Erbil protests Tammo's assassination - Kurdish Globe
Erbil protests Tammo's assassination - Kurdish Globe
Erbil protests Tammo's assassination - Kurdish Globe
Create successful ePaper yourself
Turn your PDF publications into a flip-book with our unique Google optimized e-Paper software.
The <strong>Kurdish</strong> <strong>Globe</strong> No. 325, Saturday, October 15, 2011 6<br />
President of Salahaddin University:<br />
Academic standards are rising<br />
University to cooperate with Russian<br />
and German institutions<br />
PRESS PHOTO<br />
Dr. Ahmed Dizayee, preside<br />
dent of the Salahaddin Unive<br />
versity in <strong>Erbil</strong>, Kurdistan<br />
Region's largest university,<br />
said in an interview with<br />
The <strong>Kurdish</strong> <strong>Globe</strong> that the<br />
academic standards of the<br />
university are improving<br />
rather than declining.<br />
Dr. Dizayee, who paid a<br />
visit to Germany, said he<br />
was welcomed in Germany<br />
at a very high level. "I rece<br />
cently paid a visit to Russia<br />
and Germany," Dr. Dizayee<br />
told the <strong>Globe</strong>. "The rease<br />
son I went to Russia was<br />
because delegations from<br />
four Russian universities<br />
visited Salahaddin Universe<br />
sity in February last year. It<br />
was the first time four big<br />
Russian state universities<br />
paid a visit to Salahaddin<br />
University to develop ties<br />
with us.”<br />
Dr. Dizayee said that durie<br />
ing their visits, the delegate<br />
tions invited him to visit the<br />
universities in Russia. "We<br />
are planning to start coope<br />
erating with them in some<br />
fields, such as engineering,<br />
chemistry, architecture,<br />
physics, mathematics and<br />
others," said Dr. Dizayee.<br />
"We reached a cooperation<br />
agreement with them to<br />
help us in awarding scholae<br />
arships to our students."<br />
The Salahaddin Universite<br />
ty president said they have<br />
agreed with a Russian unive<br />
versity to launch Russian<br />
language training courses<br />
for interested applicants in<br />
Kurdistan. "This is a step<br />
toward paving the way for<br />
the launch of the Russian<br />
Language Department at<br />
our university."<br />
Describing his visit and<br />
the way he was received in<br />
both countries, Dr. Dizayee<br />
said he is proud Salahddin<br />
University has its position<br />
among the Iraqi and Kurdie<br />
ish universities, and that<br />
the delegation was welce<br />
comed at a very high level<br />
in Germany.<br />
There are some allegate<br />
tions about the decline in<br />
the academic quality at the<br />
university. Dr. Dizayee told<br />
the <strong>Globe</strong> that one should<br />
look into the factors behind<br />
the decline, which include<br />
the continuous wars in the<br />
country from the 1980s unte<br />
til 1998.<br />
"However, in the period<br />
between 1998 and 2003,<br />
there were some improveme<br />
ments, and after 2003, the<br />
development in the quality<br />
continued at a faster pace.<br />
So I can say that currently<br />
the level of our university<br />
is on the rise rather than<br />
the decline.”<br />
Regarding the quality of<br />
students applying for highe<br />
er education, Dr. Dizayee<br />
says that the Ministry of<br />
Education has to cooperate<br />
with his university to impe<br />
prove the quality of educate<br />
tion in the region.<br />
"We know that the Minie<br />
istry of Education is trying<br />
to bring about reforms and<br />
we are also trying on our<br />
side to improve our faculte<br />
ties and equipment, so we<br />
can produce a capable gene<br />
eration.”<br />
In terms of accommode<br />
dations for students and<br />
dormitories, the university<br />
is now facing some compe<br />
plaints from the students<br />
about shortage of accomme<br />
modations, and Dr. Dizaye<br />
yee says the main issue is<br />
that the Shawkat Sheikh<br />
Yaziddin Dormitory, the<br />
university's largest dorme<br />
mitory with a capacity of<br />
1,700 students, is being reme<br />
modeled. Because delays<br />
in the work by the contracte<br />
tor, the remodeling proce<br />
cess, which should have<br />
been finished before the<br />
start of the academic year,<br />
it is not yet complete.<br />
"My message to the stude<br />
dents who used to stay<br />
there is that it would take<br />
some more time for the reme<br />
modeling to be finished, so<br />
they should not wait longe<br />
ger, but rather come and<br />
ask for other options from<br />
the university's residential<br />
office."<br />
According to Dr. Dizayee,<br />
Dr. Ahmed Dizayee, president of the Salahaddin University in <strong>Erbil</strong><br />
the university is planning<br />
to organize an academic<br />
conference this month to<br />
celebrate the university's<br />
30th anniversary.<br />
"The conference will be<br />
attended by 400 local and<br />
foreign university lecture<br />
ers, and more than 630<br />
advisers and experts and<br />
many of our professors<br />
have been working on the<br />
project for more than a<br />
year, and to date,210 studie<br />
ies have been submitted<br />
for the conference."<br />
Post-graduate admission regulations change<br />
Hoping to solve<br />
issues regarding<br />
master's degree<br />
admissions, the<br />
Kurdistan Regional<br />
Government's<br />
Ministry of Higher<br />
Education and<br />
Scientific Research<br />
said applicants who<br />
fail to submit langguage<br />
and computer<br />
test certificates by<br />
Oct. 21, will be<br />
automatically<br />
disqualified for<br />
master's degrees at<br />
state universities.<br />
According to information<br />
available from the preside<br />
dency of the University<br />
of Salahaddin Hawler, the<br />
largest government-owned<br />
university in Kurdistan,<br />
the university has allocated<br />
230 places for post-graduae<br />
ate students for the acade<br />
demic year 2011-2012.<br />
Vice President of Salahe<br />
Salahaddin University allocates 230 master's student places this year<br />
PRESS PHOTO<br />
A group of students attending a class at a Salahaddin University college.<br />
haddin University Dr. Ibrahe<br />
him HamaRash, said in an<br />
interview with The Kurdie<br />
ish <strong>Globe</strong> that allocating<br />
post-graduate places was<br />
at the sole discretion of depe<br />
partment heads.<br />
"This year, 850 applicants<br />
from different colleges and<br />
university departments<br />
have taken the entrance<br />
exams, of which 230 succe<br />
cessful applicants will be<br />
admitted," Dr. HamaRash<br />
told the <strong>Globe</strong>. "The Minie<br />
istry of Higher Education<br />
has set a deadline of Oct.<br />
21 for the submission of<br />
the test certificates for Engle<br />
lish language and computer<br />
skills; otherwise they will<br />
be taken off the list withoe<br />
out being allowed to take<br />
part in the academic compe<br />
petition, which normally<br />
comes after these two basic<br />
tests."<br />
The reason behind this dece<br />
cision is because in previoe<br />
ous years, applicants were<br />
not obliged to submit their<br />
test certificates immediae<br />
ately, but were only asked<br />
to sign a letter stating they<br />
would do so during the<br />
course of their studies.<br />
This led to a situation<br />
where some applicants<br />
delayed submitting their<br />
certificates for up to two<br />
years, which created seve<br />
eral problems. The new<br />
rules obliging applicants<br />
to submit certificates in<br />
advance was welcomed by<br />
most university professors,<br />
who believe it will prevent<br />
problems.<br />
Some students who have<br />
applied for post-graduate<br />
studies say there are not<br />
enough places in the proge<br />
grams, and that more stude<br />
dents should be accepted.<br />
In the Department of<br />
Sociology and Social Scie<br />
ences, for example, 48<br />
applicants are competing<br />
for six seats, two of which<br />
are allocated for socioloe<br />
ogy, two for anthropology<br />
and two scholarship places<br />
where successful students<br />
can choose their course of<br />
study. One graduate of the<br />
Sociology Department bele<br />
lieves having dozens of<br />
applicants competing for<br />
two seats may cause stude<br />
dents to feel hopeless.<br />
Another issue with postgraduate<br />
studies is that in<br />
Kurdistan a student can<br />
only apply to a department,<br />
and there's no chance to<br />
change the degree, once<br />
accepted. Other countries<br />
allow master's students to<br />
change their subject area.<br />
This means that if a depe<br />
partment doesn't ask for<br />
a post-graduate place, the<br />
graduates of that departme<br />
ment need to wait for an<br />
entire year, hoping their depe<br />
partment will have a place<br />
for the next academic year.<br />
The following year, when<br />
the department does have a<br />
place, applicants from preve<br />
vious years must compete<br />
for the place.