Sri Lanka interested in e-learning from PITB

LAHORE

A visiting 15-member delegation from National Services Youth Council Colombo, Sri Lanka, having representation from all over Sri Lanka led by Youth Parliament Minister of Sri Lanka Mr Kasun Wickramasingha expressed keen interest in e-Learning programme of Punjab IT Board (PITB).

Briefing the delegation joint director cum project head of e-learning programme Kashif Farooq informed that the PITB had initiated exemplary IT-based education projects in Punjab that were being replicated by the other provinces such as Gilgit-Baltistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Sindh and even Islamabad.

Punjab was the first province in Pakistan that had made monitoring data of 53,000 schools public, he said and added that PITB’s “smart monitoring programme” had significantly increased attendance and performance of teachers in schools.

According to a press release issued here Monday, E-Learn‘s team presented the digital content and shared ongoing educational programmes and initiatives of the Punjab government with the delegation. Under this programme, the monitoring staff is bound to visit each school once a month and send digital reports on attendance, cleanliness and missing facility through our central dashboard. This practice has brought positive and encouraging results and eliminated fake visits and reports as were found before smart monitoring.”

Kashif Farooq said the e-Learn Punjab programme had digitised all science and math’s books of the Grade 6 to 10 and the lessons were being delivered on LED screen in eight selected schools of Punjab under its pilot project through computer tablets given to their teachers.

Comparing the youth educational and cultural values in both the countries, the delegates highly appreciated eLearn’s revolutionary initiatives to blend technology and education to avoid rote-learning.  Mr Kasun Wickramasingha while lauding the programme proposed collaboration of the Sri Lanka government with e-Learn Punjab government in education sector.

Workshop: An awareness workshop for prevention and cure of diabetes was held here at a local hotel in Lahore on Monday. A number of research papers were presented and more than 200 pharmacists attended the workshop. 

According to a press release issued here, Noor Muhammad Mahar, President Pakistan Drug Lawyers Forum, presented that diabetes itself is not any disease but is the mother of all diseases, so blood sugar level must be controlled. Everyone who is not having sugar may check its sugar levels once a year. Those who are affected by diabetes may check blood sugar level weekly. Fasting sugar level may not increase 100 and random sugar level may not exceed 150. If random blood sugar levels are between 150 and 200, it is type 2 sugar and oral hypoglycemic may be taken for cure. If random blood sugar levels exceed 200, it is type 1 sugar and insulin may be taken to control diabetes. Haroon Yousaf, General Secretary Pakistan Young Pharmacist Association, presented paper that focused on role of exercise for prevention and control of sugar. He said regular walk was extremely important daily in our busy schedule. Due to hectic job working, we have gone far away from exercise. Thirty years ago, our daily work included three to five kilometers walk and physical work. Our eating habits have changed with the course of time and we have reduced green food and increased red meat, which is extremely dangerous for our health.

Hina Shaukat, Joint Secretary Pakistan Young Pharmacist Association read paper on the benefits of honey and dapoxetine tablets. She said if sugar remains uncontrolled, first of all it affects peripheral nervous system and muscles. For toning up the muscles daily use of honey in empty stomach is extremely beneficial. The weakness of muscles and peripheral nervous system is very dangerous, as it makes married life unhappy, even it results in the breakup, divorce and even more. To rejuvenate the married life patients must take a tablet of dapoxetine.

Zaheer Afzal, Vice-President Pakistan Pharmaceuticals Association, said that the use of dapoxetine is extremely important for diabetics to increase their confidence. He emphasised that regular checkup by doctor is also necessary and dapoxetine may be used on the prescription of doctor or on advice of pharmacist.

The workshop was concluded on a resolution, which stated that diabetics may control sugar by exercise and healthy food, and if not controlled then they must use medicine. The medicines are going out of reach of patients due to increase in prices by DRAP and delay in registration process by DRAP. The economic burden is increasing as the complexities caused by diabetes are very lethal. The DRAP may not increase the prices of all medicines, especially the medicines used in diabetes. Noor Mahar urged the prime minister to come up and order DRAP to reduce the prices of diabetes medicines and ask DRAP to register diabetes medicines on priority, as Pakistan is having more than 10 million diabetes patients, which will increase to 20 million in next five years.