And Dr. Shahid Hussain Bokhari Quits…

it is reported in daily dawn:

The question is, do we need the army or is it the other way around? Mr Kamran is right that Pakistan is paying to keep our army.

The army in turn has conquered Pakistan four times. Gone are the days when the melodies of Noorjehan could be heard from every teashop or most trucks on their tail boards displayed ‘Pak Fauj ko salaam’.

Before the present conquest of Pakistan by the army we had almost run out of enemies. We enjoyed the best of relations with the Taliban in Kabul while Russia was thousands of miles away.

We had little cause to fear an attack from Iran or China, and with the recently-acquired nuclear weapons India was fairly neutralised. But with the army back in command, we seem to be surrounded by enemies on our east and west.

Do we need the army in such circumstances? Can the army provide security to the nation? These are open questions. Yes, defence of the country we do need.

An alternative could be a general draft system. Under this, all able-bodied male Pakistanis between the ages of 18 and 25 years may be required to put in one year of compulsory military service.

This will not only economise the defence bill but will also bring about closeness between the civil and military sections of society and perhaps end the seemingly never-ending cycle of military rule after every few years.


I think a valid suggestion... but it should also give option to women as well in the 18-25 category.

I believe we must start working for a better future- a future where we have a system based of justice, merit and fairplay.

Pray for our country and pray for the betterment of humanity.

I hope tomorrows world will be a better place to live in.

How long is it going to take before we realize they problems ``our`` army has been causing aour country. When will we realize that our real power is not these real estate agents (army is the largest property mafia in the country) but our people. We lost half our country due to machinations by these cowards who first prosecuted unarmed civilians in east Pakistan and then shamelessly surrendered to the Indians. Our eastern brothers made the mistake of not recognizing the real menace, the army and wrongly blamed the people of the western half for their sufferings. look at what they are doing in Baluchistan, killing people who dared to demand justice for a lady doctor. Look what they did in Punjab, after forcibly occupying their land, they butchered helpless farmers in Okara for demanding the right of ownership to the land they tilled for centuries. The east Pakistanis should have taken the rest along instead of going their own way, being in majority. They owe an apology to the rest of the Pakistanis for this.

Incidently, it is not the politicians who are the most corrupt, but these men in khaki outfit. The shady defence deals and the kickbacks received by generals is huge as comared to what the politicians would ever dream of; not to mention the legal corruption in the form of loads of plots, agrarin land, heavily discounted airline and railways tickets.

Lets hope awareness is crated among the masses and we can truely turn our country into a prosperous nation by doing away with the fauji and beaurocratic culture.

Resignation of Dr.Bukhari tentamounts to the orphanage of EE department. A week ago I came upto a conclusion that only those nations will exist as nations in the coming centuries which would possess and continue to create new knowledge. Even if our economic growth reaches double digits. no sustainable development is possible without knowledge. Knowledge, in modern days, is a product of research. Research is done by researchers. Even so called ``mediocre`` researchers are a national asset as compared to those whose ``superb brain power`` can be purchased by a Western firm funding research at MITs, Stanfords etc( I respect all these institutions from the core of my heart for having done so much for humanity as a whole, but my line of argument in this response is different). One day our mediocre,super and supreme researchers will try to come back to make Pakistan a production factory of genuine knowledge. Dr Shahid Bukhari was a `son of the soil`, who has served his country with all his possible zeal, zest, energy, potential. He has put in his `best` in UET. This is what matters. This country needs its sons playing on its soil. Whats the use of a `desi superman` serving uncle sam and his cousins.
Dr. Bukhari has played his innings for his country. An innings which has made a real difference. Other players need to add to grand total. I am sure Dr.Bukhari is retired hurt. He will resume his innings for his country whenever country needs him. Yes, some people say that Dr was stubborn etc, then what? Jinnah was also stubborn. Great peoople need to be stubborn, overtly or covertly. My salutes to the real ``Comrade`` of our times. Proud to be his student from 1990 to 1995.

Re: # 88

1) He was lucky to have published some papers in the early days of parallel computing. That is the only reason he is with ISI index of mostly cited authors. Most of the ISI awardees are the ones who do not represent the true researchers. Is Do Knuth among the most cited authors?

OK, I agree. So it means that he was among the founders of parallel computing. Do you think, it is a symbol of bad researcher to be able to write a paper in early days of a research domain which proves to be the classic work later?

2) Honestly speaking Dr Bokhari is a person of mediocre intellect. I my self am one of the sort. I have done a couple of MSs and a doctorate from MIT and am an associate professor. I have been an outstanding debater as I was in Pakistan. That is why I can understand the position Dr Bokhari enjoys.

It is too harsh to say him someone of mediocre intellect. He has been on editorial boards of many IEEE journals and he is an IEEE and ACM fellow. I don’t claim him to be Abdus Salam or anyone similar, but calling him a mediocre is not justified. And do tell me, how many researchers like him are there in Pakistan?


I agree MIT, Harvard, Stanford might have a high intellectual concentration and hence you have developed higher standards for looking at the researchers, But it doesn’t mean that a teacher who was really loved by his students back in university, you try to prove that nothing changed if he left the university.

When this military General was appointed head of UET, there were 15 PhDs in EE. Now there are 10. And the best ones have left the department because of conflicts with the real “mediocre Jernail”. Then the General talks of revolutionary ideas of bulk enrolment of PhDs in UET so that batches of “scholars” could come out of UET. I mean, how a person can think of promoting research in a “Fauji Way”. If I was a PhD, I might have never worked under this type of person being the administrator of UET.

3) Socially he is an isolated person. He does not agree with any of his colleagues or students in any important point. He has created that aura of being a superior person over the years. No one can agree with rungBaz when he says that Dr Bokhari will live in the hearts of students. He has never been a popular teacher. In fact I myself am of the same sort. I have good relations with my American friends but my Pakistani class fellows from the past will testify that my behavior was unbearable to them. Success has its price.


Wrong. He taught 98 session for whole 4 years. I invite you to contact anyone from 98 session. Everyone considers him the best teacher ever. I don’t know about your sessions, but my session mates have a very positive image of him. And most of us really respect him.

4) His special subject was elements of Boolean algebra. To be honest one does not have to be Einstein to understand that subject. The other area of his teaching was digital computing fundamentals. Again, it is quite a straightforward thing.


Sir, with due respect, it was a very naïve comment from an MIT scholar if you were talking from a perspective to his research skills. Whatever was proposed by Newton looks very simple and straightforward. But it was not before him. There was no concept of Boolean Algebra , may be, before Alan Turing. And there was no parallel processing before 70s. As some good brains worked well and laid the foundations of the knowledge by simplifying the rules, these subject seem to be very “simple” now.



When it comes to teaching, I don’t know if he taught you digital logic design or what? Fore our session, he taught us Algorithms, OO Programming, Networks and Operating Systems. And we found him good enough in all these subjects.



5) He had to teach communication systems at undergrad level once and one could see that the ‘mostly cited author’ was always groping in the dark and had to explain every time that it was not his subject.



Come on. Don’t be so much biased. “highly cited researcher” doesn’t mean good at gardening, cooking and bodybuilding. If he is bad at communication systems, it really doesn’t matter a lot as he is good at his own subject.



6) In his letter of resignation most of the points are self contradictory. If he had to leave for some better opportunity or if he had the feeling that his decision to go back to Pakistan was wrong, he should have resigned quietly without much ado.



I agree, he is very bad a communication skills. That’s why I think that he is only a good researcher, not a good administrator or RangBaaz like “Azhar Shah” as is the common opinion of current UETians.



Researcher need to be dealt properly. It is important not to hurt their egos. What happened at UET that while all professors, in their off the record discussions, talk against Tenure Track System, but when Dr Bokhari protested against it publicly, he was issued a notice in which he was declared “arrogant”. And look, who issues the notice. A retired military officer who has no idea what does it mean by running a university and dealing with the researchers.

7) I am sure no one will miss him at UET.

Sir, your session might have bad memories with him. But We, 98-EE students respect him a lot. And we will miss him. If I join UET after my PhD, I will certainly miss him. Others reserve the right not to miss him.

Just wanted to say that don’t generalize your experience to rest of UETians.

8) It has never been teachers who primarily contributed to the quality of education at UET. Only the best students could get admission to UET and that was the reason why UETians are supposed to be better engineers. Take the example of Molwi Saleem. He is not proclaimed to be an intelligent person. Still he has contributed at least as much to the university as Dr Bokhari may claim to have done.

I disagree. I respect Mowlvi Saleem Sahib for his kind attitude towards students. But Bokhari has been a key force behind establishment of labs and upgrading the courses. Our first computer lab was funded by Syed Maratib Ali Trust for which Bokhari had to arrange money. And it happened before gloomy post-HEC era.

Saleem sahib is a cool guy but not really active enough to contribute more than Dr Bokhari.

9) Most of the students will agree that in most respects Molvi Khalid Mahmood ul Hasan or Masood are much better and dedicated teachers. Dr Noor is much more pragmatic despite being the most intelligent person around.

Again it is your personal observation. I don’t agree with it. Noor Sahib literally recites the lecture which makes students feel sleepy. Masood Sahib doesn’t care if students are understanding his lecture or no. I didn’t study from khalid Mehmood sahib.

10) It is a sad fact that the university is regulated by a General and not by an academician. That is the only point why one would like to resign from UET. If that was his reason he should have mentioned it straight as he claims to be a straight forward person.

Atlast, we partially agree on a point.

Thanks for the comments. I am happy that a lot of people took notice of our campaign (mainly 97/98 session) to raise our concerns and we managed to get attention from some of national newspapers and HEC officials. Important thing for us was that while HEC is claiming to have achieved a lot during last 7 years, we needed to tell them that university professors were not really happy for what was happening.




Regards,

After having gone through the article and the 87 responses I would like to add a couple of points not yet discussed here. I have had a chance to be his student.

1) He was lucky to have published some papers in the early days of parallel computing. That is the only reason he is with ISI index of mostly cited authors.

2) Intellectually Dr Bokhari is a mediocre person. Most of his old students would testify that fact.

3) Socially he is an isolated person. He does not agree with any of his colleagues or students in any important point. He has created that aura of being a superior person over the years. No one can agree with rungBaz when he says that Dr Bokhari will live in the hearts of students. He has never been a popular teacher.

4) His special subject was elements of Boolean algebra. To be honest one does not have to be Einstein to understand that subject. The other area of his teaching was digital computing fundamentals. Again, it is quite a straightforward thing.

5) He had to teach communication systems at undergrad level once and one could see that the ‘mostly cited author’ was always groping in the dark and had to explain every time that it was not his subject.

6) In his letter of resignation most of the points are self contradictory. If he had to leave for some better opportunity or if he had the feeling that his decision to go back to Pakistan was wrong, he should have resigned quietly without much ado.

7) I am sure no one will miss him at UET.

8) It has never been teachers who primarily contributed to the quality of education at UET. Only the best students could get admission to UET and that was the reason why UETians are supposed to be better engineers. Take the example of Molwi Saleem. He is not proclaimed to be an intelligent person. Still he has contributed at least as much to the university as Dr Bokhari may claim to have done.

9) Most of the students will agree that in most respects Molvi Khalid Mahmood ul Hasan or Masood are much better teachers.

10) It is a sad fact that the university is regulated by a General and not by an academician. That is the only point why one would like to resign from UET. If that was his reason he should have mentioned it straight as he claims to be a straight forward person.

I am Tauseef Aized, also a faculty member at UET. At the moment doing research in Japan.
I have read the letter written by Dr. Bukhari to HEC. I have had the opportunity to listen to Dr. Bukhari in the University during some meetings. He is a good speaker and writer. There is no doubt he is the most brillant Faculty member at UET, alas we have lost him. But honestly speaking, his letter did not substantiate the issues.

1. He says that Basic Sciences Programs should not be started at all, but no proper reasoning is there, why not that? The reason could be that this institution was primarliy built for Eng. studies and all the resources should be devoted to that. But he says that the good standard can not be achieved? Why that can not be achieved. If it is poor right now, Dr. Bukhari must ponder over the issue how that can be improved.

2. The shoratge of faculty members is a justified point in his letter, as we all have to devote all the time to teach and do not have enough time to concentrate on research.

3. I am not a over enthusiastic person, but even if people like him just run away from the scenes, how the things can be put on the right track. Why not to struggle more and more to put the things right on the track. He is a great man and no great man in his life is avoiding difficult situations.

I would not have written all these, if he is just an ordinary faculty member, he is a man of conviction, he must not run away. Also, Dr. Sb. hitting the targets require a composed behaviour and emotional ways can never do something good. I hope you wo`not minfd this.

Being new to the forum and not having read the 85 comments on this issue, I apologize if anything I say here was said before.

Reading Dr. Bokhari’s letter and also going through his profile on the ISI website:
(http://hcr3.isiknowledge.com/author.cgi?&link1=Browse&link2=Results&id=1644), there is no doubt about the man’s academic accomplishments in both research and from what I hear… in teaching as well. Being an academic myself, I’m proud to have gotten to know someone from Pakistan of his research calibre.

Having said that, I fail to understand his criticisms nonetheless. On the one hand, he finds fault with the current conditions of training facilities at the institution, while on the other, he also counters the establishment of a research chair.

Coming from academia myself, I know that one of the primary purposes of establishing a research chair through a sponsorship is to attract more corporate and govt. investment in the institution. Typically, these chairs earn more than double the salary of a tenured professor, and the reasons are simple: they are taking upon themselves, more burden in the form of:
i) engaging in ground-breaking research initiatives,
ii) day-to-day administration of the department, the faculty and the students, and
iii) campaigning for more investments… both monetary, and in-kind, from other corporate, govt. and educational institutions.

Chairs are common practice in most Universities around the world, and having worked in tight collaboration with two chairs in my dept., I can kind of relate to their work – both their toils and their yields.

Secondly, I don’t see how the institution of pure disciplines such as Mathematics & Sciences can directly correlate with poor performance in research… if anything, the University can institutionalize this by allowing those who excel at teaching to take care of these areas while allowing for researchers to concentrate more on their work. Along these lines, the new source of income can be distributed to pay nominal and premium wages to teaching staff and research staff respectively. So he wants better facilities… which can be installed by additional funds from new programs... he also wants better research provisions… which can also be had from expansion and restructuring of teaching tasks… why then is he against expansion?

Somewhat related to the point above, I don’t quite understand his concern over “tenure-track” – a system which to me symbolizes exactly what Dr. Bokhari wants… i.e. the academic freedom that allows teachers to openly disagree with authorities without fearing negative consequences such as being dismissed. In the realm intellectual pursuits, you can expect people to produce higher quality research output when they have job security – with the autonomy of a tenured position, academics are able to pursue their own research interests with more and produce better results. I think Dr. Bokhari has outlined these two points Re: research excellence and freedom of speech, but why then is he against the TT system.

Just some thoughts…

I am one of his old students. What the commentators are saying here is quite refreshing to hear, because they do not know him. I do not intend to initiate another argument with Kulharee or someone else. I think this Kulharee is a teenager who knows next to nothing about how hard is it to find an able university teacher let alone someone with the capabilities of Professor Bokhari. Any way every one has a right to say whatever they want to. And, in fact, some of the points raised by Kulharee despite some weird concoction are really valid arguments.

Let me add a few points.
1) The letter published here is not the ‘letter of resignation’. I understand it to be a letter explaining his reluctance to argue with HEC any further.
2) He is one of the ablest people around. For me he was always a good teacher and a very fair examiner.
3) I think he does have a right to interfere with the policy matters regarding education.
4) I do not think his resignation will change anything. He has done a fine job for over 25 years. It did not have to end in such a bitter way.
5) Maybe someone of you may appreciate that if one has been doing his job as selflessly as Professor Bokhari, his does deserve to be heeded.
6) Dr Naqvi and Prof. Attaur Rahman & Co (of HEC) may be good in their intentions. But it is an open fact that their policies are more of ad hoc nature without much coherence. The foreign faculty hiring program and “tenure track system” (Please note that this terminology does not coincide with its usual US use) are some examples of it.
7) What Professor Bokhari seems to suggest is something more effective, lasting and contributive to sustainable development of the education sector. I mean you can not achieve much by hiring a foreign professor for a couple of years. He will be getting 7-10 times the pay of the already serving professors. I think a much better and effective approach would be to increase the pay and benefits of existing professors and lecturers in addition to hiring foreign professors. In that case the there will be no need to introduce the so called ‘tenure track’. HEC is awarding scholarships to junior teachers to get a doctoral education abroad, who will be coming by the end of next year to continue their teaching jobs.
And at the end I wish Professor Bokhari all the best for his future endeavors. I know how it feels when you have given the best years of your life to such a noble cause and all of a sudden it ends up in such a mess. Anyway, there will be lots of research opportunities for you, Dr Bokhari! And your 25 years has not been vain. You will keep on living in the hearts of thousands of your students like me. We old UETians ‘have to’ talk about you and Dr QUA Khan whenever we remember our times at UET.

Re: # 79

OK Irfan, Mail sent to you. I am impressed by GIKI Alumni Association. They seem to have a good say in university matters.

And Zahra, Thanks for the kind words of wisdom. I agree with your analysis.

And Kulhari, Sada Jeetay Raho aur Bongian Maartay raho. :)

Re: # 82
Also please call me Shakeel, not java. I am ``Hafiz Shakeel Ahmad`` a simplest animal on earth.

Re: # 75

Dear Kulraree, this is in nature that a human mind changes in 5 years. You can observe your life, the things that you used to think in school life were not realistic when you were in University.

So you changed your mind with the time. The habbits are also similarly changed with the time. But you were correct in both stages of your life.

And I am sure that you will change some of you if you will get love and attention from your friends and family. If you need my friendship, I am available. I dont know much about you but only that you are exactly like I, a human.

Re: # 80

Yeah, and I was the dumb one to open a name yesterday (by the way, it was not very original)…I don’t know if you come from a long line of insecure behnchoods or you are the first in the family.. Please do let me know. Thanks.

Oye Kulharee ...you are my lost wife or what ..? as you are telling so many stories about me. After reading so many bull shits from Ustad Tabley wala ( What an economist). I would suggest to change your name
Name: Dustbin (Kachrey ka Dabba) or (Gandd ka Dabba)

Because whenever you speak ...only Gandd gets out of your mouth .....

I think all wise people on this group will agree to me.??:))))

@Charlie,
Your article got forwarded on the giki-alumni mailing list. Our alumni association president has already approached the rector of GIKI to request him to persuade the good doctor to join the GIKI EE department. Could you please ask him if he would be interested in teaching at a private university like GIKI? The GIKI EE faculty is in dire straits, and could really use a dedicated guy like him.

Acknowledge that you got this message (preferably send me an email because I don`t have your address) and we will sit down and talk when you get back to Paris.

Regards,
Irfan.

PS: Ne t`inquiète pas pour les émeutes, elles sont seulement dans les banlieues du nord. Le seul problème que tu rencontreras c`est que peut-être le RER B sera un peut tarder car il passe par ces endroits pourris.

Re: # 77

[Are you stalking me? ]

Does it matter?

Re: # 76

Dear Zahra, you welcome. Are you stalking me?

I am all for healthy, nasty and malicious discussions to have all views heard. Often times, I feel that is not the case with Pakistani bulletin boards. I think Chowk is by far the most accommodating to diverse interests and povs. I hope it stays as such.

Re: # 68

......been saying that the Professor Sahib’s “better than thou” comportment is less than what “I” expect from teachers of his stature. To me it is self-serving pompous arrogance laced with condescension....]

I understand your point. But you give multiple twists in one para to cover yourself from all angles. That is an interesting way of handling a conversation.

[Your post also speaks very loud of pomposity, and my dear, my point was not to compare the Professors of Physics and Math to a high caliber research scientist. My point was somewhat different, which requires a functioning coconut to be understood.]

Being a genius, I am positive that you can handle both pompous and humble beings. Why whine? I am glad that we have a ``functioning coconut`` on board to explain the heavenly myths to many of us. Thank you for your kindness.

I have been reading some of your interacts on other boards with interest. It seems that Chowk has been blessed with an interesting conversationalist - witty but brazen. I am sure that you will keep many occupied and amused. Welcome!

Re: # 68

Zahra, I didn’t argue either about the merits of HEC, nor about how funding is disbursed. I have only been saying that the Professor Sahib’s “better than thou” comportment is less than what “I” expect from teachers of his stature. To me it is self-serving pompous arrogance laced with condescension. I am sure that he is a fine scholar and an outstanding researcher, but he lacks (again, in my opinion) social intelligence. Your post also speaks very loud of pomposity, and my dear, my point was not to compare the Professors of Physics and Math to a high caliber research scientist. My point was somewhat different, which requires a functioning coconut to be understood.

Java Sahib, I beg to differ; I think fines for any offense should be same for everyone, whether one is a teacher, an engineer, or a king. Please don’t worry about ‘changing’ me, I like the way I am, and also, I am beyond repair.

Charlie, Have a good flight, and keep in touch. Good luck with your school and make us proud.

I request all the members, please respect each other. Omer there should be some other place where you could have posted this.

Re: # 67

Kulharee, this means that you have roots of great people like your Nana. I respect people like your Nana who placed educational roots for our country. Actually you must consider Bokhari Sab like your Nana. I claim that Bokhari Sab is a pure paka Pakistani. He loves this country really much. I can tell you another story.

I have to show some commercial project to Bokhari sab, I asked him. Sir can I install this software in the OS Lab so that I can explain it to you here in the department. He replied.
Shakeel this is a ``public`` state university and you can not install a commercial piece of code. Bring your home machine to show it to me.

Compare this to other professors who pay their home bills from University funds. I am personally victim of many, as I was also RA in UET.

I think his personality is a worth. He never needs a respect from any human, either. As he will remain alive in the hearts of thousands of his students.

Re: # 65

This is your personal experience. I agree with one of this. But this is also true that there are thousands of economists who are serving in different areas. I think Omer had started this conversation for bringing out reasons of why Bokhari Sab left UET. But we have started fighting with economists.

I think main focus of this forum must be, how we can let good people in our country so that they benefit to this country. Otherwise many people will leave this forum.

Re: # 64

No bhai no body is against economists. We respect economists and all the disciplines taught in the whole world.

Suppose a third person comes on this page from any country. By reading your words he will fairly feel bad about economists. But economists are very good, that we all know. Please speak gracefully.

Re: # 62
No ZahraJ, our community of EEs is very friendly and we have loin hearts. We must listen him with grace, and educate him how to participate in civilized community.

I am sure with our vicinity he will learn. In my teaching life I have changed many such guys only by giving them proper company and care.

Re: # 52

Thanks kulharee.

For the story: I totally agree with you. My personal opinion is that he must be fined double as he is the teacher and has to produce nations.

#67

With due respect teaching math and physics at F.Sc. or B.Sc. level is very different from teaching at a well reputed engineering university and conducting research. I do not think you know what you are talking about. If engineering is not your subject then you should not put yourself through the ordeal of raising convoluted arguments and challenging the fair concerns of many on board. Having different point of views is one thing. Harping on a senseless point for the heck of it to instigate unnecessary verbal battles is foolish.

Both fights and causes discussed in my previous post were to be read in an alert state of mind and appropriate context. Ideally, I would like to see a system in place with some policies and procedures applicable to human beings for their well being. The weirdest part of the Pakistani System is that we do not develop processes and accountability factors. As a result, we run into issues and then fight for select issues till death. At the end, something good or bad may come out of that life long struggle. That`s sad.

Re: # 65

Zahra, I can totally see what you are saying, and I concur with your sentiments (not that it matters)… but I ask what will this achieve? MMai is at least achieving something, she is setting up schools, she is making people aware that there is gender inequality is rural Pakistan, and that people can get away with murders and rape. She stood there, and she is fighting for change. Your comparison doesn’t quite jive (it does only a little). Professor Sahib is no MukhraraN Mai…Professor Sahib wrote a letter and he is leaving the university and the country… MukhraraN Mai is there and she has decided to fight. May be I expect too much from our leaders and professors.

Just so you know, I am an Ahmadi, and I don’t have a lot of respect for Professor Abdus Salam either. I have very high standards for our leaders. My Nana was the only Professor of both Math and Physics at the time of partition in Lahore and he bicycled between the Government College and the FC College to lecture. I know what I am talking about.

Re: # 64

Let`s stay civil!

Re: # 63

I have both economists and engineers(myself included) in my family. I am very well aware of the strengths and weakness of each group. Engineers by nature are very dedicated professionals(the ones I have come across). Those who pursued research and academia put their heart and soul in their professions. They have every right to be proud of themselves and nurture a sense of responsibility and ownership in any policy impacting their careers. Dr. Bokhari could have been selfish and left with a goodbye. He was not my teacher but I have immense respect for him for stating his cause and identifying the concerns. He gave a voice to many others who may not have raised similar concerns but are in the same shoes.

I would not like him to sit there and fight an unfair and convoluted system. That`s why I proposed that he should preserve his energies and look for his best interest. Life is too short to be wasted in fighting to make fair changes. On the other end, that`s a very personal approach. There are people who fight against unfair system`s mechanics and are survivors. Why go far? Take an example of MM. She could have suicided or decided to go elsewhere. To the contrary, she decided to fight despite all the turmoil she underwent. I applaud this woman`s approach. As an observer, I have a completely different take on this issue of fighting for select causes within a system. I`d rather prefer a fair and just system across the board than go through the ordeal of fighting all your life.

Re: # 62

Zahra.. What do you have against economists? Allah Karay, tumharay sir maiN Joain (lice) paR jayeeN.

Re: # 61

Sorry about the A part… ZahraJ (ZahraJ)… If I say it a few times, I will get it (ZahraJ, ZahraJ). It is one of those names that I have not heard before. Zohra, I have. I am sorry for that.

But really, let’s be serious, you like his letter, you see it as heavy on confidence.. that’s fine. That’s your opinion. I beg to differ. I think it is full of arrogance and tell me what has it achieved? You are saying that it might generate some debate (that is yet to be seen). If you are hopeful that it might open up some venues to discuss changes, I hope you are right. I really am.

[Dr Bokhari might not return back, but at least it will let HEC officials know that why researchers are disappointed and why they are leaving. ]

I agree with Charlie`s drift. But I am not sure who the HEC audience is. Personally, I think if there is any economist in that committee then the UETians should get him kicked out.

[Z``A``hraJ, do you think that they will listen to your suggestion when they didn’t listen to the Professor’s?]

It all depends who ``they`` are.

[I sense some wishful thinking there.]

Mr. Economist: You are indeed a brilliant visionary! (applause)

[To the contrary, the best thing that can happen to any policy evaluation is to have an evaluator (with a background in economics preferably someone experienced in feasibility studies) do it, and not an engineer or those who may have a stake in the outcome of any change.]

Do you think ``they`` will pay much heed to your valuable theory on humility and arrogance? I think you know who the HEC culprits are. I am positive they were intimidated (like you) by the said professor`s confidence, self-pride and beautiful closure.

Re: # 59

Ok dude, you win, let me know if there is anything I can do to ease your pain.

Re: # 57

yeah, just more of the same bullshit coming out of ur mouth...

Re: # 56

ZehraJ, do you think that they will listen to your suggestion when they didn’t listen to the Professor’s? I sense some wishful thinking there. To the contrary, the best thing that can happen to any policy evaluation is to have an evaluator (with a background in economics preferably someone experienced in feasibility studies) do it, and not an engineer or those who may have a stake in the outcome of any change.

Re: # 55

Abdurehman dude, When I talk to schumks like you, I have to sometimes speak in terms you can relate to and can understand without having a need to look it up in Feroz-u-Lughat. What exactly do you do to have such a big head? Perhaps getting out of the house will do you some good. The world has changed. It really has. I leave bragging about nothing for people like you. I really have nothing to prove to you. Come to New York sometime, and you can see for yourself. Stop speaking nonsense and stop asking me stupid questions, you will only get stupid answers. When I feel that I need to tell you something, you can be sure that you will be told.

Respectfully submitted

I am sure that Charlie had put in a lot of heart and soul in coming up with this article on Dr. Bokari. Mr. Kulhari`s repeated illogical pointers are distracting the readership. Not only that his brittle sense of humor is losing its color after repeating one point 100 times. Dr. Bokhari`s letter reflected candid views with no aain bain and shain. He must have realized that someone may misread him therefore he concluded the letter with the word of wisdom. I loved the conclusion.

The best that can come out of this episode is a thorough evaluation of HEC. Who is part of HEC? What is the professional background of the members? Are there any engineers in this committee? If there aren`t then that should be of concern. I hope no economist is part of HEC otherwise god bless UET`s future.

Re: # 54

Man ur full of lies and deceit. You`re a mechanic who repairs refurbished washing machines, does economy on the ``side``, and is a mediocre one at that.

Your wifes gone to kenya on business and u call ur sons assholes???

and uve graduated from a uni comparable to oxford???

Where exactly are u headed with all of this bs?

Re: # 53

Oye Kulhariya, are we related? I am flattered that your mom named you after your very accomplished cousin. I can see all of Professor Sahib’s points, and I actually agree with most of them. The only thing I didn’t appreciate was his tone of “I am better than all of you”. You know money and wages are all relative. There will always be disparities, and there will always be people who would love to have what you have. There will always be poor people, rich people, and ashole people. That’s how the world is made up. Professor’s job is to rise above all of that, and consider all the hardships/challenges as opportunities to make things better, for his students, for his school, and for his junior staff. In any case, I am sorry that I used abusive language, now kill me.

And let’s just say that not only did I not score enough to get into UET, but I also couldn’t get into Oxford, and unfortunately I had to settle for the second best – or 3rd best depending on who you talk to (however, some would argue that it is just as good, as the Charas sold at my school’s Union was not only cheaper but better). Next time you are in town, let’s hook up and let’s compare our blades to see who’s is bigger and sharper.

Re: # 1 Oye Kulharee....You rather understand his point of view.Otherwise....
What he is saying is that hiring some one with same qualification and grade from foreign university and giving them 8 times more than already serving teachers is unfair and racist scheme. Think of yourself as a teacher and earning 800 dollars while i am coming out of USA (While i am your classfellow) just to earn money in Pakistan and i get 6000 dollars.What do you feel. This guy Bokhari was not fighting for himslef ,but he was fighting for poor and mediocre teachers like you.

Secondly , you have enough hatred against UET,Lahore.I suppose you were not able to get enough marks in HSSC exams to enter UET and then had to continue with some stuff like economy....????

Re: # 51

Charlie, Have a good dinner with your buddies as you probably wont see them again for at least a year and you will miss Lahore like hell when you are in Paris. Wish I could join you but I am not that fortunate to fly to Lahore on a whim. Yaar, even if you sent me a return ticket, I still wont be able to come and join you, as my wife is away on business to Kenya and I have to take care of two little asholes. But I certainly do look forward to a day when we meet.

Re: # 50

Java.. I take it back. I am sorry I said what I did. But the story of your cousin is shytty as hell. The law should apply to everyone regardless of what one does. No wonder some of the places are as backward as they are.

Re: # 45

I partially agree. Research is an expensive ``hobby``. So, I don`t think that our universities are going to produce quality research in the near future atleast. On the teaching side, having some visionary men in the faculty means that the department is not going to lose its way to progress. Either it is establishing new labs or introducing new courses or establishing links with international universities, these people prove to be important at every stage. And if faculty loses this type of of people, you can imagine professors wasting state funds on building useless labs, libraries and related infrastructure because of either dishonesty or lack of vision.

Re: # 46 Stay safe and stay away from the riots, as I understand that you are in Paris. Hope it all clams down soon.

Thanks for good wishes.
Kulharee, I am in Pakistan at the moment. I am leaving for rioting Paris on friday. We, some of the ``arrogant engineers``, are arranging a meeting at some restaurant in Lahore before my departure. You are invited if you will like to. I will be happy to meet you. :)

My cousin Arif, used to tell me a story. He is an English language lecturer. He was in Oman and was teaching at Salala/Pakistan & Indian School. Once he did not belt his seat and was in hurry. The traffic guy stopped him and told his fault. After some conversation and request to leave him, the traffic guy said we can not leave you as you have done a mistake either by ignorance or by intension. He started his paper work, but the moment he came to know that he was a teacher, the traffic guy left him by saying that we respect teachers more than our head of state.

For those who want to know more about this great personality please open your Google and search for,

Shahid Bokhari

You can then feel what UET has lost.
Regards,
-Shakeel

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Dear participants, I want to clear some issues. My Name is Shakeel Ahmad. I have got education from this professor for 4 years. And after my degree I am working on his projects and know this person quite well.

My concerns are
1- He is never against any science subjects. He himself is a great mathematician and a scientist.
2- We can never keep Physics and Math away from Electrical Engineering.

We all know that this world is full of darkness and false. There are very few people in this world who are still true and honest. I am a live victim of his preach. Since I am a Hafiz-e-Quran and have been attached to hundreds of “Mulana” and “Alims” in my life. I rate this professor much better than many of religious scholars in my country. He taught us to earn with grace and honesty, do not speak false, and keep your eyes open in the world and change yourself with the steeper technology curve to be an active worker.

Some said some one can replace him but, could you replace “Allama Iqbal” “Imran Khan” , I think no. Some people are unique in this world.

As life has to move on, we know UET will produce same number of EEs every year. I wish them all a fantastic life as I got. May Allah help us all.

If UET has produced “Bokhari” it will produce more. We love UET.

Note: I respect and love “Alims & Mulanas” so no cross questions on this please.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Here in this forum I request to Kulharee to please respect a teacher to whom many people respect. We respect this person as Mr. Chipps used to be loved by his students. So Kulharee please take your words back ``idiot`` as you seem to be an educated and learned person. The nations who respect teachers are successful nations.

-Shakeel.

Re: # 44

Charlie Degaulle. I am not an engineer, I am a mediocre economist. You obviously have a lot clear hold on the situation with HEC and UET, and my concern was with neither one of these entities. My criticism was only about the Professor (granted that I didn’t know all the details, and they were not presented in your initial write-up, or not in as much a detail as you present now – therefore, I concede that I was a bit too harsh). My criticism was on the issues related to two points - #1, I expected a Professor of such a stature to be above pettiness of “I am this and I am that”… it just doesn’t click with me (and you can call me whatever you like about that) – it could have been Professor Basheera and I would have felt the same..so it was not directed at him personally, I just used him as an example. #2, If you don’t like the NRA, you become member of it and try to change it from within. NRA is a gang of thugs in the US.

I am honored that I came across as an East Punjabi Indian to you. Before I went to bed yesterday, I thought I was a Paka Lahoria. Things change and I don’t even know. Yaar meray, we both are product of the same educational system, and I would never even imagine belittling the places and schools that helped me become a man (or close to one). Final shapping took place in the halls of London. Harsh words only come out of concern and not to disrespct.

Also, my suggestion about joining Indian Uni was just a joke man… learn to read between the lines, and it was partially based on an article I read some while ago suggesting that we hire PhDs from India (they apparently have them in abundance… not sure of the quality though). I think it will be great to have collaboration in research with Indian Unis. May be together we can finally do something useful.

Stay safe and stay away from the riots, as I understand that you are in Paris. Hope it all clams down soon.

Charlie, if the mission of the university is graduate-level research, then they are screwing up by letting good faculty leave. If, on the other hand, the mission is to produce engineers, they may not be failing in their mission and Dr. Bokhari`s expectations may have been misplaced. It`s tough doing research in a third-world country where gaining knowledge at high cost is not a priority.
BTW, i think Kulharee may be from pakistan. And i`m from india if that makes any difference.

Kulharee, Let me clarify if you are having the feeling that I am unnecessarily bragging about my alma mater. Whatever I wrote in my letter doesn`t make my alma mater comparable to some world class university and neither did I claim this. But I feel that it is better than what exists in poor third world countries and I am concerned about it as some distastrous events caused by university administration headed by a military officer and other by HEC people has resulted in many profdessors quitting the faculty. Sincerely, do tell me ifyou will like to see yuour ala mater going downhill only because of some political matters.

I agree that the tone of Dr. Sahibs letter might seem a bit arrogant. But it makes sense for me as I have been watching at the events taking place during last six seven years. That guy founded first computer lab by begging from some NGO/trust. Government didn`t pay a signle penny. This guy was the key behind the introduction of new courses that in my opinion really mattered for a lot of us. And many more like this happened before there existed HEC or the General. Now, when general claims that he is promoting science and technology by filling library with ``Office XP for dummies`` or ``Windows in 21 days`` type of books, it is certain that people like Bokhari will criticize him unlike the ones who see their benefit in agreeing with him. This makes Bokhari a less influential person in the department. As a result, department is headed by a bad teacher who is not even a researcher, best researcher award goes to a Mullah who did a ``research`` based on simple image processing project which didn`t work in the end, plans are now to extend UET`s EE to three departments and building new campuses in Faisalabad, Gujranwala and who knows what is next. With only a dozen or so PhDs, they plan to send some of these people to those newly built campuses. I think that it will result in degradation of standards.

Dr Bokhari has written a lot of times to HEC, talked with administration there, showed his concerns at various platforms but itresults in nothing but frustration which is clearly visible from his letter.

Afterthinking of all that, I think IO agree with Bokhari that : < b> ``Honest arrogance is better than false humility.``

I don`t know if in India, calling a person an idiot is an insult or no. And Kulhari, with all due respect, there is a lot of stuff to be explained in your first three posts that I feel it quite difficult to put it all here. For example, unlike you claim, HEC guysare not policy analysts, they are researchers hired from various universities and most of them junior to Dr. Bokhari. There is a difference between being affiliated and being a fellow. Yaar, if you are not a EE guy, how can you be so coinfident in claiming this type of stuff.

LASTLY, IF BY ANY MEANS, My appreciation for my alma mater made you compare it with Indian universities and then deducing that I was saying mine is better than yours, I think you misunderstood all. Feel happy. Even ifyou say that a primary school in east Punjab is superior to my university, I accept. Just don`[tfeel being attacked by an article which even didn;`t had a word mentioning ``India``. :)

Re: # 41

Soysauce, you are a good mediator. I agree with what you said. Except that I dont think there`s any bad blood at all. I respect those who speak their minds, and Charlie has earned my respect (I know it is not important, as probably to some earning my respect is the same as losing one`s respect).

Re: # 39

Charlie, calling someone an idiot is not an insult. You wana know what insult is? Let me tell you what insult is. Insult is abandoning the ship and blaming others for that. Think about it. This whole concept of respect (Izat) is keeping us in the state that we are. His job is to lecture and to be professorial, and not God.

Since there`s some bad blood between the two of you, let me see if I could help...
What Kulharee has been saying couched in all this abuse is that this letter was not from a man seeking change. It was a letter from a man looking for vindication.
I agree with him to some extent without meaning to be judgemental. I made a similar point in #22.
It`s perfectly acceptable that Dr. Bokhari wanted out. And his reasons are his own. However, this letter is quite unpersuasive about his point of view.
You also need to realize that from the administration`s point of view the college`s role is to be a diploma mill churning out serviceable engineers. That, in a poor country, is a valid pov. Funding for fundamental research is hard to come by.
Dr. Bokhari, if he wanted to elevate the status of UET could have tried to become an administrator. Unless you are a superstar such as Dr. Atta it would be hard to effect change just by being a professor.

Re: # 37

Charlie, did you go to UET to become a Psychologist? Man, I am finding out stuff about myself that I never knew existed. Well, thanks for opening my eyes. I think I should start bragging about my alma mater also. But I don’t really feel a need to brag about anything. May be that’s where my problem lies. I promise Charlie, I will work on that.

I really hope you are a better engineer than you are a psychologist. You got at least two things wrong about me.

Re: # 38

Soysauce, In Pakistan we don’t like being given a different opinion. This professor who controls 50-60 brats in a lecture hall thinks he is qualified to make education policies governing our educational system. He is pretty much like our Dictators who think that keeping a little battalion of rangroots in check makes them qualified to govern a country. This head in the ass attitude is a fairly common symptom of the illnesses from which our society suffers. I intend to change all of that (without any qualifications, that is).

Re: # 38

No Soyasauce. Only thing I want is positive criticism. I will be happy to starta debate which raises few points to think.
BUT Kulharee started from his first post with calling the professor ``idiot`` then saying some abusive stuff in following posts. I found him non-serious and out of context, do you want me to let him continue with personal and abusive stuff? My serious question: Is abusive stuff acceptable on chowk?

Charlie, I`m really curious. Did you want everyone to agree with you? Was that the point of this article?

#36 Dear subnormal dude,

Look at who started insulting stuff. You started it from post#1 and I responded only in 35 after a dozen of your offensive stuff realizing that chowk staff is sleeping.

One big problem with online discussion forums is that every tom, dick and harry is allowed to write his idiotic stuff. It is like giving in the hands of monkey some sort of gun and then praying that nothing bad happens.One good thing however chowk staff has done is their ignore option. :)

I hate psycho analysis but it is important for some patients to tell them what went wrong with them. One of psychlogical issue with you is insecurity. You are afraid of people around you, belonging to other professions, talking of acheivements of other people etc. You need to realize that an average or a bitbelow than average person like you should not think of being competitive and should try avoiding comparing your abilities with others. Probably, you have some serious inferiority complex which is causing you all this insecurity. Every sentence in your all the above posts shows that: against EE, against engineers, uet and my professors. Best, I can do is feel pity for you. ;)

OK Man, Enough. I already knew from the post#1 that throwing stones in the gutters will result in splash and dirty water coming back to me. from now, you are on the ignore list. Have fun. :)

Re: # 35

Listen you motherfuker Charlie, your professor and you can go and shove each other’s head up each other’s ass all you want, but your cheapshyt stupidity signifies the crap UET produces. Not only does it attract low class morons, but it produces class A arrogant bastards who think that the world owes them something. Now go and give a snowjob to your spiritual father. May be that`s what he needs afterall and is making up this crap about HEC and whatnot. What was his name again?

Kulhari, idiot , bastard, fu*k off and don`t try to pollute the place. Your arrogant comments against the professor are unbearable. Aik machli saray talaab ko ganda ker daiti hay.

Most of your comments are coming out of either jealousy or stereotypes or most probably some inferiority complex.

Need more ``food for thought`` ?

Re: # 33

Hmm ... this is interesting. This guy repairs refurbished washing machines. Dunno why they call them refurbished when its broke.

Economist on the side? What are you ... 15? I have a hundred rupees from my last 10 years` saving, if i save for a 100 more years, i can be rich!

And stop foulmouthing the good Dr. He requires a much better head and hand than yours to be properly criticized, if need be at all.

Respectfully offered.

Re: # 26

Java, I repair refurbished washing machines, and an am economist on the side. I am also a lifelong member of GMHC.

This is so dumb, you guys need to wake up and smell the coffee.

His arrogance might earn him a little respect by other arrogants produced dime a dozen in a dirtpoor country where Tehka & Teep-Top (influence) carries more weight than humility and honor.


Re: # 27

Beej Sahib… the Professor is lucky that he can get away with his arrogance in an uncivilized country and at a B-rated school. If the professor ever tried pulling this trick in any world class institution or in a Civilized country, they will kick the door so hard on his ass that he will forget all about electricity or whatever the hell that he does.

In any event, I wish professor the best of luck in his future undertakes and I hope that he will make Pakistanis and Indians proud by being respectful and does not prove to be such a dick in other countries.

The first thing you teach in any ‘institution’ is humbleness. Whether you study philosophy and economics (like I did) or pornography.

Dr. Bokhari is refering to the current UET Administration and HEC policies that are really hard to understand. I mean the VC of the biggest university in Pakistan is a military goof who got into the army after doing his intermediate and i dunno what he learnt afterwards but he is in no position to decide the fate of thousands of university students and esteemed professors or teachers. Someone has mentioned that he should establish his own research center, well things are easy to easy but hard to implement. I think Dr. Bokhari is currently researching on DNA sequencing. Just imagine the kind of money needed to arrange for this kind of research.
You cannot judge his decision as right or wrong because definitely he has his own views and opinions and we have our own. UET VC also declared him a foul mouth due to his open criticism of the one man policies and nepotism. Someone also said that Tenure System should be implemented, well according to the current system after three years a CSP officer well judge ur performance and HEC has put the parameter of how many Msc or PhD`s are being supervised by any prof regardless of the quality of research work or quality of the publications. A poor quality research or Msc or even PhD has no value and it should be condemned by HEC but they are not taking any action. In some other chowk artcile someone wrote about the degree scam of some very big name.
In the end the resignation of Dr. bokhari should be thought provoking for HEC and Pakistan. If people like him keep on fleeing, then we will be in big trouble.

Re: # 30

Yes, I agree.

I remember doctor sahib once saying that he was here because he wanted that he could produce some more people like him replacing him and hence continuing the cycle. I am not sure if we will be able to see someone like him among his students or no but we should remain optimistic.


BTW, I came to know recently that a very intelligent guy returned to UET after completing D.Phil (What do they call PhD at Oxford?) in quantum physics and he was not accepted at EE Department saying that we didn`t need quantum physics guys at the place. Now the guy is a post doctoral fellow at UC Berkeley.

Kia banay ga in logon ka? I am worried...

Re#29, #28

[… now we are orphans without our spritual father….]

Cut it out – and stop sobbing! Every father must let go of his children at one time or other. It is a true test of how good a job the father has done whether the children can make it on their own – or not! Do your father proud – by proving to him that you guys (and hopefully gals) have indeed grown as individuals – and that what he leaves behind shares that spark of curiosity – that gives light and seeks to learn on its own – gaining knowledge for the sake of knowledge rather than for wealth gain!

[In just 4 years he leaves 300+ pakistanis to earn with grace and honor each year. Sad for my country... ]

If that is the case, I am sure that at least ONE of them will be eventually able to accomplish similar feats and fill the void.

#28 by javaxprt
[… Sad for my country where teachers have no respect.]

It is not an accurate statement, since your professor appears to have gained respect at the only place that counts for an educator – in the hearts and minds of his students!

Re: # 27

But you know what, now we are orphans without our spritual father. I will eager to see another pakistani to produce ``Silicon Valley Engineers`` from poor villages of Pakistan who first saw keyboard in Bokhari`s lab. In just 4 years he leaves 300+ pakistanis to earn with grace and honor each year. Sad for my country...

Now he will benefit to many but not pakistanis...

We have lost a factory producing highly skilled engineers every year. Sad for my country where teachers have no respect.

I like this gentleman – Dr. Shahid Bokhari, as he is described here. (I have a soft corner for educators, too.)

The Good Lord knows our subcontinent can use all the good professors it can get – we need original thinkers like never before – thinkers who can get us out of that sixty year rut – we need them a LOT more than we need those darn khakis – whose only skill is to destroy and to kill – when they are not busy doing other activities for which they were not meant – like grabbing benefits for themselves and crushing average Pakistanis under their boots – and the irony is these critters consider themselves super-patriots!

It is quite clear that a person of Dr. Bokhari’s qualifications will do quite well no matter where he goes.

The support from his students is truly touching – and this type of support is very much ingrained in our culture – it’s quite foreign to the Westerners! I touched upon a bit of that theme in an earlier i-log entitled “The Pale Horse”. If anybody missed it and wishes to see it, I’ll be happy to put up an encore version.

Dr. Bokhari, if you are reading this – please don’t get disheartened by the turn of events. Please remember that there is still a lot that you can accomplish from OUTSIDE the country – perhaps a lot more than you could have done from inside – since there won’t be a bureaucracy to encumber you! You will miss the direct contact with your present students but you can serve as a source of inspiration from outside – especially by becoming even more successful – far more than the wildest dreams of what would be possible under the present clowns and “without the constant aggravations”! I wish you the best of luck!

Re: # 24

Hi, Kulhari. I want to know about your profession and education?

Re: # 24
Leaving in humility is worse than leaving in protest especially when you strongly disagree on policy matters. A humble resignation conveys the OK sign to the administrators sitting in HEC. It is also not question of leaving for greener grass. If that were the case, Prof. Bokhari must have had left much earlier. Policies of HEC during recent years are forcing existing researching to leave the country; while HEC is trying to bring ex-patriates at much higher pays in the so-called foreign faculty hiring program. In the first preference HEC must try to convince the existing researcher not to leave the country. Prof. Bokhari is not alone, Prof. Suhail Zubairy from Electronics Deptt of QAU also left a couple of years ago almost on similar grounds, I suppose. His departure, Like that of Prof. Bokhari`s, is damaging because no one of his stature in quantum optics is left in this country.

Re: # 23

Charlie, all is well and understood, my point was only about his lack of ‘humility’. You have to be a little humble about being such an esteemed professor to whom students look up to (i.e., going as far as calling him their “spiritual father’). If you are in such a position, you CANNOT sound egotistical arrogant (which he does in his letter) no matter what the circumstance. All his points (paragraphs) end with “It is unacceptable”. That in itself reeks of superciliousness and takes away any validity in his disagreements, even if he had any.

And Charlie, I don’t know what kind of circumstances prevail in UET or HEC, but there are people who achieve more (within and outwith Pakistan) by being humble and steadfast in their convictions. He is the one abandoning the Ship, while he blames others for that. Do you see that logic? That my friend is something that you, as a young student, need to learn. Last night Neil Armstrong was on 60 minutes (his first interview ever) and you know what he said? He said that he didn’t deserve all the attention and whatnot, because landing on the moon was an effort behind which 40,000 people stood… talk about Humility and Rocket science. I hope that the weight of the entire UET EE department doesn’t break the shoulder bone of Professor sahib.

Yes, and with the grace of Allah Subhanawatallah, I am not an EE. To me an EE is no more than someone who changes bulbs in my office, and once a while comes to take my meter reading.

Kulhari!
As far as your ``Oman Chair`` vs lack of professors in Pakistan logic is concerned, I think that HEC should be sensible enough to realize that any of their policies should not hurt those professors who have been serving voluntarily for decades and are having the feeling that they were superceded by other professors who returned after looking at more money although they were less concerned with their cause and stayed away when they were needed more...

#2 Non serious comments ignored. :)

#3 thanks for the comments Irfan.

#4 And EE is not a rocket science.

lolzzzzz. Rocket science is less complex than EE. You are an admin guy. I understand the reasons for your bad understanding. :)


#11 hggsfinder, Not that sciences are lesser than engineering. But if some institute is a specialized place, it should not be generalized. If Engineering was its speciality, why to mix other stuff that we are not sure if it will have the same standard or no.
HEC has been opening a lot of universities and converting colleges into universities, why not to take pure sciences to that universities ?

LASTLY, Dr Bokhari is an expert educationist. After spending 25 years at the place, he knows much more than me or anyone else on this forum. My Point is if HEC is using the experience of existing educationists and researchers or they are mere armchair policy makers.


I think, one big reason for his discouraging exit from UET is that UET is run by a retired military officer who doesn`t know what the researchers think and what they feel? As a result, intentionally or un-intentionally, he keeps on discouraging the good researchers. I can count half dozen good PhDs quitting EE Department during last fgew years under his administration.

Thanks all for the showing the concern. :)

Sounds like Dr. Bokhari is an accomplished individual who loves to teach. I find tho that his litany of complaints is fairly trivial at one level (someone else got better labs, etc. which is a common complaint everywhere) and it`s not clear how his resigning would help matters at all. Maybe he doesn`t want to be a part of what he considers a failing institution and this is just an elaborate rationalization for him wanting to move to greener pastures.
He also seems to want to preserve UET as purely engg college surprising considering that he himself is in a very interdisciplinary field. A place like MIT is phenomenal precisely because the distinction between pure and applied sciences is deliberately blurred. In some departments like ChemE the faculty consists of renowned physical chemists who never studied engg but are at the cutting edge of ChemE!
Students need to be exposed to interdisciplinary thinking unless the purpose of UET is simply to turn out serviceable engineers in which case Dr. Bokhari`s complaints have NO merit at all.

Re: # 16

@ higgsfinder: ``UET was a purely engineering institute is no reason for it to be good. In my opinion, introducing the sciences is a very good step. Why do we think the sciences are any lower than engineering. The world-over physics and maths are considered to be the most challenging fields. Plus all of engineering requires a lot of maths and physics to make sense of things. I do not understand why Dr Bokhari would write such a thing.``

Dr. Bokhari`s point wasnt this at all. He didnt mean to say that physics and maths should not be a part of the institution. What he said was: ``With the initiation of pure science and mathematics programs in the UET the level of teaching and research has started going down precipitously.`` I being a current student of uet know that after the initiation of maths and pure science programs, senior professors of physics and maths who first taught engineering students their required courses, now only teach the students of these programs. Because of the shortage of senior teachers, the engineering students are left to the mercy of fresh graduates and new recruits who have no experience at all. This in turn affects the engineering students greatly as they require strong background of physics and maths to understand the concepts of engineering itself and freshly recruited teachers can hardly ever give them this.

Re: # 16

@ higgsfinder: ``UET was a purely engineering institute is no reason for it to be good. In my opinion, introducing the sciences is a very good step. Why do we think the sciences are any lower than engineering. The world-over physics and maths are considered to be the most challenging fields. Plus all of engineering requires a lot of maths and physics to make sense of things. I do not understand why Dr Bokhari would write such a thing.``

Dr. Bokhari`s point wasnt this at all. He didnt mean to say that physics and maths should not be a part of the institution. What he said was: ``With the initiation of pure science and mathematics programs in the UET the level of teaching and research has started going down precipitously.`` I being a current student of uet know that after the initiation of maths and pure science programs, senior professors of physics and maths who first taught engineering students their required courses, now only teach the students of these programs. Because of the shortage of senior teachers, the engineering students are left to the mercy of fresh graduates and new recruits who have no experience at all. This in turn affects the engineering students greatly as they require strong background of physics and maths to understand the concepts of engineering itself and freshly recruited teachers can hardly ever give them this.

sad how we continue to undermine the best minds ... but I not surprized the least and this kind of shame will go on ...

I was one of Professor Bukhari`s students in the mid 90`s. He was one of the best. As an undergraduate I did not know much about his research activities, but his teaching was inspirational. His departure is a big loss to the UET.

Omar:

It is obvious that you have a lot of respect and regard for your teacher. You have done the right thing by raising your due concern. In my opinion, Dr. Bokari should go where he has respect, better opportunity and intellectual satisfaction. Life is too short to waste on a system where your positive energies are spent in fighting. Why not preserve those energies and utilize them elsewhere? I agree with Kulhari`s brazen but well said thoughts. It`s time for Mr. Bokhari to move on. What is HEC? Higher Education Committee or Council?

Re: # 11
higgsfinder: ``UET was a purely engineering institute is no reason for it to be good. In my opinion, introducing the sciences is a very good step. Why do we think the sciences are any lower than engineering. The world-over physics and maths are considered to be the most challenging fields. Plus all of engineering requires a lot of maths and physics to make sense of things. I do not understand why Dr Bokhari would write such a thing.``

Re: Certainly a right comment and I think Prof. Dr. Bukhari must answer it.

Prof. Bukhari: ``With the initiation of pure science and mathematics programs in the UET the level of teaching and research has started going down precipitously``

Re: I also don`t understand the meaning and context of such a comment from Prof. Bukhari. Could Prof. Bukhari post a reply?

Prof. Bukhari: ``We were able to achieve this status because the UET (and formerly the Maclagan College) were exclusively engineering institutions where the rigors of engineering education could be exercised in isolation from the overall poor level of our Nation`s general universities.``

Re: I believe the (high) ``status`` is indeed reserved for Prof. Bukhari only. Extending it beyond may be exaggeration. How come the (application of) ``the rigors of engineering education`` (wit