11 November 2004	Thursday	27 Ramazan 1425

RAWALPINDI, Nov 10: Federal Minister for Social Welfare and Special Education Zobaida Jalal has said the Social Welfare Policy-1965 is being reviewed in order to update it and remove the shortcomings.

The minister was speaking at a seminar on 'Role of volunteerism in achievement of Millennium Development Goals', held at Fatima Jinnah Women University on Wednesday.

Ms Jalal said the policy would take three months to prepare after which it would be put before the Cabinet for approval and then be passed by the parliament. Proper legislation will be done for this purpose, she added.

Underlining the importance of volunteerism, the minister stressed upon NGOs, CBOs and the youth to play their role in this regard. The concept of volunteerism is not new and its importance has increased manifold in the recent past, she said.

Islam also conveys the message of volunteerism. Its teachings regarding Zakat, philanthropy and brotherhood are different aspects of this concept, Ms Jalal said.

She said volunteerism played a vital role in the progress and development of a country and social welfare of its people. She made special mention of educational institutions and health centres functioning on voluntary basis.

The minister said in many schools in rural areas, there was shortage of staff thus necessitating teaching on voluntary basis. Volunteerism can play a big role in raising the literacy rate in the country, she added.

Similarly, many health centres have the required facilities but lack medical staff to provide treatment to patients, she said. Owing to this reason, equipment worth millions of rupees remains unutilized.

Ms Jalal said her ministry had been running 55 schools for special children. There is a need for volunteers to run such institutions and teach children who can not go to normal schools, she added.

Stressing the need to institutionalize volunteerism, she said an international three-day conference on the subject would be arranged next month and Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz would inaugurate the event.

Speaking on the occasion, National Commission for Human Development Chairman Dr Naseem Ashraf highlighted the significance of volunteerism.

He was of the view that human development had been ignored in the country. For the first time, he said, the government had established the NCHD with an aim to promote human development and volunteerism.

The NCHD chairman said the commission had about 9,000 volunteers teaching in non-formal schools, especially in the far- flung areas. They are paid nominal salaries of Rs1,000 each. About 400,000 children are benefiting from this programme, he added.

According to him, the government alone cannot achieve the targets, so the civil society has to work side by side with the official institutions through its voluntary services.

He said real progress was possible only when children of poor parentage got the same opportunities which were availed by the privileged class. He especially emphasised female education.

Fatima Jinnah Women University Vice-Chancellor Dr Najma Najam suggested that participation in voluntary activities be made mandatory for students pursuing degree-level course. She said the university would fully cooperate with the government in promotion of this concept.