B.A. / B.Sc. Annual Examination 2011 malakand university

B.A. / B.Sc. Annual Examination 2011 - Results Look-up

EXAM DATESHEET M.B.A. Annual Examination 2011 university of malakand,

EXAM DATESHEET M.B.A, Annual Examination 2011, mba examination datasheet 2011, university of malakand, date sheet of MBA,

EXAM DATESHEET L.L.B. Annual Examination 2011

EXAM DATESHEET L.L.B. Annual Examination 2011 university of malakand,

EXAM DATESHEET B.I.T. Annual Examination 2011 university of malakand,

EXAM DATESHEET B.I.T. Annual Examination 2011 university of malakand,

EXAM DATESHEET B.B.A. Annual Examination 2011 uom

EXAM DATESHEET B.B.A. Annual Examination 2011 uom university of malakand,

sargodha university b.com results 2011

Sargodha: 27August :PakStudy Report: The University of Sargodha examinations department on Today declared the results of Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com) Part 1Annual examination 2011.

http://www.uos.edu.pk/

Recitation competition in Sindh University

Hyderabad: 16 Aug: An inter departmental recitation competition held in Sindh University under Beauru of Sticks in which various students participated.
Hamid Ullah of B.S part I Bio Technology and Genetic Engineering took 1st, Pir Abdul Wajid of B.S part III home economics took 2nd position.
Adviser of Beauru of Sticks Professor Muhammad Yousuf Pardesi, Director Hanifa Qazi, Professor Hafiz Munir Ahmad and more students took part in this competition.
Thank you Jang Karachi

UoK Diploma in child health papers postponed

Karachi: 16 Aug: University of Karachi has announced that annual exams of Diploma in Child Health 2010 papers are postponed. New dates will be announced shortly.
Thank You Jang Karachi

Declaration for Graduates of DIMT

Karachi: 16 Aug: Dow University of Health Sciences Karachi has announced that The Graduates of Dow Institute of Medical Technology (DIMT) , Karachi of 2010 Batch (Clinical Laboratory Science Group) are hereby directed to report to the Director , Dow Diagnostic Research & Reference Laboratory, Karachi with immediate effect for completion of their six months internship period (Clinical Rotation).
For more, log on to http://www.duhs.edu.pk/

IBA NTHP website launched

Karachi: 16 Aug: Institute of Business Administration Karachi has launched National Talent Hunt Program on 15th August 2011.
For more, log on to http://www.iba.edu.pk/

Varsities urged to find indigenous resources

LAHORE:UNIVERSITIES can play a vital role by conducting research and focusing on indigenous resources towards overcoming the challenges being faced by people in Pakistan.

This was resolved by a focused group meeting on Knowledge Exchange strategic development in Pakistan and role of academia held at University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences (UVAS) Ravi Campus, Patoki on Wednesday, said a press release issued here on Wednesday.

The meeting was conducted by British Council with the collaboration of UVAS Fisheries Department. A delegation led by Regional Higher Education Project Manager central and south Asia Ben Isaac comprised British Council consultant Jo Chaffer, British Council Manager Higher Education partnerships Sarah Pervez, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Authority Assistant Manager policy and planning Hameed Ullah Khan, footwear expert Javed Akhtar Mir, Project coordinator Inspire Prof Dr Muhammad Sharif Mughal and UVAS registrar Prof Dr Kamran Ashraf.PS

Earlier, UVAS Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Muhammad Nawaz briefed the delegation about the chronicle of veterinary school that had now become the country s prestigious university. He said this institution was imparting quality veterinary education in Lahore for the last 129 years. He said UVAS was playing its effective role in the leather, poultry, meat and dairy technology. He said that the university had won research grants worth Rs 571.794 million through competition. He said the university s development budget was Rs 430 million, adding that within a short span indigenous resources were being increased from 10 to 25 per cent.

Prof Nawaz said the university had developed research collaboration and signed 21 MoUs with many international institutions to upgrade the standard of education. He said the varsity was making efforts to provide quality education.

The delegation appreciated the UVAS poverty alleviation model and discussed challenges.

Vice Chancellor Prof Nawaz said the vibrant role of livestock sector was contributing approximately 55.1 per cent of the agriculture value-added and 11.4 per cent to national GDP. Despite a plethora of challenges, he said, the livestock industry was surprisingly growing by 4.1 per cent and cattle population had grown up to 67 million in 2010-11.

Vice-Chancellor Dr Nawaz said that it was the only university in Pakistan which was conducting online examination to maintain the process of transparency.

The participants urged the academia to produce innovative mindset which would develop techniques for making money to improve the national economy. But they categorically agreed that the human resource should be equipped with basic product knowledge and know-how about the management skills. They also visited the livestock farms, dogs training and breeding centre and milk processing unit.The news.

LCWU Second Merit List 2011

Lahore:24 August:Lahore College for woman University Second Merit List for Intermediate (Part-I 2011) Admission, second Merit List will be imposed today(August 24th 2011) at 2:00 o'clock in the evening

The merit list for disabled, Hafiza Quran and admission on sports basis will also be displayed on August 24 and classes will commence from September 12, 2011.
The LCWU Second merit list will be available here very soon
Pre-Medical 968
Pre-Engineering 941
ICS (Physics) 920
ICS (Economics) 820
ICom 810
General Science 742
Arts 700
FA (Home Economics) 750

Kidnapped schoolboy found dead

FAISALABAD: The Gulberg police on Wednesday recovered the body of a schoolboy, who was allegedly kidnapped by some unknown persons when he was returning home from school two days ago. The boy was the grandson of a noted figure Mahmood-ul-Hasan. The parents of the missing boy lodged a report with Gulberg Police Station. Neighbours informed Ali Haider’s parents on Wednesday that a gunny bag was found near their house. They rushed to the spot and opened the bag in which they found Ali Haidar’s mutilated body. Mahmood-ul-Hasan, grandfather of victim, suspected that someone of their relatives was involved in the crime.The news.

LCWU displays 2nd merit list

LAHORE:A SECOND merit list for admission to FA/FSc First Year has been displayed at Lahore College for Women University displayed.

A press release here on Wednesday said successful candidates could deposit their dues today (Thursday) and tomorrow (Friday) during banking hours.

Vice Chancellor Dr Sabiha Mansoor said that the third merit list would be displayed on August 26, 2011 at 2 pm. The following merit list has been set as per the second list. Pre-Medical 968, Pre-Engineering 941, ICS (Physics) 920, ICS (Economics) 820, ICom 810, General Science 742 Arts 700, FA (Home Economics) 750.

The merit list for disabled, Hafiz-e-Quran and sports students was also displayed. Entrance test in fine arts and English Literature for O level candidates will be held today (Thursday) at 10 am and 2 pm consecutively.

The O-Level candidates are directed to submit their equivalence certificate from Board of Intermediate and Secondary Education (BISE) Lahore till 29th August and their merit list will be displayed on 6th September 2011. Classes in all categories will start on 12th September 2011.The news.

UET teacher awarded

LAHORE:PROFESSOR Dr. Zahid Ahmed Siddique, Head of the Department of Civil Engineering, University of Engineering and Technology, won the Prime Minister Award for conducting research on Bond strength of Model Steel and other steel .

Professor Dr. Zahid Ahmad Siddique was also given the cash prize for the research work he completed in a record time. He conducted the study to evaluate the bond performance of model steel reinforcing bars. The study was carried out according to the ACI408.2R-92 pullout tests which were conducted on fully automatic strain controlled universal testing machine of Shimazu, Japan. The data was recorded by the data acquisition system of a machine at every 50 millisecond.

The pullout samples were prepared with normal strength concrete having compressive strength of 30 MPa. The recorded slump value was 85 mm. The embedded length was selected to be 12 d.

These pullout samples were put in a specially designed assembly to grip them in the testing machine. This assembly has the arrangement to eliminate any eccentricity during casting of the samples. The tests were conducted after 28 days.

State-of-the-art strain controlled fully computerised universal testing machine was used for the tests. The machine has its own data acquisition system. It recorded the data at every 50 millisecond time interval. Moreover being servo controlled, it also provided whole post peak bond behaviour which was not possible with the load controlled ordinary testing machines.The news.

VC visits PU mosque

LAHORE:Punjab University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran visited the New Campus Jamia Mosque to discuss the project for construction of new building of the Department of Mosque.

According to a press release here on Wednesday, Chairman Mosque Department Dr Hafiz Muhammad Abdullah, Principal Oriental College Prof Dr Mazhar Moeen, Project Director Sheikh Muhammad Ali, Resident Officer-II Malik Muhammad Zaheer and other administrative officials were also present.

Dr Hafiz Muhammad Abdullah briefed the VC about the proposed site for construction of new building of the department.

The VC issued instructions to the Project Director PS in this regard.

PU results: Punjab University Examinations Department has announced the results of MA History (Morning Programme), Semester System, Session 2009-2011 and MA Pak Studies (Evening Programme), Semester System, Session 2009-2011.

Detailed results are also available at PU website http://www.pu.edu.pk/, said a press release here on Wednesday.The news.

Pakistani scholar among MIT’s top 35 innovators

 

LAHORE: Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) Associate Professor Dr Umar has been recognised by the MIT Technology Review as one of the top 35 innovators (TR35) in the world.

The announcement was made by LUMS SSE on Tuesday, according to which Dr Umar is the first Pakistani scholar to have been selected for the prestigious TR35 award in the last decade.

According to MIT Technology Review, “The TR35 recognises the world’s top 35 young innovators that are radically transforming technology as we know it. Their work – spanning medicine, computing, communications, energy, electronics and nanotechnology — is changing our world.” Dr Umar has been honoured for his work on technologies for the developing-world. Technologies developed by Dr Umar’s research group and startups are used by millions of people in the developing world. Notable among these are BitMate - that enhances the speed of Internet in the developing-world using peer-to-peer technology, and SMSall.pk - Pakistan’s largest SMS social network that has sent close to 4 billion SMS for users in Pakistan.

Previous winners of this award include co-founders of Google Larry Page and Sergey Brin, Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg, Apple’s chief designer Jonathan Ive, Tumbler founder David Karp, Harvard Professor Alán Aspuru-Guzik for his work on Quantum computers, and MIT neuroscientist Ed Boyden, one of the inventors of the emerging field of optogenetics, which makes it possible to control neurons with light.

MIT Technology Review selects the top innovators after a rigorous evaluation process. The judges, who are leading experts in their fields from universities such as MIT, Stanford and Harvard, consider hundreds of high-impact researchers and entrepreneurs from all over the world, out of which top 35 are chosen for the award.

“This year’s group of TR35 recipients is driving the next wave of transformative technology and making an impact on the way we live, work and interact”, said Jason Pontin, editor-in-chief and publisher of the MIT Technology Review.

Dr Umar has won numerous awards for his innovative technology solutions for the developing world. He was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2010.

He is a recipient of the MIT Technovator Award (Grassroot Technologies), Mark Weiser Award for best paper award at PERCOM, the top-rated conference in the field of pervasive computing, Digital Inclusion Award from Microsoft Research and the IDG CIO Technology Pioneer Award. Daily Times.

Cathedral School Distinction

Students of Cathedral School, 4 Church Road, Lahore, got extraordinary marks in the Matric exam. In the school branch for boys, Daniyal Baig got 975, Amshee Hassan 965 and Khalid Rehman 961marks out of total 1050 marks, getting first, second and third positions , respectively in the school. In the girls branch, Maryam Sheikh scored 1010, Sana Rehman 952 and Arshia Tabassum 945 marks, with 1st, 2nd and 3rd positions, respectively.The news.

Education sector: CM wants Pindi a model dist

RAWALPINDI, Aug 25: Politicians and bureaucrats here on Wednesday spent a hectic day pondering over ways and strategies to take the city to the top position in quality education which is currently on the fifth rung in the province.

Punjab Chief Minister Shahbaz Sharif has given the officials 100 days for making Rawalpindi a model district in education sector and asked the local PML-N lawmakers to assist the education department in bringing reforms to the educational institutions.

In a bid to materialise the dream and task of the chief minister, the PML-N lawmakers held a meeting with the education department officers that was chaired by DCO Saqib Zafar.

But before the meeting could float suggestions about quality education, it was informed that 50 per cent schools in the district lacked basic amenities like furniture, water, labs, computers and classrooms.

The lawmakers were requested by the DCO to set aside some funds from the development packages allocated to them by the provincial government to improve the conditions of schools before brining improvement to the quality of education.

The PML-N parliamentarians suggested reviving the school councils in order to make awareness among the students and prepare them for future challenges besides helping them participate in quiz and extracurricular activities.

It was agreed that furniture should be provided to schools in the presence of MNAs and MPAs to ensure provision of the commodities to each school as envisioned in the Chief Minister’s Schools Reforms Programme.Dawn.

Upgraded teachers not paid for last two months

Rawalpindi:As many as 300 teachers working in Rawalpindi educational institutions run by Punjab government have so far not received their salaries for the last two months, creating unrest among them.

Sources told The News that these PS teachers were accommodated from the schools where the staff was surplus into the 43 upgraded government schools. Initially they regularly received ps their salaries, but for the last two months they had not received their emoluments.

Sources revealed that the reason behind non-payment of salaries was shortage of funds. The sources also revealed a government plan of not paying further salaries to the surplus teachers, which could further aggravate the situation.

Similarly, due to funds shortage, the Punjab Government has ordered the city district government not to induct more teachers in upgraded schools till further orders.

Talking to The News a number of these teachers said that they were facing great financial crunch due to non-payment of salaries for the last two months and as the Eidul Fitr was around the corner they had no idea, how would they be able to manage their finances.

On the other hand, the representatives of Teachers Unions and associations have demanded of the Punjab government, the city district government, the Education Directorate and other concerned quarters like DDOs to take immediate and effective measures for clearance of two months emoluments before Eidul Fitr, enabling the affected teachers to celebrate their Eid with dignity. If the dues of two months salaries are not cleared before Eid, then the representatives of All Punjab Teachers Association and SES Teachers Association would launch a protest campaign.

All Punjab Teachers Association President Saghir Aalam and SES Teachers Association President Shafiq Balawalia told this scribe that the strategy of the protest plan would be chalked out during their meetings, which would take place after Eidul Fitr. However, the initial plan would include complete strike by hundreds of teachers in provincial government schools all over Punjab.

Executive Director Education (Rawalpindi) Qazi Zahoor told this scribe that he has issued directions to the concerned quarters including Drawing and Disbursing Officers (DDOs) of their respective areas to release two months emoluments to the teachers serving in upgraded schools. He said that the emoluments were not cleared because a separate budget for payment of teachers of upgraded schools was prepared by DDOs. They have been directed to pay the dues before Eidul Fitr. The matter would be resolved amicably preventing other teachers from protesting on the call of the All Punjab Teachers Association and SES Teachers Association, the EDO assured.The news.

Test for admission to UoP

PESHAWAR, Aug 25: The National Testing Service on Wednesday conducted tests for admission to four year degree programme in various disciplines of the University of Peshawar. According to a press release issued here, the test, which was held at seven different centres in Peshawar, was taken by more than 8,000 candidates for admission to around 2,200 seats in 27 different UoP departments.
The test was monitored by Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Azmat Hayat Khan while Director Admissions Prof Dr Hizbullah Khan and
Registrar Dr Syed Fazle Hadi also accompanied him. The result of the entry test would be declared on Aug 26 and would be available on NTS website http://www.nts.org.pk/, and University of Peshawar website http://www.upesh.edu.pk/. —Dawn.

Students vow to overcome terrorism

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BSEK invites applications for scrutiny of SSC Part I scripts

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Seminar told Violence robs students of education

KARACHI, Aug 25: Speakers at a seminar noted that increasing violence in the city had adversely affected education system and called upon the civil society to come forward to improve the situation.
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Loans for home-based working women

Karachi:Under the supervision of the director of the Centre of Excellence for Women’s Studies (CEWS) and founder of Anjuman Taraqqi-e-Niswan (ATN), Prof Dr Nasreen Aslam, a self-employed women’s fund,
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KU, US university sign MoU

Karachi:The Karachi University (KU), on behalf of its International Centre for Chemical and Biological Sciences (ICCBS), has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with The University of Rhode Isl
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KU students march for peace

Karachi:Saddened by senseless violence and the loss of numerous lives in the city, hundreds of students from the University of Karachi organised a peace walk on Wednesday afternoon.
read more

Girls’ school blown up in Mardan

MARDAN: Militants blew up a government-run girls school in Sawaldher village late Tuesday night, police sources said. The sources said that the militants had planted explosive devices in the Government Girls High School in Sawaldher in the jurisdiction of the Jabar Police Station that went off late in the night. No casualty was reported in the incident. It was the third incident of attacks on a girls school in the Mardan district. The Government Degree College for Boys in Bakhshali and Government Girls Higher Secondary School in Gujrat village located in the limits of the Chora Police Station were attacked with explosives recently and partially damaged.The news.

Most Pakistanis want English to be taught in Madaris: survey

PESHAWAR: The results of a Gilani Research Foundation survey carried out by Gallup Pakistan indicated that 59% of Pakistanis favor English language training in Madrassahs (religious schools) alongside religious subjects.In a survey, a nationally representative sample of men and women from across the four provinces were asked the following question: “Some people believe that English language should be taught in Madrassahs (religious schools) alongside religious subjects while others say that English language should not be taught. What is your viewpoint?” The survey results show that 59% of Pakistanis hold the opinion that English language should be taught alongside religious subjects in Madrassahs, while 31% oppose the training of English language. 9% responded that they do not know and 1% gave no response.Some people believe that English language should be taught in Madrassahs (religious schools) alongside religious subjects while others say that English language should not be taught. The study was released by Gilani foundation and carried out by Gallup Pakistan, the Pakistani affiliate of Gallup International. The recent survey was carried out among a sample of 2574 men and women in rural and urban areas of all four provinces of the country.F.P. Report.

Peshawar UniversityOver 8,000 students tested for over 2,000 seats

PESHAWAR: University of Peshawar test for admission into four year degree program in various disciplines was held under the National Testing Service on Wednesday. The test which was held at seven different centres in Peshawar was taken by more than eight thousand candidates for admission into around twenty two hundred seats in twenty seven different departments of University of Peshawar. Separate tests were designed by NTS depending on the field on the candidate and their preferred departments in two shifts that is: morning shift starting from 9am to 11am and afternoon shift starting from 1pm to 3pm. The test was monitored by Vice Chancellor University of Peshawar Prof. Dr. Azmat Hayat Khan while Director Admissions Prof. Dr. Hizbullah Khan and Registrar University of Peshawar Dr. Syed Fazli Hadi also accompanied him. Resident inspectors at each center were assigned the duty to see the conduct of the test and sought out problems of the students with the help of the NTS supervisory staff. The result of the entry test would be declared on August 26 and would be available on NTS website http://www.nts.org.pk/, and University of Peshawar website http://www.upesh.edu.pk/ .F.P. Report.

BSc Regular Part IGovt Postgraduate College For Women Mardan

BSc Regular Part I, Govt Postgraduate College, For Women Mardan, Mardan University  B.A B.S.C Part 1 Result 2011  Abdul Wali Khan University AWKU,

Mardan University B.A B.S.C Part 2 Result 2011

MARDAN: The Abdul Wali Khan University (AWKU) Mardan Monday announced results of BA and BSc annual examination 2011. A total of 18,997 candidates appeared in the examination in which 7,038 were declared successful with percentage of 37%.
According to the press release issued by Controller of Examination, Sara Khatoon, of Government Postgraduate Girls College Mardan stood first in the Science Group by getting 474 marks

Mardan University B.A B.S.C Part 1 Result 2011

MARDAN: The Abdul Wali Khan University (AWKU) Mardan Monday announced results of BA and BSc annual examination 2011. A total of 18,997 candidates appeared in the examination in which 7,038 were declared successful with percentage of 37%.
According to the press release issued by Controller of Examination, Sara Khatoon, of Government Postgraduate Girls College Mardan stood first in the Science Group by getting 474 marks.

KU B.Com Part 1 External Annual Exam 2010

Karachi: 20 Aug: Karachi University examination department has announced result of B.Com part-I (External) Annual Examination 2010.
Candidates bearing the following Seat Numbers are hereby declared to have Passed B.COM. PART- I ( External ) Annual Examination 2010.
EXTERNAL CANDIDATES
225013 | 225014 | 225039 | 225048 | 225050
| 225060 | 225074
225080 | 225084 | 225128 | 225131 | 225183
| 225184 | 225195
225209 | 225224 | 225226 | 225228 | 225230
| 225233 | 225247
225283 | 225286 | 225320 | 225340 225379
| 225400 225451
225483 | 225500 | 225515 | 225519 | 225531
| 225545 | 225568
225578 | 225598 | 225626 | 225652 | 225694
| 225695 | 225697
225706 | 225715 | 225732 | 225734 | 225767
| 225786 | 225808
225811 225815 225844 225854 225866
225873 225876
225891 | 225900 | 225909 | 225927 | 225935
| 225959 | 225968
225969 | 225981 | 225982 | 225984 | 225986
| 226004 | 226037
226051 | 226060 | 226115 | 226122 | 226126
| 226139 | 226143
226145 | 226148 | 226179 | 226189 | 226196
| 226232 | 226243
226256 | 226257 | 226267 | 226278 | 226294
| 226311 | 226321
226326 | 226340 | 226341 | 226344 | 226357
| 226422 | 226425
226433 | 226462 226473 226476 226478
226508 226515
226517 | 226518 | 226521 | 226522 | 226534
| 226577 | 226584
226612 | 226617 | 226627 | 226671 | 226706
| 226708 | 226713
226731 | 226732 | 226736 | 226737 | 226740
| 226814 | 226820
226821 226822 226826 226829 226833
226835 226850
226871 | 226883 | 226887 | 226907 | 226911
| 226912 | 226915
226920 | 226922 | 226923 | 226925 | 226961
| 226962 | 226963
226969 | 226987 | 227001 | 227026 | 227040
| 227056 | 227061
227094 | 227115 | 227121 | 227145 | 227156
| 227160 | 227167
227168 | 227190 | 227197 | 227200 | 227204
| 227206 | 227207
227212 | 227219 | 227224 | 227232 | 227237
| 227240 | 227245
227254 | 227265 227276 227278 227282
227286 227309
227328 | 227329 | 227330 | 227343 | 227344
| 227346 | 227348
227352 | 227355 | 227357 | 227365 | 227377
| 227384 | 227394
227431 | 227436 | 227439 | 227446 | 227452
| 227474 | 227478
227489 | 227492 | 227502 | 227529 | 227538
| 227565 | 227566
227572 | 227574 | 227579 | 227580 | 227600
| 227601 | 227639
227647 | 227664 | 227673 | 227688 | 227710
| 227712 | 227715
227750 | 227758 | 227773 | 227795 227800
| 227820 227829
227852 | 227856 | 227880 | 227884 | 227890
| 227913 | 227916
227920 | 227943 | 227946 | 227952 | 227966
| 227975 | 227976
227977 | 228028 | 228031 | 228037 | 228041
| 228061 | 228068
228077 228081 228092 228093 228095
228096 228099
228119 | 228124 | 228125 | 228140 | 228172
| 228174 | 228204
228209 | 228218 | 228224 | 228228 | 228239
| 228269 | 228275
228282 | 228284 | 228292 | 228295 | 228296
| 228310 | 228314
228338 | 228340 | 228356 | 228370 | 228371
| 228415 | 228441
228449 | 228463 | 228510 | 228512 | 228514
| 228520 | 228526
228542 | 228543 | 228544 | 228548 | 228555
| 228556 | 228567
228571 | 228574 | 228584 | 228592 228594
| 228598 228599
228600 | 228602 | 228606 | 228619 | 228632
| 228652 | 228669
228676 | 228693 | 228734 | 228759 | 228764
| 228768 | 228798
228801 | 228807 | 228810 | 228816 | 228819
| 228857 | 228862
228868 228895 228898 228903 228904
228906 228909
228971 | 229013 | 229030 | 229048 | 229049
| 229052 | 229061
229071 | 229077 | 229091 | 229102 | 229124
| 229133 | 229139
229147 | 229154 | 229164 | 229171 | 229173
| 229175 | 229179
229184 | 229196 | 229202 | 229204 | 229207
| 229210 | 229235
229237 | 229239 | 229254 | 229255 | 229259
| 229264 | 229270
229276 | 229280 | 229291 | 229292 | 229293
| 229296 | 229301
229303 | 229309 229312 229315 229320
229327 229342
229343 | 229362 | 229364 | 229366 | 229368
| 229373 | 229375
229376 | 229383 | 229385 | 229387 | 229390
| 229391 | 229396
229397 | 229404 | 229416 | 229433 | 229439
| 229446 | 229471
229483 229486 229502 229503 229504
229508 229517
229524 | 229525 | 229540 | 229544 | 229548
| 229555 | 229556
229557 | 229560 | 229561 | 229563 | 229565
| 229567 | 229568
229572 | 229577 | 229581 | 229582 | 229584
| 229586 | 229589
229591 | 229596 | 229597 | 229600 | 229609
| 229616 | 229619
229633 | 229635 | 229638 | 229640 | 229644
| 229655 | 229656
229666 | 229672 | 229676 | 229680 | 229682
| 229685 | 229697
229699 | 229700 229702 229703 229714
229721 229722
229723 | 229739 | 229740 | 229741 | 229743
| 229744 | 229753
229759 | 229762 | 229763 | 229767 | 229780
| 229783 | 229788
229792 | 229796 | 229801 | 229808 | 229812
| 229816 | 229820
229821 | 229823 | 229827 | 229829 | 229835
| 229836 | 229840
229843 | 229846 | 229847 | 229848 | 229849
| 229851 | 229852
229853 | 229856 | 229857 | 229862 | 229864
| 229867 | 229868
229871 | 229873 | 229874 | 229878 229879
| 229881 229883
229884 | 229886 | 229887 | 229889 | 229892
| 229893 | 229908
229910 | 229913 | 229914 | 229916 | 229952
| 229953 | 229966
229973 229980 229982 229995 229996
229998 230010
230028 | 230036 | 230068 | 230070 | 230074
| 230089 | 230108
230113 | 230115 | 230129 | 230153 | 230158
| 230169 | 230173
230179 | 230184 | 230185 | 230188 | 230189
| 230211 | 230218
230223 | 230224 | 230238 | 230239 | 230240
| 230244 | 230247
230249 | 230257 | 230269 | 230272 | 230278
| 230282 | 230300
230321 | 230334 | 230353 | 230416 | 230438
| 230443 | 230459
230461 | 230464 | 230498 | 230499 230507
| 230517 230518
230523 | 230528 | 230534 | 230545 | 230551
| 230560 | 230570
230606 | 230609 | 230610 | 230621 | 230632
| 230635 | 230638
230641 | 230643 | 230659 | 230661 | 230682
| 230690 | 230699
230704 230710 230711 230724 230727
230762 230766
230822 | 230836 | 230844 | 230845 | 230897
| 230898 | 230916
230922 | 230929 | 230930 | 230935 | 230937
| 230946 | 230949
230953 | 230960 | 230966 | 230973 | 230978
| 230979 | 230986
230990 | 231006 | 231010 | 231011 | 231027
| 231040 | 231045
231061 | 231068 | 231071 | 231073 | 231076
| 231095 | 231100
231104 | 231107 | 231111 | 231115 | 231121
| 231127 | 231128
231155 | 231184 231190 231200 231202
231209 231212
231214 | 231223 | 231226 | 231227 | 231233
| 231234 | 231242
231244 | 231246 | 231248 | 231255 | 231257
| 231258 | 231261
231267 | 231272 | 231281 | 231282 | 231283
| 231284 | 231287
231291 231306 231311 231318 231319
231321 231324
231326 | 231332 | 231338 | 231347 | 231360
| 231363 | 231369
231374 | 231383 | 231391 | 231396 | 231401
| 231406 | 231413
231414 | 231424 | 231427 | 231428 | 231435
| 231448 | 231449
231467 | 231470 | 231478 | 231483 | 231486
| 231496 | 231499
231522 | 231557 | 231565 | 231625 | 231633
| 231648 | 231660
231664 | 231684 | 231707 | 231711 | 231725
| 231731 | 231740
231760 | 231762 231770 231771 231785
231789 231803
231804 | 231806 | 231818 | 231821 | 231835
| 231843 | 231844
231855 | 231857 | 231870 | 231877 | 231891
| 231896 | 231898
231902 | 231905 | 231906 | 231908 | 231916
| 231921 | 231923
231925 | 231949 | 231959 | 231973 | 231993
| 232000 | 232007
232014 | 232016 | 232026 | 232032 | 232052
| 232065 | 232075
232079 | 232082 | 232083 | 232087 | 232092
| 232093 | 232100
232106 | 232108 | 232113 | 232114 232116
| 232117 232121
232163 | 232167 | 232173 | 232222 | 232278
| 232283 | 232324
232345 | 232385 | 232429 | 232434 | 232446
| 232448 | 232453
232461 232465 232497 232557 232562
232574 232576
232583 | 232598 | 232601 | 232603 | 232604
| 232615 | 232640
232649 | 232661 | 232678 | 232682 | 232695
| 232703 | 232722
232742 | 235002 | 235005 | 235007 | 235011
| 235013 | 235018
235019 | 235026 | 235037 | 235038 | 235044
| 235046 | 235047
235048 | 235049 | 235053 | 235054 | 235060
| 235061 | 236003
236004 | 236005 | 236006 | 236007 | 236008
| 236011 | 236014
236024 | 236026 | 236029 | 236036 236039
| 236042 236045
236049 | 236053 | 236055 | 236081 | 236105
| 236123 | 236130
236145 | 236152 | 236166 | 236703 | 236723
| 236727 | 236731
236732 | 236735 | 236738 | 236744 | 236746
| 236749 | 236750
236752 237415 237418 237423 237435
237436 237451
237453 | 237454 | XXX | XXX | XXX
| XXX | XXX
225388, 225449, 228907, 228910, 228911, 228912, 228913, 228914, 228915, 228916,
228917, 228918, 228919, 228920, 228921,
228922, 228923, 228924, 228925, 228926, 228927, 228928, 228929, 228930, 228931,
228932, 228933, 228934, 228936, 228937,
228938, 228939, 228942, 228943, 228944, 228945, 228947, 228948, 228949, 228950,
228951, 228952, 228953, 228954, 228955,
228956, 228957, 228958, 228959, 228960, 228961, 228962, 228963, 228964, 228965,
228966, 228967, 228968, 228969, 228970,
228981, 228982, 228983, 228984, 228985, 228986, 228987, 228988, 228989, 228990,
228991, 228992, 228993, 228994, 228995,
228996, 228998, 228999, 229000, 229003, 229004, 229005, 229006, 229007, 229008,
229009, 229010, 229011, 229016, 229017,
229019, 229020, 229021, 229022, 229023, 229026, 229027, 229028, 229029, 229031,
229033, 229034, 229035, 229036, 229038,
229039, 229040, 229041, 229042, 229043, 229511, 231929, 231930, 231931, 231932,
231933, 231934, 231935, 231936, 231937,
231938, 231939, 231940, 231941, 231942, 231945, 231946, 231950, 231952, 231953,
231954, 231956, 231957, 231958, 231960,
231962, 231963, 231964, 231965, 231966, 231967, 231968, 231969, 231970, 231971,
231972, 231974, 231975, 231976, 231978,
231979, 231980, 231981, 231982, 231983, 231984, 231985, 231986, 231989, 231990,
231991, 232189, 232194, 232195, 232196,
232197, 232198, 232199, 232200, 232201, 232203, 232208, 232209, 232211, 232213,
232215, 232216, 232217, 232218, 232219,
232220, 232221, 232225, 232226, 232227, 232230, 232231, 232232, 232233, 232234,
232236, 232237, 232238, 232239, 232241,
232244, 232245, 232249, 232250, 232251, 232252, 232253, 232254, 232255, 232256,
232257, 232258, 232259, 232260, 232261,
232262, 232263, 232264, 232286, 232287, 232288, 232289, 232290, 232291, 232292,
232293, 232294, 232295, 232296, 232300,
232301, 232302, 232303, 232304, 232305, 232306, 232307, 232308, 232309, 232310,
232313, 232319, 232320, 232321, 232325,
232326, 232327, 232328, 232329, 232330, 232331, 232332, 232333, 232334, 232335,
232336, 232337, 232338, 232340, 232341,
232342, 232343, 232344, 232347, 232348, 232349, 232351, 232355, 232356, 232357,
232358, 232360, 232361, 232362, 232363,
232364, 232365, 232366, 232367, 232368, 232369, 232370, 232373, 232377, 232378,
232379, 232380, 232381, 232391, 232392,
232393, 232394, 232395, 232396, 232397, 232398, 232399, 232400, 232401, 232402,
232403, 232404, 232405, 232406, 232407,
232408, 232409, 232410, 232411, 232412, 232413, 232414, 232415, 232416, 232417,
232419, 232420, 232421, 232422, 232423,
232424, 232425, 232426, 232427, 232428, 232435, 232436, 232437, 232438, 232439,
232440, 232441, 232450, 232451, 232454,
232455, 232456, 232457, 232458, 232460, 232462, 232463, 232466, 232468, 232469,
232470, 232471, 232472, 232473, 232474,
232475, 232476, 232478, 232479, 232480, 232481, 232487, 232489, 232490, 232495,
232496, 232498, 232499, 232500, 232501,
232506, 232507, 232508, 232509, 232510, 232517, 232518, 232519, 232520, 232521,
232522, 232523, 232524, 232525, 232526,
232528, 232529, 232530, 232531, 232532, 232534, 232535, 232536, 232537, 232538,
232539, 232540, 232542, 232543, 232544,
232545, 232546, 232547, 232561, 232563, 232565, 232566, 232568, 232570, 232572,
232577, 232578, 232581, 232582, 232585,
232586, 232587, 232588, 232589, 232590, 232591, 232594, 232595, 232607, 232608,
232609, 232610, 232611, 232612, 232613,
232617, 232618, 232619, 232621, 232622, 232624, 232625, 232627, 232628, 232629,
232631, 232632, 232633, 232635, 232636,
232637, 232638, 232639, 232641, 232642, 232643, 232648, 232651, 232652, 232653,
232654, 232655, 232656, 232658, 232663,
232664, 232665, 232668, 232670, 232671, 232672, 232673, 232674, 232679, 232680,
232681, 232683, 232684, 232686, 232687,
232688, 232689, 232690, 232691, 232692, 232693, 232694, 232697, 232698, 232699,
232700, 232701, 232702, 232704, 232705,
232707, 232708, 232709, 232711, 232712, 232713, 232714, 232715, 232718, 232719,
232721, 232723, 232724, 232725, 232726,
232727, 232730, 232732, 232733, 232734, 232735, 232737, 232738, 232739, 232740,
232744, 232745, 232746, 232749, 232751,
232752, 232753, 232754, 232755, 232758, 232759, 232760, 232761, 236034, 236068,
236069, 236070, 236074, 236075, 236076,
236077, 236078, 236079, 236080, 236084, 236085, 236086, 236087, 236088, 236093,
236094, 236095, 236096, 236097, 236098,
236099, 236100, 236101, 236102, 236103, 236108, 236109, 236111, 236112, 236113,
236114, 236115, 236119, 236120, 236121,
236124, 236125, 236128, 236129, 236131, 236132, 236134, 236136, 236137, 236140,
236142, 236148, 236149, 236150, 236153,
236154, 236156, 236157, 236159, 236161, 236163, 236164, 236165, 236167, 236740,
236741, 236742, 236745, 236747, 236748,
236753, 236754, 236755, 236756, 236757, 236758, 236759, 236760, 236761, 236762,
236764, 236765, 236766, 236768, 236771,
236772, 236774, 236776, 236777, 236779, 236782, 236783, 236784, 236786, 236788,
236789, 236791, 236792, 236793, 236794,
237426, 237427, 237428, 237432, 237433, 237437, 237438, 237439, 237440, 237441,
237442, 237443, 237444, 237445, 237446,
237447, 237449, 237452, 237458.
225336, 225393, 225414, 225897, 225955, 225962, 225970, 227201, 227202, 227209,
227214, 227215, 227223, 227228, 227246,
227252, 227259, 227268, 227269, 227274, 227294, 227295, 227303, 227310, 227312,
227319, 227325, 227347, 227354, 227360,
227362, 227370, 227376, 227382, 227386, 227391, 228226, 228238, 228278, 228293,
228309, 228319, 228366, 228377, 228392,
228400, 228781, 228836, 228941, 229103, 229109, 229111, 229114, 229120, 229125,
229135, 229145, 229165, 229183, 229197,
231621, 231713, 231756, 231772, 232549.
STATISTICS OF THE RESULT
APPLIED APPEARD PASSED FAILED PASS PERCENTAGE
8137 7483 949 6534 12.68 %

PU begins probe into another plagiarism case

LAHORE, Aug 23: The Punjab University administration has identified a case of plagiarism involving a couple.
The couple — Prof Dr Zaid Mahmood of Punjab Universitys Institute of Chemistry and his wife Associate Professor Dr Syeda Rubina Gilani of University of Engineering and Technology’s Chemistry Department — produced two research papers containing material from three research papers already published in international journals.

Punjab University Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran has formed a three-member committee headed by Punjab Director Public Instruction (Colleges) Dr Jalil Tariq to probe the alleged plagiarism case and fix the responsibility. The committee has Lahore College for Women University Chemistry Department Chairperson Prof Dr Bushra Khan and Punjab University Additional Registrar Prof Dr Aurangzeb Alamgir as members.

The committee has been given documents, which say Prof Mahmood (principal author) and Dr Gilani (co-author) produced research papers titled “Synthesis and Characterisation of E-Bonded Phenyle-Palladium Complexes with Triphenylantimony Ligands” and “Synthesis and Characterisation of Allyl Complexes of Molybdenum with Schiff Base Ligands” and published these in the Pakistan Journal of Scientific Research in 2002.

However, it has been reported that the first paper was plagiarised from two research papers “Substitution reactions of trans …” and “Carbon-antimony bond fission in reactions of triphenylantimony with palladium(II)…” published in Polyhedron and Journal of Organometallic Chemistry in November 1998 and May 1996, respectively. These papers were published by Ayfer Mentes, Ramond D.W. Kemmitt, John Fawcett and David R. Russel.

Reports say the second paper was plagiarised from a research paper titled “Allyl complexes of molybdenum with
Schiff base ligands. The crystal structures of…” published in Journal of Organometallic Chemistry in 2002 by the same authors.

The complaints submitted to the PU vice-chancellor say “as far as the concepts of these papers are concerned, they are 100 per cent similar. As far as data and results/paper material is concerned, it is approximately more than 80 per cent copied”. In the first paper the complaint says, “Mr and Mrs Mahmood have tried to change the language of the discussion”. In the second paper, the complaint says: “Even the discussion has been copied. If we go into the detail of these papers, the original work of both papers has been copied 100 per cent.”

Probe committee convener Dr Jalil Tariq said the committee held a meeting and reviewed the ‘plagiarised’ research papers.

He said the papers were almost 80 per cent plagiarised. He said the committee’s maiden meeting decided to send a notice to Prof Mahmood and seek a written reply from him. He said his office had received Prof Mahmood’s written reply. He said the committee had found another research paper of Prof Mahmood plagiarised. He said the UET administration would take up the case against Prof Mahmood’s wife.

Prof Mahmood said the university had initiated the plagiarism case against him to malign him. He said there were clear instructions from the Higher Education Commission that no plagiarism case should be initiated involving research papers published before 2007.

Prof Mahmood said the research papers in question had zero impact and he did not claim any promotion on the basis of these papers. “Currently, I am serving as professor under the Tenure Track System and my all research papers were scanned by the HEC before offering me the TTS post,” he said.Dawn.

CAP Committee 2011 placement forms

Karachi, Aug 22: The deadline for selling and submitting of placement forms for admission in six faculties, including Pre-Engineering, Pre-Medical, Computer Science, Commerce, Humanities, and Home Economics in 132 government colleges (67 male and 65 female) and 24 Higher Secondary Schools (12 male and 12 female), have been extended to August 25, the Chairman, Centralised Admission Policy (CAP) Committee-2011, Professor Dr Nasir Ansar said.

The brochure is available against a payment of Rs60 and available at 41 branches of the Allied Bank Limited in 18 towns of the city, he further said.

As many as 100015 seats are available in six different faculties, including Pre-Engineering, Pre-Medical, Computer Science, Commerce, Humanities, and Home Economics. Meanwhile, the number of seats could be increased in the colleges, if there is any need in this regard, he added.

The deadline has been extended owing to the unavoidable unusual circumstances in the city, officials at education department said. Students are encouraged to apply at earliest, they added. The news.

Successful lecturers to get offer letters on August 24

KARACHI: Offer letters to the successful lecturers (male and female), who appeared in the examination of Sindh Public Service Commission, will be given on August 24 instead of the initially announced date of August 22, said a spokesman of the Education Department in a handout issued here Saturday. The decision to delay the distribution of letters has been taken in view of Youm-e-Ali (AS) processions to be taken out on August 22. However, the time and venue will remain the same. ppi

PVTC-qualified youth get business tools

LAHORE:Continuation its entrepreneurship program aimed at empowering young people to use their technical skills for self-employment, Jazba Foundation on Monday provided tools to 45 young men and woman to start their businesses. The tools provision ceremony was held at a local club. Donors, Punjab Vocational Training Council(PVTC) Chairman Faisal Ijaz Khan, Jazba team members including Lt-Gen Khalid Maqboo (retd) attended the ceremony at a local club where business tools were provided to 45 individuals who have completed their diplomas from the PVTC in refrigeration, dressmaking, plumbing, electricity, and artificial insemination.The news.

Karachi SSC suppl exam forms

KARACHI, Aug 23: The registration/permission forms for Class IX, X and combined supplementary examination-2011 (both private and regular candidates) can be submitted up to Sept 10 without a late fee, according to an announcement made by the Board of Secondary Education Karachi on Monday.
BSEK secretary Hoor Mazhar said that the last date with a late fee was Sept 30.
The forms could be obtained from the designated banks’ counters at the board office, she added.—APP.

Synchrotron shines in audit

 The Australian Synchrotron in the Melbourne suburb of Clayton. Funding for the facility beyond June next year is uncertain. Picture: Mike Keating.  Source: HWT Image Library

THE Melbourne-based synchrotron, a facility that offers scientists a powerful light source for research, has achieved pretty much what it was supposed to, according to Victoria's auditor-general Des Pearson.

Reviewing public sector investment in biotechnology, Mr Pearson's report says the synchrotron has "achieved benefits in line with the original expectations of the government".

Victoria put $207.2 million into the Clayton facility and the federal government has contributed $115m, but funding beyond June next year is uncertain.

A project championed by former premier John Brumby, the synchrotron was given an unusual corporate structure and has no commonwealth representation on the board. The facility went through a crisis of governance in 2009-10.

Synchrotron director Keith Nugent said the auditor-general's "reasonably positive" report, tabled earlier this month, should help the facility make its case for more money.

"We have delivered on the expectations for us; that is important for ongoing funding," Professor Nugent said. He understood federal-state talks about the future of the synchrotron were "proceeding productively".

Before the facility opened in 2007, Australian researchers had to take their projects overseas.

The brilliant light of a synchrotron is captured by a series of beamlines, which are designed to allow myriad experiments in fields such as physics, medicine and biology.

Mr Pearson's report endorses the view that the synchrotron is a world-class facility and represents good value for money. However, it says the facility needs to better articulate and measure the benefits it delivers.

Its original objectives included being "a national icon of leading- edge science, of pivotal importance within the research structure of Australia".

It also was supposed to "boost economic development by increasing opportunities for innovation and commercialisation, and encouraging the clustering of research-based industries".

Professor Nugent said despite the uncertain outlook, the turnover in scientific staff at the synchrotron had been very low. "I think they believe in the future of the facility," he said. "Morale is high and the scientific activity is world-leading."

Research results raise concerns

 Frank Larkins at the University of Melbourne. Picture: Aaron Francis Source: The Australian

LESS than one-third of universities were at world standard in some of the disciplines evaluated in the recent audit of research quality.

But analyst Frank Larkins's crunching of Excellence in Research for Australia results also revealed , in six of the 25 disciplines, 80 per cent of universities were world standard or above, and in 18 disciplines 50 per cent were at or above world standard.

"The areas that would worry us most are those [in] social sciences because that's where we have education, economics, cultural studies, commerce management and tourism," Professor Larkins said.

Professor Larkins said if the world benchmarks against which these below par performances were judged were sound, it was a worrying outcome, given the significant amount of undergraduate teaching in them.

Professor Larkins acknowledged the magnitude of the task of assessing research across 25 disciplines and many more fields for all universities, but was critical of the Australian Research Council's failure to publish world benchmarks against which the research was measured.

In an article in the LH Martin Institute newsletter today, he argues this has compromised the federal government's audit of research quality.

But ARC chief executive Margaret Sheil said a copy of the data was kept in the office of every deputy vice-chancellor, research, in the country. "We used citation benchmarks from [bibliometrics company] Scopus, but to publish them would have cost us extra money," Professor Sheil said.

She also said the benchmarks were not the only piece of information considered by the research evaluation committees but, had the ARC released them, people would "not [have looked] at anything else".

As such, the strategy not to publish was part of maintaining the integrity of the ERA process. Further, citation benchmarks were not used in every discipline and, where they were, they were moderated by expert panels.

Professor Larkins estimates the costs of the ERA process so far to be $100 million, including outlays from the government, universities - staff time and infrastructure - consultants and software development.

Results from the first round of the ERA audit were published in January, with research evaluated on a scale ranging from five - well above world standard - to one, well below world standard.

Scandal deters visa seekers

 Covert photo of operators of the exam fraud, from left, Abdul Kader, Keith Low and Pritesh Shah. Source: Supplied

SEVERAL former international students have left Australia or abandoned claims for permanent residency following exposure of fraud at Curtin University's English language test centre.

The HES understands about 20-50 permanent residency cases, almost all involving former students, are under investigation by the federal Department of Immigration and Citizenship.

Nine people, including a former Curtin employee, have been sentenced for bribery offences related to a trade in fake English test results at the Perth centre.

To secure permanent residency as a skilled migrant, former overseas students needed not only their Australian qualification but minimum scores on the International English Language Testing System.

Anyone using a false test result was "essentially stealing a visa place" from others with genuine results, a senior DIAC official told the anti-corruption inquiry into the Curtin centre earlier this year.

DIAC can cancel a visa already granted or refuse an application for a visa if the person has supplied fraudulent information.

Out of fairness the department gives notice before it takes action. Given notice, several people have left the country or withdrawn their PR applications, the HES understands.

Earlier this month, Curtin employee Keith Low was sentenced to two years in prison for 15 counts of accepting bribery over a 10-month period in 2009-10.

The court was told that for many of those counts, involving falsified results, the original paper results for the listening and reading sections of the test could not be found by the IELTS headquarters at Cambridge University in Britain.

Under the IELTS, those papers should have been sent to Cambridge, but theBritish test centre did not notice test papers were missing until August last year, when it notified Curtin of suspect test results.

"The fact there were missing tests was one of the factors that alerted IELTS to possible irregularities at Curtin and triggered our inquiry," a spokesperson for Cambridge said.

Following the scandal, Curtin closed its centre and held the last IELTS test on August 13.

Education broker IDP, which owns the IELTS business in Australia, is stepping in to open its first directly run test centre in Perth.

IDP will use the same Curtin test venue.

The HES understands some other IELTS test centres in Perth are not happy about IDP's entry to the market.

IDP's IELTS director John Belleville said: "Obviously the fewer the centres, the more student numbers they'll get themselves. But we're not adding an additional centre to Perth, we're replacing one that's closing down.

"In that sense, not much has changed."

New polytechnic seen as job threat

 Stephen Parker, vice-chancellor of the University of Canberra. Source: The Australian

THE University of Canberra council has been given the go-ahead for the establishment of a polytechnic from next year, sparking fears it will "cannibalise" the diplomas offered by potential merger partner Canberra Institute of Technology.

The National Tertiary Education Union also fears that jobs at both institutions could be lost as teaching load is shifted into the lower-cost polytechnic. It believes the teaching staff of the polytechnic probably won't be covered by either the NTEU or the Australian Education Union.

Those fears were stoked when the UC council this month set aside extra money for potential redundancies next year.

But UC vice-chancellor Professor Stephen Parker said the provision for redundancies in the middle of next year was foreshadowed in the 2009 union agreement and was unconnected to any merger with CIT.

The university plans to promote the 2012 polytechnic courses at its open day on Saturday, including diplomas in communications, accounting, information technology and business informatics that match similar courses run by CIT.

"If I were at CIT and engaged in any of those programs I'd be worried," NTEU branch president at UC Craig Applegate said, adding the polytechnic could also lead to job losses at the university. "The whole point of it is to spend less per student."

Professor Parker said even if the CIT merger went ahead, the university would still continue with its own polytechnic, "which handles the overlap between diploma and associate degrees.

"We don't expect major intakes into UC Poly until 2013," he said.

CIT chief executive Adrian Marron said while the polytechnic would increase competition for CIT, he noted that his diplomas had a more vocational emphasis and could sit alongside the UC diplomas in a merger.

The ACT government is considering a merger of CIT and UC after a report by Denise Bradley recommended they combine as a dual-sector university.

The NTEU believes the polytechnic is a cost-cutting exercise to shift some first-year and eventually second-year teaching into the lower-cost polytechnic where diplomas will count as credit to a degree.

Unease over trimmed tutorials

 University of Adelaide. Source: AdelaideNow

STAFF and students at the University of Adelaide have raised concerns about a move to cut back the number of tutorials a semester and replace them with extra time for one-on-one consultations.

Students say they fear losing valuable teaching time, while casual staff are concerned they will lose paid work hours. Both staff and students are sceptical of management suggestions that the changes will enhance student learning, believing instead the changes are driven by cost cutting.

At a meeting of about 200 students yesterday, deputy vice-chancellor (academic) Pascale Quester and dean Nick Harvey tried to allay concerns.

"The students weren't convinced by the arguments because it was clear they believe tutorials are the most valuable part of the learning experience in the bachelor of arts," National Tertiary Education Union branch president Rod Crewther told the HES after the meeting.

The meeting had been organised by student union president Raffaele Piccolo following an inundation of queries from worried students.

Mr Piccolo said students weren't convinced the extra one-on-one sessions could substitute for the interactive learning nature of tutorials. He said there was also concern that if too many students availed themselves of the session, tutors might be able to offer them only a few minutes each. Under the changes, which Professor Harvey described as a trial, the number of tutorials a semester has been cut from 12 to 10. The changes have affected three schools: social sciences, history and politics, and humanities. . Professor Harvey said tutors would be paid for the extra consultation.

But faculty staff said the real motivation was the need to find savings after the new pay deal entitled casual staff to be paid separately for marking.

Ahead of yesterday's meeting, Professor Harvey told the HES he expected the one-on-one time would be made available when primary assessment tasks were due.

"The idea isn't to drop away the time but to use that time more effectively," he said.

Asked whether the changes were driven by cost pressures, Professor Harvey said that was only a "very small part" of the decision.

Professor Quester said the changes were part of a university-wide policy of "transformation" to focus on how students learned.

She said it was about challenging the "sacred model" of having two lectures and one tutorial a week.

She said there would be variation of the model according todifferent disciplines, but it was generally about providing more collaborative learning opportunities and adapting to the online learning habits of students.

"There is a much bigger menu than just students sitting in a room being talked at by a lecturer," she said.

"This isn't a cost-cutting exercise."

Sandstones draw so-so teaching scores

AUSTRALIA'S sandstone universities receive lukewarm ratings for the quality of their teaching, despite being the institutions of choice for top school students.

In the latest edition of the Good Universities Guide, each of the Group of Eight institutions received the highest five-star rating for student demand.

But no Go8 rated above average on teaching quality, with only the University of Western Australia attracting three stars in this category. Five Go8s scored two stars, one received one star and one failed to provide data.

And while Go8 appointments are prized by academics, only three Go8s - UWA, Australian National University and University of NSW - attracted the top rating for the qualifications of their staff. The highly fancied universities of Sydney and Melbourne achieved two stars each in this category.

Melbourne also scored two stars for teaching quality and one star for overall satisfaction. But it received five stars for graduate starting salaries and four for graduate outcomes.

Deputy vice-chancellor Pip Pattison said top students were hard markers who rated themselves as harshly as their universities. But he said employers' views were the real test.

"As they begin looking for work, the graduates recognise there is more to learn, hence the mismatch between employer confidence [and their satisfaction ratings]."

Tertiary education expert Leesa Wheelahan from the LH Martin Institute at Melbourne University said teaching quality was also affected by universities' self-views, with policy settings reinforcing research as the main game. "There's more money for equity than there has been in the past, but it's still dwarfed by research."

She said Go8 universities had better-prepared students and didn't face the same teaching pressures as newer universities or TAFE. "Generally speaking, TAFEs are better teachers," she said. "They provide more supportive pedagogy in more personalised environments."

The guide reveals a limited correlation between equity and pathways.

Of the 12 institutions that gained the highest possible five-star rating for admitting TAFE students, only four were in the top group for equity.

Officials cancel 159 visas at airport

MORE than 150 overseas students returning to Australia in the last financial year were intercepted by immigration authorities at the airport over visa breaches and put on a plane home within 72 hours.

Indians were the largest group (55) with student visas cancelled at the airport, followed by Chinese (37). And of the 470,221 people who arrived on a student visa, almost 9000 were questioned by immigration officials.

The figures were released by the Department of Immigration and Citizenship following an application by the HES under Freedom of Information legislation.

In 2010-11, the most common breach leading to cancellation of a student visa at the airport was failure to maintain an enrolment or no longer attending classes. Of the 159 with visas cancelled, 151 were sent home within 72 hours. Most had vocational education visas (84) or higher education visas (66).

Migration agent Jonathan Granger said although 159 cancellations was a small number, DIAC's message would be quickly and widely spread through social media used by students.

However, Federation of Indian Students of Australia spokesman Gautam Gupta said the airport crackdowns were "perceived to be retribution because students protested" against attacks on Indian students in 2009.

Monash University's Chris Nyland, who has written about the plight of international students, said students planning to go overseas should be able to get a document from their institution showing there were no problems of the kind that could get their visa cancelled. "It would say you have permission to leave and you are in good standing at the university," he said.

Mr Granger described the interceptions as part of "a cat and mouse game" between DIAC and offshore agents.

A few years ago, when cookery and hairdressing were easy routes to permanent residency, Indian agents packaged these vocational courses with higher education, making it easier to secure a visa. However, there was never any intention to go on to the higher education course and some of these students were believed to be among those caught at airports, he said.

If they were allowed back in the country, they could get bridging visas with full work rights and pursue skilled migration, adding to DIAC's backlog.

In February, when the HES reported the airport crack-down, immigration lawyer Michael Jones said students had no right to independent review of a visa cancellation unless they could get back into the country. He said appeals against visa cancellations had a high success rate because private colleges often had unreliable records.

"How is the student supposed to prove that [kind of objection to a cancellation] in the 10 minutes the student is given at the airport?" he said.

However, a DIAC official said: "Visa cancellations at the border are conducted under strict natural justice rules. Officers will weigh all relevant factors for and against the cancellation."

Mr Gupta said a student stepping off a long flight, with no legal representation and sometimes poor English, could not get natural justice in a short interview.

Role of fees in elite research

 Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Source: Supplied

AMERICAN institutions continue to dominate Shanghai rankings, led the small news item in The Chronicle of Higher Education last week. It reported that Harvard remained in first place and that all but two of the top 10 institutions were in the US.

At 127 words, the Chronicle's coverage of the Shanghai Jiao Tong University Academic Ranking of World Universities appeared to be complete.

Certainly, if looking at the top 10, the story is barely newsworthy. Nothing has changed since 2003. But beyond that, the ARWU reveals a more interesting tale of fortunes won and lost.

Since 2003, the greatest volatility in rankings has been in the US and China. Ironically, the performances of these countries reveal an important lesson Australian universities already know but are in danger of losing. Fundamental to our research success has been a delicately balanced policy tango between research funding and international students.

The US continues to be the world's powerhouse for research, with the number of universities in the world's top 200 remaining constant since 2003, at about 90. But at the same time there has been a substantial slide in the average performance of all US universities in the 201-500 world rank, with 19 disappearing from the top 500 places altogether. In particular, the research performance of well-established public universities in smaller and middle-sized American states has become less competitive.

On the other hand, China's performance has been meteoric. Almost every US university that dropped off the list has been replaced by a Chinese institution, such that 23 mainland Chinese research universities now make the top 500, up from only nine in 2003. Tsinghua University leads the Chinese pack in the 151-200 world rank.

During this time, Australia boosted its ARWU representation from 13 universities to 19. With four universities in the top 100, or 19 in the top 500, Australia is home to roughly 4 per cent of the best research universities on the planet. Not bad for a country that boasts only a 1.2 per cent share of global gross domestic product and a 0.3 per cent share of global population.

But how do we ensure this is not our zenith?

In all three countries, funding for scientific research increased at least 50 per cent during the past eight years. Yet only China's ARWU performance is explained by this funding boost because Chinese policy distributes a significant proportion of research investment directly to the 39 leading universities across the sector.

In the US, however, research funding during this time became increasingly concentrated in the top research universities and more diluted at the bottom. In Australia, generous funding injections in the 2000s had to make up for several years of decreases in the 1990s.

Of course, it takes less research funding for a university to move into the top 500 than it does to move from 400 to 200, or from 20 to 10. But there's more to the story than just funding.

Despite government policy that does not concentrate funding in an elite few institutions, from 1992 to 2008 the Group of Eight universities increased their share of Australian Research Council funding from 66.9 per cent to almost 70 per cent.

A second federal policy is needed to explain Australia's ARWU performance. The opening up of our borders to international students two decades ago has allowed Australian universities, especially non-Go8 universities, to exploit these lucrative overseas export markets and cross-fund indigenous research programs.

In contrast, American public universities have not had the luxury of making up for significant losses in state government funding with overseas students. These US institutions have been further hamstrung by having to become volume education businesses for local students just to make up for state government revenue shortfalls. With all academic hands required on deck to teach, research performance at many US public universities, particularly in the 201-500 world rank, is suffering.

This is a policy crossroad that Australia could face with deregulation of load and degree attainment targets.

With its strong science and technology focus, the ARWU is arguably the most important global league table for comparing the 21st-century relevance of universities. Not only does ARWU measure improvements in quality of life - from better drugs to new technologies - but also in solving big global challenges such as food, energy, water, and global growth.

The research success of almost all Australian universities reaching the ARWU top 500 has been dependent on the de facto policy coupling of increased research funding and international student fee revenue.

For the first time Australia has three technology universities in the world's top 500: Swinburne University of Technology, University Technology, Sydney and Curtin University. This is a remarkable outcome and an important signpost for the 21st-century trajectory of Australian research.

Many US state governments from New York to California have listened to their public universities on the benefits of the Australian policy setting and are starting to welcome international undergraduate students by the thousands, helping to cross-subsidise research programs.

To maintain Australia's research momentum, our ailing international student market must be revived to ensure the successful Australian policy tango does not misstep.

Sean Gallagher is a research associate in American higher education and chief operating officer at the US Studies Centre at the University of Sydney.

Future of Australian studies in doubt

 Melbourne University is to stop teaching Australian studies to undergraduates due to lack of interest. Source: Supplied

Falling student interest in Australian history at Melbourne University has prompted a review to recommend it scrap its Australian Studies programme for undergraduates.

The review by four international historians also called on the school of history to redesign its Australian curriculum to go beyond the "national narrative".

"It is the view of the panel that Australian history subjects need to be designed that will attract a broader range of students,'' it said.

"Subjects which connect this country to the region and the world are more likely to draw numbers of non-arts students than those centred on the national narrative.''

The review instead advocated subjects such as Australian environmental history, which it said connects Aboriginal, economic and cultural history, and historical geography.

Under the recommendations, the university's Australian Centre, which currently houses the Australian studies program, would be refocused on research and postgraduate teaching.

Melbourne University is to stop teaching Australian studies to undergraduates due to lack of interest.

Excess staff would be relocated or offered voluntary redundancies. The review stressed there were already large numbers of Australian historians teaching at the university amid "limited'' demand from students.

The review of Melbourne's School of Historical and Philosophical Studies found that the share of student load for history in general within the arts faculty has fallen from almost 12 per cent in 2007 to less than 9 per cent last year.

The undergraduate full time load in history has fallen 18 per cent to 448 students, while numbers at the Australian Centre have dropped 24 per cent to 68.

The review said interest in Australian Studies was falling at other universities as students see as irrelevant and focus on vocational subjects. It said there was a similar lack of interest at secondary school.

The review criticised the school for not doing more to create attractive courses that appeal to non-arts students as part of the university's new Melbourne Model. Under the model students undertake broader studies beyond their chosen faculty before studying the professions at postgraduate level.

Head of school Trevor Burnard said the school was committed to teaching Australian history but that the challenge was to make it, and history in general, more interesting and relevant to students. "

There isn't as much demand for a certain type of Australian history as there used to be,'' he said.

Professor Burnard said the review's recommendations would be examined by a committee that will report back in November.

Student round-table issues

VISA processing emerged as a key concern of students as well as institutions at this week's international student round table in Canberra.

Council of International Students Australia president Arfa Noor said the recommendations from the roundtable fell into five categories: visa issues, student experience, student welfare, social inclusion and living costs. Visa regulation was top of the list, with students concerned about language testing and work rights.

"We're concerned about the automatic cancellation that comes with a breach of the 20-hour [work] limit," Ms Noor said. She said the round table would recommend an averaging of the 20-hour limit, possibly to 80 hours across 28 days.

Students' recommendations are to be released soon by Tertiary Education Minister Chris Evans.

Four A-level students vying for each university place

 The wait for a university place continues for many students. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian

Up to four students are competing for each place to start university this autumn, official statistics show.

The Universities and Colleges Admissions Service (Ucas) said, as of midnight, 189,267 applicants had not found a place and were eligible to be in clearing.

Clearing is where students who fail to meet their university offers are matched with vacant courses.

Last year, 47,000 applicants secured places in clearing. David Willetts, the universities minister, has said this could fall to 40,000 this year.

However, Ucas estimates that half of all students eligible to be in clearing may not have good enough grades to win any place.

Some 425,487 students have been accepted on to courses – up 10,416 on this time last year.

A further 61,737 are waiting for a university to decide whether to offer them a place or are appealing against their grades.

Mary Curnock Cook, chief executive of Ucas, said on Friday that students with good grades should apply again next year. "You don't have the agonising wait until August. You will have an unconditional offer, which you may well have before Christmas."

There were more than 684,000 applicants this year, a 1.3% rise on last year.

After A-levels: school-leavers look forward to new opportunities

 Onyinye Akpenyi has received her A-level results and hopes to apply to do medicine next year. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian

Most people would thank their teachers or parents for a haul of two A*s and two As at A-level, but when Ony Akpenyi was awarded those results for chemistry, psychology, maths and biology last Thursday, she thanked Britain. The 18-year-old Harlow College student only moved to the UK from Nigeria two years ago, and says she didn't do at all well at school until she arrived here.

"Being a young person in the UK is amazing," says Ony. "I struggled at school in Nigeria, not because I was stupid but because there's no help. Teachers there don't encourage you to get good grades, as they do here. There are no libraries or free computers. Students just have to work by themselves.

"My dad and mum didn't go to uni, and the school system when I came to England was completely different to anything I'd seen in the past. I was really shy and nervous, and a lot of what I studied was completely new, but my teachers were so supportive. They gave me extra work, and different textbooks. They showed me articles and websites with more questions and helped me get old exam papers."

Ony didn't apply to university before A-levels "because I thought I might fail my exams". But her dream is to be a doctor, and she is now tackling the UKcat and Bmat medical school aptitude tests. The teenager is planning to learn Spanish and Chinese in her gap year, and also hopes to find a part-time job in a care home. This autumn, she plans to apply to Cambridge, King's College London, and Newcastle and Manchester universities. But despite her stellar results, Ony says: "I still don't feel that confident. I spent the whole morning of results day on [online student forum] The Student Room, and there are loads of people getting good results, and loads planning to apply for medicine."

It is, the teenager adds, "a bit depressing to be in Britain right now, when young people have been destroying their own communities. They don't realise how good they have it. When I came here I took everything I could get – the books at the library, the internet, all free – I couldn't believe it. I don't understand why young people complain. They just don't realise how amazing Britain is."

Although Matthew Simmons reached the grades his teachers predicted – A in government & politics, B in business studies and C in history – he missed his university offers. The 18-year-old's heart was set on studying politics and economics at either Sussex or Kent, and both the firm and insurance offers he accepted demanded higher grades. "I'd always thought I would exceed my predicted grades," says the student at All Saints Catholic school & technology college in Dagenham. "But the morning of results day, I woke up at 4am in sweats. I checked Ucas at six, and learned that I'd missed my AAB offer to read politics and economics at Sussex University."

The Ucas page didn't say anything about Matthew's ABB offer from Kent University, his insurance. But after a nerve-wracking journey to school, he learned he had missed that too. Matthew phoned Kent and was told to enter Clearing. Once he was had done so and was armed with a Clearing number, he phoned Kent back to ask about a place on its politics and international relations course. "Luckily, I recognised the name of the tutor on the phone – we'd met and talked about the different modules at the open day. I knew all about the course, and she offered me a place. It was, says Matthew, "a rollercoaster day — but it ended on an up".

His career ambition is to go into politics, "not be a politician, but to work for a thinktank or as a civil servant. I realised at school that you have to work hard to get anywhere, life's not just going to come to you. Now I hope uni will give me new opportunities to do well in the future."

Tanya Spence Kelly achieved ABC in her A-levels in photography, business and media, which she took at Gower College, Swansea. She didn't apply to university and is unsure about what she'll do in the next few years. "I had no idea what career path to pursue when I had to choose A-levels," says Tanya, who is 18. "I tried to seek advice from teachers and careers advisers, but no one was very helpful.

"My mum and dad didn't go, and I feel like people without a family history of going to university do miss out on advice. But I don't think uni is crucial. My parents didn't even finish school, but now own a really successful road-marking business."

Tanya was pleased with her A-level results, but admits: "They didn't mean as much to me as to everyone else – they were worried about missing their grades for uni, but it didn't matter to me.

I think Britain over-emphasises formal education. I do so many things outside of school, like volunteering for a youth club, and running my own photography business taking pictures at weddings and for modelling portfolios, but everyone just talks about A-levels and uni. If I was to go to uni it would mean building up loads of debt with no guarantee of a job. And most people I know who've been through uni go into jobs that don't need the degree. My dad employs a photography graduate, and now all he does is paint roads. I'm going to apply for jobs in call centres and hope to work my way up."

On results day Olivia Davies was woken up by her beeping phone announcing an email that read, "Welcome to the University of Liverpool", her first choice.

"I realised I'd got my grades, and then I saw I'd received my fresher welcome pack in the post, so I was really excited even before going to school," she says.

The 18-year-old, who studied at St Julie's Catholic high in Liverpool and achieved two As and a B in geography, art and English language, applied to study geography because she wanted to travel. So it's ironic that her new uni is just 10 minutes down the road from her Merseyside home.

"I applied to Liverpool because I loved the sound of the course there, but I still want to get the full uni experience, so I'm going to live in halls," she explains. Six of Olivia's cousins have also attended universities in Liverpool, so she is following a family tradition.

The teenager looks back at school happily. "I think the education system rewards those who work hard," she says. "This idea that came from the riots, that there are no opportunities for kids, is wrong. I don't think it matters what school you go to. Like me, all of my cousins who have gone to uni didn't go to private schools and they've done really well. I'm excited for the future. I'm sure there will be lots of opportunities with a geography degree."

Like Olivia, Jade Callender learned that her grades were good enough to meet her Bath Spa university offer before opening the crucial envelope. "I woke up about eight and rushed to get to school," the 18-year-old Marine Academy Plymouth student explains. "And when I got there, the teacher said, 'Congratulations, Jade', so I knew I couldn't have done badly! That made it a lot easier to open the envelope. I found I'd got a C in English literature A-level and a double distinction in performing arts Btec."

That was more than enough for Jade's conditional offer for a degree in performing arts. Her career ambition is to be an actress, but Jade believes there's too much pressure on students to obsess about their careers. "There's a huge emphasis in schools on making a good impression to employers even from a young age," she says. "I took part in 'stocks and shares', a business group arranged by school, just because it would look good on my CV, not because I wanted to do it. I think stressing the importance of finding a job all the time can stop pupils finding out what they really want to do in life."

Anger at cut in careers advice for young people

 The face-to-face service is being removed at the point at which young people most need advice on their future options. Photograph: Janine Wiedel Photolibrary/Alamy

As pupils get their GCSE results on Thursday, many will be worried about what to do next . With figures out last week showing youth unemployment reaching more than 20%, the scrapping of the education maintenance allowance and a large hike in tuition fees, now, more than ever, young people need good-quality advice on their options. But experts have warned that careers advice for under-19s risks being decimated.

Under proposed reforms to careers guidance, a new national service is due to launch next April, which would see teenagers no longer entitled to any face-to-face careers guidance. Instead they will be pointed to a website or told to call a helpline. The duty to provide face-to-face advice will be transferred to schools, though they are to get none of the £203m central funding that pays for the existing service.

The government had appointed an advisory group on what was then called the All-Age Careers Service, but on 20 July, abruptly and without consultation, it was reconstituted as the National Careers Service Advisory Group with a reduced remit. The group is so angry about the unilateral decision that all 20 considered resigning en masse.

"It will not be an all-age careers service," says Steve Higginbotham, president of the Institute of Career Guidance. "It is a rebranded Next Step service for adults plus an all-age telephone advice line and website. The group's expertise was not used in any meaningful way and officials did their best to avoid answering difficult questions when they clearly knew almost from the outset that the government's intentions were not what had originally been stated."

Vulnerable young people will suffer most from the withdrawal of the service, says Dame Ruth Silver, chair of the Careers Profession Task Force, who also sits on the advisory group. "It will further deepen deprivation, because some people come from families who have never worked; the ones who need it most are those who don't have successful adults in their lives."

Schools will not be put under any statutory obligation to ensure the professionalism or impartiality of whatever careers advice they manage to scrabble together the money to buy in, says Paul Chubb, director of Careers England.

"Schools buying in careers services has not worked in the two countries that have tried it – the Netherlands and New Zealand – and they had access to funding which heads here won't have," Chubb says.

Higginbotham agrees. "We are particularly concerned that access to professional careers advice will be a postcode lottery dependent on the resources and priorities placed on it by schools," he says. "The duty on schools to enable access to independent, impartial career guidance has been undermined by the DfE, which has stated that this could be discharged by schools enabling access for their pupils to the national telephone advice line and website."

Even if some heads do find the cash, anyone who leaves school at 16 will have no opportunity for a face-to-face conversation about their career or training needs until the age of 19, when they become eligible to access the adult service.

Kieran Gordon, chief executive of Greater Merseyside Connexions Partnership, says this means that young people won't be able to develop a trusting relationship with a skilled professional who can guide them while understanding their family circumstances and any personal barriers. They risk "drifting … or trying something that's not suitable, getting frustrated, and having their confidence knocked, so they drop out. It's wasteful, and a tremendous disinvestment in young people's lives."

"It is just wrong to deny young people access to this type of guidance," Chubb says. "I am very seriously concerned that this is being overlooked and underplanned."

A spokesman for the DfE says: "We make no apologies for giving schools responsibility for providing independent, impartial careers advice. They know their students best, so it's right they should decide what provision is right and have complete control over their budgets to buy in the face-to-face support pupils need."

• This article was amended on 23 August 2011. The orginal attributed the quote in the penultimate paragraph to Kieran Gordon. This has been corrected.

Untangling the Web Education

It's the first day of school and you're set for a new academic year: you've got all your supplies jammed into your new school rucksack: the pens and notebooks, coloured pencils and stapler, three-ring binders and textbooks.

Now add your laptop or tablet, a wifi connection, a list of usernames and passwords, account details for blogging platforms, social networks, photo sharing sites, cloud-based research resources, collaboration tools and digital 3D learning environments.

That's one heavy bag.

The Web is the ultimate distributed network of information, so how has it transformed the learning process in the last twenty years? For this fortnight's Untangling the Web, I'm dissecting the beating heart of today's education system to discover how people are using the web in classrooms, at home and in libraries, from nursery to university, and whether it's helping or hindering the education process.

It's an enormous topic, with many vested interests. I'll be focussing on pedagogical theories, online education enablers, novel learning techniques and approaches that the web affords rather than focussing on the following themes (which demand their own columns):

- games and learning
- education regulation and policy
- key stages and Internet safety/citizenship
- disinformation
- specific classroom technologies

Do you have a digital education story to share? Add your comments below, or send an email to aleks.krotoski.freelance@guardian.co.uk. You can also tweet me @aleksk.

How did our five students do in their A-levels?

 On results day the Ucas website crashed, so it was the post that brought Christopher Howarth the news that he had his place at Cambridge. Photograph: Graham Turner for the Guardian

Christopher Howarth, 17, achieved A*AA in English literature, Latin and chemistry A-levels at Haberdashers' Aske's boys' school. He is off to study classics at Trinity College, Cambridge. "I tried to check Ucas as soon as I woke up, but found the website had crashed under the load of people logging in, which was enormously frustrating," says Christopher. "Then the post came with a welcoming letter from Trinity, so I knew I'd got in. I thought it was pretty funny that the post came before the website went live again."

Now he is off on holiday to Switzerland to sing with a group of choir friends, then will be packing for Cambridge. "As I received a choral scholarship, I'm going up two weeks early to rehearse with the choir" he says. "I can't wait."

Danielle Fox, 17, got a C in her photography AS. She gets the results of her BTec subsidiary diploma in art and design next year. "I thought I'd done better," says Danielle, who is going into year 13 at Plymouth Marine academy. "I was hoping for at least a B. I'm going to talk to my teachers to see if it's worth retaking one of the AS modules, but if not I'll just have to work hard for my A2. Thursday was an anxious day. I was fine until I got to school, but as they handed out the results I got nervous."

The sixth-former has been online researching unis this summer. "I'm still hoping to apply for Japanese studies, and my top choices are Sheffield and Leeds universities," she says.

"I've realised that I'll have to retake my French GCSE this summer to get my E up to a C to get on the course, but it'll be worth the extra work."

Josh Kay, 18, achieved AABD in his A-levels in English literature and language, sociology, history, and German at Stourport school in Worcestershire.

"Phew," was Josh's reaction when he got to school and discovered he'd met the conditions of his offer to read international relations and politics at Manchester University. The sixth-former had also accepted an offer from the Dutch university Maastricht, but preferred Manchester. "The course exactly matches what I want to do, and the university is ranked higher than Maastricht. Manchester graduates also have really good career prospects," he says.

Zowie Pearce, 19, achieved an A* in communications and culture and a C in English literature and language in her A-levels at Cornwall College. She already has A-levels in sociology, psychology and photography.

"My C was two marks off a B, which is really annoying," says Zowie, who was working at her part-time job in a local cinema on results day. The teenager had to fit study for her exams alongside hospital visits and stays, as she has cystic fibrosis and diabetes, but is off to read English at Bath Spa University, and says she is very excited.

Sam Jacobs, 17, received As in English literature and geography, and Bs in chemistry and biology in the AS-levels he took at JFS, a mixed comprehensive in Harrow.

"I went to school quite early to get my envelope," says Sam. "Before opening it I had an overwhelming feeling of nerves, but I was quite satisfied with my results. My A in English literature was a total surprise – I came out of the exam room thinking I hadn't done particularly well." Sam, who is 17, wants to apply to study medicine at university. Next year, he says, "I know that with hard work and determination I can achieve better marks in biology and chemistry. I've enjoyed my courses and am looking forward to continuing with them this year."

More children read websites than comics, survey finds

 More children read websites than comics, a survey by the literacy trust has found. Photograph: Cultura / Alamy/Alamy

Children are now far more likely to read emails and websites than comics, according to a survey of more than 18,000 eight to 17-year-olds.

The research also found that while one in 10 children claimed to have read 10 books in the last month, 13% had not read any at all. And boys were nearly twice as likely to say they never read than girls. Some 29% of all children read every day.

The survey was carried out by the National Literacy Trust, who quizzed the children about their out of school reading habits.

Just under a fifth – 19% – had never been given a book as a present and 12% had never been to a bookshop. 7% had never been to a library.

The research also found that the older the children are, the less likely they are to read. The 14- to 16-year-olds were 11 times more likely than the seven- to 11-year-olds to say they had not read a book in the last month.

Half said they read emails and websites at least once a month. Only just over a quarter – 27% – flick through comics.

Magazines have overtaken fiction and non-fiction books. Just 46% and 35% curl up with a fiction or non-fiction book, while 58% read magazines.

Girls are more likely to read emails and websites than boys, but boys prefer newspapers, the poll shows.

Some 56% of girls read emails at least once a month, compared to 44% of boys. Some 38% of boys read a newspaper once a month, compared to 30% of girls.

Just under half – 49% – of those surveyed said they enjoyed reading very much or quite a lot, while 12% said they did not enjoy reading at all.

In March, Michael Gove, the education secretary, said children aged 11 should be reading 50 books a year. He said schools in the UK should follow America's independently-run, state-funded charter schools, at least one of which sets pupils a "50-book challenge" over the course of a year.

The National Literacy Trust said "fresh approaches" were urgently needed to encourage young people to read more. "The number of children who never read a book suggests the government has a huge challenge on its hands if the 50 books-a-year initiative is to reach every child," it said. Last year, a major international study of children's reading revealed British children had fallen from 17th to 25th place in the world.

Scotland's university fees 'discriminatory', says lawyer

 Freshers' initiations at St Andrews University. English, Welsh and Northern Irish students face more expensive fees than Scottish and EU students. Photograph: Murdo Macleod for the Guardian

Scotland is breaking the law by charging students from elsewhere in the UK for university degrees while undergraduates from Scotland and the EU get their education free, according to a leading human rights lawyer.

Students from England, Wales and Northern Ireland are currently charged between £1,820 and £2,895 per year to study for a Scottish university degree – a sum that could increase to up to £9,000 from next year.

But under EU rules, students coming to Scotland from other European countries cannot be charged tuition fees because they have to be treated in the same way as Scottish students.

If fees go up to £9,000, then the 22,500 UK undergraduates studying in Scotland will pay a total of £36,000 more than Scottish students and those from the EU.

"This is a vision of an elitist society dressed up in the language of the big society," said Phil Shiner, of Public Interest Lawyers. "The fees system in the UK is deeply discriminatory. This goes to the heart of everything I hold dear."

Shiner, currently gathering support from students with the intention of taking class action against the Scottish government, believes that the current system is the result of ministers having "misinterpreted the law".

He maintains the Scottish fees system contravenes article 14 of the European Convention on Human Rights and could also be in breach of the Equality Act, implemented last year.

"There is no defence for this discrimination," he said. "It's a matter the courts will have to decide and, in important cases like these, they can move very quickly."

The Scottish government has defended the current system. A spokeswoman said: "We are clear that the proposals set out [to allow Scottish universities to set fees for English, Welsh and Northern Irish students up to £9,000] are lawful. Tuition fee arrangements are based on "ordinary domicile" not nationality."

She added: "In an ideal world, no students would pay fees. Our main priority has to be to protect opportunities for Scottish students to study at Scottish institutions by maintaining free education north of the border."

But Shiner disagrees: "The argument about domicile and nationality doesn't hold water. If being Welsh, English, Irish or Scottish is not a matter of national origin then it makes a nonsense of the establishment of parliaments in each place."

Scotland's education secretary, Mike Russell, is also seeking to close the loophole that sees nearly 16,000 EU students attend Scottish education establishments, costing the taxpayer £75m a year. It is, he said, a funding loophole that is "no longer tenable".

"We cannot allow Scotland to no longer be the best option and instead be known as the cheap option," he said. "We also must protect places for Scottish students."

Jennifer Watts, founder of campaign group Make Uni Fees Equal, said: "English students have to pay thousands of pounds to get a university education. Yet Scottish students get theirs for free. How is this discrimination allowed in the United Kingdom? It is only fair that either we all pay or no one pays."

From 2012, only international students from outside the EU will pay more to study in Scotland as there is no cap on what UK universities can charge them. Most institutions charge international students around £20,000 a year.

Druid leader King Arthur loses legal fight over Stonehenge remains

 King Arthur Pendragon after losing the latest leg of his battle to have ancient human remains returned to Stonehenge. Photograph: Ray Tang/Rex Features

A druid leader who claims to be the incarnation of a legendary British king has suffered defeat in the latest legal skirmish of his long-running battle over the removal of ancient remains from Stonehenge.

King Arthur Pendragon appeared at the high court in London to argue that the "royal" remains should be returned to their age-old resting place in Wiltshire.

Pendragon, a 57-year-old former soldier and biker who changed his name by deed poll, wanted the high court to give permission for a judicial review of the government's decision to allow the remains to be taken away for analysis.

But Mr Justice Wyn Williams refused King Arthur, ruling there was insufficient evidence to show the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) had acted unreasonably.

Outside court Pendragon, who styles himself as battle chieftain of the Council of British Druid Orders and "titular head and chosen chief" of the Loyal Arthurian Warband druid order, remained defiant.

Wearing white flowing robes, he called for a day of action on Monday to draw attention to the cause.

He said: "Even though on this occasion my appeal has been dismissed I am still very much hopeful that I can win in the future. "I wasn't asking for the bones to be put back straight away, I simply wanted confirmation that they will be returned to the site as soon as possible." He said druids felt the remains were "guardians" of the site.

The judge heard that the cremated remains of more than 40 bodies – thought to be at least 5,000 years old – were removed from a burial site at Stonehenge in 2008 , with ministers giving researchers from Sheffield University permission to keep the bones until 2015.

Pendragon, who represented himself, said the bones were remains of members of the "royal line" or "priest caste" who could have been the "founding fathers of this great nation".

He told the judge he feared the remains would never be returned, but moved to a museum, adding that the MoJ had "unreasonably" failed to take account of his views. The MoJ denied the allegation.

Researchers say their work on the remains is yielding "fascinating insights" into the history of the site.

After the decision English Heritage, which manages the site, said the scientists wanted to keep the remains until 2015 so full analysis could be carried out. "Otherwise we will lose an opportunity to learn more about this important site," a spokesman added.

A spokesperson for the University of Sheffield said: "Research on the cremated bones is beginning to yield fascinating insights about the people of Stonehenge.

"Due to the large number of remains and the fact many of them were mixed together by archaeologists in the 1920s, study of them has been difficult and time consuming. However, we will now be able to apply new scientific techniques, developed only in the last few years, to find out more about who these people were.

"Human remains are an important part of our shared past and they should be treated with respect. The benefit of the research is balanced with any ethical concerns that may be caused by excavations."