The recent expulsion of City School students over the dispute of fee increase has led parents to come further together against private schools and move the relevant courts of law to take school administrations to task.
Tag: education Pakistan
Kids nowadays are exposed to media resources more than ever across an increasingly wide range of platforms and technologies. We live in a time where our kids can now be termed as smartphone midgets.
As the six-week deadline set by the Supreme Court of Pakistan to appoint permanent vice chancellors in universities across Punjab approaches, Punjab Higher Education Department (HED) and Punjab Higher Education Commission (PHEC) are racing against time to find suitable candidates.
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How to get Admission in Aga Khan University
How to get Admission in Aga Khan University
The Aga Khan University (AKU) is certainly the top-rated medical university in Pakistan and places high on several Asian university rankings as well. In a recent study of universities around the world, Quacquarelli Symonds Limited or QS World University Rankings, rated AKU among the top 250 universities in the world for studying medicine.
Naturally, that makes admissions to the university a hard nut to crack. Although admissions to AKU are independent of candidate’s race, creed, ethnicity or religion and there are no special quotas whatsoever to hide behind, getting into the university does demand years of academic excellence, co-curricular prowess, leadership traits, as well involvement in socially and culturally relevant activities.
But most importantly, it requires a candidate to know what needs to be done to win a place at AKU. So before you begin worrying, we have the process broken down for you. Aspiring doctors, heed, as admissions are currently open for the 2018-2019 session, with the last date for submitting application being May 28.
Admission Process
The AKU admission process consists of three main steps that are as follows:
- Submitting an online application for the relevant programme by May 28, 2018.
- Attempting the AKU Test or its equivalent SAT/MCAT – as applicable
- Interview
Candidates are shortlisted on basis of test results and the number of candidates interviewed is usually limited. The final selection is be based on a combined review of scholastic achievements, interview reports, reference letters, extra-curricular and co-curricular and other accomplishments.
Academic Eligibility
AKU has no preference for any particular type of preparation and qualification and candidates who have studied at Urdu or English-medium institutions in Pakistan or abroad and completed or are close to completing their Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) (Intermediate) education may apply. Candidates who are yet to sit for the exams can also apply for a conditional admission.
However, applicants who have education other than Pakistan HSSC need to submit an equivalence certificate from the Inter Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC). A total of three admission attempts are allowed to each applicant for the MBBS programme.
Academic Requirement For MBBS Programme
Pakistani System Of Education
- Secondary School Certificate (SSC) in science group
- Higher Secondary School Certificate (HSSC) in pre-medical group with a minimum aggregate of 60%
British System
- Per AKU, candidates must have satisfactorily completed Ordinary Level (O-Level) with at least six subjects including English, Biology, Chemistry and Physics. An attested copy of the O-Level statement of results/general certificate must accompany the application.
- Advanced Level (A-Level) with minimum “B grade” in each of the three subjects. The subjects must include Biology, Chemistry and Physics. Candidates studying or applying from overseas may also apply with mathematics in lieu of physics.
Requirements of other systems of education can be found here.
THE AKU TEST
The questions put forth in the AKU admission test are based on SSC and HSSC curriculum in Pakistan. The curriculum is available within the undergraduate admission page at www.aku.edu/admissions/mbbs, where you can also find sample test papers having additional information. The test has three main sections – English language, mathematical reasoning and science achievement (based on Biology, Physics and Chemistry).
The university does not require or recommend enrolling in any special preparatory class or institution before sitting for the test. The AKU test aims at testing conceptual clarity and critical thinking abilities of applicants and is based on the MCQ format.
It is a generally a good idea to thoroughly review the HSSC and SSC syllabi and understand key concepts, besides resorting to SAT preparatory books to get into that critical thinking mode and develop time management skills that the test requires.
Financial Aid & Assistance
The AKU offers highly prized five full scholarships to students making it to the MBBS programme. The award of scholarships and its related criteria is decided by the University Committee for Scholarship and its decision is considered final. Besides, AKU does run a needs-sensitive Financial Assistance Programme that offers grants and loans to financially underprivileged students.
The road leading to Aga Khan University is certainly filled with a number of obstacles that test applicants every step of the way. But for the fortunate few who step inside as students and then survive the mind-numbing demands of this top medical institution and step outside as highly skilled medical professionals, it is truly sky that becomes the limit of possibilities.
Faisalabad’s largest two-day science festival for schoolchildren kicked off on Thursday at the University of Agriculture Expo Centre, aimed at igniting a spark for science and discovery among students in the region, and to promote better quality of learning available in government schools.
Recent figures doled out by the Government of Punjab’s School Education Department claim a whopping increase in spending on education in Punjab, yet the serious lack of one of the most vital facility in an educational environment leaves one wondering where all that increased spending has gone.
Students of the PAKTURK International School have done the country proud by winning several medals at an international competition held at Cambridge University, United Kingdom.
The INTELLECTUALS’ CHALLENGE was held from April 20-23 and saw participation from close to 1,600 students between 14 and 18 years of age from schools across 50 countries. The competition was divided into a series of team and individual challenges revolving around a central theme: “Failure: The Road to Success”.
The team challenges required students working in groups of three to compete in four different challenges in five subjects over the four days of the challenge. The categories were divided into Knowledge, Pen Down, Speech-Craft, and Team Spirit challenges under broader subject categories of Social Studies, Art & Design, Literature & Culture, Science & Technology and Economics & Business. On the other hand, individual challenges called upon participants to showcase their skills in either of the four categories that were Creative Writing, Short Film, Photography and Painting.
To much delight, students from the PAKTURK School Jamshoro shone in both the team and individual competitions, winning a total of 11 medals that included four gold, six silver and one bronze medal.
Through sheer hard work and resolve students from Pakistan showcased their superior skills in creativity, academic prowess and teamwork.
During the competitions, a three-member team of Abdul Haseeb, Abdul Rafay and Nisar Younis won gold medals in the team spirit challenge, while Mir Dara won another gold medal in the individual knowledge challenge. Also making to the podium were Abdul Haseeb with and Atif Laghari with silver medals in individual knowledge challenges, Suleman and Shahzad with silver medals in treasure hunt challenge, Ashaus and Faisal with silver in Pen-Down (Individuals) challenge and Atif with a bronze medal.
It is indeed heartening to see young individuals from Pakistan going head to head with their counterparts from much countries having more sophisticated, reformed and progressive education systems and still leaving a mark with their performance. The students, their mentors, parents and the school deserve not only accolades, but a thanks for providing an enabling environment for the young Pakistanis t0 shine.
More of the same, please.
An association of private schools in the province of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa has announced a two-day strike against the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Private Schools Regulatory Authority (KP-PSRA) over what it said were “incomprehensible laws”.
Over 100 academics in top public and private universities of Pakistan and the world have voiced their opinion against what they claim is stifling of intellectual discourse in universities and restrictions on freedom of speech in the Pakistani academia.
The culture of book reading has never been a national hobby in Pakistan and its fortunes have dwindled further with the advent of social media and other digital modes of entertainment.
While a majority of the younger lot would rather remain glued to binge watching seasons of a favourite TV series rather than grab a favourite book, truth is, reading books will always offer more to a reader than a sitcom or movie ever can. So without much further ado, we list five classic books that we think every university student must find the time and effort to read before setting off on a journey called “practical life”. Enjoy the read, friends.
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The Diary of a Young Girl, Anne Frank
‘The Diary of a Young Girl’ is the original diary of teenage Anne Frank, who commences writing her accounts on 12 June 1942 in the diary which she receives as a birthday gift at the age of thirteen. The diary details the life of her family, which lives in Frankfurt, Germany, and her own concerns about life. The diary also contains a portrayal of her family hiding from the threat of SS forces and Nazi party’s treatment of Jews during the Second World War. The accounts within the diary end abruptly on 1 August 1944. Apart from an important historical document, the diary is a beautiful work, which exhibits the world seen through the innocent eye of a teenage girl. The diary provides a number of wise lines and quotes about courage, suffering, and freedom, which also reveals the prodigious talent of the young Anne.
Quotes: “How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world.”
“Human greatness does not lie in wealth or power, but in character and goodness. People are just people, and all people have faults and shortcomings, but all of us are born with a basic goodness.”
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The Road Less Travelled, M Scott Peck
Beginning with the famous line “Life is difficult”, The Road Less Travelled is a treasure trove of wisdom gleaned from various traditions, literature, and books across the world. The prominent self-help classic discusses in a lucid style the issues which are of immediate concern to every growing adult, such as love, family, vocation, career, trauma, depression etc., and much more. Peck employs psychotherapy and traditional wisdom regarding life from various traditions and develops ideas about real-life themes and the steps leading to self-actualization. In the life of a student, the university years happen to be more troublesome as they somewhat expose one into to the throes of independence, practicality and decision making by one’s self. The Road Less Travelled might not have answers to all your problems but it will definitively prove to be a helpful guide in keeping your head high in bleak times.
Quotes: “Human beings are poor examiners, subject to superstition, bias, prejudice, and a PROFOUND tendency to see what they want to see rather than what is really there.”
“Problems do not go away. They must be worked through or else they remain, forever a barrier to the growth and development of the spirit.”
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Sophie’s World, Jostein Gaarder
Although presented as a children’s book, Sophie’s World is a novel for young adults regarding the history of philosophy. Sophie Amundsen, whose 15th birthday is approaching, receives a letter from a stranger Albert Knox, who commits to educate her. The novel is not a dry assortment of philosophical essays as it blends together the life of Sophie with simplified explanations of some of the most prominent philosophical ideas in Europe. The novel is written with the aim of evoking basic curiosity regarding life and everything it subsumes and helps one to return to the state of childhood when everything was an amazing mystery. It is one of the most recommended novels for students of humanities because they would find many ideas and themes sprinkled across the novel, which are relevant to their class studies too.
Quotes: “A philosopher knows that in reality, he knows very little. That is why he constantly strives to achieve true insight. Socrates was one of these rare people. He knew that he knew nothing about life and about the world. And now comes the important part: it troubled him that he knew so little.”
“The most subversive people are those who ask questions.”
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Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky
Understanding Power: The Indispensable Chomsky comprises of a collection of unpublished talks, question-and-answer sessions, and seminars of Noam Chomsky, the famous American political philosopher. In these talks and seminars, Chomsky interprets with his radical lenses the significant political events of the last three decades, including the Vietnam War, Clinton administration, Palestine-Israel problem, and American imperialist foreign policy. Chomsky elucidates in these talks a rigorous critique of the modern world and analyses the dynamics of power in the modern world. Although some might label the writings of Chomsky esoteric, these talks are lucid and easily understandable. Not only the students of political science, history, and international relations, but every university student needs to read this book to gain an informed perspective about politics, power, and social change in the modern world.
Quotes: “The countries that have developed economically are those which were not colonized by the West; every country that was colonized by the West is a total wreck.”
“Real education is about getting people involved in thinking for themselves- and that’s a tricky business to know how to do well, but clearly it requires that whatever it is you’re looking at has to somehow catch people’s interest and make them want to think, and make them want to pursue and explore.”
“…jingoism, racism, fear, religious fundamentalism: these are the ways of appealing to people if you’re trying to organize a mass base of support for policies that are really intended to crush them.”
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A Brief History of Time, Stephen Hawking
Stephen Hawking wrote one of the most famous and widely read books of science ‘A Brief History of Time’ for non-specialist readers, who did not have any previous knowledge of scientific laws and theories. In his book, Hawking presents his theories about the origin, structure, development, and consequent destiny of the universe without employing cryptic jargon. He covers topics like space, time, elemental units called quarks, Big Bang, black holes, quantum mechanics, and many others. Towards the end, he searches for a merging theory that could explain the universe in an appropriate and coherent manner. Like other books on the list about philosophy, self-help, and international politics, this book gives a vigorous account of the scientific discoveries of modern age regarding the universe. The book is essential because it gives immense knowledge about quantum physics and universe without demanding prior knowledge from its readers.
Quotes: “If time travel is possible, where are the tourists from the future?”
“Ever since the dawn of civilization, people have not been content to see events as unconnected and inexplicable. They have craved an understanding of the underlying order in the world. Today we still yearn to know why we are here and where we came from. Humanity’s deepest desire for knowledge is justification enough for our continuing quest. And our goal is nothing less than a complete description of the universe we live in.”
“We find ourselves in a bewildering world. We want to make sense of what we see around us and to ask: What is the nature of the universe? What is our place in it and where did it and we come from? Why is it the way it is?”
Do you have a book in mind that you think should be on everyone’s reading list? Let us know with your comments.