Adil Najam
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The Lahore High Court has declared Mudassir Qayyum Nahira, a PML-N member of the national assembly, disqualified because he holds a fake degree. Elected form NA-100 Gujranwalla. The idea that those holding fake degrees should be disqualified – not just for the ‘fakeness’ of their education but also for the sheer act of lying and making a fool of the very people they are supposed to be representing – is a good one.
It is something that we at ATP have written about before and we feel fairly strongly about. I for one welcome the decision by the National Assembly that the Higher Education Commission (HEC) should verify the degrees of all 873 parliamentarians. That should be a normal and continual function of the HEC. I am also glad that this issue has been gaining such momentum.
Having said that – and having established that if Mr. Nahira’s degree is fake then he should be disqualified – the few details of the story that we know (and we really know very few) do seem to suggest that this may be more a case of catching a technicality because an opponent pushed for it rather than a real case of the honorable court being annoyed and incensed at an act of cheating and lying. Even so, it is good that the issue is highlighted. But not enough.
It seems that Mr. Nahira actually has a degree – from the University of Bahawalpur – but he obtained it while he was under suspension from the Punjab University and without obtaining a ‘no objection certificate’ (NOC) from the Punjab University. I do not know why he ha been suspended from the Punjab University (and would really like to know). But I am glad that he did actually complete the education in Bahawalpur. Because education is always a good thing; even when done half-heartedly.
So, I will wait for more details on this case, I applaud the court for going after the issue, but we need to go beyond the technicalities to the even bigger issue remains of those who blatantly lie about being what they are not and buying fake degrees without obtaining any education at all. Indeed, the biggest issue of all is creating a polity where lying to citizens in any dimension is not tolerated.
When babysitters go bad, parents pay the price Occasionally, someone who seems like a good babysitter turns out to be a bad apple.
Wyoming Tribune-Eagle (Cheyenne, WY) July 5, 2006 | Michelle Dynes By Michelle Dynes rep2@wyomingnews.com CHEYENNE – Most people already know the babysitters they hire. go to site my babysitters a vampire
He or she might be a neighbor, friend of the family or attend the same church, said St. Rick Wood with the Cheyenne Police Department. So it isn’t too often that police are called to intervene. But it does happen.
When Jennifer Morris’ regular babysitter wasn’t available, she hired someone else to watch her children. But when she came home, she felt uneasy.
“I never got that way with other babysitters,” she said.
It didn’t take long for her to notice that the family change jar was empty, and her engagement ring had gone missing. Morris said she tore the house apart, hoping she had just misplaced her jewelry.
“I couldn’t perceive anybody could do that,” she said. “I gave her as much benefit of the doubt as possible.” Police officers got a confession, learning that the ring was tossed out a car window when a pawnshop wouldn’t take it. Morris said she spent four-and-a-half hours searching alongside a road until the ring appeared.
“Our trust in people is kinda shot,” she said.
Wood said a similar incident occurred last year. Missing items found in a pawnshop were traced back to a babysitter.
“It’s not a real problem, because parents are pretty responsible about who to hire,” he said.
Depending on the value of the stolen items, incidents like these count as larceny with a $300 bond. If the value exceeds $1,000, it becomes a felony, he said.
When school lets out for the summer, the demand for babysitters increases, said Lt. Mike Christmann of Cheyenne Fire and Rescue.
To keep babysitters educated for the job ahead, there are a variety of community classes. Safety classes are offered through Cheyenne Fire and Rescue with input from groups like the police, sheriff’s and Cheyenne-Laramie County Health Department, he said. The day-long class focuses on safety, security and evacuation procedures. While the May session was canceled, Christmann said he hopes to make the classes available again soon. here my babysitters a vampire
Classes also are available through the Cheyenne Family YMCA and the American Red Cross. Instructor Bess Lichtweis said the Red Cross focuses on CPR, first aid and child care. Participants will learn about basics such as diapering, feeding and parent interviews during the classes, which are offered once a month all year long.
“We had a lot of calls asking for (these types of classes),” Lichtweis said. “Parents get worried when someone else is watching their kids, and the parents of sitters hope they’re prepared. What if (a child) is bleeding? What if they choke on something?” At the YMCA, the Super Sitters class will resume in September. Offered the second Saturday of every month, participants will learn how to entertain, bathe and clothe infants to toddlers, said Chris Shay, program development office manager. By the end of the day-long class, they’ll also be armed with a book, coloring sheets and projects to help them get started.
Michelle Dynes
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We’ve been working on compiling a comprehensive list of all politicians (past and present) with fake degrees. The results can be seen at http://fakedegrees.zzl.org. Comments are welcome
Do you have any idea that a fake degree can open such doors that a genuine degree can only dream of? Yes, it can land you in the august houses of National Assembly, Senate and federal and provincial cabinet. You can approve budgets, make laws and policies that a genuine degree holder can not think of. For details, please read: http://fmeducation.wordpress.com/2010/07/05/what-i s-the-worth-of-your-fake-degree/
Failed states: Pak among top 10
Washington: Just three places below Afghanistan,Pakistan has been ranked the 10th most failed state in the 2010 Failed State Index released by the prestigious Foreign Policy magazine on Monday.The list is topped by Somalia,followed by Zimbabwe,Sudan,and Chad.
India is ranked 87 in a list of 177 countries.In Indias immediate neighbourhood,Myanmar has been placed at 13,Sri Lanka (22) and Nepal 25.China is ranked at 57th place.Norway is ranked at the bottom of the list.
Shattered Somalia has been the No 1 failed state for three years running,and none of the current top 10 has shown much improvement,if any,since Foreign Policy and the Fund for Peace began publishing the index in 2005, it said.Altogether,the top 10 slots have rotated among just 15 unhappy countries in the indexs six years.State failure,it seems,is a chronic condition, the magazine said.
The magazine said Somalia saw yet another year plagued by lawlessness and chaos,with pirates plying the coast while radical Islamist militias tightened their grip on the streets of Mogadishu.Afghanistan and Iraq traded places on the index as both states contemplated the exit of US combat troops,while already isolated Sudan saw its dictator,Omar Hassan al-Bashir,defy an arrest warrant from the International Criminal Court and the warravaged Democratic Republic of the Congo once again proved itself a country in little more than name,the magazine said.