Sex education not needed in Malaysian schools: Deputy Education Minister

Kuala Lumpur, Apr 28(ANI): Malaysian Deputy Education Minister Dr. Puad Zarkashi said sex education is not needed in schools across the country, and will not be introduced.

Dr. Zarkashi said elements of sex education were already being taught in schools in a subject called Social and Reproductive Health Studies (SRHS).

"Social and reproductive health studies is taught under Health Education and encompasses curricula of a wide variety of subjects such as Biology, Science, Additional Science, Moral Studies and Religious Education," the New Straits Times quoted Dr. Zarkashi, as saying.

"There is no need for a specific subject called Sex Education," he added.

Dr. Zarkashi said this in the Parliament, while replying to several ministries and organizations supporting the idea of teaching sex education.

He further said that SRHS teachers had attended courses held by experienced trainers, which were designed to expose the teachers to the proper approach needed to teach the subject.

"Our present syllabus also includes modules on the importance of making the right decisions where sex is concerned," he added.

Dr. Zarkashi also stressed that parents should also play their role in discussing sex with their children and advise them accordingly.

"This will lessen sensitivities related to sex. Parents cannot leave the issue of sex for teachers to handle, they must also speak to their children about it," he said. (ANI)

US assures to provide more assistance in education sector in Pakistan

ISLAMABAD, Apr 23 (APP): United States Friday assured to provide more financial assistance and cooperation in education sector, especially in higher education of Pakistan. U.S. Ambassador Anne W. Patterson inaugurating 7^th annual conference of Fulbright and Humphrey Alumni at Quaid-e-Azam University here said American teachers will come to Pakistan to teach students here in the universities and to promote people to people interaction.

The Ambassador congratulated the alumni on the 60^th anniversary of the Fulbright Program in Pakistan, which is the largest in the world.

The US Ambassador said, as part of the growing Pak-US relationship, the United States had increased core exchange programmes with Pakistan.

The ambassador said since the start of the Fulbright programme, more than 4,000 persons from Pakistan and US have participated in it.

She said besides providing higher education to the students under Fulbright Programme, it also provide a chance to promote people to people contacts. “This programme also helpful in understanding each other,” she said.

Referring to the cooperation in last five years, the ambassador said USAID and HEC (Higher Education Commission) made joint efforts for the success of the programme. It is also helping in capacity building in the education sector, she added.

She said in last five years, 947 students were sent to America for higher studies that include 42 percent of women.

The ambassador said the first agreement initiating the programme was signed on September 23, 1950 - and the first Pakistanis and Americans traveled each way that same year.

She said, it was one of the very first agreements of its kind and has since been extended to 144 countries around the world.

The ambassador said late Arkansas Senator J. William Fulbright, from her home state, a graduate and later President of the University of Arkansas, was the principal architect of the American educational exchange program that carries his name, Fulbright.

Referring to the importance of the Fulbright programme, she said, “The more we see Pakistanis on our campuses, the better Americans will understand Pakistan and South Asia - a region with which America’s long-term future is closely interwoven.”

She said, “There is still much more to do. We are planning, through our expanding assistance programs, to invest more in Pakistan’s higher education.”

The ambassador said, “We are looking to help build capacity here in Pakistan by developing with your government several higher education ‘centers of excellence’ where investments in curriculum development, full-tuition scholarships and infrastructure improvements will begin to build for Pakistan the capability to research and propose policy solutions for its socio-economic challenges.”

She said scholarships are based on merit and awarded after a transparent selection process that has never been tainted by corruption or inappropriate preference.

The ambassador said ‘Community College Development Initiative’ has been started as new project which allows people with two-year Bachelor degrees to compete for a year-long program in a community college.

She appreciated the efforts of Pakistanis and Americans, who have served on the bilateral Board of Directors of the U.S. Educational Foundation in Pakistan in helping the people for higher education.

The ambassador said the staff of the USEFP, including its Acting Executive Director Rita Akhtar also deserves thanks for their hard work in keeping this large programme running - and for organizing this conference and celebration today.

The Fulbright Programme is the U.S. Government’s flagship academic exchange programme.

It is administered by the U.S. Educational Foundation in Pakistan (USEFP).

Prominent alumni of the Fulbright Program include nine current Vice Chancellors of Pakistani universities.

In this fall 94 Pakistani students will be beginning Masters degree programs and 60 will be beginning Ph.D. programs in the United States.

Other new exchange programs will send one hundred Pakistani students to U.S. colleges and universities and sixty Pakistani students to U.S. community colleges for advanced skills training in the next academic year.

Chairman Higher Education Commission Dr. Javed Leghari speaking on the occasion said 247 persons were sent to US for Ph.D study.

He said Fulbright Scholarship Programme is one of the component of the HEC projects and efforts are being made to enhance the number of scholarship every year.

Commenting on the limited allocation for higher studies in Pakistan, the HEC Chairman said less than five percent of the education sector has the access to higher studies and this ratio is even 2 to 3 per cent in women graduates.

He said despite limited financial resources, the HEC has been making sincere efforts to promote higher educational facilities.

He also appreciated the recent financial assistance of 45 million dollars from America for improving infrastructure and other facilities in the universities.

Secretary Education Imtiaz Qazi addressing the conference said the government has approved the increase in the funds for the higher education.

Acting USEFP Executive Director Rita Akhtar speaking on the occasion highlighted the main features of the mission of U.S. Educational Foundation in Pakistan for helping the students to study in various educational institutions in America.

Gulf education has huge earning potential - Groser

More then 7000 Saudi Arabian students are studying in New Zealand, contributing at least $300 million a year, and there are opportunities to expand education services to the Gulf region, according to Trade Minister Tim Groser.

New Zealand companies need to look to countries such as Saudi Arabia, which has the largest economy and the biggest population among the Gulf Co-operation Council states, Mr Groser said.

"Economists rightly see Saudi Arabia as the next big opportunity in the region, especially in the construction sectors," he said, with tremendous growth in education services in recent years, too.

"New Zealand needs to be closely aligned with this region, economically, politically and culturally," he said on the first leg of a trade mission to the Middle East.

New Zealand is "progressing" a free trade agreement with the GCC states, the first trade deal outside the Asia Pacific region, he said. It would be a catalyst for expanding economic engagement and New Zealand's profile through the Gulf states and the wider Middle East, Mr Groser said.

There was also potential for "enhanced co-operation" with Saudi Arabia in its efforts to improve security of food supply and sustainability in production.

Mr Groser will today preside over the handover ceremony for the newly acquired Fonterra processing plant in Damman, in a move from joint venture to full Fonterra ownership. Last month, Fonterra finalised the purchase of the remaining 51 per cent stake in Saudi New Zealand Dairy Products with former joint-venture partner Saudi Dairy and Foodstuff Company, in a deal worth about $45 million. Mr Groser said total two-way trade with the Gulf states grew 40 per cent in the last decade to be worth more than $3 billion in 2009.

The Gulf states as a group are now New Zealand's sixth largest trading partner, with New Zealand exports alone more than doubling in the last decade.

Education was a perfect match, given Saudi Arabia's young population, with two-thirds of the people under 25 years. There are now 7000 Saudi students in New Zealand in total, with more than 4700 at tertiary level, worth "conservatively" $300m, Mr Groser said.

Study Tips

Wow! It's an Interjection!

Interjections are interesting. They exist officially as one of the eight parts of speech, but they stand alone grammatically, unrelated to any other part of a sentence.

The role of interjections is to convey some sort of emotion in your writing. So that begs the question: what types of writing should involve emotion? Creative writing and journal writing can be emotional. These types of writing could very well contain those little, um, interruptions and, heck, outbursts.

But those little eruptions are just annoying and unprofessional in formal writing, which would include book reports and research papers. While you may feel pretty emotional about your topic, you should avoid "letting it out." Keep your feelings out of your professional writing and keep it factual, please!