By: Arshad Bhati
LAHORE: The Punjab University on Saturday declared the results for Bachelor of Arts (BA) and Bachelor of Science (BSc) Annual Examinations 2012 with a pass percentage of 39.85, showing an increase of 6 per cent over the last year when this percentage was 34.09.
According to the result notification, of the 143,750 candidates who took the BA/BSc examinations, 57,284 were declared as successful. This year, once again girls clinched the three top positions in the BSc examination, and also secured the second and third positions in the BA examination. Interestingly, all top positions in BA were bagged by external candidates (private students) belonging to Hafizabad, Lahore and Gujranwala districts.
Punjab University Controller of Examinations Prof Dr Liaquat Ali declared the results of the BA/BSc annual examinations 2012 at a prize distribution ceremony held at the Al-Raazi Hall, Undergraduate Study Centre, and New Campus.
Dr Ali said of the 143,750 candidates who took the BA/BSc examinations, 57,284 or 39.85 per cent were declared as successful. “The pass percentage this year is about 6 per cent better than the previous year and 10 per cent better than 2010,” he informed. Of the total candidates, he added, 45,778 were boys and 97,972 were girls.
“A total of 12,309 boys (26.89 per cent) and 44,975 girls (45.91 per cent) were declared as successful. In the special category, 4,060 candidates appeared in the examinations and of those 2,241 were declared as successful,” Dr Ali added.
Overall, the top position in BA was clinched by private candidate Muhammad Muhsen Ali who got 688 out of 800 marks and set a new record. In BSc, Punjab College of Science Ferozepur Road Lahore’s Sania Riaz got 686 marks and stood first; Government Queen Mary College Lahore’s Sundus Shehzadi got 658 marks and stood second; and Punjab College for Women Civil Lines Gujranwala’s Suneela got 655 marks and stood third.
In BA, private candidate Kanwal Latif got 668 marks and stood second, while the third position was jointly shared by private candidates Muqaddas Shahbaz and Maria Anam who both got 661 marks.
Punjab University Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran awarded Rs100,000 each to Muhammad Muhsen Ali and Sania Riaz for standing first in BA and BSc examinations; while second and third position-holders in both groups were given Rs75,000 and Rs65,000, respectively.
Addressing the prize distribution ceremony, Dr Kamran said the basic reason behind all the problems being faced by our country was that our nation had not been put on the path of knowledge and research. “Our rulers have not paid attention to education since the inception of Pakistan 65 years ago,” he regretted.
Dr Kamran said according to an Iraqi scholar, 250 Aya’hs of the Holy Quran were related to legal and administrative affairs, but about 750 of its Aya’hs stressed the humankind to explore the mysteries of the universe and seek knowledge.
The Punjab University vice chancellor suggested that the government should allocate at least 4 per cent of GDP to education and 1 per cent to research. “If our rulers can unite on the 17th and 18th constitutional amendments, then why they cannot unite for the promotion of education in the country?” he asked.
Dr Kamran said, on the contrary, the budget of the Higher Education Commission (HEC) was being slashed despite the availability of funds. “The clash between the government and the HEC ensued after the issue of politicians’ degree verification came to the fore. The universities are not the entity of any political party or individual; rather, they are national institutions,” he maintained.
Dr Kamran tendered an appeal to the federal government to make all-out efforts for national consensus on promotion of education. “If the government did so, the people would forget all the problems faced by them,” he viewed.
The Punjab University vice chancellor stated only those nations ruled the world that promoted knowledge in their societies. “Our total GDP is 170 billion dollars, while the United States spends 900 to 1000 billion dollars on education and 380 billion dollars on scientific research,” he informed.
Dr Kamran said power was a must for respectable survival in the world and knowledge was the headspring of power. “Pakistan is a country of 180 million people but we could not win even a single medal in the London Olympics. Same is the case in other spheres of life,” he added.
Dr Kamran congratulated top position holders on behalf of Punjab University teachers, employees and students; and said their success was due to the attention and prayers of their parents and teachers. He also advised the students to make creation of knowledge a goal of their life.
Additional Controller Examinations Ahmed Ali Chattha, former Controller Examinations and Dean Faculty of Engineering Prof Dr Taqi Zahid Butt, heads of various departments, position-holder students, and their parents and teachers were also present on the occasion.
