on the knowledge of a varied project team in utilising the experience and expertise of academics, professionals working in the pertinent industries. LRN relies on the wealth of industry practice and knowledge of validation, verification, delivery and assessment.

In April 2020, LRN received the Queen’s Award for Enterprise for International Trade. LRN is one of 220 organisations in Britain to be recognised with this prestigious accolade. This was recognition of the expansion which LRN has brought to the overseas qualification market.

LRN has been awarded international accreditation as part of its quality controls, policies, systems and overall approach to its management systems. These awards are externally validated by the British Assessment Bureau.  LRN has achieved accreditation in the form of l ISO 9001: Business Management Systems, ISO 14001: Environment Management Systems and ISO 27001: Information Security Management Systems.

LRN has achieved the prestigious award of Customer Service Excellence by the Cabinet Office. This is in recognition of its customer service practices, approach to managing and dealing with UK and Overseas customer needs, including the diverse needs of its centres.

LRN was the first UK Awarding Organisation to be awarded Customer Service Excellence.

Following reaccreditation in 2019, LRN was awarded further in receiving Customer Service Excellence: Compliance Plus. This demonstrates how LRN went further in the delivery of its customer service principles.

Formed by the partnership between Extreme Commerce, Pakistan, and Magna Carta College, UK, ECMCC aims to serve as a modern scholastic and incubation hub in Karachi, Pakistan, where experienced national and international faculty and independent industry practitioners can teach the best of modern British management qualifications and skill-based learning against the background of digital technology-enabled change.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) ACCA (the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) publishes inspiring personal journeys of several women in finance from around the world in the new ‘Leading Inclusion: Simple Steps and Significant Leaps’ report. Detailing a unique mix of experiences from ACCA’s members and future members, this latest report highlights the opportunities and obstacles they have faced in their pursuit of success. The individual stories shared highlight career milestones and offer food for thought with reflections on a range of topics from balancing family life to job promotions. Given the real threat of inequality in the profession, the stories from these women provide much needed career motivation to aspiring finance professionals everywhere. The report specially highlights the distinctive views of a professional around the world from Abu Dhabi to Zambia. Each story shares personal reflections on topics from moving away from home and finding a mentor in the workplace to seeing the bigger picture around accountancy and finance. Helen Brand OBE, chief executive of ACCA said: ‘The stories shared in this report provide inspiration for any finance professional looking to succeed, as the accounts encourage those already in the profession and help them be alive to the opportunities around them. No one is immune to struggles but through sharing experiences we can all learn from each other and approach circumstances more confidently. The pandemic has intensified the challenges that many people face with inequalities seemingly intensifying. So this is the time to tell our own stories, learn lessons from each other and all play our role in building a fairer profession for all.’ Report author, Clive Webb, ACCA head of business management said: ‘ACCA has had inclusion and access to all as a core value since it’s foundation in 1904. The Leading Inclusion: Simple Steps and Significant Leaps report discusses the relevance of this agenda to accountancy and finance professionals. Through presenting several stories from ACCA’s women members and future members from around the world, people see that what may, at times, seem unachievable can in fact be attained. This compilation of stories is truly a global testament to this.’ The women profiled and their headline stories are: · Sombo Chunda – The girl who crossed the stream – Zambia but now residing in the US · Rachael Agen Tegwi – Never stop dreaming – Cameroon · Ta Thi Thuy Hang – The love of numbers – Vietnam · Siti Fatimah – The one who always gives the answers – Malaysia · Janice Wong – ‘I prefer creating money’ – HK SAR of China but worked in mainland China · Dawn Williams – ‘Giving students work experience’ – Barbados · Anastasia Chalkidou – ‘I’m wearing all my previous hats’ – Greece but worked in Belgium · Eriona Bajrakurtaj – ‘My dream was to be a businesswoman’ – UK · Geeta Degaonkar – ‘Don’t have a glass ceiling in your mind’ – India · Looi Pui Mun – ‘It’s dangerous out there’ – Malaysia · Christina Christoforou – ‘Not being pigeonholed’ – UK · Ayesha Al Zaabi – ‘Accountants are funny!’ – Abu Dhabi To read the full report, visit here: https://www.accaglobal.com/gb/en/professional-insights/global-profession/leading-inclusion-ssandsl.html

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Growth and economic stability, coupled with urban resilience and its impact on utility services are some of the few pressing issues that the Pakistani economy must deal with in the wake of the ongoing pandemic. To address these social development issues, the School of Economics and Social Sciences (SESS) at the IBA Karachi, in collaboration with the Centre of Business and Economic Research, will be hosting the 1st International Conference on “Economics and Sustainable Development”. The 3-day conference is scheduled to be held from April 2-4, 2021 at the IBA City Campus.

The goal of the conference is to bring creative local and global ideas, best practices, and evidence-based solutions for the challenges faced by Pakistan and the world. The conference has attracted eminent speakers from around the world and aims to act as a bridge between the industry experts and the academia.

Celebrated economist and an accomplished author, Dr. Lant Pritchett from the University of Oxford will deliver the keynote address while Mr. Yasuyuki Sawada, Chief Economist, Asian Development Bank, Dr. Hafeez Pasha, Former Federal Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, Dr. Sania Nishtar, Special Assistant to Prime Minister (SAPM) on Social Protection, Dr. Waqar Masood Khan, SAPM on Revenue, and many renowned personalities will add value to the ensuing discussions.

The research themes for the conference include Public Finance and Fiscal Policy, Growth, Development and Population Policy, Environment and Climate Change, Macroeconomics and Forecasting among other essential topics of concern. The conference will entail panel discussions with field experts, paper presentations from international researchers, technical sessions with eminent academics, poster sessions and a doctoral symposium.

Speaking about the significance of this conference, Dr. S Akbar Zaidi, Executive Director IBA, said, “This inaugural conference will touch upon current macroeconomic issues, having a policy as well as an academic context. For those who are interested in contemporary issues, the panels discussions with industry experts will be helpful.” 

Dr. Asma Hyder, Dean SESS, invited participants to engage in discussions revolving around sustainable development. “We hope to build a dialogue around human development and equality and make a concerted effort to rebuild our future.”

The audience of the conference would include participation from federal and provincial government departments, academic and research institutions, corporate sector, and local and international NGOs.

The Asian Development Bank, Engro Corporation, and K-Electric have partnered with the IBA in organizing this conference.

Karachi  (Muhammad Yasir) The third and final day of the 12th Karachi Literature Festival (KLF), which is being held virtually and organized by the Oxford University Press was again a day full of interesting discourse and book launches. The virtual edition of the 12th KLF was supported by many sponsors including Getz Pharma and Bank of Punjab as the lead sponsor of the event. The day started with the book launch of Agents of Change: The Problematic Landscape of Pakistan’s K-12 Education and the People Leading the Change written by Amjad Noorani and Nadeem Hussain. The book highlights the problems of school education in Pakistan and the ways forward. While accepting that school education in Pakistan suffers from serious quantitative, qualitative, and resource deficits, they see the remedies in the private sector and in the work of NGOs. The morning session also saw French-Algerian author Mohammed Moulessehoul (known by his pen-name ‘Yasmina Khadra’) discussing his writings with author and commentator Bina Shah. The afternoon session Bhooli bisri Yadein was a conversation between Kishwar Naheed with journalist Mujahid Barelvi and it was a throwing back to the feminist poet’s experiences. London-based Kashmiri author Mirza Waheed discussed his novel with Hira Azmat in a session called Tell Her Everything. The Session was introduced by Michael Houlgate, Director, British Council, Karachi. Authors Noorul Huda Shah and Yasmeen Hameed discussed the role and status of women in Pakistani literature in the session Khawateen aur Pakistani Zubanon ka Maujooda Adab. The other session running parallel was a book discussion on Ghalib: A Wilderness at my Doorstep: A Critical Biography by Mehr Afshan Farooqi. The conversation was moderated by Sharif Awan and was also joined by Dr Nomanul Haq. Every year Getz Pharma sponsors the EACPE Film Awards. The theme this year was “What have we learned from the Pandemic?” The winners were announced, and the discussion was moderated by Aisha Munim Khan. The panellist for this session were Sakina Samo, Asim Abbasi and Saqib Malik along with Khalid Mahmood, CEO and MD Getz Pharma. A fascinating and learned discussion on the intellectual history of Urdu Literature between the highly accomplished Urdu poet Zehra Nigah and the erudite and eloquent scholar of Urdu Arfa Sayeda Zehra ran parallel to the film screenings. The late afternoon sessions started with a discussion on the Pakistan’s vulnerability to Climate Change. This session was introduced by Jack Hillmeyer, Consul General, US Consulate, Karachi. The discussion shed light on the challenges that the phenomenon of Climate Change poses for Pakistan. It was a stimulating dialogue between environment activists Tabith Spence and Rina Saeed Khan and was moderated by Amy Christianson. The early evening session commenced with a discussion on the Single National Curriculum, deliberating Uniformity Vs Diversity. MD Oxford University Press Arshad Saeed Husain was joined by A.H Nayyar, Erum Kashif and Faisal Bari. The session was moderated by educationist Dr. Ayesha Razzaque. In another session, the well-known screenwriter and director Bee Gul led a panel comprising of actor/producer Sarmad Khoosat, Beo Zafar, Writer Omar Shahid Hamid and Hasan Zaidi in tackling the question of the relative merits of the printed word and the screen image. Two powerful sessions in the evening were on the Pakistani Economy and a conversation with Ben Okri. The Award-winning Nigerian author and poet Ben Okri talked about the crises of our times to journalist and author Maheen Usmani, with reference to his most recent book A Fire in my Head. He shared his poetry with the audience. The session on the Post Pandemic Economy of Pakistan was moderated by Samiullah Siddiqui and the panelist included Zafar Masud, Murtaza Syed, Dr. Ishrat Hussain and Khalil Ullah Shaikh. Day 3 ended with two authoritative sessions. In the first session called Role of Soft Power in Diplomacy, former Pakistani ambassador to the United States and the United Nations Maleeha Lodhi was in discussion with Huma Baqai, discoursing on the geo-politics of today. Finally, renowned political activists and writer Tarik Ali discussed Progressive Politics in a Populist Period alongside activists Ammar Jan and Arooj Aurangzeb and Bilal Zahoor. The session was moderated by Asma Abbas. During the three days of KLF, the digital literature festival was able to reach over 951,000 (nine hundred fifty-one thousand) people on Facebook, whereas over 100,000 (one hundred thousand) minutes of live sessions have been viewed within these past 3 days. The videos will be available online for the viewers to watch later as well. More than 80,000 views were recorded on KLF live sessions and were able to reach 600,000 (six hundred thousand) people on YouTube.

Lahore (NUT DESK) Punjab University (PU) Department of Examinations has issued the schedule for online submission of admission forms & fee for the LLB (5 years) Part-I, II, III & IV supplementary examination 2020 and annual examination 2021 and Part-V annual examination 2021.According to a PU spokesman, the last date for receipt of Online Admission Forms and Fee of said exams for regular and late college candidates is April 23, 2021 with single fee.

Meanwhile the forms can be submitted with double fee from 24-4-2021 to 30-4-2021. Similarly, the last date for receipt of Online Admission Forms and Fee of LLB (3 years) Part-I, II, & III supplementary examination 2020 and annual examination 2021 is April 23, 2021 with single fee while the forms can be submitted with double fee from 24-4-2021 to 30-4-2021. Details are available at PU website www.

 

Lahore (NUT DESK) Punjab University (PU) Department of Examinations has postponed the annual examination of associate degree arts/science part 2 and part 1, which were scheduled to commence from April 01, 2021.The decision was taken in the meeting of deans of faculties chaired by PU Vice Chancellor Prof Niaz Ahmed Akhter.

The Vice Chancellor said that the decision was in the best interest of students during the worsening situation of COVID 19. He urged the Pakistani nation to adopt preventive measures against COVID 19 in order to control the increasing spread of the disease.

PU Controller of Examinations Rauf Nawaz said that over 138,000 students were appearing in the annual examinations. He said that new date will be announced later.

He clarified that semester examinations would be held as per schedule.

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) The Karachi Literature Festival, which was founded in 2010, organized by the Oxford University Press (OUP) is back with its12th edition. Keeping the precautionary measures due to COVID-19 pandemic this year, the literary festival is entirely being held digitally. Bank of Punjab as a lead sponsor for the event. As per the yearly tradition, Getz Pharma will be giving away literary prizes sponsored by them in the following categories: Urdu Prose, Urdu Poetry and English Fiction.

The theme of this year`s Festival is: Imagining New Frontier. With the focus on ‘Living in a new reality’, the virtual edition of KLF is bringing forth thought-provoking discussionson a world post-Covid pandemic.

Arshad Saeed Husain, the Managing Director of Oxford University Press Pakistan said, “The pandemic has compelled us to imagine new frontiers of medicine, vaccines, digital learning and working from home. The pandemic has brought world closer together to find out of the box creative solutions. Vaccines have been developed in record time, schools have overcome lock downs through technology and use of electronic mediums.  We need to re-imagine safe work environment whether in office, home or in schools. The world is already re-structuring delivery methods with digital and blended tools of learning”.

The aims of this Virtual Edition of KLF remain the same as previous KLF’s: to developinteraction between writers, intellectuals, and artists within Pakistan and acrossborders, cultures, and languages, and to nurture and promote books and inculcate the habitof reading. Despite the pandemic, this Virtual Edition ofKLF will continue to put Pakistan on the mapas a country rich in culture, creativity, and exchange of ideas and opinions. KLF bringstogether and celebrates Pakistani and international authors.

The Keynote address was delivered by Vali Nasr, an Iranian-American academic and author specializing in the Middle East and the Islamic world. He served as Dean of the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies in Washington, D.C. from 2012 to 2019.

The Virtual Karachi Literature Festivalwill be a 3-day event starting on Friday, 26 March and will conclude on Sunday 28, March 2021. It will feature more than 140 speakers including, Zehra Nigah, Tarik Ali, Maleeha Lodhi, Ben Okri, Ahdaf Soueif, Victoria Schofield, Ishrat Hussain,and Anita Weiss to name a few, who are representing 12 different countries i.e. including Pakistan, UK, USA, Australia, Bangladesh, Iran, Egypt, France, Germany, Dubai, India, Kenya. There are 42 sessions with debates/discussions, talks, mushairas (poetry recitals) in both Urduand English, book launches, and readings on subjects such as education, Covid-19,science fiction, and current affairs have been lined up for the Festival.

Victoria Schofield’s book Fragrance of Tears: My Friendship with Benazir Bhutto was launched. There were sessions on Cartooning, Counter-Revolutionary Wave in the Arab World, Anti-Colonialism, conversation with Paul Harding and a dedicated session on Shams Ur Rehman Farooqi, an eminent Urdu laureate.

While the roots of KLF are nourished by the rich traditions of our heritage, KLF will look forward to the future and explore new writings, new trends, and new technologies,and provide a platform for younger authors and scholars.

Please join us online for the 12th Karachi Literature Festival for an enjoyable experience.

Extreme Commerce Magna Carta College (ECMCC) to impart knowledge to Pakistani youth with the international education standards to increase more potential for business and digital skills in Pakistan.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) The prestigious Magna Carta College at Oxford, UK and Extreme Commerce Pakistan have established Pakistan’s first higher education institute for entrepreneurship focusing on digital skills and ecommerce. The institute, Extreme Commerce Magna Carta College was inaugurated today by His Excellency, Mike Nithavrianakis, British Deputy High Commissioner, Karachi and UK Trade Director Pakistan. The ceremony took place today at the ECMCC, Tariq Road, Karachi Campus.

Mr. Mike Nithavrianakis, British Deputy High Commissioner, Karachi and UK Trade Director Pakistan appreciated ECMCC’s mission of providing top-notch education and impeccable entrepreneurial skills that will enable the youth of today to become the leaders of the future. Mr. Nithavrianakis also emphasised the importance of quality education through ECMCC that will lay pivotal focus on enhancing the future of E-Commerce in Pakistan through a student-centric approach.

The (ECMCC) institution has been established with a vision of disseminating a full spectrum of affordable pre-university to post-graduate competency and research-based learning, complemented by world-class international qualifications. The institution focuses on providing state-of-the-art facilities and futuristic outlook on academic and entrepreneurial education through highly skilled professionals, entrepreneurial faculty and mentors across the globe.

Sunny Ali, Founder Extreme Commerce on the launch of the institution said, “We are extremely pleased to partner with the Magna Carta College and together, we will help build human capital at par with the international standards in Pakistan. Through the EC-MCC partnership, we aim to provide quality educational resources to everyone in Pakistan and help enhance their career progression chances”.

In his message to the participants, Professor David Faulkner, Dean, ECMCC said, “Our faculty are addressing the key career challenge facing Generation Y and the Millennials. With this initiative, we aim to help deliver quality education in Pakistan. We have brought together a team of world class teachers from the UK and Pakistan to help realize this dream”.

The concept of Extreme Commerce Magna Carta College (ECMCC) became a reality when Sunny Ali, founder of Pakistan’s largest E-Commerce platform, Extreme Commerce and Dean Prof. David Faulkner from Magna Carta College, an Oxford independent business school aligned their visionary goals to provide the students from Pakistan with an opportunity to acquire international quality education along with excelling in the spheres of E-Commerce.

The vision of the institution encompasses the provision of quality education and impeccable entrepreneurial skills that will enable the youth of today to become the leaders of the future. The mission of the institution focuses on inspiring and empowering enterprising potentials to institute successful knowledge-based, emergent to advanced careers and businesses globally.

ECMCC aims to deliver academic excellence along with the development of E-Commerce and entrepreneurial skillset of students that will help elevate future prospects of students by enabling them to earn and learn simultaneously.

Extreme Commerce Magna Carta College is Pakistan’s first Entrepreneurial Higher Education Institute built upon the collaborative union of Extreme Commerce and Magna Carta College, UK. With a pivotal focus on the current generation and their mindset, ECMCC caters to the needs and learning methodologies suitable for the students driving a force of change and meeting the needs towards a sustainable development of the country.

ECMCC aims to inspire and empower enterprising potential of the youth, to institute successful knowledge-based, emergent to advanced careers and businesses globally. The institute achieves ubiquitous mission as an inclusive community built on extreme passion for critical thinking, communication, creativity and collaboration. The purpose of ECMCC as a futuristic scholastic and incubation hub, is to build and disseminate a full spectrum of affordable pre-university to post-graduate competency and research-based learning, complemented by world-class, international qualifications.

FAISALABAD (NUT DESK) The annual examination of Secondary School Certificate (SSC) and Intermediate for the year-2021 will commence as per schedule from May 4 and June 12 respectively, under the aegis of Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education Faisalabad. Controller Examinations Mrs Shehnaz Alvi while clarifying the new items published in various dailies and social media about change in schedule of both examinations here Wednesday, said that news in this regard were fake and baseless. She said that arrangements were being given final touch to hold both examinations according to the prescribed schedule earlier released by the board. She asked the students to prepare themselves for the examinations according to the syllabus. She said that all the latest information was uploaded on the BISE website www. bisefsd.edu.pk and the students can consult the website any time.

 

 

 

Lahore (NUT DESK)  The government of Punjab on Wednesday revealed the names of cities where all public and private schools will remain closed till April 11, 2021.
As per a tweet from the provincial education minister Murad Rass, all public and private schools in Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Sargodha and Sheikhupura will remain closed till April 11.
“All public & private schools of Lahore, Rawalpindi, Gujranwala, Gujrat, Multan, Faisalabad, Sialkot, Sargodha, Sheikhupura will remain closed till April 11th, 2021. The remaining districts will be open on the previous schedule,” he tweeted.