Today’s top Pakistan current affairs January 27, 2021 with download link available in pdf. These are the latest breaking news about Pakistan which will be helpful for aspirants in test preparation of current affairs, Pakistan affairs, General knowledge for NTS, PPSC, CSS, FPSC, KPPSC, SPSC, BPSC, AJKPSC, OTS, PTS, and other Govt Jobs, exams & MDCAT, ECAT Entry test preparation.
One Liner
- Govt To Provide Free of Cost COVID Vaccine To General Public: Dr Sultan. Prime Minister’s Special Assistant on National Health Services Dr Faisal Sultan says the government will provide COVID19 vaccine free of cost to general public.
- Pakistan to begin COVID-19 vaccination drive next week: Asad Umar. Federal Planning and Development Minister Asad Umar announced on Wednesday that Pakistan will launch its COVID-19 vaccination drive next week, starting with front-line health workers.
- PIA decides it will fight for Roosevelt Hotel in Reko Diq case. The Pakistan International Airlines (PIA) has Wednesday announced it will be contesting to save its New York’s Roosevelt Hotel which is being evaluated by a British Virgin Islands (BVI) court to settle the Reko Diq case as it was mortgaged against the deal
- NCOC decides reopening universities across country. The National Command and Operation Centre (NCOC) has decided to reopen varsities across the country from February 1 which was shut due to the spread of COVID-19 during its second wave
- HEC allows universities to conduct online exams based on their capacity. Taking notice of concerns raised by students of some universities that their exams should be conducted online, Higher Education Commission(HEC) has allowed universities to conduct exams, either on-campus or online based on their capacity
- Punjab government reimposes ban on basant. The Punjab government has reimposed its ban on basant celebrations across the province and initiated action against businesses involved in the purchase and sale of kites.
- Peshawar University to hold all exams online. Peshawar University has decided to hold its fall semester exams online this year
- KP govt decides to start second shift in schools. In an effort to bring the maximum number of children to schools, the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government on Wednesday decided to start a second shift in public sector educational institutions across the province
- Pakistan Secure First Innings Lead of 88 Runs Against SA. Pakistan were 308 for eight — a lead of 88 — at close of play Wednesday on the second day of the opening Test against South Africa in Karachi.
Spotlight by The NewsRun
1. COVID-19 IN PAKISTAN
- 24-hour count: Pakistan reported 1,583 new cases and 74 deaths in the past 24 hours. Pakistan also conducted 41,285 tests in the span of 24 hours (P.S. this data was last updated on January 27 at 8:14am).
2. Protests against in-person exams
What’s going on? On Monday, university students gathered outside the University of Management and Technology (UMT) in Lahore to protest against in-person exams. According to the Progressive Students’ Collective (PSC), police arrested its Lahore president, Zubair Siddiqui, who was leading the protest. Later on, PSC tweeted that Siddiqui and some other students were “critically injured” after the Punjab police baton-charged them. Siddiqui returned to the protest after reportedly being taken to the ICU. Students continued protesting despite reports about the police pushing back hard. Police denied the baton-charging allegations, and claimed they didn’t arrest anyone.
The details: Education Minister Shafqat Mahmood said it’s up to universities to decide where and how to conduct exams. However, Mahmood said he’ll ask the Higher Education Commission to consult with vice chancellors at universities to see if online exams are doable considering the unique circumstances this year. He said universities should make sure they have the technical capacity to conduct online exams for all students. He also raised concerns about online exam systems being “misused,” (i.e. it sounds like he’s worried about students cheating).
The context: Student protests have been going on for the past week, mostly in Lahore. Universities conducted online classes after campuses were closed to prevent the spread of COVID-19. Students think exams should be online, since their classes were also online. Students are feeling unprepared for in-person exams, especially since some universities didn’t even complete the full syllabus for different online courses. On Friday, several students from various public and private universities protested outside the Governor’s House to demand the cancelation of in-person exams. According to protesting students, private universities also charged massive fees without completing their syllabus online.
The bottom line: Students are worried about failing their in-person exams after being stuck with low-quality online classes due to COVID-19.
