Pakistan

What does it take to create leaders?

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Karachi

What does it take to create inventors, entrepreneurs and social scientists – in short critical thinkers and problem-solving individuals?

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While literacy rates have gone up and enrollment at public and private sector universities have risen over the years, there remains a dearth of leaders and skilled workforce in every field.

The world is flat, or so Thomas Friedman the American journalist writes in his book. “Unfortunately the world has flattened out, those mass production jobs are increasingly being automated or outsourced. There are fewer and fewer decent jobs for those without a lot of knowledge… So a poorly funded and understaffed high school today is a pathway to a dead end.”

No longer is a student sitting in a classroom in Karachi a local citizen, he is now a part of the global world and will compete accordingly.

Tasneem Shabbir, the principal of Al-Murtaza School Network agrees. “Students today are no longer passive learners. They ask questions in the class because textbooks are not their only source [of information]. They go beyond that.”

The only time the country won a Nobel Prize was in 1979, when Dr Abdus Salam brought it home. Since then there have been no major scientific breakthroughs.

Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy brought us an Oscar. And Abdus Sattar Edhi, who never went to school, has been awarded numerous peace prizes. But these achievements are rare. The youth needs more role models.

The country is plagued with escalating intolerance, overpopulation and poverty. What is needed to lead this youth bulge towards a prosperous future? Investment in education is the general consensus.

“Our country is facing with various problems in development and many of these problems will be tackled if we invest in education. Because when people are educated they will find out solutions,” said Nargis Alvi, who heads the Habib Public School.

Pakistan happens to be among the lowest spenders on education. Studies show education quality is directly proportional to economic growth. More than 40 percent of Pakistanis live below the poverty line, states a survey by the Benazir Income Support Programme.

The local education system is not doing any favours. It is creating a lot, where students are graded on the number of pages they produce rather than what they have to say. “Whatever was taught in the eighth grade would go flying out of the window when a student entered the next grade. That was because the rote-learning method was put to test. If, for example, a question was asked to write about the trees of Sindh, a child would write the whole chapter,” said Kirmeen Parekh, the headmistress of the BVS Parsi High School, which has done away with the local education board after viewing its disastrous results in its students.

Betram Dsouza, the principal of St Bonaventure’s High School of Hyderabad, chipped in: “There will be no development in education if public exams are not going to be fair. As I see, and as I have experienced, the exams in the matriculation system are not fair at all.”

For Shahina Ali Raza, the principal of Shahwilayat Public School, the answer to top quality education lies within quality teachers. “To develop quality education we need quality teachers. And for that the teachers’ professional development is very important.”

— The report includes input from an AKU-EB documentary

originally published here http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-4-217118-Quality-education-the-only-way-to-progress

In city’s Pakhtun areas, war on polio extremely hard

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Karachi

When asked about the utility of the polio vaccine, Mirdaat, an eight-year-old Afghan waste picker calls it “an American conspiracy to wipe out the Muslim race”.

He holds the same opinion about blood screening for hepatitis. “Health workers will sell our blood to America. There is honour in Pakhtun blood. It cannot be sold.”

Eight other little waste pickers accompanying Mirdaat nod their heads in agreement.

After a controversial CIA-funded hepatitis B campaign, the polio vaccination drive in the Pakhtun-dominated localities of Karachi – where many Taliban militants are holed up – has suffered a serious setback.

So much so, that the CIA’s campaign to ensnare Osama Bin Laden was misconstrued as a polio vaccination drive.

Since mid-July last year, 17 health workers and five policemen involved in anti-polio campaigns have been killed and 14 others wounded by militants in 25 attacks across the country.

In December, five female vaccinators were shot dead in Karachi and Peshawar.

On May 13, Abdul Waheed, a social activist, was gunned down after he began a polio eradication campaign at his school. The campaign was hurriedly wrapped up.

Pakistan remains one of the three endemic countries for polio, along with Afghanistan and Nigeria. However, despite security threats, the country has made significant progress towards polio eradication in the last 18 months, according to a recently published report, “End Polio Pakistan”, by the WHO and Unicef.

There were 46 polio cases reported in Pakistan this year, 34 in the Federally Administered Tribal Areas (Fata) and seven in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. Both areas are affected by militancy and military operations. In Sindh, four cases were reported this year.

 Polio prevention

The polio virus infects only human beings therefore it cannot survive in an area where all inhabitants are vaccinated.

A case was reported recently wherein a minor girl in Gadap Town had contracted polio despite being vaccinated.

A child needs to be administered polio drops in every round of vaccination to strengthen immunity.

“Some children develop immunity after five or six doses. Most need as many as 10 doses. Where children are malnourished, more doses are needed,” it was stated in the Unicef report.

Considering the levels of malnourishment in Pakistan, which according to the Sustainable Development Policy Institute, affect 48 percent of the population, parents should never miss a polio drive.

Many Islamic scholars and religious institutions have endorsed the vaccine, terming it halal. They include the Darul Uloom Deoband India, the Organisation of the Islamic Conference, the International Union for Muslim Scholars, and the imams of Masjid al-Aqsa in Jerusalem and Al-Azhar Masjid in Cairo.

Moreover, all hajj pilgrims are now required to be vaccinated against polio.

Abdullah Bukhari, an elder of the Afghan Basti near Sabzi Mandi, gives an open invitation to health workers.

“We are aware of the health concerns that involve our people. If polio vaccinators face any hurdles, they are free to contact me. I will personally accompany them to ensure their safety.”

October 24 is marked as World Polio Day