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In a major development at Gwadar, the signing ceremony for the joint operation agreement of Pak-China Technical and Vocational Institute (PCT & VI), built with a Chinese grant under China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), was held at Gwadar Business Center on Wednesday. The joint operating agreement was signed among the Shandong Institute of Commerce and Technology (SICT), Gwadar Port Authority (GPA), The University of Gwadar (UoG), and China Overseas Ports Holding Company (COPHC) for providing free of cost six-month short courses and three-year diploma programmes with hands-on technical education and professional training to thousands of youths of Gwadar, according to a message received here on Wednesday.

The participants were the first batch of representative students from the University of Gwadar, local employees of COPHC, GPA and COPHC officers. While teachers and officers from SIC joined the ceremony online.

Pak-China Technical and Vocational Institute (PCT & VI) was gifted and handed over by the Chinese government to GPA in September 2021 with the intent to train, prepare and equip the youth of Gwadar / Makran / Balochistan with skill sets for the future needs of Gwadar port, Free zones, smart city, new international airport and other CPEC projects pertaining to commerce, marine industry, market-based businesses, modern fish practices, real estate, tourism, construction and hospitality and other allied industries.

As per the joint operation agreement, GPA is responsible for supplying spaces and supporting facilities to meet the requirements of teaching, office, and accommodation in the existing new building of PCT & VI. It will cooperate with all government departments to handle relevant procedures as per Pakistan laws and regulations.

It will also coordinate with COPHC for internship and preferential employment of qualified students of PCT & VI. The University of Gwadar will be responsible for the operationalisation of the institute at international standards. It will coordinate with GPA for daily managing, academic and administrative activities, and operating expenses.

Related: VU inks MoU with University of Gwadar

In a revolutionary step, the Punjab School Education Minister Murad Raas has launched Insaf Academy, an online portal for the students of matric and intermediate.

The newly launched e-learning platform will help students to prepare for the examination of intermediate and matric through more than 7000 online lectures and mock tests.

In this regard, a ceremony was held at Quaid-e-Azam Academy for Educational Development. Secretary School Education Department Waqas Ali Mehmood, MD PCTB Dr Farooq Manzoor, Secretary PCTB Muhammad Razak, Chairperson Danish Schools Samira Ahmed, CEO Danish Schools Ahmar Malik, Director General Quaid, Additional Secretary Education attended the ceremony.

Provincial Education Minister Punjab Murad Ras while addressing the inauguration ceremony of Insaf Academy said that an e-learning platform has been developed in the form of Insaf Academy which has no precedent in the past. In the modern era, students will be able to get a lot of help in getting a quality education at home with the help of Insaaf Academy.

Murad Ras said that in the beginning, students from ninth to twelfth classes will benefit from the Academy, while this platform will be opened for other students in phases. He also said that the Punjab Curriculum and Textbook Board (PCTB) has worked very hard for the establishment of the Academy.

Insaf Academy portal has great educational content for our children and with the help of this online portal children all over Pakistan will be able to prepare for exams, he said adding that children can study as well as take tests under the supervision of their parents and the establishment of this portal will negate the academy and tuition culture in a big way.

The Provincial Minister of School Education said that due to the recent floods, more than 1,000 government schools were affected in Punjab, of which around 500 have been restored so far. By establishing Insaf Academy, flood-affected children can also benefit from sitting at home.

Pass rates have been announced to the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) students who sat their exams in December 2021.

119,688 entered for the December sitting, which saw 145,692 exams completed. A total of 4,288 students completed their final exams to become ACCA Affiliates. In the face of the continued pandemic, ACCA also offered remotely invigilated exams to 9,809 students across numerous jurisdictions.

Commenting on the results, Alan Hatfield, executive director – content, quality and innovation said: ‘These are a solid set of results to round off the 2021 exam sessions. Last year, and as the pandemic continued, we issued over 476,600 results in total. And over this time, our students have shown immense resilience and determination to continue with their journey to become ACCA members.

‘We encourage students to make use of the extensive range of ACCA learning support, which includes detailed examiners’ reports, as well as expert tutor webinars, videos and podcasts that highlight important exam techniques and tips for success. We also continue to urge our students to use the ACCA exam Practice Platform, a free resource allowing them to practise questions and attempt mock exams with software that simulates the real exam platform. Accompanying the platform are guides to self-marking and debrief resources, to help students and tutors better understand performance. Pass rates remain up to 20% better for students who use the platform.

‘Our advice after exam results days is to reflect on next steps and our website has advice on this, alongside other resources such as our online Career Navigator which guides a route to get new skills, explore career destinations and opportunities and grow talent.’

The ACCA Qualification rigorously tests the skills, abilities and competencies that a modern-day accountant needs, with a firm grounding in ethics and professionalism. It prepares students for a rewarding career as a qualified and ethical finance professional.

Results below also include those delivered via ACCA’s on-demand offering for Foundation Diplomas, Applied Knowledge and Law exams. These accounted for a further 43,907 exams, of which over 2,625 were made possible through remote invigilation.

The Government College University (GCU) Lahore on Thursday held a walk and seminar to raise awareness about the breast cancer, and denounce myths and eliminate social stigma attached to it.

Besides a large number of students and faculty members, Vice Chancellor Prof. Dr. Asghar Zaidi along with his wife and daughters also attended the seminar held in collaboration with the Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital & Research Center (SKMCH&RC).

Speaking on the occasion, SKMCH cancer surgeon Dr. Amna Khan said it is still considered a taboo especially for the young girls to talk about breast cancer that affects every one of eight women in the society. She encouraged girls to talk to their parents about their health issues and immediately consult doctors if they find any unusual change in their body.

The surgeon told the GCU female students about the signs and symptoms of breast cancer and methods of self-examination, which she said, were very helpful in early detection of this disease in young girls and women.

Speaking on the occasion, Vice Chancellor Prof. Asghar Zaidi said all men and women are at risk of developing cancers, while the factors that put some of us at greater risk were family histories of cancer, non-healthy food and lazy lifestyle.

He said Pakistan is a family oriented society and has inadequate health care system; health issues of our loved ones affects and hurts us everyone in the family, so we must encourage them to adopt healthy eating and active lifestyle.

Kiran Zahra, the wife of Vice Chancellor, said young ones especially girls are reluctant to speak to their parents about their health problems so there is a dire need of massive awareness campaigns on a large scale. She shared a very painful life story of her cousin sister who passed away due to breast cancer.

Later, a memorandum of understanding was also signed between GCU and SKMCH for organizing different activities to raise awareness about the Breast Cancer.

The Consul General of Malaysia in Karachi, Mr. Khairul Nazran Abdul Rahman said that Pakistan is the fourth largest importer of Malaysian palm oil after India, the European Union, and China.

He mentioned that food scientists play an important role not only for the food industry but also for society as a whole. Among others, one of their main responsibilities is to ensure the supply of quality and healthy food and to take all possible steps to prevent unhealthy foods and their supply.

He expressed these views while addressing a seminar on “Oils and Fats Processing and Health Benefits,” at the Dr Essa Hall of the Department of Food Science and Technology, University of Karachi. The event was organized by the Department of Food Science and Technology and the Malaysian Palm Oil Board (MPOB), Consulate-General, Malaysia. It was well attended by members of food industry, key government officials, lecturers and students of food science.

During his address, the Vice Chancellor University of Karachi, Professor Dr. Khalid Mahmood Iraqi said that the University of Karachi has never compromised on merit and that is why domestic and foreign companies trust it and many reputed institutions are currently working with the University.

He stressed that the industries should avail the research conducted by the varsities as they could help them in finding the best and most sustainable solutions for their problems at low cost. The KU VC Professor Dr Khalid Iraqi mentioned that strong relationships between academia and industries could be established if the traders and manufacturers back the research being carried out by the universities and utilize it in enhancing their products for the betterment of society. In regard to huge edible oil import, he called for a breakthrough in technology that could increase local production of oils and fats to narrow down the supply gap.

The Regional Manager of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Mr. Johari Manal said that palm oil has become the largest oil consumed in the world and most useful oil for the food industry due to its unique balanced fatty acid composition and being free of trans fatty acids, which are becoming more and more important for food production. Palm oil is also widely used in the production of cosmetics, pharmaceuticals and soap.

A senior official of the Malaysian Palm Oil Board, Mr. Nadir Ali Ghanghro said that Pakistan imports 3.2 million tonnes of palm oil per year. In the production of banaspati, about 70% of palm oil is used as an ingredient. He informed the audience that Sindh government has a successful experience of planting palm trees, if further progress is made, the country could go into large-scale cultivation oil palm.

The Chairperson Department of Food Science and Technology University of Karachi, Dr Shahina Naz mentioned that the injurious trans fatty acids, one of the biggest reasons for the growing number of heart diseases, are produced during partial hydrogenation process of edible oils for the production of vegetable ghee.

She said that food produced in Pakistan still contained trans fatty acids, and sometime as high as 15 to 20 percent in banaspati ghee. Trans fatty acid in food is tantamount to inviting heart disease. She mentioned that the consumption of trans fats can lead to heart and arterial diseases as well as cancer. The food industry should find ways and means to reduce trans fats in food to lowest possible level.

Dr Syed Muhammad Ghafran Saeed of the Department of Food Science and Technology shared a very interesting finding on omega 3 oil which apart from being an essential fatty acid, it is anti-inflammatory and could boost immunity and fight against Covid 19 infection. He said flax seed, a rich source of omega 3, should be included in daily diet during this covid 19 pandemic..

At the end of the seminar, Mr. Johari Minal of MPOB reminded the audience that food which includes protein, carbohydrates, oils and other nutrients should be taken in moderation and within the recommended limits and energy requirement as recommended by WHO. Overconsumption of food especially simple carbohydrates and sugar, which are predominant in modern society, leads to obesity, imbalanced nutrient intakes and thus health issues