The Higher Education Commission (HEC) on Tuesday informed the Sub-Committee of the Senate Standing Committee on Federal Education and Professional Training about penalties imposed to curb plagiarism.
The meeting of the sub-committee was held under the chairmanship of Senator Rana Maqbool Ahmad here at PIPS hall, Parliament Lodges.
At the outset of the meeting, the committee took up the issue of a student of the Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology (RMIT) Australia, who had accused the vice chancellor of the Khwaja Fareed University of Engineering and Information Technology (KFUEIT) of copying his thesis paper.
The HEC officials informed that a committee had been set up to examine the allegations and its meeting is scheduled for January 3, 2022. They said that the committee will submit its report to the Senate panel within the next 15 days.
The committee was briefed by HEC officials about the mechanism being followed to check plagiarism. The severity of the penalty is directly proportional to the ratio of plagiarism in a research journal or a thesis paper, they added.
The committee was informed by the vice chancellor of the University of Balochistan (UOB) that the management of the university had detected three cases of plagiarism since the varsity adopted the plagiarism policy in 2007.
The committee sought details of plagiarism found in research journals and also directed the HEC to collect details of plagiarism found in research papers of students and faculty members from various universities.
Senator Rana Maqbool Ahmad, the convener of the committee, said that plagiarism is an intellectual dishonesty and added that the HEC should deal strictly with those involved in the crime.
The meeting was attended by Senator Fawzia Arshad, parliamentary secretary for education, HEC officials and vice chancellors of various universities.
Separately, Minster for Railways Azam Swati on Tuesday briefed the Senate Standing Committee on Railways about plans to develop the Afghan-Pakistan transit trade route.
The committee, which met under the chairmanship of Senator Muhammad Qasim, also ratified Senator Faisal Saleem Rehman as a member of the Railway Advisory Committee.
Discussing the Rs220 billion Karachi Circular Railway (KCR) project, the minister said that the KCR would revolutionize domestic travel in the port city. He said that the project would be completed within 36 months.
The committee was further briefed on plans to develop Chaman-Kandahar route and the Havelian-Kashghar route to promote international trade.
The committee lauded the efforts of the ministry, despite lack of funds and assured it of its complete support.
Azam Swati said that the Pakistan Railways is also planning to run a passenger train on the route of the Islamabad-Tehran-Istanbul freight train. He also urged the government of Balochistan to provide Rs 15 billion for the restoration of the railway track from Taftan to Quetta.
Mirza Muhammad Afridi asked the Ministry of Railways to introduce freight trains to help reduce the deficit of the Pakistan Railways.
The minister offered the members of the Senate and the National Assembly committees to visit the seven upgraded railway stations and sought their suggestions to build hotels or markets there.
