Issue 12 March 2020 Archives | Page 2 of 2

There is little in this world that matches the simple pleasure of going through the pages of books, letting your imagination run free and allowing your mind to create new worlds. Zarrar Zafar tells us how you should get into the habit of reading to build your own personal books’ cache.

aving read fifty books last year, I’ve decided to aim at reading read at least one hundred books this year. As I write this article, I am going through the chapters of my 16th book of the year so far. Reading is never about the number of books one must finish in any given specified given time period. Only about, as Dr Suess puts it simply, knowing more. I take it as the most contenting and the best hobby one must pursue. There is no dearth of material focusing on the significance of reading. Therefore, I must straightaway begin with a viable way about how to fall in love with books and start building your own book cache.

Getting Going

Firstly, you must free your mind and heart from all irrelevant issues, and instead focus only on the most important of tasks at hand. This is the first and the most important step, which I call ‘managing and creating free spaces’. It will be extremely difficult to pursue in the beginning, but gradually you can master this art of ‘letting go’ of the unimportant stuff. Only a contented heart and a free mind can make the best use of free spaces available. It will also help you in all other areas of life, be it personal or professional. It will induce the quality traits in you and you will start living a positive life. Thus, it will render you the free time available, which you can best make use of to get into the habit of reading.

You must free your mind and heart from irrelevant issues and focus only on important tasks. This is an important step called ‘managing and creating free spaces’

Secondly, whether you like reading or not, start buying books and start building your own little pile of books. The more the books you buy, the greater will be your chances of falling in love with books. It will be the best gift you will ever have in your home for parents, siblings or your children. If you cannot afford buying books each month, find a library nearby. Take your children, siblings and friends to libraries, where you can easily borrow available books. In addition, start visiting old book banks and Urdu Bazaars in your respective cities, as these places often afford the opportunity to find the best books at a fraction of the original prices. The steps you walk in pursuit of building a books’ cache of your own will itself be worth a literary adventure.

Wait No Good

Third, do not, and I repeat, do not wait to find the “free time” to pick up a book. Learn the art of utilizing free spaces available, be it at your workplace, during daily commute or at any gathering. Always keep a book with you and whenever you find the narrowest of margins, make use of them to get a few pages further into the story. It might look odd in the beginning and peers might often comment sarcastically and few may even try to belittle this habit of yours. But, remember, you have to keep doing the right things, instead following the mob. It will require a tremendous amount of courage and initiative to swim against the tide, but the results are worth the try. Inspire others to read and pick up books as well, instead getting discouraged by people’s remarks.

Never wait to find the “free time” to pick up a book. Learn the art of utilizing free spaces available, be it at work, during commute or at a gathering

Fourth, befriend people who are avid readers and spend more time with them. In today’s well connected world, it’s easy to stay connected with like-minded people. Find like-minded people in your class, workplace or neighborhood to befriend and then read in a group. You can even join some literary circles like book clubs, where people conduct readings and discussions on awide variety of books.Fifth, always set goals. Be it a single or a 100 books a year, a target always keeps you motivated. Always try to aim high, and even if you fall short of your goals, you still would have made it far.Sixth, begin with the books on topics that interest you the most. I remember starting reading magazines and newspapers during my school days. I turned it into a hobby and gradually became an avid reader. I suggest you to begin with biographies, autobiographies and memoirs. Or begin with fiction, or any other subject you have developed some interest in over the years. You can consult your peers to get the best recommendations in accordance with your interests.

Make optimum use of technology and gadgets available and read on all mediums at your convenience. Be it Kindle, paperback or audiobooks, use whatever you can get your hands on

Lastly, make optimum use of technology and gadgets available and read on all mediums at your convenience. Be it Kindle, paperback or audiobooks, use whatever you can get your hands on. Also make use of social media apps. There is tons of information available on the internet, and be wise to know what to read and what to ignore. Try following inspiring and positive social media influencers, as they often inadvertently assist in developing positive habits in followers. YouTube is a great resource for finding lessons on speed reading, listening to book reviews, and finding other information on literature. And here I have a final suggestion. The moment you finish reading this article, visit a book shop, buy a book, set the time to read it within a month and by the time you get the next copy of this magazine, you must have read at least one book. That would be one giant step you take towards building your own books’ cache.

Zarrar Zafar is a student of MPhil in IR and an avid reader. He can be reached bookscache@yahoo.com.

E Magazine

Status of Education: A little Better, But Far From Good, Still

March 30, 2020 No Comments

The latest report on status of education in Pakistan highlights some commendable improvements in educational outcomes, but we are still far away from safely saying we have education in the country covered. Ammar Sheikh reports.

espite various enrolment drives, digitization and hiring and training of teachers, Pakistan is still unable to get all of the out-of-school children back to classrooms, with the proportion of enrolled children aged between 6 and 16 years remaining the same over the past one year.In 2019, 17 percent of all Pakistani children were out-of-school, a number that has remained the same when compared to the previous year, according to the latest Annual Status of Education Report (Rural) 2019.

The annual report gauges the on-ground realities in the education sector of Pakistan, showcasing how education in the country is faring when considered sid by side the claims made by successive regimes.Per this year’s findings, 10 percent of Pakistani children have never been enrolled in a school, while seven percent have dropped out of school they once went to.The report says that the proportion of enrolled children has increased slightly, by 2 percent, for children between 3 and 5 years of age. But the proportion of children in school in the 6-16-year bracket has remained the same, meaning most children are not moving beyond primary.

Gender Gap

A similar situation persists with regards to gender gap, with the overall gap remaining the same over the past two years for children between 6 and 16 years of age. Per the report, seven percent of male children and 10 percent of female children were found to be out of schools.It also reported that the link between enrolment and income disparity was very prominent, especially for girls. The report found that 40 percent of girls from the poorest households were out of schools, compared to 24 percent from the richest segments of the society.

Enrollment of children in 3 to 5-year has gone up, but the proportion of children in school in 6 to 16-year bracket has remained the same, meaning most children are not moving beyond primary.

For boys, the statistics were not as bad, but still call for concern. A total of 27 percent of the poorest boys were found to be out of schools, whereas the number came down to 18 percent for the richest sgements.There was also a disparity between girls and boys when it came to learning. The report said that 46 percent boys, but only 38 percent girls, could read at least a sentence in Urdu/Sindhi/Pashto. A total of 48 percent boys could read English words, while only 39 percent of girls could do the same. Similarly, 43 percent of boys were able to do at least subtraction, whereas only 36 percent of girls could do the same.

Public vs Private

Though there is a positive trend in shift from private schools to government schools, there is much to be desired in this area as well. As compared to 2014, a seven percent shift was recorded from private schools to government schools in 2019.The report found that within the total, 77 percent children were enrolled in government schools, whereas 23 percent were going to non-state institutions –21 percent to private schools and 2 percent to madrassas.

Children in private schools are still showing better comprehension skills

Out of the enrolled students in government schools, 39 percent were girls and 61 percent were boys, whereas in private schools, 59 percent of enrolled children were boys and the remaining girls. Despite the shift from private to government schools, children in private schools are showing better comprehension skills. This means that government schools need to improve a lot. According to the report, 68 percent of children enrolled in class 5 at a private school were able to read at least a story in Urdu/Sindhi/Pashto. The number dropped to 58 percent when similar students were considered at government-run schools.Furthermore, 73 percent of private school children could read at least a sentence in class 5, whereas only 53 percent of students in government schools could do the same. For basic arithmetic, 69 percent of children enrolled in class 5 at private schools were able to do division, compared to only 55 percent of class 5 children enrolled in government schools.The report also found that private tuition was more prevalent among children attending private schools. Overall, 22 percent of students in private schools were getting paid tuition, compared to 6 percent in government schools.

Learning In Schools

One positive development that the report highlighted was that learning among children had improved. It said 59 percent of class 5 students could read a class 2 level story in Urdu/Sindhi/Pashto, compared to only 56 percent in 2018. Among 59 percent children of class 5 who could read a story in Urdu/Sindhi/Pashto, more than 85 percent could answer questions related to the story orally.Similarly, 18 percent of class 3 children could read a story in Urdu/Sindhi/Pashto compared to only 17 percent who could do it in 2018. Among the 18 percent children of class 3 who could read a story in Urdu/Sindhi/Pashto, more than 85 percent could answer questions related to the story orally.

Compared to 2014, a seven percent shift was recorded from private schools to government schools in 2019.

For English, 55 percent class 5 children could read sentences (class 2 level), compared to 52 percent in 2018. Among the 55 percent of class 5 children who could read sentences in English, 84 percent could tell the meanings orally in local languages. A total of 16 percent of class 3 children could read a class 2 level sentence, compared to only 5 percent in 2018. Among those 16 percent, 87 percent could tell the meanings orally in local languages.In arithmetic, class 5 children showed improvements, while there was a negative trend in class 3 children when compared to the previous year. The report said 57 percent class 5 children could do two-digit division, compared to 53 percent in 2018. Whereas, 21 percent children enrolled in class 3 could do two-digit division in 2019, compared to 28 percent in 2018.

Regional Disparity

The report also looked at regional factors and found that all parts of Pakistan were not doing equally well. Almost all the western part of the country – Balochistan, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KP) and its newly-merged districts, were the worst off. The parts that had the best outcomes in terms of children between 3 and 5 years going to school were Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) and Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT). Sindh and Gilgit-Baltistan did better than western parts, while Punjab’s performance fell between that of AJK and ICT. The overall situation has improved when compared with the previous year, as almost all regions making some headway.

E Magazine

News Round Up March

March 30, 2020 No Comments

1 Punjab Govt, Private Varsities Agree To Resolve Sub-Campus Issue

The Punjab Government and private universities have agreed on resolving the outstanding issue of irregular sub-campuses following an intervention by Punjab Governor Chaudhry Muhammad Sarwar.The government has agreed to look into accreditation of illegal sub-campuses of various private sector universities and announced a committee to oversee the matter.In a press conference at the DGPR on February 20, Punjab Higher Education Minister Raja Yasir Humayun Sarfaraz revealed that the committee would be made up of four members from the private sector and four members from the Punjab Higher Education Department and Punjab Higher Education Commission.Raja Yasir said the government was in favor of private universities, as it could not address the challenge of providing quality education to the youth of the country on its own. But the government would not compromise on quality of education in either public or private sector universities of the province, he added.

2 Registration Of Madrassas Likely To Begin In March

The Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training is likely to start a countrywide campaign for registration of madrassas with the government in the first week of March.Per official reports, no madrassa is registered with the ministry so far and the ministry has made the preparations needed to address the issue.In this very regard, a Directorate General of Religious Education has also been set up in the federal capital along with 16 regional offices across the country. The requisite staff in this offices has been appointed via National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) and Basic Education Community Schools (BECS) on attachment basis.The registration form, agreed to in principle by the Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training and Ittehad Tanzeemat-ul-Madaris Pakistan (ITMP) has already been printed and would be handed out to madrassa administrations in the days to come.There are close to 35,000 seminaries spread across the country and at least 3,000 would be registered in the first year, Minister of Federal Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood said in December last year. The minister said that the registration process of all seminaries would be completed in the next four years.

3 Capital’s Schools To Be Made Role Models: Shafqat

The Federal Minister for Education and Professional Training Shafqat Mahmood has said that educational institutions of Islamabad would be transformed into role models for the country. Addressing a ground breaking ceremony for Islamabad Model College for Boys in sector G-15, the federal minister said, “The education ministry was making all out efforts to resolve the challenges being faced by the education sector.”He said education was a top priority of the current government and the stakeholders were making all efforts needed for the overhauling of the education sector.Shafqat said that in the last 70 years, Pakistan’s literacy rate had only been about 60%, which meant that around 40% of the country’s population could not read or write.

4 IHC Restores PMDC, Declares PMC Illegal

The Islamabad High Court has ruled against the dissolution of Pakistan Medical and Dental Council.PMDC was dissolved through a presidential ordinance on October 20, 2019 and a new regulatory body, the Pakistan Medical Commission, was formed in its place.On February 11, Justice Mohsin Akhtar Kayani ordered the dissolution of the Pakistan Medical Commission (PMC), declaring it illegal. IHC had admitted a petition against PMDC’s dissolution on October 30, 2019. Former PMDC employees had taken to court to protest the unjust and reckless dissolution, which had led to them losing their jobs.

5 PM Inaugurates Education Complex For Orphans In AJK

Prime Minister Imran Khan inaugurated an education complex on February 6 that will provide education to orphans and unattended children in Mirpur, Azad Kashmir.The facility was built by Kashmir Orphan Relief Trust, a non-profit organisation raising orphan children at a purpose built home. The prime minister was accompanied by Foreign Minister Shah Mahmood Qureshi, Kashmir Affairs Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, Azad Jammu and Kashmir Prime Minister Raja Farooq Haider and Chairman of Parliamentary Committee on Kashmir Syed Fakhar Imam.Chairman of the Trust Chaudhry Mohammed Akhtar briefed the prime minister about the project and the facilities being provided there for the orphans. The prime minister took a tour of the facility, including classrooms and hostel. Khan also joined the children of orphanage at lunch and interacted with them.

6 Colombian Teacher Wins Dedicated Teacher Awards 2020

The Cambridge University Press revealed the winner of its Dedicated Teacher Awards 2020, with a teacher from Colombia’s Bucaramanga city named the world’s most dedicated teacher.Patricia Abril took the top spot in Cambridge University Press’ Dedicated Teacher Awards 2020, edging out 6,000 other entries from 97 different countries.Patricia was born in Bucaramanga, Colombia, and teaches social studies at New Cambridge School in Bucaramanga, but what made her stand out among the nominees was her work with students on social projects in the local community.Her programmes have positively influenced different communities and places, including a student-led project to improve local facilities for people with disabilities, which recently received government funding.