| November 12, 2006 | Sunday | Shawwal 19, 1427 |
Poorly taught students — a harsh reality
Culture: back in demand
IT was an Englishman's day at the Gaddafi Stadium. A depressing winter morning scene from Kenneth Grahame's The Wind in the Willows. Except there was no wind in the willows of West Indian batsmen on Saturday morning.
“HOW long will the education system in Sindh remain derailed?” wonder those who understand what is happening in our schools, colleges and universities. And those who do not perceive the reality, are blissfully ignorant. So, shall we remain programmed to deteriorate – but until when? Haven’t we reached rock bottom, or almost?
If there was any, it was for appropriately named Gayle, who smacked Gul all over the Gaddafi, until Gul got Ganga. Alliteration fun aside, that's how it went literally. Umar Gul's bowling was proof to the athiest that there is a God, otherwise he really shouldn't have got wickets when he did. They were all either against the run of play or when he was about to be taken off. Having said that, almost all came to good balls pitched in the right place. The ball that removed Lara was finely crafted and left Lara lurching early and clumsily. That moment unsteadied the West Indian resistance both physically and psychologically.
By the time he got his fourth everyone was so excited they didn't realize he was on a hat-trick and he bowled his next ball to No.11 with two slips and a gully.
Lara for his part had been cautious to begin with considering he came in after Gayle's thunder and saw the hurricane start to unravel just as it did in Mumbai six days back.
He played Kaneria like a grandmaster tackling a rising genius, but it was Shahid Nazir who scored all the points when pitched against him and his spell after lunch unnerved a batsman rated by many to be the finest in the world today.
It reflects on the lack of moral fibre of selectors over the past eight years that they haven't picked Shahid Nazir to play more often. When he was brought in at Headingley this summer, Ian Botham couldn't stop asking Rameez why a bowler like him had been kept out for eight long years.
Perhaps he should have asked Inzamam who was forced to take him to India and Sri Lanka earlier this year but played him in not a single international. When he ran rings around the England batsmen in the two Tests this summer, he was not retained for the NatWest ODIs and not selected for the Champions Trophy shortlist of 30!
It is a tribute to his talent for swing and control that he stepped into international cricket after eight years and returned as the bowler with a high economy rate who struck at crucial moments; it is a further tribute that he stepped in again after ten weeks and immediately struck out three batsmen in 12 balls after conceding some 15 runs at a time when Gayle was running amok.
Inzamam remains unfettered over such questioning of his wisdom, I'm sure. I fear he will drop Nazir first chance he gets. He seems to be the captain who will play his Razzaqs in the Tests and plays the waiting game while in the slips. He is a firm believer in Murphy's Law: If it is supposed to happen, it will.
In this Test match's selection he has been at once conservative, fair and bold. He has stuck to Razzaq over an extra specialist (Faisal Iqbal would have been an asset in the fourth innings or Samiullah could have used the pitch better). He has been bold by entering a first Test of the series with three specialist bowlers (Malik and Razzaq are part timers after their changed action and injury) and been fair by persisting with Imran Farhat due to his near century in the opening stand at The Oval, despite his recent double madness in Mohali. But to be fair to him, he got a gem of a delivery on Saturday and was out playing defensive.
That way Inzy has at least put an end to opening combinations that were literally breeding by the Test — four combinations in 4 Test matches against England and six openers tried in the last 9 Tests. But now Umar Gul and Shahid Nazir are reportedly the tenth bowling pair in the last 23 Tests. It's like a leaking dyke: you plug in one hole, another opens.
There is not only a cynical acceptance of poor academic standards, it seems, but there is also a leisurely ‘we don’t care’ attitude about classroom chaos and failures – in terms of general discipline, ethical behaviour and academics. Therefore, poorly taught students is harsh reality.
And the one who reminded Sindh of its educational woes and worries in Karachi last week was none other than President Pervez Musharraf himself who made it abundantly clear that he was unhappy with the educational standards in Sindh, and that this province should learn from the province of Punjab.
Reflecting the immediacy of what he said was his quote that has been reproduced in the press. He said: “There is no need of theory… I want you to take practical steps.”
News reports coming out of the meeting that he presided over stated that “he appeared to be virtually unhappy over the performance of the provincial education department and asked the authorities concerned to learn from Punjab vis-à-vis education reforms.”
In another report, the president was quoted as having advised the Sindh government to contact army public schools for teachers’ training. The president was informed that there was a wide gap between primary and middle schools in Sindh. There are 17 primary schools for one middle school, it was stated.
Given the poor quality of teachers’ training at the school level, and the salaries that they are paid by private school managements, as a ‘rule’, it could well be a feasible proposition to hand over the primary schools to the army public schools – with a view to save the education system in this province. There is something that desperately needs to be done about academic standards in this province.
One recently read an article on the subject of work ethics and the will to work in Pakistani society, and the writer lamented professional incompetence that is growing in all sectors in this country. It was suggested that incompetence and indifference of even professionals is possibly linked to the quality of education imparted, and crucially, to the question of what ethics come packaged along with the textbooks, uniforms and satchels.
It is said that several recent surveys have revealed that even schoolchildren believe that, if one can get away with it, cheating is a way to succeed and that their main purpose in life is to make money. But then the general perception is that the explicit goal of the private sector schools and colleges is to ‘make money’. Certainly they all do not do this, but the fact remains that private schools, or rather elitist schools, are frighteningly expensive. And many of them so expensive that monthly tuition fee structures are mind-boggling
In a way, what is happening is that in the country’s urban centres, like Karachi, Islamabad and Lahore, there is rapid (disturbing) rise in the number of expensive private schools which are affordable only for the affluent sections of Pakistani society.
English medium schools, air-conditioned schools, Cambridge system schools, etc. are modern all the way but affordable only for the upper class. Here the quality of education is visibly and definitely higher and better than in the majority of the schools and colleges, remarked Shahid Farooqui, who looks after the training and development needs of a leading oil company.
He opined that while there has been a slight improvement in educational standards at the higher level – especially with reference to private universities (he named GIK and LUMS as instant examples) the neglected domain was that of the schools and colleges. The majority of the schools and colleges, the students from which poor quality institutions cannot find their entrance into the well-reputed universities in the country, needs to be focused upon for reform that is long due.
This means that they are good but expensive schools and there are poor and not so expensive schools that this province has – as a result of which there is a class divide being nurtured (?) which is also giving further impetus to social unrest. Shahid Farooqui said that the students from the lower and middle class, unless they are brilliant or lucky, cannot easily find their way into the prestigious seats of higher learning. He was referring to the class divide that many observers of Pakistani society find very disturbing.
I have been talking to many citizens who are also wondering as to why Punjab’s education standards and reforms have fared successfully – and to such an extent that Punjab government advertises its educational success on TV channels, and in the print media.
One is referring to the TV commercial which underlines the point of a “Parrha Likkha Punjab”. Initially it did come as a surprise to see this commercial from Punjab, but we now have reached a stage where Sindh is asked to follow Punjab in the field of education. And there is also another option; that of the army public schools.
Reflecting the gravity of the situation, and the priority that has been attached to the schools in Sindh, President Pervez Musharraf held out the assurance that the federal government would be willing to extend all out support for the improvement of education sector in Sindh.
Interestingly, giving the impression that ‘all is well’ and creating a positive image of the education sector in this city, for example, are the dozens and dozens of print media advertisements that appear daily in newspapers. And on Sundays, like today, they flood the dailies – making one believe that the education sector is thriving.
Indeed it is prospering, but in all this what does not appear to be happening is the creation of high academic standards. It is all and only good for the commercial side of the business that education has turned into. Someone commented, though not in this context, on this society: "We seem to be in a kind of devil’s dreamland.”
A point that needs to be underlined in red and which spells hope is that while schools and colleges disappoint us with their quality, there is a general perception amongst parents and students that there is a thing called ‘good education’.
Like there is an awareness of the need to stay away from unsafe drinking water, and opt for mineral water, it is this awareness that is possibly the good news, in what is otherwise a fairly bleak scenario, at this stage. All the promises that the officials and their bandwagons make are paper promises, truly speaking!
President Musharraf was in the city for four consecutive days last week. His presence meant more difficulties for the commuters. Police were deployed on all roads the president was expected to pass through. As a result, there were traffic jams at various places. But this has now become a fact of life. Even when the president is not in the city, roads are overcrowded because more and more two and four-wheelers are adding up everyday — thanks to the easy loans being offered by the banks. It is simply mind-boggling to imagine what the situation on the roads would be like after a few more years.
On Thursday evening, Gen Musharraf inaugurated the World Performing Arts Festival (WPAF) at the Alhamra Art Complex, organised by the Rafi Peer Theatre. Some 700 artistes from 40 countries are participating in the 10-day event. The same day an annual three-day religious congregation started at Raiwind, some 30km from the city. Hundreds of thousands of faithful from various countries participated.
Although the WPAF was held only a day after the Dargai tragedy, in which more than 40 recruits had been killed by a suicide bomber, the COAS-president decided to inaugurate the event as it provided him with an opportunity to promote what he called a soft image of Pakistan. Such functions make multi-cultural exchanges possible, which in turn result in better understanding of each other and help promote peace, said the president.
He said such events had no clash with Islam, adding that the government would hold such festivals in Islamabad also to bring more colour to life in the capital. The president also exchanged views with Governor Khalid Maqbool and Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi. He also issued instructions to improve the situation in various fields. On Friday, the president opened a Sufi conference.
US ambassador Ryan C Crocker also visited the city last week. He addressed an inter-faith conference, met the chief minister and also chatted briefly with journalists. Since Republicans have lost to Democrats in both houses, reporters asked him about the likely changes in the US policy towards Pakistan. Those in power must have sighed relief when the ambassador said that the outcome of the mid-term polls would not affect the US-Pakistan relations. He said war on terror would go on and both the countries would continue to cooperate with each other.
Senior PPP leader Malik Hakimeen Khan claims that he is in a position to bring the PPP leadership and Gen Musharraf to the table. However, he said at a ceremony last week, he could play any role only if he was mandated. The Malik from Attock said while talking to Dawn if he could make Air Marshal (retd) Asghar Khan sit with the PPP despite his utterances that he would hang Zulfikar Ali Bhutto on the Kohala bridge, there was no reason why he could not make the PPP leadership share a table with Gen Musharraf.
Malik Hakimeen said the present rulers were unable to solve the problems facing the country, and the PPP was the only party which had the capability to steer the country out of the multiple crises. A former minister for jails, whose remark that he would lay a network of prisons in Punjab has gone down in history, Malik said the crisis was worsening by the day and urgent steps were needed to control the downward slide.
He is a dedicated party worker, but it is not understandable why the PPP leadership is not allowing him to play a role he claims he in a position to. Maybe the leadership is not fully aware of the man’s capabilities.
At a time when reports are circulating in the media that the government has approached exiled former chief minister Shahbaz Sharif with the offer that he could come back to Pakistan along with his family, parting company with his elder brother Nawaz Sharif, a petition has been moved in the Supreme Court seeking injunction that the PML-N president should be allowed to return to the country and lead his party in the election. The petition has been moved by the Pakistan Lawyers Forum, a pro-Sharif body of legal practitioners. However, Shahbaz Sharif has instantly denied that the petition has been moved with his consent.
Although it is for the court to decide whether to accept the petition, the very initiative of moving the judiciary has strengthened suspicions that behind-the-scenes contacts between the government and the exiled Sharif family are going on. Shabaz Sharif was unwilling to leave the country along with the rest of the family in December 2000. However, he had to change his opinion when he was told by the rulers that either the entire family would go into exile or stay back. He did not want the entire family to suffer because of him.
A petition was moved in the Supreme Court on the basis of which the apex court said that any Pakistani was free to come to his country and stay anywhere he liked. The verdict was taken as a permission by the court to Mian Shahbaz to come to Pakistan. He packed up and took a flight for Dubai, from where he boarded a Lahore-bound plane on May 11, 2004, believing that at most he would be arrested. The moment his plane landed at the Lahore airport, an official went into the aircraft to tell the former Punjab chief minister that he was being arrested on the basis of cases pending against him and would be taken to Rawalpindi by another flight.
Mian Shahbaz Sharif was shifted to another flight, and when it remained airborne much longer than it would have taken to reach Islamabad airport, he asked the crew where he was being taken. “To Jeddah, sir”, came the answer. Within hours he was back in the very country he wanted to leave at the earliest. Dropping him off at Jeddah airport the special flight came back. Shortly thereafter, the former chief minister left for the US for his treatment and from there he went to London, where he has been staying since then. No PML-N leader took the matter to the apex court to seek a clarification as to how could the government deport Mian Shahbaz despite a clear verdict of the apex court. The new petition, observers say, is an attempt to fathom the government’s mood.
Dengue fever has scared the people across the country. The number of people affected by it is growing fast. Some people in Lahore have also been affected by the disease, caused by a mosquito. Many people have also died because of the viral disease. If there are no mosquitoes, certainly there will be no dengue fever. A TV channel invited a doctor to a programme to get his opinion as to what precautions should be taken to overcome the problem. “Very simple. Kill the mosquitoes wherever you find them”, said the doctor.
Want expert opinion on other issues? —ASHRAF MUMTAZ