Education Thread

[Neo]

Monday, December 11, 2006

English syllabus to teach liberal, human values

* New curriculum to stress improved communication skills

By Irfan Ghauri

ISLAMABAD: The liberal values of tolerance, humanism and peaceful coexistence have been made central to the new English curriculum to be implemented countrywide from the next academic session.

The final draft for the English Language Curriculum for classes IX, X, XI and XII sets the “recognition and practising of values and attributes such as tolerance, humanism, patience, equality, justice, honesty and empathy, relevant for peaceful coexistence between individuals, groups and nations,” as the “first benchmark” of the new syllabus.

The draft of the curriculum has been finalised and is being sent to the provinces, which will print textbooks in accordance with its guidelines. “To develop and portray through actions a sense of importance of individuals’ worth, simultaneously valuing diversity and equality among people, will be our second benchmark,” an official closely associated with the development of the curriculum told Daily Times.

“The students will develop ethical and social attributes and values relevant in a multicultural, civilised society after going though the new curriculum,” the official said. “Understanding and evaluating contemporary social, economic and scientific issues so students can participate in the global society as aware and thinking individuals will be another benchmark of our curriculum.”

According to the curriculum draft for classes IX and X, demonstrating heightened awareness and group discussion and interaction will be key learning outcomes. Students will also be required to learn to offer and respond to greetings, compliments, invitations, introductions and farewells; learn to demonstrate an understanding of ways to show gratitude, apology, anger and impatience; present and explain their point of view clearly; support or modify their opinion with reasons; acknowledge other’s contributions; agree and disagree politely at appropriate times; share information and ideas; clarify and restate information and ideas; modify a statement made by a peer; negotiate solutions to problems, interpersonal misunderstandings and disputes; express humour through verbal and non verbal means; and use polite forms to negotiate and reach consensus.

The curriculum also aims to improve reading and thinking skills by making students analyse patterns of text organisation. Students will search for, discover and understand a variety of text types though tasks which require multiple reading strategies for comprehension, fluency and enjoyment, say the text guide lines.

“They will analyse complex processes, procedures, events, issues and various viewpoints, applying the reading comprehension and thinking strategies. They will also be assigned to gather, analyse, evaluate and synthesise information to use for a variety of purposes including a research project using various aids and study skills.”

The use of dictionaries, libraries, computer catalogues and textual aids will also be taught to grade IX and X students. They will also be taught to analyse short stories, poems, and essays, and make connections between literary texts and their own lives, historical ideas and issues across cultures.

In writing skills, students will be taught to analyse a variety of written discourses to use in their own compositions, techniques for effective text organisation and development, and writing techniques that influence the reader. They will learn writing expository, persuasive and analytical essays and personal narratives to produce a variety of academic and creative texts for different audiences. They will have to plan and draft their writing, revise and edit it for various organisation patterns.

Students will also be asked to demonstrate their speaking skills through formal talks and group presentations.

In the section of “formal and lexical aspects of language”, students will be asked to pronounce new words correctly, and use appropriate stress and intonation patterns in speech. They will learn to recognise grammatical functions and concepts of tense and aspect, and use them in their speech and writing.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\12\11\story_11-12-2006_pg1_1

 

[Neo]

Army to rebuild govt schools: Project to cost Rs100 billion

ISLAMABAD, Dec 8: The ministry of education has acquired the services of Pakistan army to undertake reconstruction, repair and refurbishment of all government-run schools in the country.

The army engineering corps had been engaged under the Rs100 billion President Education Sector Reforms (PESR) project to build lacking infrastructural facilities of schools, Education Minister Lt-Gen (retd) Javed Ashraf Qazi said while speaking at a function here on Thursday.

“For effective utilisation of funds and timely completion of task, the ministry has decided to engage army engineers to provide missing facilities at schools in the entire country,” the minister said.

According to the National Education Census held recently by the education ministry, nearly 38 per cent public sector institutions were without boundary wall, 32 per cent with no drinking water facility, over 50 per cent without electricity, 41 per cent without washrooms and seven per cent without any building.

Under the plan, each engineering unit will be assigned two districts to identify schools without basic amenities. The PESR was launched in 2002, but remained ineffective owing to a delay in the release of funds by the finance division, provinces’ incapacity to implement the reforms, and lack of coordination between the federal and provincial governments, an education ministry official said.

The idea behind the PESR was to put systematic attention to different areas of education, such as rehabilitation of physical facilities, support to multiple delivery systems, private sector involvement, improvement in literacy, teacher training, assessment and examination reforms, professional development of field managers, linking education to skills, research and research incentives, decentralisation of services and institutional strengthening, etc.

The construction of various facilities like labs, classrooms, boundary walls, washrooms, play grounds and libraries is one component of the reforms agenda, the official said. Previously, the departments of Public Works and Communication and Works were responsible for maintaining government and school buildings.

 

[Neo]

Friday, 8 December 2006

Pakistani youth seek better education
By Umber Khairi
BBC Urdu Service

Better access to learning - and a universal syllabus - was seen as crucial
If you were in charge, what would you change in your country?

This was the question we put to around 100 young people in Pakistan. And the majority of these youngsters, aged between 12 and 18, listed improvements in education as their top priority.

Click here to read the thoughts of some of the youngsters

Education was perceived as the key to eradicating poverty, ignorance and unemployment, and young people from all social classes thought that providing education to all children in Pakistan was important.

It was also seen as the key to improving the condition of women.

But some who listed education as a priority added that imposing an Islamic system was important.

These included not just students from less developed areas or in madrassa education, but also young school students in urban areas.

They particularly criticised the image and lifestyle projected via Westernised Pakistani and Indian TV channels.

Cheating

Meanwhile, students in urban areas listed road and traffic problems as a major concern, making their commute to schools and colleges difficult.

And some youngsters had very distinctive things on their agenda.

One 13-year-old from Karachi said the first change she would make would be to ban smoking in the whole country; another said that her first priority would be to spread awareness about the need to end cruelty to animals.

In a democratic system, if there are 100 ignorant and illiterate persons versus 99 educated ones, the illiterates would win

Mahammed Adil, 16

Young people from poor families who had left school and had to earn a living were the least able to articulate their views.

15-year-old Nabeel said he had been in a state school in Karachi, but the teachers were "awful", never bothered to teach them anything and cheated to get them through their exams.

He was full of regret at having dropped out of school, as education "would have made people respect me and opened up many employment opportunities".

Youngsters lower down the social ladder also listed rooting out corruption and reforming the police as a priority.

Girls from low-income families who were at school were surprisingly articulate and committed to the idea of educating women.

And many of the students in private schools spoke of the need to work for the country rather than go abroad to study or work.

When talking about the problems young people face, many spoke of educational pressures and expectations, others expressed concern about the unregulated use of the internet and young people visiting "bad sites" or communicating with strangers via the internet.

When asked what country could be a role model for Pakistan, quite a few cited China, while other countries mentioned were Iran, Saudi Arabia, Japan and England.

America was mentioned in negative terms. Some students said Pakistan was in danger of breaking up, because of the government's handling of the situation in Balochistan and the tribal areas.

However most youngsters did not regard the future of the country as completely bleak.

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/6163105.stm

 

[Neo]

Friday, December 15, 2006

Pak students join Internet community

KARACHI: More than 700 students from eight schools in Pakistan will join Think.com, a protected online learning community enabling them to share educational content, collaborate on projects, and build knowledge.

On Thursday, organisers of the collaboration said that students from Habib Girls School, AES School for Girls, Karachi High School, Gulistan Boys School, the AMSB School, the International School and the Happy Home School will collaborate with 300,000 students and teachers from 48 different countries who were already members of Think.com.

"Think.com is designed to bring together students and technology in ways that positively impact learning," said Jim Ballard, vice president of the Oracle education foundation programmes.

Think.com provides students and teachers with protected e-mail accounts, personal web pages where they can publish text and upload images, and a collaborative working environment where they can engage in discussions and projects with members around the world. Think.com is available in Chinese, English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Spanish, Thai and Turkish. Using the advanced collaboration tools, schools can also design virtual web pages and post pages to communicate vital information to parents.

"Teachers can communicate with parents about their students' engagements in this online community," said Samina Rizwan, regional director of the Oracle SAGE West. Think.com's collaborative environment allows students the opportunity to gain hands-on experience in using technology. Additionally, Think.com allowed a rich exchange of information between students from different cultures, greatly enhancing their global perspective.

To date, over 98,000 students and teachers across seven countries in Asia-Pacific are using Think.com to communicate with one another.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\12\15\story_15-12-2006_pg12_4

 

[Neo]

Rs2.9bn for students from Balochistan

QUETTA, Dec 16: The federal government is launching an eight-year programme under which more than 5,000 meritorious students from Balochistan will be provided admissions to prestigious educational institutions in other three provinces of the country. An amount of Rs2.9 billion will be spent on the programme.

This was said by Special Secretary to Chief Minister Major (retd) Nadir Ali at a press conference here on Saturday.

The National Testing Service would conduct tests every year to select students for admissions to the Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute, Karachi’s Agha Khan University, Lahore’s University of Management and Sciences, cadet colleges and technical institutes, said the official.

The federal government would bear the expenses of boarding, lodging and travel, besides providing all possible facilities to the students, he said.

As many as 5,309 students would benefit from the programme till 2015, he said, adding that quota for districts would be based on population.

He said three administrative units would be set up in the ministry of education, the education department and the directorate of education.

Major Nadir said that with the increase in Balochistan’s quota in federal services, vacancies of grade 19 and 20 in various federal government departments would be filled in directly from Balochistan. A procedure for appointments would be announced soon, he added.

He said the education department and the social welfare department of Balochistan would coordinate to devise a plan for implementation on President Mushararf’s recent announcement about provision of jobs to postgraduates against a monthly remuneration of Rs10,000.

http://www.dawn.com/2006/12/17/nat8.htm

 

[Neo]

Priority to higher education: Aurakzai

PESHAWAR, Dec 16: NWFP Governor Ali Mohammad Jan Aurakzai has said that it is essential to have a sound educational structure at all levels to keep pace with the technological advancement.

Addressing the third Convocation of the Sarhad University on Saturday, he said that the government had given education priority as it was the most important determinant of progress and development for a nation.

He said that a visible improvement had already been made in the higher education sector and efforts were under way to attain higher goals.

The governor said that President Gen Pervez Musharraf paid special attention to the Higher Education Commission and provided huge funds to promote university-level education.

He said that as the requirement for educational institutions was more so the private sector was encouraged to share the burden with the government.

He said that at present a number of private universities were imparting quality education to students in modern disciplines.

Mr Aurakzai said that private universities should focus on imparting quality education besides providing necessary infrastructure like buildings and faculty.

“You will soon find out that most of people around you are illiterate and living below the poverty line and if they look up to you for assistance, you must generously extend a helping hand to them,” he advised the students.

Vice-Chancellor Prof Saleemur Rehman said that their varsity was strictly following the scheme of studies of the Higher Education Commission.

At the Masters level Tahir Subhan, Asad Ahmad, Khurram Shahzad, Rahmatullah, Sarfraz Khan, Syeda Majida, Saima Durrani, Imran Yousaf, Sajida Parveen, Syed Sibt-i-Hussain, Mehwash Javed, Uzma Ejaz, Mohammad Ayaz, Sanaullah Khan, Qamarzaman and Azizullah, while at the bachelor level Hina Bari, Mohammad Suhail Khan, Shamaila Mohammad Ali, Sikandar Khan, Mohammad Fawad, Nadia Parveen, Mohammad Asad, Samreen Ghauri, Qaisar Abbas Rizvi, Mohammad Ashfaque, Jaudiana Khokhar and Sadaf Ashghar bagged gold medals for their best performance.

http://www.dawn.com/2006/12/17/nat14.htm

 

[Neo]

Thursday, December 21, 2006

History will be compulsory for middle classes from next year

By Irfan Ghauri

ISLAMABAD: The new national curriculum of history for classes VI to VIII has chapters on religious tolerance and cultural syncretism to teach the young generation about the “soft image” of Muslim rulers of South Asia, Daily Times learnt on Wednesday.

The curriculum has been sent to the provinces for implementation from the academic year 2007 as a compulsory subject.

The main feature of the new curriculum is that it not only highlights the political developments during Muslim rule, but also gives due importance to the cultural and social aspects with special focus on the Sufi ethos and its spread.

In the new curriculum, the South Asian history has been divided into three parts: the ancient civilisation till the end of the Delhi Sultanate (2500 BC-1526 AD); the Mughal empire, its foundation, consolidation, contribution and disintegration (1526-1857); and British rule and the freedom movement (1858-1947). The first part will be taught in Grade VI, second in Grade VII and third in Grade VIII.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\12\21\story_21-12-2006_pg1_4

 

[araz]

Neo
I have read some of the items on post. I have a few observations. To me it seems ridiculous that we are laying so much emphasis on higher education without sorting our basic education out. The reason I say this is that most of us that acquire this education do not find jobs in the country and therefore leave. Once out of Pakistan, we then become incapable of working in Pakistan for various reasons, which I will not go into. The main problem facing Pakistan is basic education at grassroots level. This can be divided into adult literacy and primary/ secondary school education. There is a multi tier system with no semblance of a core text and no concept of what a child should know at a certain level. There is also the problem of the Maddarsa System. Whereas not all is wrong with it, I think developing a local core carriculum to be taught to all children in ALL educational systems would create more homogeniety and more awarenes of what the world around them is like rather than have a truncated vision of the world.
Once we have developed and integrated this system, we would then have the basis to develop the society as a whole rather than developing elites who are a cause of Brain Drain and do not contribute much to the nations development
Please dont misunderstand me as being against higher education in Pakistan. However I am against the cachanded way in which things are being done.
My 2 Ps worth.
Araz

 

[Neo]

Monday, December 25, 2006

New English curriculum: Gender equality and ethics to be taught in primary, middle classes

By Irfan Ghauri

ISLAMABAD: The new English curriculum for primary and middle classes will include chapters on gender equality, peace and ethics and values. It will also include themes such as patriotism and national pride, dignity of labour, crisis awareness and management, and health, safety and drug education.

“The new curriculum of English language will enable young students to be independent and lifelong learners to better adapt to the ever-changing local and world society,” an official involved in developing the curriculum for primary and middle classes told Daily Times.

He said that the new curriculum aimed to make students competent in using the English language in academic and social contexts. “Keeping in view the importance of the English language as a tool of international communication, higher learning and choosing better careers, the government has decided to introduce English as compulsory subject from grade I,” he said.

In classes I and II, students will be taught ethics and values to differentiate between right and wrong and respect elders, he said. In the gender equality chapter, student would be taught that boys and girls are equal. In the peace education topic, students will be taught how to make friends, share and cooperate, the official said. The health, safety and drug education chapter will teach school starters about personal cleanliness, healthy food, playing games and the benefits of exercise.

In ethics and values for classes III to V, students will learn about honesty, courage and respect for the family and neighbours. Students of grades VI to VIII will learn humanism, patience and respect for laws.

Under peace education, students of classes III to V will learn about friendship, keeping promises and resolving quarrels. For the secondary school classes, this chapter will talk about learning to live together in a diverse society, inter-cultural relations and conflict resolution.

The gender equality education for classes III to V will include topics such as the importance of female education, while in classes VI to VIII it will include the role of women in the development of society.

Topics such as understanding gender equality, gender inequality and their effects on society will be taught in classes IX and X, according to the curriculum guidelines.

The chapter about awareness of crisis, accidents, and natural calamities will be included in textbooks for middle classes. Locating help in an emergency, first aid and the role of youth in crisis management will be taught in classes IX-XII.

Chapters on the impact of population growth on health, nutrition and environment, will be made part of the syllabus for middle and high school classes.

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=2006\12\25\story_25-12-2006_pg1_2

 

[Neo]

Neo
I have read some of the items on post. I have a few observations. To me it seems ridiculous that we are laying so much emphasis on higher education without sorting our basic education out. The reason I say this is that most of us that acquire this education do not find jobs in the country and therefore leave. Once out of Pakistan, we then become incapable of working in Pakistan for various reasons, which I will not go into. The main problem facing Pakistan is basic education at grassroots level. This can be divided into adult literacy and primary/ secondary school education. There is a multi tier system with no semblance of a core text and no concept of what a child should know at a certain level. There is also the problem of the Maddarsa System. Whereas not all is wrong with it, I think developing a local core carriculum to be taught to all children in ALL educational systems would create more homogeniety and more awarenes of what the world around them is like rather than have a truncated vision of the world.
Once we have developed and integrated this system, we would then have the basis to develop the society as a whole rather than developing elites who are a cause of Brain Drain and do not contribute much to the nations development
Please dont misunderstand me as being against higher education in Pakistan. However I am against the cachanded way in which things are being done.
My 2 Ps worth.
Araz

Sir,

I agree with you oin all points but I'm an optimist and consider the glass here to be half empty.

I'm glad that finally there's a government which is paying serious attention to education which has been shamelessly neglected fior almost six decades.
Considering the pathetic status of our educational system reforms are needed at all levels, you have to start somewhere.

I'd rather provide more funds and quality to higher education to attract, create and eduvate tellent and reduce the amount of drompouts at this moment. Enrolement rate in Pakistan is among the lowest in the world, this needs serious attention.

Offcourse basic education is equally important but we'll take care of it as the economy grows and more funds become available.

Musharraf is willing to allocate atleast 3% of GDP to education.
I wish him well!
:flag:

 

[Neo]

Rs1.5bn to be spent on computer education

KARACHI: A sum of Rs1.5 billion would be spent in the province on the first phase of the computer education and awareness programme.This was stated by Adviser to the Sindh Chief Minister on Information Technology, Noman Saigal, here on Monday. He was talking to the management officials of the IT awareness centres in his office. He pointed out that Sindh Government is initiating the first phase of the project named as ‘Roadmap and planning of IT sector in Sindh’ at a cost of Rs1.5 billion. This, he added, will also help provide necessary expertise for the usage of computers.

http://www.thenews.com.pk/daily_detail.asp?id=36929

 

[Neo]

PESHAWAR: Compulsory education law yet to be enforced

PESHAWAR, Dec 31: Even after the enactment of the law on compulsory primary education a decade ago, the NWFP government has failed to get it implemented in the province.

Under the NWFP Compulsory Primary Education Act that came into effect on October 16, 1996, the government was bound to ensure compulsory primary education for children between 5 and 10 years of age, said activists associated with organisations working for child rights.

The government has yet to establish school attendance authorities, which have the prime responsibility under the law to check the non-attendance of school by a child. No court could take cognizance of the violation of the law unless the school attendance authority files a written complaint.

Under the law, parents of a child also include guardian or any other person who has the custody of the child. It is binding on parents of the child, except in case of reasonable excuse, to make him attend a school until he has completed primary education course.

According to statistics released by the Education Management Information System (EMIS), the total gross enrolment ratio in primary schools in the year 2003-04 was 62 per cent. Those enrolled included 74 per cent boys and 48 per cent girls.

The economic report of the NWFP -- compiled by the Poverty Reduction and Economic Management Unit of the World Bank and the provincial government in 2005 -- states that the share of spending on education in total provincial spending increased from 22 per cent in 2001-02 to 28 per cent in 2003-04.

However, the increase in public spending on education has yet to cause much improvement in educational indicators, states the report, adding that the gross enrolment in government primary schools during 2002 to 2005 grew only from 63 to 64 per cent.

“It is the responsibility of the provincial government to constitute one or more school attendance authorities for the purpose of this act. When more than one such authority is constituted, the government shall also specify area of jurisdiction of each such authority,” said Jehanzeb Khan, regional coordinator of Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (Sparc).

He regretted that the provincial government made claims of increasing its spending on education, but no step was taken for implementing the law.

The law does provide for certain conditions to exempt a child from attending the school, but that is subject to the satisfaction of the school attendance authority.

These conditions are: the child is incapable of attending school by reason of sickness; it is not desirable to compel the child to carry on his studies due to mental incapacity; when the child is receiving otherwise instructions which, in the opinion of the prescribed authority, is sufficient; or, when there is no school within a distance of 2km according to nearest route from the residence of the child.

Section 5 of the Act envisages that if the school attendance authority is satisfied that a child has not been sent to school, it may pass an order directing parents to cause such a child to attend school on and from the date which shall be specified in the order. Any parent who fails to comply with the order shall, on conviction before magistrate, be punishable with fine which extends to Rs20 per day, and with an imprisonment which may extend to one week, or with both, in case the failure continues after conviction.

Any employee of a child who, after receiving warning from the authority, continues to employ a child whether on remuneration or otherwise shall, on conviction before magistrate, be punishable with fine which may extend to Rs500 and with further fine which may extend to Rs50 per day if child continues to be in his employment after conviction, or with imprisonment which extend to one month, or with both.

http://www.dawn.com/2007/01/01/local23.htm

 

[Neo]

Education scene remained dismal in 2006

The education scene in Punjab remained mired in a number of imbroglios, many of the government’s own creation, and that of the greed rampant in the private sector, Zulqernain Tahir declares

Despite prohibiting corporal punishment in both public and private schools in Punjab in 2006, at least two students fell victim to the menace as they suffered fatal injuries at the hands of their ‘spiritual fathers’ in public schools, making a mockery of the provincial education department’s slogan ‘mar nahee payar’.

Five teachers of both public and private schools were shown the door for committing the offence. Corporal punishment is turning out to be a major factor behind the high dropout rate at the primary level.

The year 2006 brought no improvement in the affairs of private schools either. The managements of most of these schools were as ambitious as ever to make money on the pretext of delivering ‘quality education’. According to the Punjab Educational Management Information System (EMIS), over 35,000 private schools are functioning in the province, which also include autonomous school systems. However, the private school owners’ association claims that the accurate number is about 80,000.

To everyone’s surprise, more than 60 per cent of the private schools have yet to get registered with the education department. Most of them are functioning in small buildings and exploit the parents having desire to provide their children with quality education. Only one per cent of them, running in collaboration with foreign school systems, are believed to be providing quality education.

A twelve-member committee, comprising members of the provincial assembly, took more than a year to finalise a draft proposing an authority to regulate the schools’ affairs. However, the draft could not be presented in the provincial assembly for debate in 2006.

The year passed leaving a hope for schoolteachers that their ‘just’ demands like regularisation of contract employees and timely promotion and increase in different allowances will be accepted in 2007. They held scores of rallies and staged demonstrations this year, but could not make their voice heard.

Teachers had to face the police wrath when they took to the streets for their rights. This year, they were baton-charged in Multan. It is believed that such actions lower teachers’ stature in society. Schoolteachers, like many other government employees, were also forced by their heads to mark their attendance at political meetings organised by the ruling party.

The outgoing year was also a testing time for the heads of different public sector colleges and schools. About 50 heads of different schools and colleges in Punjab had to lose their positions because their institutions could not produce better results.

The composite examination system was revived once again at secondary school level last year after the part-system could not work despite remaining in vogue for a couple of years. September was declared the start of the academic year, and examination dates for the matriculation and intermediate classes were changed. Now they are held between April and June. The frequent changes in the secondary board examination system have exposed the government’s inconsistent policies and it seems that no homework is done before taking major decisions involving the future of thousands of students.

The experiment of handing over administrative control of some 425 intermediate and degree colleges in the country to the district governments some four years ago also failed. These institutions were again placed under the provinces last year. The decision was apparently made after charges that the district governments were not utilising the development funds meant for colleges properly. They were also not functioning in line with the guidelines provided by the Higher Education Commission, resulting in no improvement in syllabi and curricula.

The heads having good relations with nazims were facilitated in running the affairs of their institutions, and transfers and postings were mostly politically motivated. One hopes that reversal of the decision will not leave the colleges’ administrations and teachers at the mercy of the bureaucracy. The plans of introducing a bilingual mode of teaching from the primary to the intermediate level and rationalisation of the student-teacher ratio in intermediate and degree colleges in 2006 could not see the light of day within the stipulated time period.

For the first time, institutions like the Government College University and Lahore College for Women University launched the four-year BA, BSc (Honours) programme according to the HEC guidelines. The HEC is expected to make the programme mandatory for all varsities in the country at some stage, besides declaring the degree equivalent to MA, MSc. The HEC, in 2006, declared some 109 private and chartered educational institutions unlawful in Punjab, and subsequently asked the government to initiate action against them. The provincial government, however, has been keeping mum on the issue.

Seven posts of vice-chancellors fell vacant in various higher education institutions during the outgoing year. The institutions included GCU, Bahauddin Zakriya University, University of Education and the LCWU. Against the vacant posts, appointment of three VCs was made. Dr Munawar Mirza, who reportedly had sympathisers among the education department top hierarchy, finally replaced the provincial government’s one-time favourite Dr Mustafa Habibuallah. LCWU former VC Dr Bushra Mateen succeeded in retaining her position.

The year 2006 witnessed the Punjab University administration emerging successful in terms of reining in the Islami Jamiat Tulba (IJT). The administration expelled a record number of Jamiat activists. The university also managed to stop all IJT-sponsored ‘political and educational’ activities on campus.

However, on the educational front, the main focus was on launch of a maximum number of self-finance (evening) programmes to generate more revenue. However, such programmes were affecting teachers’ performance, who in a bid to take maximum number of lectures have been concentrating neither on the morning classes nor on the evening, which resulted in deterioration of standards.

The King Edward Medical College was upgraded as a university earlier in the year. It is yet to develop its examination system for postgraduate programmes and is still counting on Punjab University in this regard. Four Final-year students of the Allama Iqbal Medical College switched over from the University of Health Sciences to the KEMU last year without the approval of the former. The UHS had taken the case to the Pakistan Medical and Dental Council, requesting action against the students for violating its constitution. The AIMC is affiliated with the UHS.

http://www.dawn.com/2007/01/04/nat39.htm

 

[Neo]

200 community schools in Balochistan planned

QUETTA, Jan 9: The Balochistan Education Foundation with the financial assistance of the World Bank is planning to open 200 community schools in the province, while funds have been released for the establishment of seven cadet colleges in different areas of Balochistan.

It was informed in a meeting presided over provincial chief secretary K.B. Rind here. The meeting reviewed progress on various development schemes funded by the federal government and foreign donor agencies in the province.

It was further informed that the federal government was spending Rs200 billion on various development projects, including small and big dams, canals and education schemes in Balochistan.

According to sources, officials concerned informed the meeting that the Balochistan Education Foundation was planning to establish another 100 private primary schools in different districts of the province.

They said that in the first phase cadet colleges would be established in Qila Saifullah, Jaffarabad and Panjgur, while in the second phase four cadet colleges would be set up in Nushki, Gwadar, Kohlu and Sibi.

The meeting was informed that work was in progress on the middle school project with the financial assistance of a Japanese bank.

The irrigation secretary informed the meeting that the Subakzai dam project was nearing completion.

He said the government had decided to construct 43 small canals, while PC-1 had been prepared for the expansion of Pat Feeder, Hairdin and Kerther canals.

He said that the fusibility of Ajram dam would be completed by June this year, while consultants had already been appointed for Hingol, Nolang, Zorati, Winder and Tankay dams. He said further that work on the Rs560 million Chagai water project was in progress.

Secretaries of other departments also presented reports on various development projects.

http://www.dawn.com/2007/01/10/top18.htm

 

[Neo]

Revising history textbooks

FOLLOWING last month’s disclosure that the Pakistan Studies textbooks were being revised to give a more moderate version of the two-nation theory comes the news that middle school history students will be taught about other religions as well as ancient civilisations in an effort to promote tolerance. This is a welcome departure from the current warped versions of history that were woven into the national curriculum by General Ziaul Haq who did so to consolidate his power as promoter and protector of Islam. From a young age, children were being denied an honest and objective view of the subcontinent’s history. There was little or no emphasis on ancient civilisations like Mohenjodaro and Harappa and they were led to believe that the country’s history began with the conquest of Sindh by Mohammad bin Qasim. The manner in which the creation of Bangladesh was taught was also deplorable as was the contempt towards other religions that was injected into young minds. The results of denying other communities their due place in history are evident today in society’s drift towards intolerance. This selective learning has produced narrow-minded adults, unable to question issues of identity prior to the creation of Pakistan simply because they were in the dark about past civilisations and the contributions made by men and women of those eras. Instead, children were taught to worship war heroes, unaware that civilisations could exist in peace and harmony without warfare or that Islam was spread peacefully by the Sufis known for their tolerance and humanism. All this will now hopefully change and produce a future generation that will take pride in its rich and varied heritage.

It is reassuring that the government wants to undo the wrongs of past regimes but it must do so in a well thought-out manner. It cannot hope to produce an enlightened generation overnight, especially not by overloading young minds with more information than they cannot easily absorb or understand. What the government must not do, however, is to give in to the religious lobbies which are likely to resent the changes in the curriculum. Any yielding to their pressure will result in another dark chapter in the country’s history.

http://www.dawn.com/2007/01/11/ed.htm#2