Giving teachers due respect

Unlike Pakistan, some states have been having their own customized national teachers' day long before the first World Teachers' Day was established by Unesco on October 5, 1993.

India, for instance, has been celebrating National Teachers' Day on September 5 since 1962. September 5 being the birthday of the first president of India, Dr Sarvepalli Radhakhrishnan, a philosopher and noted teacher.

Similarly, Teachers' Day in Taiwan is celebrated on the birthday of the great ancient Chinese philosopher and teacher, Confucius, on September 28. Teachers' Day in Singapore is an annual school holiday marked on September 1 to celebrate the assiduous devotion of Singapore teachers to their jobs.

Unesco designated October 5 as World Teachers' Day to honour the recommendation concerning the status of teachers which was passed by a special joint committee of Unesco and the ILO on October 5, 1966.

This Recommendation proclaimed that the recognition of the vital contribution of teachers should be acknowledged, celebrated and supported by all members of the society. The Recommendation also set out guiding principles regarding the standing or regard accorded to teachers, their working conditions, remunerations and other material benefits.

Pakistan duly commemorated the 12th World Teachers' Day last Tuesday with a ceremony at the National Library Auditorium in Islamabad in which the prime minister gave out awards to selected teachers from all over the country from primary school to university levels. But what made this year's celebrations markedly different from previous ones was the telephone calls made by the PM and the president to their respective teachers to eulogise their service and show appreciation for their work they have done.

The much-publicized telephone calls by the top leaders to their respective teachers symbolize the moral encouragement and support being given by the government to those who choose and devote themselves to a teaching career.

More than that, the telephone calls represent official recognition and acknowledgement of the important position of teachers in the society, particularly their indispensable role in the building of a better educated and more tolerant community to drive the development and prosperity of the nation.

But to perform their duty well, teachers need much more than image-boosting telephone calls and moral support from the top. They need the necessary support on the ground - financial, intellectual and social - for the often difficult role that they play, not least of which is attaining the objective of Education for All, if not by 2015, then at least as soon as possible.

Some of the principles outlined in the 1966 Recommendation concerning the status of teachers include the following: Teaching should be regarded as a profession and a form of public service which requires of teachers expert knowledge and specialized skills, acquired and maintained through rigorous and continuing study.

All aspects of the preparation and employment of teachers should be free from any form of discrimination on grounds of race, colour, religion, political opinion, national or social origin.

The Recommendation also states that working conditions for teachers should be such that they will promote effective learning and enable teachers to concentrate on their professional tasks.

Stability of employment and security of tenure in the profession are essential in the interests of education as well as the teacher and should be safeguarded even when changes in the organization or within a school system are made.

Special provisions should be made for teachers posted in remote or rural areas, like decent housing, transfer travel expenses, and reimbursement for travel expenses from their place of work to their home town once a year when they go on leave.

The 1966 Recommendation also has the following to say about teacher salaries. Teacher salaries should reflect the importance to society of the teaching function and hence the importance of teachers; compare favourably with salaries paid in other occupations requiring similar or equivalent qualification; provide teachers with the means to ensure a reasonable standard of living for themselves and their families. The Recommendation also states that the salary structure should be reviewed periodically to take into account factors such as a rise in the cost of living.

Since the passage of 1966 Recommendation, several measures have been implemented in Pakistan to improve the lot of teachers. First, the discrimination of teachers vis-a-vis other civil servants was removed by designating them as "gazetted" officers (teachers were previously "non-gazetted" officers). Then in the 1970s civil service reforms, teachers were also placed in the new pay scale as other civil servants.

Thereafter, occasional minor improvements were made over the years in teachers' remuneration in the form of extra allowances for higher degrees obtained. In the 1990s, teachers' maximum promotion ceiling was moved up to grade-21 from grade-20. More recently, teachers also benefited from the upward revision in salaries two years ago.

But still, the lot of teachers remains a pathetic one. Teachers in general have great difficulty trying to have a decent, respectful standard of living. Officially they are civil servants, but the status of civil servants and teachers is as different as earth and sky. Teachers do not enjoy many of the benefits and allowances which are given to other civil servants, most important of which is housing.

Then there is also the disparity in the perks and privileges between federal and provincial government teachers, despite recommendations finalized at the inter-provincial education ministers conference in Quetta in 1994 to end this disparity.

Many teachers, especially lower cadre primary and secondary school teachers in the rural areas, are not getting decent remuneration nor the respect that is their due. Those in the urban centres usually have to toil extra hours by giving private tuition, giving up family and leisure time, so that they can make ends meet.

To show that it is sincere in uplifting teachers and thus education, the government will need to do two things: revise and improve the salary structure for teachers and increase the budget allocation for education.

Apart from this, the government also needs to adopt measures to create an environment where respect and honour for teachers is part and parcel of the norm and culture of the society.

For a start, World Teachers' Day could be made a national school holiday and therefore, a special rest day for teachers. In addition, teachers could also be given special discounts on travel by road, rail and air, at cinemas, etc., just like people in the Armed Forces are entitled to.

Kashmir: a tragedy and a farce

A clever teacher once told us that we didn't have to read William Shakespeare's plays to divine his comedies from the tragedies. All the tragedies, he revealed, were named after their protagonists, for example, Othello, Macbeth, Julius Caesar and so on. The comedies were everything else: The Tempest, Merchant of Venice, A Midsummer Night's Dream, etc.

Similarly, everyone doesn't have to go to Kashmir to find out that the story of its people is a grim tragedy. The facts, going back to the 1930s if not earlier are all too well documented, to require reiteration, much less investigation.

There are countless reports of every kind that have documented the human tragedy along with the details of the military operations. And with so many excellent Kashmiri journalists and rights activists carrying out their work with diligence, despite the odds stacked against them, there is no dearth of information on the latest horrors being perpetrated in the Valley.

One can easily read passages from the reports of Human Rights Watch or Amnesty International. Or the highly detailed and credible studies by Kashmir's home-grown human rights activists.

Of course, in spite of all this evidence, there are journalists on both sides of the border who still subscribe to the myths handed out by their respective governments. And why not? A lot of western governments, too, have begun to collaborate in this myth but that is another story.

For all good journalists, there are still stories to be found and written. It could be tales of military repression, of official callousness or apathy and above all, the human tragedy. But when a busload of Pakistani journalists accompanied by their Indian counterparts make a highly publicized story and become the story themselves, it becomes a farcical exercise.

It could hardly have been an exploratory mission when the endeavour is to garner space for themselves in the media on both sides, when the focus is on splashing the fact of such a visit.

What exactly are viewers to make of TV clips - mercifully on just one channel - that showed the press delegation being feted by forewarned reception committees? What did the hapless Kashmiris make of it? There were, of course, well-publicized interactions with the leaders of different hues, but these have surely been taking place all these years in Delhi and elsewhere? What were the revelations that these journalists unearthed, what was the fresh understanding that was brought to bear on the problem of Kashmir? One fellow journalist from Pakistani - an Islamabad-based Kashmiri did confess at the end of the trip that it was on the whole an embarrassing exercise - as meaningless as a carefully orchestrated factory visit by chaps from the head office.

No wonder Asiya Andarabi of the Dukhataran-e-Millat, who represents the hardline fighters for Kashmir's freedom from Indian rule, coldly told them that they were not welcome.

That was the most telling comment because it revealed the strong undercurrent of feelings. Why did Asiya frown upon the visit by Pakistani journalists, so long regarded as the champions of her cause? The burqha-clad fighter, who prefers to remain hidden from public gaze, actually held a press conference to make her feelings known.

Her case: the visitors would go back and write exactly what the Indian authorities would wish reported: that all is well in the state of Jammu & Kashmir. Perhaps, a lot many believe that Pakistani and Indian journalists visiting her shattered homeland have willy-nilly bought the official position of their respective countries on the Kashmir issue and are no longer interested in the settlement that the people of Kashmir want.

Don't get me wrong. I am all for junkets, even if they have official sanction, and I believe these should be encouraged. What harm does it do if journalists come together to swap stories and to have a good time in general? But tokenism of this kind can be decidedly harmful when you're dealing with an issue like Kashmir.

Had this visit by Pakistani journalists taken place before September 11, when Pakistan so perceptibly seemed to change tack on its Kashmir policy, it would have had a remarkable impact. That is, if New Delhi allowed them to do so in the first place.

The biggest beneficiary is undoubtedly the Indian government. It gets kudos for having permitted Pakistani journalists into Srinagar. Is that because the group could be relied on to take a more mellow view of the problem? Perhaps, that is an unfair judgement to make. It may be that the authorities in Delhi have become more enlightened in their approach to the media across the border.

And this all-round maturity ought to be welcomed because a contingent of Indian journalists is scheduled to go to Azad Kashmir later in the year. We have, indeed, come a long way since 2000 when some Indian journalists, who were taken to Muzaffarabad by enthusiastic Pakistani media managers while on a junket to Islamabad.

For doing so, the group was given a thorough dressing down by Indian officials. The bureaucratic view then was that their travel to 'POK' on an Indian passport had given "legitimacy to Pakistan's occupation of POK."

This time around, it appears, the scene has altered dramatically. To go back to Shakespeare, it is time for Measure for Measure. Or is it All's Well That Ends Well?

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Michael Moore's groundbreaking documentary 'Fahrenheit 9/11' is making waves across the world, and its CDs are available in Pakistan, but it is stuck with Indian censors for a planned release.

The film by Oscar-winning film-maker looks into the reasons why US President George W. Bush and his inner circle avoided pursuing the Saudi connection to the September 11 tragedy that rocked the United States.

An Indian spokesman for Paramount Films, which is handling the release here, said an inaugural was planned for October 15 and the movie had been sent to the censor board, but then it was stuck somewhere in the bureaucratic maze.

Fahrenheit 9/11, a scathing critique of the George W. Bush administration's 'war on terror', has been hailed by audiences around the world and mopped up several awards.

It has been running successfully in the US for 14 weeks. Ditto for censor boards in every country where it has been released. The Mumbai censor board's step is a little incomprehensible.

"It is shocking. But again, it's of a piece with our usual cultural hypocrisies," said filmmaker Anand Patwardhan, himself a frequent victim of the censors' way wardness, resignedly.

Veto has deepened wounds

Will the US veto in the UN Security Council on the Arab draft resolution asking Israel to halt its military operations in northern Gaza have any profound impact on the Arab-American relationship in the immediate future?

A Cairo-based expert on international affairs, Dr Mohammad E- Sayed Selim, believes that it will not, but he feels that the "American veto will certainly deepen the negative image of the United States in the Arab world."

Dr Selim, who is a frequent visitor to Pakistan, was talking to Dawn on the sidelines of an international seminar on migration to Europe, organized by the Area Study Centre for Europe, Karachi University.

Dr Selim is professor of international relations at the faculty of economics and political science, Cairo University, Giza. He is also director of its centre for Asian studies and an active member of the EUROMESCO network.

Author of many books on security issues, he is deeply perturbed at the increasing Israeli atrocities against unarmed Palestinians, and the far greater vulnerability of the Arab regimes that prevents them from taking a firm position.

Dr Selim is of the view that the US veto has proved, to those who had any doubts, that "Israel is committing these atrocities in the Palestinian occupied territories with full American backing".

He referred to the Algerian ambassador's remarks in the Security Council, when the latter said that the Security Council only appeared to become effective when it chasticized the Arab nations, and said the remarks overall reflected the Arab sentiment.

Dr Selim did not think that the veto had anything to do with the US presidential elections. The track record of the Americans showed that they would have done that in any case, irrespective of the elections.

After all, the US had vetoed 29 resolutions on the Arab-Israel conflict. At one point in time, they had abstained but they had never voted with the Palestinians, Dr Selim pointed out. Washington's policies were permanently at variance with Arab aspirations and demands on the Palestinian question.

Dr Selim said it appeared that there was a consensus among Republicans and Democrats on the main issues of the Arab-Israeli conflict. If John Kerry came to power, it would not drastically change the situation on the ground.

While expressing concern over the haplessness of the Muslim world in the face of the growing threats to their rights, freedom and identity, Dr Selim pointed out the American-European consensus on Iran similar to the one on the Palestine question.

He felt that in the next few months there could be discussion on Iran in the Security Council and a resolution could be adopted against it. This showed the comfort level the Americans enjoyed in the Security Council.

A law loosely enforced

If the driver ahead of you on the high-speed track of a road is driving excruciatingly slowly, you can be sure that he is busy talking on his cellular phone. Fuming helplessly, you honk and hope that he will pull off the road and let you pass by. Such hopes often prove to be vain.

Similarly, motorcyclists also use cellular phones while riding their two-wheelers. Fearing that their voice would be drowned out by the noise of the traffic, they speak at the top of their voice as they negotiate tricky turns.

Needless to say, such reckless motorists fail to give undivided attention to the immediate task of driving, a job made more perilous by the disregard for traffic rules by most of us. They also incur the ire of other motorists who, impatient at irksome delays in the rush hour, lose their temper.

Much to the relief of those who want to be safe rather than sorry, the government some time back outlawed the use of a cellular phone while driving. According to news reports, accidents involving drivers using cellular phones had increased to an extent where the traffic police felt forced to recommend that the use of cellular phones while driving should be made an offence punishable with a fine. However, like so many other laws and regulations, this one too remains unimplemented and is violated with impunity.

An orderly graveyard

It had to happen one day - a graveyard with a website of its own. Apart from being the most methodically operated graveyard in the city, Wadi-i-Hussain in the suburbs of Karachi has gone on the Internet.

Spread over 43 acres, it is perhaps the only graveyard in Karachi which has a website. "We have received over 40,000 messages of appreciation from expatriates following the launch of the website. Burials in the graveyard started in 2000 and so far it has received 1,600 bodies," says Alam Shah, who established the graveyard with donations from a philanthropist.

After opening the website, an Internet user has to type in the serial number of the grave he wants to visit. The user can say "fateha" for the soul of the departed whose grave is flashed on the computer screen.

If spoken into a microphone, the "fateha" is transmitted to the grave through a special sound system installed in the graveyard. Pakistanis living abroad are said to be keen to avail themselves of the facility.

The organizers of the cemetery claim they ensure that all graves are identical and without traditional adornments. However, recently the management relaxed the rule for the tombstones of those gunned down in sectarian terrorism.

Comparisons

Mumbai is to Karachi what Delhi is to Lahore. Before anyone suggests that Delhi is like Islamabad, one would say that Delhi is much more than a bureaucratic city. Professor Mushirul Hasan who was here a few days ago said that everyone is now gravitating towards Delhi and that it is also the cultural capital of India.

Dilliwalas tend to speak of Mumbaikars in the same vein as Lahoris refer to Karachians - that we are too commercial-minded. That is debatable but what cannot be contested is that like Mumbai, Karachi is a cosmopolitan city, where people from all over Pakistan, India and Bangladesh live amicably. Like Mumbai, Karachi is the country's most modern and populous city. Also, it contributes much more to the national exchequer than any other city does.

Unlike Lahore and Delhi, Karachi and Mumbai have no past, which is reflected in the psyche of the people who live in the present. Furthermore, both Karachi and Mumbai are coastal cities that were until a couple of centuries ago, mere fishing villages. In fact Mumbai, built on as many as seven islands - thanks to land-filling which joined them - comprised more than one fishing village.

But geographically and architecturally the two cities - Karachi and Mumbai - are different. Mumbai has a paucity of land, so it had no choice except to shoot up. It's not too uncommon to find residential buildings of 20 to 40 storeys.

The percentage of people living in apartments in Mumbai is much higher than their counterparts in Karachi, where a lot more people live in single- or double-storey houses - be they bungalows or quarters built soon after Partition. But in places like Gulistan-i-Jauhar, one can see a lot of flats. Architect and conservationist Yasmin Lari describes such areas as vertical slums.

Mumbai's roads are narrower than Karachi's but traffic is more orderly and the public transport system - taxis, buses and local trains - is infinitely better. There is no question of a taxi driver refusing to go by the meter. Both the cities suffered at the hands of ethnic parties but mercifully enough both have bounced back. Shouldn't they be declared twin cities?

Better hygiene?

There are unmistakable signs of a quiet improvement in food hygiene in Karachi, especially when it comes to shops selling milk and yogurt. Until recently, yogurt was made and sold in trays of baked clay, which remained open and exposed to dust and flies. Sometimes, the shopkeeper was kind enough to cover the tray with a piece of thin cloth.

Now the clay tray has given way to trays made of shiny tin. The tin lids covering the trays with hinges protect yogurt from flies and other germs. In many shops, milk is no longer sold from the traditional cauldron in which the world's most perfect food in liquid form is always on the boil while the milk wallah stirs it with a spatula with a long handle.

Now milk is stored in a huge cistern resembling a boiler. It is kept cold by ice stored in a sort of tube within the boiler-like contraption. By any standards this is an improvement of sorts hygienically.

As for meat, it has traditionally been sold out of hunks hanging in the open. Flies covered the meat, while cats and dogs scavenged on the discarded bits. Customers stood in the midst of all this dirt and bought the meat of their choice after haggling with the butcher, who sat with folded legs in the cabin, while the sun beat down mercilessly.

Now in many cases, beef and mutton are sold inside proper shops. More important, customers have the luxury of sitting in chairs, and - behold - there is a TV set to hold your attention while you wait for your turn.

email: karachi_notebook@hotmail.com.