LAHORE - The result of BA, BSc annual examination declared on Tuesday showed approximately 29 pass percentage, which surpassed the last years 27.73 by one per cent. As many as 1,76,624 candidates took the examination, held in April/May 2010, of whom 49, 370 were declared successful. The pass percentage of boys remained 19.18 per cent as out of 59,162 only 11,347 students qualified in the exam. A total number of 1,12,462 girl students appeared of whom 38,023 girls qualified, indicating a pass percentage of 33.81 result. The overall top six positions in BA, BSc were clinched by the girl students. In BSc, Zunaira Nasir, a student of Punjab College for Women, Satellite Town, Sargodha, with 703 marks secured the 1st position while Erum Shahzadee and Fareeha Iqbal of the Punjab College for Women, Civil Lines, Gujra-nwala and National Science College, Gujranwala, respectively with 684 marks jointly obtained the 2nd position. Aasma Meer of the National Science College, Gujran-wala with 676 marks has been placed in 3rd position. Similarly, in BA exam, external candidate from Islamabad Sana Iftikhar with 662 marks won the 1st position while Syed Zarina Sadia and Hafza Ayesha Zafar external candidates of Shahdara with 655 marks jointly won the 2nd position and Erum Yasmeen external candidate of Malakwal, Mandi Bahauddin with 654 marks secured 3rd position. PU Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Mujahid Kamran presented cheques amounting to Rs 0.1 million, Rs 75,000 and Rs 65,000 as cash reward among the girl students who attained first, second and third positions in the BA/BSc exam 2010. He also announced an honoraria of Rs 0.3 million for Examination Branch employees who had prepared the results within a short period of less than three months. The Controller Examinations announced that this amount might be donated for provision of relief goods to the flood affectees. Reciprocating the gesture Controller Dr Zahid Karim Khan paid glowing tribute to Dr Kamran for his liberal financial assistance worth over Rs 50 million for purchase of latest computers, construction of additional rooms and purchase of furniture for the Examination Branch. The Vice-Chancellor stated that with a view to achieving a respectable status as an economic and military power in the comity of nations, it was vitally imperative that at least four per cent of GDP be earmarked for education, even if we had to forego one meal a day. Pro Vice-Chancellor Prof Dr Jamil Anwar Chaudhry, Registrar Prof Dr Muhammad Naeem Khan, Treasurer Dr Uzma Ikram and Controller Examinations Dr Zahid Karim Khan, PUCIT Principal Dr Mansoor Sarwar, principals of constituent colleges, heads and directors of institutes, and senior faculty members and parents were also present. The VC said that technologically advanced nations which spent five to seven per cent of GDP on educational promotion, had joined the fold of leading world powers due to their economic affluence and military power. Contrary to this none of our governments had ever assigned due importance to the needs of education sector nor had treated the same amongst its top most priorities. Presently we were spending a paltry amount of two per cent of our GDP on spread of education whereas our expenditure for research and development hardly came to 0.1 per cent, he added. Describing the world as a war arena, Dr Kamran remarked that academic excellence was the key to the survival and supremacy of any country. Educational backwardness and illiteracy was the mother of all our problems including the ongoing devastating floods and shortage of electricity, he added. He said today we had attained the position of an atomic power simply because all the former prime ministers right from Zulfikar Ali Bhutto to Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif gave continuous official patronage to the countrys atomic programme. The same political commitment and support of political leadership was the dire need of the hour in the form of sufficient budgetary funding to produce extra-ordinary results in education sector, the VC remarked. He advised the position holders to give preference to pursuing scientific research rather than adopting civil service as their future career. He offered that in case they seek admission in Punjab University, they would be exempted from payment of all academic and hostel expenses.