HEC TO LAUNCH TWO EDUCATIONAL CHANNELS BY NOVEMBER

April 26, 2005, Business Recorder

Higher Education Commission (HEC) will launch two educational channels via
Pakistani satellite system by November 2005, HEC chairman Dr Atta ur
Rehman disclosed this here on Monday. Inaugurating a three-day first
"International Karakorum Conference", jointly organised by the Pakistan
Academy of Geological Sciences and Ev-K2-CNR Committee of Italy, Dr Atta
ur Rehman said the facility would enable students to access to German,
American and other international universities.

He added the students would be able to attend lectures of those
universities and could interact with teachers.

The main objective of this conference was to provide guidelines to
scientists and geologists towards Karakorum region for sustainable
development of the country. Several international geologists and
scientists from Germany, Italy, India and Nepal were present in the
conference.

Dr Atta ur Rehman said presently, 400 students were studying in foreign
universities due to HEC's funding and further proposed to send 400
students from every university to international institutions for Ph D
studies, in next coming years. The HEC chairman said the Commission wanted
to increase the number of students on scholarship in foreign universities
to 20,000 for MS and Ph D, which was only at present 400. Atta ur Rehman
further said on the invitation of HEC, around 260 Pakistani scientists,
researchers and scholars have come back to the country and their number
would increase to 1500 soon.

He urged the scientists and geologists they must enhance their researches
at Karakorum region, which has many medicinal herbs for treatment of
different kinds of cancers.

Survey of Pakistan Geologist Kanwar Sabir Ali Khan said the Karakorum
highway starts from Hasanabadal but due to peculiar geological and
environmental conditions, the road endangered the safety of travellers due
to landslides, mudflows, river erosion and floods, and earthquakes.

Naeem Mansoor from Pakistan Meteorological Department presented the
temperature report during (December to March) and summer (April to May)
that showed an increasing trend and, enhanced monsoon and winter period in
the country. He also said increased temperature has decreased the snowing
season lengthen in mountains areas, he declared it could be beneficial for
wheat yield at high altitude.

Ev-K2-CNR Committee Italy President Agostino Da Poienza, Pakistan Academy of Geology Sciences President Professor Dr F A Shams, Karakorum
International University Gilgit Vice Chancellor Dr Muhammad Salim,
Quaid-i-Azam University Department of Earth Sciences Chairman Dr Zulfiqar
Ahmad, and Ghandara University Peshawar Vice Chancellor Professor R A Khan Tahirkheli also addressed the conference.