TERADATA training sessions held at DCS

Teradata Company organized a series of training session for the students of Computer Science Department with the objectives to enable the students to learn both the theoretical and practical aspects of Data Warehousing in the area of database.

Teradata is an international corporation that works on Data warehousing from its first day. It has provided some robust and flexible Data warehouse architecture and solution from enterprise level to a small companies. Tara data centers are now spreading all over the world.

On October 7, 2010 the first session of the training was held while the second on October 28, 2010 and the third on November 11 , 2010.  More sessions are still remaining.

“Our goal with our training session is straight forward, we want to make sure that the learners walk away knowing that they  can use Teradata tools to conquer difficult challenges in the area of Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence (BI)  ”, said Badshah Rahman a Teradata certified and service consultant with Teradata in Islamabad.

Expressing his views, Nadeem Ahmad Khan president of Database Society (DBS) said “ The sessions were very successful  and it was exciting to enhance new tools and idea in the world of Database”.

He also shared some useful information with TECHBYTES and told that the Teradata Company in Islamabad has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Department of Computer Science. Under which they will provide practical sessions on Data Warehousing and Business Intelligence through Teradata technologies. He added that Teradata  Company is establishing a centre of Excellence for Data Warehousing in Department of Computer Science which will be dedicated to deliver best practical business intelligence and data warehousing solution to its clients. The center will be a Technology Agnostic, testing and implementation point for leading business intelligence tools and technology. We hoped that all the  project received from Afghanistan and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to Teradata Company will be supervised here. He thanked to Dr. Muhammad Abid, Dr. Saeed Mahfooz and  Dr. Azhar Rauf on providing such an excellent opportunity and significant contribution.

This highly successful training session was jointly organized by Teradata and  Department of   Computer Science. Feedback by the attendees to the training sessions has been overwhelming positive and hoped a high quality presentation by Mr. Badshah Rehman for the next sessions.

Read More...

Dr. Saeed Mahfooz Named New Head for Computer Science Department University of Peshawar

University of Peshawar has announced the appointment of Dr. Saeed Mahfooz as the new head of the Department of Computer Science. Bringing over 25 years of experience in higher education and industry, Dr. Saeed Mahfooz has received national recognition for his work in academia.

             Welcoming his appointment, student said." We are delighted to welcome Sir Dr. Saeed Mahfooz as the new head of Computer Science Department as he is the wealth of expertise both as a leader in education and Information Technology".

             The editorial team of TECHBYTES met him on Friday October 29, 2010 to know his point of view as new chairman

             In his new role, Dr. Saeed Mahfooz will focus on emphasizing active faculty offerings more courses at BCS level as a leading undergraduate program. He will focus on enhancing the project-based educational model used at the Department of Computer Science, expanding, networking and Software Engineering, programming and leveraging top-tier business relationships which can provide students essential educational and employment opportunities.

             “For me, the excitement of computer science is seeing the amazing things that students can achieve when a strong work ethic and passion are engendered by real world projects,” said Dr. Saeed Mahfooz. “Project success builds self-confidence, independent initiative, and collaborative skills, all of which are essential attributes in the workplace. By providing an education that is rich with real-world projects and hands-on experience, students can easily differentiate themselves in a competitive job market and pursue rewarding career opportunities.”

              He was of the view that education at the very basic should be of international standard because this is the era of competition and without education it is impossible to compete and with stand the challenges of this modern Global village.

Adding to this he said that our Department is one of the largest and best departments of University of Peshawar, producing PhDs, M.Phil scholars and professional. We admit that some facilities are missing but we are trying to get more and more resources. Inshallah we will organize International seminars in coming summer and will upgrade the department to institute.

Dr Saeed Mahfooz was born in Peshawar, got his primary education from Saint Mary's

School, Matriculation and Intermediate from Cadet College Kohat and BSc from Edward's

College  Peshawar. He did his MSc from Western International University Arizona USA

and got the degree of Doctorate from Liverpool John University Liverpool UK. 

in Computer Network.

             Dr. Saeed Mahfooz has been a member of the Department of Computer Science faculty since1987 and has participated in many conferences, presented papers and has also written, several journals articles, research paper during the past 23 year

             During his professional life Dr. Saeed Mahfooz has frequently served as a guest lecturer or professor, thus resulting in his association with numerous universities in Pakistan along with the Middle East. 

Read More...

Straight out of the heart!

I, on behalf of all our batchmates, our seniors, our juniors, all the staff members, and every other entity that

resides at this department, greet the batch that just joined this prestigious and distinguished department,

and welcome them as well as congratulate them for being among the very few fortunate persons to become part of

this beacon of light....

We forward our heartiest greetings, warm welcomes, and embrace you. We were once like this, and we were embraced

with sheer love and utmost respect by our seniors, and we will try to keep that tradition and that spirit alive

by reflecting similar sentiments towards your people....

WELCOME HOME!!!

Read More...

BeingSoft 2011, a 3-day competition at DCS

BeingSoft was an event which included Speed Programming, Poster Designing, Web Designing, Project Competition and Quiz.  Faculty and students participated and highly appreciated the event.

Poster Competition was set on 18^th January 2011, with the theme “Knowledge is Power”. Eight teams participated in the poster design. In Web Designing, eight teams participated they contested on theme of a web platform for e shopping.  Speed programming was one of the main attraction of the event held on 19^th January, a total of ten teams participated in the event. On the final day was the most anticipated quiz competition. Software was created for the quiz competition by Mr. Hammad Ali student of BCS-X.  The quiz competition turned out to be a thrilling and interactive session of 3 rounds in which 23 teams fought neck to neck for the top slot and audience cheered them up. The responsibilities of the judges in all the events were performed by Dr. Abid Khan, Dr. Azhar rauf, Dr. Huma Javed, Sir Javed Iqbal, Qazi Ejaz, Ibrar Ahmed, Waheed ur Rehman, Miss Fatima tuz Zuhra,and Muhammad Aamir Khan. The special personalities who gave the idea of this event, and motivated the student to arrange such a big competition were Dr.Azhar Rauf and Dr Huma Javed, who generously provided guidance and fully supported the organizers in the overall event.

Dr. Saeed Mahfooz, Department of Computer Science was the Chief Guest in the closing ceremony. He appreciated holding of such an event and stressed upon the need of a healthy and conducive environment in the department, and also gave away shields & certificates to winners & certificates to runners-up.

Read More...

Unversity of Peshawar : Computer Science Department Wings Unified

With the commencement of spring semester 2011, the department was unified into one building. Previously the department was in two separate wings: Junior and Senior wings, housed in separate buildings. Combining the department under one roof not only created a feeling of one-ness, but also made operations and interactions smoother and easier. Now the department has a spacious library as compare to the earlier library hall. Number of labs and rooms for faculty offices and classes has increased.  Now more room as the disposal of the department.  Separate classes for MS and PhD program have been allocated, earlier these classes would be in the corresponding faculty member office, and this has greatly enhanced the smooth operations. All the rooms are equipped with air conditions and other basic facilities. The faculty members are given very spacious and well equipped offices where they can research in their respective fields, also entertain queries of the students and fruitful discussions. The faculty members are very thankful to the chairman for this great favour.

Read More...

Literary Society Department Of Computer Science UoP

Literary society was first time established in March 2010 with the aim to enhance the creative potential of the youth, to promote IT literature and to prepare students for the future challenges.

On March 25,2011 interview for the new cabinet was held in the office of Dr. Huma Javed and new appointment were made, eight new organizers were selected  from short listed candidates that replaced some of the old ones .On  April  2,2011 first meeting was held , chaired by Dr Huma Javed  in which aims and objectives of the society were discussed ,activities were explained and planed .In the ending notes Dr Huma Javed said that the Co-curriculum  activities play a vital role in the over all development of the students personality and make them ready for the future challenges .

The Co- organizer Sir Muhammad Aamir khan devoted their time for the administration of the activities.He said that this platform will provide the opportunity for the students to display and polish their skills and talent.  

Organizational Set up Literary Society Department of Computer Science

Chief Organizer                                  Dr Huma Javed

Co-organizer                                       Sir Muhammad Aamir Khan

President                                             Nisar Ahmad BIT 7^th semester

Vice President                                  Midhat Un Nisa BCS 7^th semester

General Secretary                              Ahsan Gul  BCS 7^th semester

Joint Secretary                                   Ahsan Ashfaq  BCS 7^th semester

Media Secretary                                Muhammad Owais BCS 3^th semester

Finance Secretary                              Mazhar Hameed BCS 3^rd Semester

Male Student Representative        Osama tariq  BCS 3rd^th semester

Female Student Representative    Ansa Javeria   BCS 5^th semester

Read More...

Seminar on Network Simulation 2

A seminar was conducted on “Network Simulation 2” (NS-2) by Mr. Sami Ullah, a PhD scholar and a visiting lecturer at the Department of Computer Science, University of Peshawar on May 25, 2011 at BCS Lab-2, Department of Computer Science.

In seminar, the students got to know that NS-2 is a powerful tool for network simulation. Researchers in academia and Industry both use NS-2 to validate their algorithms, test and implement new and improved network protocols. NS-2 provides rich environment and tools for simulation of TCP, routing, and multicast protocol over wired and wireless network. One of the many interesting features is topology generator to create topology from a number of nodes to thousand of nodes. The seminar received appreciation from the students. 

Read More...

BLOOD DONATION CAMP in DCS

On March 10^th 2011, a blood Donation camp was organized in the department by Welfare Hand Organization, an NGO for thalassemia. Students participated with vigour in this camp. The blood was tested for Hepatitis A, B, C and HIV AIDS and the students were provided with the screening result.

Medically, blood donation doesn’t have adverse effect on the health of the donor. Naturally the RBC in the blood breaks down after 120 days and new blood is generated. The blood collected in the camp is used for immediate transfusion for the thalassemia children; the platelets are used for other purposes.

From religious point of view it is also beneficial as it is an act of sadqa of your body. In this donation camp, approximately twenty bags of blood were collected. 

Read More...

A Journey towards Betterment

“Software Engineering” Course offered at MS/PhD level

The department launches “Software Engineering” at MS/PhD level. Dr. Sara Shahzad, who returned last year from Vienna, Sweden after completing her PhD in Software Engineering, will be handling the course.

Fiber optic backbone, Generators installed

To satisfy the need of better, faster, internet facility, a fiber optic backbone will be installed for the department. It would facilitate the students a lot in their learning and research.

Also, generators were recently installed to ensure smooth & continuous supply of electricity no disruption to academic activities.

Thin-Client based systems

Keeping no stone unturned in providing the best, the department recently procured Thin-Client based systems worth a whooping Rs.40 lack. It will not only provide enormous amount of data storage, but also facilitate introduction of newer technologies, such as Cloud Computing. The race to the future is certainly on!

New PhD classrooms and MS labs up gradation

As new PhD classrooms are and MS labs upgraded set up, MS/PhD students are also provided a digital library to ensure all their research needs are fully satisfied, to get information they need at a single click

Read More...

New Library of DCS with New Books and Facilities

As the two wings of DCS merged into a single Department, a new, bigger library is founded by combining the two old libraries of senior and junior wing. On March 2, 2011, the new library was set up and furnished, making it available to students. In June, it was updated with a large number of new books and journal. Now the library is about 11000 books, 2500 journals and 1500 copies of thesis strong.

 The library frequently receives  national and international  monthly magazines i.e. “Herald “a current affair magazine from Pakistan,” Aurora “  publish twice a year from the University of Alaska, “Spider “ publish by Dawn Media Group ,focuses on IT ,”NEWS & VIEWS”  a monthly magazine from HEC Pakistan. Along with this, four news paper: The News, The Nation, Daily Mashriq and Daily Aaj are also available on daily basis.  

Senior librarian Sir Shah Nawaz Butto said, “Actually library promotes the progress of knowledge and MASHAALLAH our library is rich in all kinds of books and other learning materials. Here the students have many choices to take books of their interest and to fulfill their subjects’ necessities at a single point.The new library is very comfortable and now there is a large space available for the students to sit and study in a well-equipped environment.” 

Read More...

Dr. Zahoor Jan Completed PhD

Dr. Zahoor Jan recently completed his PhD from Fast National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences (NU-FAST), Islamabad in Image Processing. The title of his thesis was “Imperceptible Water Marking”. His doctorial thesis was evaluated in U.K, Korea, and Germany. His successful thesis defense came out on the 4^th March 2011. His PhD was supervised by Prof Dr. Majid Mirza who received “Brilliant Student Award”, from Imperial Collage of London on completion of his PhD and was also awarded “Most Productive Researcher of Pakistan”, for the years 2007-08-09.

    Dr. Zahoor Jan has presented his research in prestigious international Conferences and Journals. He participated in International Conferences in China, Korea, Canada, Germany, Malaysia and Italy. The man with such achievements and awards has a heart full of passions for transferring knowledge to his students. Doing his best Dr. Zahoor Jan is working for the betterment of the department and the university.

Read More...

DCS students shine at NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL COMPETITIONS

SOFTCOM COMPETITION, GIKI, 2010:

GIKI, one of the leading engineering institutes of the country organizes SOFTCOM on annual basis with participation from all over Pakistan. In November 2010 students from DCS took part in SOFTCOM 10, featuring in Speed Programming, Quiz, Poster Designing and Web Designing competitions. The department team was headed by Mr Muhammad Aamir Khan, and consisted of following students:  Ahsan Ashfaq, Midhat Un Nisa, Sania Rafiq, Ahsan Gul, Majid Khan Momand, Mazhar, Kashif, Haris Ali, Kanza Aman , Hira Aftab, Khalid Yousaf and Nasir Ali. Overall it was a wonderful experience to compete with some of the most talented students of the country and helped the students in understanding the need of advancement in their studies and skills

ALL PAKISTAN INTER UNIVERSITIES CHALLENGE 2011, IST :

Institute of Space Technology, Islamabad annually organizes this competition which constitutes of more than 15 competitions. This year the Challenge was held from 21-23 April. University of Peshawar team included 3 students from DCS: Midhat Un Nisa, Ahsan Ashfaq, & Muhammad Arshad. Again this was a wonderful experience for the selected students to compete at the top level and offered a lot to experience and learn, not only in the field of CS but in various other fields, too.  

FIRST PRIZE IN SPEED PROGRAMMING NUTEC 2011, FAST UNIVERSITY, PESHAWAR:

NU-FAST Peshawar, organized a national competition in March 2011. DCS students Ayesha Sultan, Ayesha Maqsood and Obaid ur Rehman participated in Quiz Competition and Ahsan Gul, Hammad Ali and Kashif represented UoP in Speed Programming competition. The Programming team lifted the Winners’ trophy amongs some 15 top universities of Pakistan. DCS is proud of the high-achievers. 

SOFTEC, NU-FAST LAHORE, 2011

DCS students participated in 15th Annual & 6th International SOFTEC at NU-FAST Lahore campus, on 9th-10th April, 2011. SOFTEC is the largest IT extravaganza of Pakistan. Students, teachers and the giants of IT industry of Pakistan exhibited their skills & products at this annual event. There were 5 competitions for universities to compete in. DCS,UoP participated for the first time and fared in Speed Programming and Software Competitions. The department was represented by the following students: Midhat Un Nisa, Ahsan Gul, Hammad Ali, Muhammad Tayyab, Muhammad Farhan, Muhammad Kashif, Fati Ullah, Sami Ullah and Rabi Ullah, and was chaperoned by Mr. Bilal Khan. This was an utterly enjoyable learning experience that also opened the students up to what students and universities throughout Pakistan were doing in field of IT. Added student attractions were Software House Enclosure, and seminars and conferences by leading IT & Corporate professionals which were both eye-opening and interactive. An entertainment night was also arranged, featuring E.P., Amanat Ali & Shiraz Uppal.

Photography Competition by PYO

Majid Khan Momand, BCS-X, stood 3^rd in Photography competition held by PYO in September, 2010. The basic Purpose of the competition was to show and to prove that positivity exists in city of Peshawar, that we are peaceful citizens and we want peace. Shortlisted photographs were put on display in Nishtar Hall, and winners were awarded certificates and cash prizes.

Huner-e-Hawwa by Tourism Corporation of KPK

In another event titled “Huner-e- Hawwa” held from 8th-10^th May, 2011, Sundus Akram of BIT-VI outshone girls from across the province in Mehndi Design competition, and was awarded certificate & cash prize.

Read More...

DEPARTMENT OF COMPUTER SCIENCE to hold “BEING SOFT COMPETITION 2011”

The department of computer Science University of Peshawar is organizing a competition first time among the current students, studying at the department of Computer Science on January 18 to 20, 2011, including all major areas of computer science.

It was decided in a meeting of the organizing committee chaired by Dr. Azhar Rauf, held on December 31, 2010 at the committee room, Department of Computer Science..

 The primary goal of this competition is to provide an opportunity to various students to sharpen and demonstrate their talent, team work skills and to interact with each other.

The competition will be under the title “BEING SOFT COMPETITION 2011” with the objectives “An ultimate way to test your ability”.

While sharing the highlight of competition, a member of the organizing committee Nisar Ahmad said to THE NEWS “that it will be a great honor for us to organize such a glorious event on departmental level, and we expect more students to participate. He added that the competition will be consisting of poster designing, speed programming, web page designing, project competition and quiz competition.

The organizing committee Supervised by  Dr. Azhar Rauf. Mr.Nisar Ahmad, Mr.Ahsan Gul, Mr. Hammad Ali, Mr Muhammad Tayab, Mr Masood Ahmad, Mr Ahsan Isfaq, Miss Midhat-un-Nisa and Miss.Kanza Aman are selected as committee members from students. They are all well committed to successfully organize the event with perfect plan and hard work. 

A ceremony will be held directly after the quiz competition ends on January 20, 2011, at the department to celebrate the winning teams and distribution of prizes. Chairman Dr. Said Mahfooz will be the chief guest at the occasion.

Read More...

DCS UoP Student’s Trips to Azad Kashmir and Narran vally

5-day Tour to Azad Kashmir by Batch-12

Report by Muhammad Jalal Khan

The vales of Kashmir have mesmerized poets and artists since a long time. This time we decided to see for ourselves this region of legendary beauty. On 12^th October, 2011, we set out on our journey to Azad Kashmir.  The buses were an absolute horror story  but even that didn't dent our soaring spirits.

We set out, singing and dancing, savoring each and every moment.  Our first stop was Abbottabad where we had our lunch. By the time we reached Mansehra, the sunset was almost upon us, but the beam of our spirits burned ever brighter.

We spent the night in a luxurious hotel in Muzaffarabad, and set out towards Kutton in the morning. We thoroughly enjoyed the magnificence of the valley and the journey didn’t tire us at all. We spent the night there, and Sharda was our next destination. It was a heaven on Earth, with crystal blue water surrounded by hills and the landscape unpolluted… something of a rarity in this country.

After spending the night there, we journeyed towards Khel in the morning.  Some people told us to head to Arankhel, others insisted on seeing Tao Butt; we decided to go to Tao Butt, and everyone regretted that later as it was a tiresome voyage. The landscape, however, was so picturesque that it took our breaths away and made up for the long way.  After that, it was journey back home. All in all, Kashmir lived up to the hype that surrounds it.

 Narran: A 3-day tour by Batch-10 BCS

Report by Muhammad tayyab

Naran is a land so out of this world; you can't have enough of it no matter how many times you visit. On 17 October 2011, this land pulled us towards it again this autumn. The journey through dangerous mountains and narrow paths was exhilarating and thrilling but the reward lied at the end.. Lake Saif ul Malook was worth the risk, it’s a place one falls in love with instantly. We weren’t over with heat and humidity in plain area but there it was icy cold. Our comfortable abode in a local hotel, good food, hiking through the mountains and exploring the landscape was a wonderful experience. Overall, it was truly fascinating and refreshing.

Read More...

ICCNIT: a memorable conference

The lush green valleys of Galliyat with dense forests, beautiful hills, pleasant climate, winding tracks, and the overall landscape attract people from over the world to visit and spend their vacations there. BaraGali with its spectacular mountain horizon, the continuous chirping of birds, the cool weather (in mid of July), never bores you. It was here, at Bara Gali campus of University of Peshawar that Department of Computer Science (UoP) decided to hold ICCNIT conference from 11^th to 13^th July 2011.

Being a participant from the host institution, I’d been in anticipation for quite some time and eagerly waited for the conference that had kept our department’s staff into a spin for months. We arrived from Peshawar (KPK) on 10^th July. A warm welcome was given to all the guests, presenters, participants and students who had come from different national and international universities. Attendees included delegates from prestigious institutes like UETs, GIKI, QAU, MAJU, NED, Bradford University, Liverpool John Moore’s University, and many others.

It was a great comprehensive platform to present researches in Computer Science fields including Networking, Software engineering, Databases, Semantic web, etc. The conference, no doubt, was a 3-day roller coaster ride of ideas. Information is an under-statement. It was great to experience such an intellectual environment where new technologies were introduced, brilliant thoughts were explored, and research ideas were dissected. This was motivating especially for the upcoming researchers. I was surprised I ever thought conferences were boring!

Besides infusing us with ideas, the organizers didn’t forget to tend to our comfort and spirits. Foodies like me were particularly happy about the delicious, exquisite, traditional meals and regular well-provided teas after every session. Bonfires with traditional music amidst the quite hills were indeed unforgettable experiences. Participants couldn’t help dancing to the melodies and Atanr & Khattak dance at the bonfires were a hit! As if this amusement wasn’t enough, the clerical staff didn’t miss their chances of playing pranks and, indeed, added to the fun part. Birthdays were celebrated, treats were collected from successful student presenters, and sweet dishes were cooked together.

Tracking in the mountains was another experience that put everyone face-to-face with nature. Galliyat have established tracks and we took the track to Donga Gali via Ayyubia. These areas are so beautiful; one just couldn’t stop clicking (the camera). In another trip to Ayyubia on the third day, we shopped and enjoyed the chairlift, too. Time was short and the queues long but we did manage to get spots and enjoyed the thrill. The journey back in bus was another fun ride where students sang all the way. In the wink of an eye time passed and the curtain was closed on 14^th July. We left for Peshawar with incredible memories. All in all, the conference was beyond expectations, and left the most memorable and deep foot prints behind which will remain in our minds forever.

By Shahida Hayat, 2^nd semester, MS Software Engineering

Read More...

SHINING BEACON :Dr. Muhammad Abid Khan

Dr. Muhammad Abid Khan, one of the founding members of DCS, received and completed his early education in his home town. After passing his matriculation examination, he took admission in Jehan Zeb College Swat, where he did his graduation in 1981. Furthermore, he was also a Senior Monitor at Mingora Hostel. Passing on to the Quaid-e-Azam University Islamabad, he did his post graduation in Computer Science in the year 1984. Meanwhile he remained Mess Secretary of Hostel No .4 at Q.A University Islamabad. One year after his appointment as lecturer at DCS, he proceeded to Europe and from Cranfield University UK; he got another master degree in Software Techniques for Computer Aided Engineering (CAE) in 1987. From the same university, he also did his doctorate degree in the area of Machine Translation (NLP).

Dr Abid returned to his homeland Pakistan in September 1990 and rejoined the department. Dr.  Abid started as a Lecturer at DCS from 1984, passing from different stages, he reached the rank of Professor in 2009. He has also the administrative experience of being the chairman of the DCS from September 1992 to October 2010, excluding the era from September 1995 to July 1998 and July 2001 to September 2004, in which he remained respectively in Jordan and the director of the National University of Computer and Emerging Sciences, Peshawar Campus.

Moreover his field of research is Human Language Technology/Natural Language Processing. He has supervised more than a dozen of MS research students who graduated in their specialization and is currently supervising the same number of MS and PhD students. He has research publications in national/international journals and conferences.

Read More...

How Our Educational System Affecting The Students

 I am a student and citizen of Pakistan. I can better judge the feeling of a student because I have experienced both educational systems which are running in Pakistan; first of all I want to say that the educational system of Pakistan is very appalling in comparison with International standard. Our educational system is dividing the population into different classes. There is no single educational system exist. It varies from cities to cities, provinces to provinces and even schools to schools.

Let me first talk about the government educational system. You can’t even imagine that the students of 8th class are studying simple textbooks which students of private institutes studies in their 1st or 2nd standard. The way teachers are going to deal with students is very bad and harsh. This in results many of the students are going to dislike studies and can’t even clear matriculation certificate and leaves studies which increases illiteracy rate.

When some students ignore this attitude of their teachers and pay attention towards their studies but government institutes are not offering A-O  levels which students wants to do. Private institutions are offering A-O levels which are too expensive that most students can’t afford it. Therefore many students prefer to do matriculation because they believe” DO SOMETHING INSTEAD OF NOTHING”. Many of the government institutes are offering F.A, B.A, M.A and even MBA but the degree of the government institutes has no worth as compared to private institutes.

Now let me talk about the private educational system. This educational system proceeds better as compare to the government educational system. This is because the behavior of the teachers towards the students is very co-operative and polite. They groom the students from grass root level and students are going to study top quality books in their courses, which makes their mind more creative. This system provides many facilities to the student to become a successful full man in life.

Now let us talk about the students of both systems when they are going to apply their jobs. Firstly there are not enough jobs vacancies by the government as compared to the qualifying students. But when some job vacancies are available unfortunately people on the top seats in institutions appointed their relatives and close ones. Sometimes they borrow money to get them a job. This is how corruption is spreading in our country.

Secondly if vacancies are available, then the students from private educational system get jobs and are hired by multinational companies before their degrees and student from the government educational system get nothing instead of wastage of time. Many of the students from the government educational system apply for jobs after getting a bachelor's degree because they can’t afford masters and wants to support their families and try to improve their living standard. When these students are tired of searching jobs they started working as laborers some of them waste their lives. This makes poor person poorer and rich person richer.

When students from middle class family looks this situation they starts saying that nothing is in Pakistan everything is in abroad, I have heard many people saying that life begins in abroad. This is how feelings of nationalism decrease. Actually they have not tasted the life away from their people, culture and etc. That is why they are talking about abroad. When some of the students decide to go abroad in the rich North of the world like UK and USA etc. They apply for visa and find it very difficult because of having a green passport which is worthless in abroad.

If by chance the students get visa they are not treated fairly. They are offered dirty jobs to at pump stations, in hotels as waiters or sweepers, some of them who got nothing are going to give bath to their dogs. Then they know the importance of Pakistan and feel guilty in telling their relative living in Pakistan about their jobs. But one thing which stops them to come back is that they are having three times a meal properly and medicines on cheaper rates. On the other hand in Pakistan there are many poor people who find nothing to eat.

Government should apply single educational system in the country because the students are the citizen of Pakistan and every citizen has right to gain the same level of education. I believe the students are the pillar of any state. If these pillars are strong then the future of Pakistan is bright, Nation will get food, shelter, clothes and other necessities of life, when natural leadership comes up, decisions are made on merit, and this will be done when there is a single educational system in public and private educational institutes.

Read More...

KPK Government Announces Laptop Scheme for Talented Students

Taking a page from Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s book, the K-P government announced its own Rs1 billion free laptop scheme – named Naway Sahar (New Dawn) – for students in the province, saying it would hand out 25,000 such laptops to top-performing students.

Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Announces Free Laptop Scheme Like CM Punjab Laptop Scheme for Talented Students of KPK in Provincial Budget of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa 2012-13 yesterday.

25 thousands free laptops will be distributed in Colleges and Universities Students of KPK.

Read More...

KPK Budget 2012-13: Salaries, Pensions Increases 20%

For a left-leaning party battling for its political life in an election year, the Awami National Party included, surprisingly, little populist spending in the Rs303 billion Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa budget for fiscal year 2013.

In the budget speech delivered at the provincial assembly on Friday, Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Finance Minister Muhammad Humayun Khan essentially listed off some of the government’s political achievements before essentially reading out the entire budget document, numbers and all.

Far from the political drama and fistfights on the floor of the National Assembly during the federal budget, the K-P budget session was more akin to a particularly boring, corporate annual shareholders meeting.

There were at least a few populist items on the finance minister’s agenda. The provincial government announced that it would follow Islamabad’s lead and provide an ad-hoc bump of 20% in the salaries of its employees, a move that had been a foregone conclusion since provincial bureaucrats work alongside federal ones in provincial capitals and a pay disparity would cause tension.

And taking a page from Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif’s book, the K-P government announced its own Rs1 billion free laptop scheme – named Naway Sahar (New Dawn) – for students in the province, saying it would hand out 25,000 such laptops to top-performing students.

Peshawar will also be spending close to Rs2.5 billion subsidising wheat, though this policy is rarely trumpeted by any provincial government since it is essentially a mandate that the federal government forces on the provinces.

The budget includes about Rs97.5 billion for development spending, about 24% of which will be funded by foreign governments. The single biggest donor to the province is the United Kingdom, followed by Japan. The United States, by contrast, is among the smallest foreign donors to the province.

Education and health

Like Sindh, K-P allocates most of its education and health spending at the district level rather than at the provincial level. Hence, education appears to account for less than 11% of the total provincial budget. Yet a closer look shows that well over 99% of the province’s education department staff is in fact at the district level and is accounted for in the lump-sum transfers to the districts.

Health, similarly, appears to account for just 5.7% of the total budget, but again, most of the spending takes place at the district level. K-P transfers about 28.2% of its total budget – the largest chunk allocated to any category – to the districts, a level surpassed only by Sindh in previous years.

Like most other provinces, K-P complains that the overwhelming majority of its budget ends up getting spent on salaries, with little left for development expenditure. Nonetheless, the province has allocated just over 9% of its budget – or about Rs27.5 billion – to expenditures such as building roads, improving the province’s water supply, developing urban infrastructure, etc.

By contrast, the districts spend are expected to spend about 83% of their budget on salaries, with just one-sixth left over for non-salary expenses – and that includes such needs as paying their utility bills.

The largest chunk of the budget, however, goes to public safety, unsurprising in a province wracked by a militant insurgency and sporadic violence. The province expects its public safety budget to go up by 24% this year, to Rs34 billion.

Spending efficiency

Yet K-P – alone among the provinces – has also decided to get innovative with its project. It introduced “output based budgeting” for education and healthcare in two districts. Having successfully tested the pilot project where it asks provinces to meet specific targets for which the province allocates money, the province now wants to roll out the unique methodology – designed to get more efficiency in its spending – to twelve districts.

Revenues

On the revenue side, Peshawar admits to being largely dependent on Islamabad for much of its revenues. Federal transfers to Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa account for about 75% of its total budget, and on foreign donors for another 7.7%. The remainder – which comes to about Rs52 billion – comes from the province’s own tax receipts, though even these are collected by the federal government, which charges a 1% service fee.

Of its own revenues, the single largest chunk of Rs25 billion, or about half the province’s own collections, actually comes from other provinces paying royalties for the hydroelectricity generated by dams located in K-P. Despite promises made at the 7th National Finance Commission Award and at the passage of the 18th Amendment to the constitution, K-P appears to join the other provinces in not having built up the capacity to collect its own taxes.

Read More...

International Conference on Computer Networks and Information Technology (ICCNIT ’11) held at Bara Gali

By Sir Ikram Ud Din

Department of Computer Science is the oldest seat of Computer Science education in KPK and is an esteemed department. Keeping up with its tradition of firsts, the department arranged the first International Conference on Computer Networks and Information Technology (ICCNIT ’11) from 11-13^th July, 2011 at Bara Gali campus of University of Peshawar. It was a big endeavor, encompassing diverse Computer Science fields and equally diverse participation. The conference was primarily arranged by Department of Computer Science, University of Peshawar, in collaboration with IEEE Islamabad Chapter, IEEE Peshawar Subsection, John Moores University Liverpool, UK, and KPK UET, Peshawar.

A great opportunity for young researchers to learn from the expertise of well-known researchers The aim of ICCNIT was to provide a platform to academics and professionals to facilitate effective knowledge sharing. ICCNIT will become an annual event providing. As we all know education sector of KPK is just one of many sectors that have perished due to international & national politics in play, the state of security, etc. A conference like ICCNIT was a boost to educational activities, particularly IT research. The conference was sponsored by IEEE, Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF), Higher Education Commission (HEC), Pakistan, Liverpool John Moores University, UK and Directorate of IT. Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, in general, and Directorate of IT in particular, cordially supported the event as it helped to promote the soft image of the province.

Bara Gali campus of University of Peshawar situated in the heart of Galliyat is a hotspot for national and international seminars, workshops, training courses and conferences, student trips, etc. Add to this the untiring efforts of the whole staff of Department of Computer Science to make each and every arrangement immaculate, and the result was a well-organized and enjoyable 3 days at Bara Gali with enough intellectual influx to set your mind fast on thought course, but enough magnificence of mother nature and local culture to satisfy your soul.

The conference was a thoroughly refreshing experience for the participants, both intellectually and aesthetically. It covered diverse Computer Science fields such as Computer Networks, Multimedia Contents, Databases, Natural Language Processing, Wireless Communications, Software Engineering, Web Semantics and Information Technologies. Over 120 delegates from various national and international universities/organizations became a part of it. Apart from national universities, researchers from the following international universities participated:

1. Bradford University, UK
2. Lancaster University, UK
3. East Englia (Norwich) University, UK
4. John Moores University, UK.

The conference was inaugurated by honorable Vice Chancellor of University of Peshawar, Prof. Dr. Azmat Hayat Khan on 11^th July, 2011. Prof. Dr. Amir Qayum from Muhammad Ali Jinnah University, Islamabad, was the Keynote Speaker. His topic was Vehicular Ad Hoc Networks (VANETs). Other speakers included:

1. Prof. Dr. Azzam Ul Asar, Chair IEEE, Subsection Peshawar/ Dean UET, Peshawar. His topic was IEEE Aims and Objectives.
2. Dr. Akhtar Hussain Khalil from UET, Mardan Campus, was invited to deliver a lecture on Academia, Intellectual Property and Commercialization.
3. Mr. Imran Malik, CEO Supernet, Karachi, presented the importance of Satellite Communication in the current era.

In total 41 research papers were presented during the course of 3 days. The environment was very interactive and every research paper was received with much interest, questioning, debate and encouragement. The conference was structured around individual sessions for main focus areas, punctuated with breaks for meals, prayers and tea. The schedule allowed everyone to unwind and relax in between sessions. All research papers are uploaded on IEEE website.

Despite being an educational conference, ICCNIT was not low on fun dose. The venue, Bara Gali, itself was a treat. The organizers went to lengths to make sure accommodation and provisions were excellent. Meal menus were meticulously planned and teas were generously served to ensure satisfied stomach and hence, alert minds. Internet facility was also available.

To add to the fun-factor, bonfires were arranged at night-time. The serenity of hills, the traditional folk music, and the cherry on top, students’ Atanr and Khattak dances, were a rich cultural experience.

As no visit to Galliyat is complete without tracking, participants were taken to Donga Gali via Ayubia on second day and a trip to Ayyubia on third day. The pristine beauty of the region took many’s breath away. The students enjoyed by singing, holding competitions, shopping, etc.

There were big and respectable names involved so expectations were high but ICCNIT exceeded expectations. Being an initial venture, it faced its due share of initial hitches but with dedication and constant hard work of the conference team headed by Dr. Saeed Mahfooz, Chairman, they were efficiently overcome. The whole of the conference team must be credited and appreciated for never failing to tackle the biggest of obstacles, putting in their very best, and eventually pulling off such a successful conference. This immaculate execution has prompted so many to request to make ICCNIT an annual event. These requests are our reward.

The conference has a dedicated website www.iccnit.com where details about the conference are available.

Read More...