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| April 07, 2008 | Monday | Rabi-ul-Awwal 29, 1429 |
Wanted: a civilised force
Seminary cricket
Education: challenges ahead
OTHER VOICES - North American Press
AS a result of the 2008 election, the newly elected government in Pakistan is beginning to start its journey on the treacherous road of uncertainties. There are challenges in the domains of security, economy, development and education.
THE Wall Street Journal has informed its readers that foreign investors are eager to invest in Pakistan. But the moot point is, where do these eager beavers want to invest their money? Not in manufacturing or agriculture, or anything with an export bias, but in the stock market and the services sectors like banking, oil marketing and telecom which create headline-making employment at the prohibitive cost of heavy imports and profits repatriation. That is where most of the foreign investment has gone in the last five years. And those are the sectors the WSJ has identified as the target of eager foreign investors. One would agree with the WSJ that in the last fiscal year ending June 2007, as much as $8.4bn in foreign investment, including portfolio investment, flowed into Pakistan. The amount of direct foreign investment has gone down substantially in the last eight months until February because of political turmoil in the country in the build-up to the general elections.
Predictably the WSJ advises the new government to resume the privatisation process immediately if it wants these eager investors to return to Pakistan. The point to be emphasised is this: true it is not the business of the government to be in business. This activity is best done by entrepreneurs who understand the dynamics of demand and supply and know how to take calculated risks and pay for making wrong calls. A government is not capable of doing all this.
But then some of our own so-called entrepreneurs too have proved incapable of doing ‘business’ without a helping hand from the government. They are known to have bloated their profit margins by skimping on taxes and utility bills. One would therefore question the idea of privatisation. If the family silver is sold to those who make a killing in our undervalued markets for repatriation purposes, one is only adding to one’s current account burden in return for an insignificant improvement in the job situation. Of course, foreign investment flows even in export-oriented manufacturing and agriculture sectors also entail profit repatriation but export earnings from these enterprises do contribute significantly to decreasing one’s dependence on foreign debt and reducing pressure on the current account while generating significant employment opportunities in the process. Pakistan has achieved visible comparative advantages in cotton, textiles, surgical goods, sports, leather, cutlery, citrus and mango production. But many of our rent-seeking entrepreneurs have so far failed to exploit these advantages to enter high-end global markets for these goods. Also, Pakistan has reached the frontier of its extensive farming strategy, and now needs to re-orient its agriculture sector towards higher value-added (and less water-intensive) crops. This is where foreign investment would greatly help.
THE latest twist in the ongoing episode between teachers and personnel of Pakistan Rangers at the University of Karachi is not only unfortunate but also reeks of blatant high-handedness on the part of the latter. The poor professor, who was beaten up by armed guards on duty over a minor incident on March 31, now faces a litany of charges that ironically should have been good enough for him to file a suit against his tormentors. The Rangers had initially detained two officials involved in the horrific incident, but imperatives of perceived institutional esteem seemed to have forced a change of heart and they have now lodged a four-count FIR against the professor. As anybody in his right frame of mind would testify, the chances are almost non-existent of a scholarly professor, who was unarmed and alone at the time of the incident, using criminal force to deter a bunch of armed guards intoxicated with notions of being masters of all they could survey.
Seen in the larger context of the presence of paramilitary force in Karachi, the episode is a clear indicator of why the Rangers are held in contempt by people of all shades and hues of opinion. The haughty demeanour of their rank and file is enough to put one off, to begin with. Add to it their propensity to show scant respect for the law and encroach on civilian property they have no right to. They are known to have arbitrarily taken over educational institutions and hostels — the Jinnah Courts is a blatant example — to base themselves without thinking twice about the inconvenience they are causing to others. Small wonder that a rational, civilised mind struggles to accept them as fellow human beings. The Rangers’ high command would do well to recognise that this approach rubs people on the wrong side and contributes to the unpopularity of the paramilitary force.
The misplaced arrogance and sense of superiority on display might have been acceptable to the public had the Rangers been able to control the worsening law and order situation. But that has not been the case. People have been critical, and rightly so, of the manner in which the Rangers tend to behave every time there is a crisis in the metropolis; taking shelter in their dens when the trouble is at its peak, and returning to the scene hours later when everything stands gutted. May 12, Oct 18, Dec 27 bear testimony to this effect. A security force that inspires trust and confidence is what the city needs. Till that happens, however, the Rangers can at least begin to take lessons in civilised behaviour and basic courtesy.
MADRESSAHS in Islamabad are trying to salvage their reputation, dented in no small way by the war on terror and last year’s Lal Masjid affair, by playing floodlight cricket. A first ever week-long inter-seminary cricket tournament among the male students of 24 registered madressahs began on April 4 while the female students are taking part in a badminton competition that has been organised simultaneously. Having been taught to reject the notion of fun and denied access to television, these youngsters have few outlets for their youthful energy. Hence playing cricket in a formal tournament in the proper attire, complete with shirt and trousers, is something revolutionary. It seems the organisers of the tournament are hoping the event would help dispel the post-9/11 and post-Lal Masjid stereotyped image of the seminary student and bridge the gap between seminary students and their counterparts from the mainstream school system. But these objectives could be better achieved if tournaments are also organised between students from the two sets of institutions to enable the seminary students to mingle and interact with other segments of society. In any case, the inter-seminary cricket tournament is a pilot project in Islamabad which the organisers hope to bring to other cities later.
More important than cricket tournaments in madressah reform is ensuring the enforcement of the Madaris (Registration and Regulation) Ordinance 2002 which provides for the registration of madressah, audit of their accounts and funding, and implementation of the Madaris Education Board syllabus to include general subjects like mathematics, science and computer studies. The establishment of a Madressah Welfare Authority to regulate the madressahs, announced recently by the new prime minister in his maiden speech in parliament, is yet another measure in the direction of madressah reform. It is not only the image per se of these madressahs that we want to correct in the eyes of the West. Madressah reform should envisage measures which will genuinely help incorporate madressahs into the mainstream education system and seminary students into mainstream Pakistani society.
Education, in an interesting way, is linked with the security issues in the 9/11 commission report where it is observed that some madressahs in Pakistan ‘have been used as incubators for violent extremism”. The report recommends that the US should give funds to Pakistan for “better education”.
This increase in funds in the education sector was a new phenomenon which was in sharp contrast to the pre 9/11 period when Pakistan was at the bottom of the table of allocation to education in South Asia — in 1997 this sector received only 2.2 per cent of GDP. The post 9/11 scenario saw a large flow of money to the education sector for ‘better education’ in Pakistan.
Consequently the budget for education was increased. But we need to look at this increase in relation to the allocations for defence as well. In the federal and provincial budgets 2005-06, Rs127.3bn was allocated to education whereas Rs151.3bn was set aside for defence. This wide gap reflects our priorities. But the allocation of money is not the only problem. In my recent book, Rethinking Education in Pakistan, I have discussed in detail how in various five-year plan periods 50 per cent of allocated funds remained unspent. One major reason was the bureaucratic process for the release of the funds. The appropriateness of the 50 per cent spent money was also questionable.
The post 9/11 increased inflow of money led to a barrage of generously funded but poorly planned projects where the emphasis seemed to be on two points: (a) demonstrating quantitative results and (2) spending maximum funds in a stipulated period of time. Instead of using money in a sensible manner to achieve certain educational objectives, the whole emphasis was laid on turning these initiatives into political slogans. Take the example of Parah Likha Punjab (literate Punjab) where millions of rupees were spent on ads to underline the exploits of some government personalities.
The post 9/11 scenario saw an ironic twist in the situation. In the pursuit of quick results, the education minister — a lady from Balochistan — was replaced by a retired general to implement the agenda with the required ‘toughness’. This appointment suggested that education in Pakistan is quite wantonly treated by military governments. In the mid of much-trumpeted ‘quality in education initiatives’, search committees were set up to select the most appropriate and qualified candidates to be named as vice chancellors of universities. But nobody would ever know why a retired brigadier was appointed as vice chancellor of the university of Balochistan.
Pakistan, even after 61 years of its independence, is still facing the problem of access in education. A large number of students cannot get to the schools either because there are no schools available or because they cannot afford to go to school. According to the National Education Policy (1998-2010) “it is estimated that out of a total 19.22 million primary school age (5-9) population, only 13.72 million are in school and 5.5 million are left out who are never enrolled”. The new government needs to address this issue.
A related issue is the large percentage of dropouts from our schools. According to National Education Census Highlights 2006, 31.3 per cent of children drop out between grades 1 and 5. This tremendous loss can be averted through proper planning.
One of the major problems faced by the Pakistani system of education is the issue of quality. Since independence we have expanded in terms of educational institutions but in terms of quality certain question marks remain. In most of our mainstream educational institutions, the prevalent teaching approach is that of transmission where the teacher is not concerned with the transformation of students’ lives but only with transmission of existing knowledge.
This kind of pedagogy, according to Paulo Freire, emanates from a ‘banking concept of knowledge’. As a result the students produced in the mainstream educational institutions of Pakistan do not develop themselves into independent thinkers and tend to conform to the existing stereotypes of society. This approach to education does not encourage research that could construct new knowledge. In Pakistan there seems to be no exposure to research at school and college levels. Consequently, in the recent past, when the university faculty was engaged or asked to engage in research, its research was not relevant to the needs of Pakistan and was generally of poor quality.
This wide chasm between school, college and university needs to be bridged. On the contrary we see a constant tension between the HEC and the ministry of education. This rift between the two organisations proved counter-productive to any and all initiatives in the domain of education. School education, college education, and university education are part of a continuum. If we bring mega changes at the university level but our school- and college-level education is neglected, we cannot expect a sound system in the country. We need to have a balanced focus at all levels. A sound education at the school and college levels would pave the way for a sound university education. Keeping in view the significance of school and college education, we need to set up commissions for school and college education.
One favourite move of every government is to offer a new curriculum. The new government, instead of just making new currricula, should also focus on practical aspects of the curriculum; i.e., classroom teaching. In the past we have seen some teacher-training crash programmes which could only satisfy the political interests of the ruling party by showing an inflated number of ‘trained teachers’. Such ‘crash programmes’ cannot bring about a sustainable, meaningful change in the classroom and consequently at the societal level.
Teacher education needs to be given top priority if the new government is serious about bringing a qualitative change in the educational system of Pakistan. The result is the growing number of ‘trained teachers’ who find it difficult to think independently, reflect on their practices, and improve their teaching. There is a real need to set up quality teacher education institutes in Punjab, Sindh, Balochistan and the NWFP along the lines of the Institute for Educational Development of the Aga Khan University in Karachi. To make such institutes work, it is important to establish them in new buildings with newly hired, committed and dedicated teams. Just changes in names will not serve the purpose.
Another area that needs the attention of the new government is the assessment system. Assessment plays an important role in the process of teaching and learning. Our age-old assessment system is entirely memory-based that has a negative wash-back effect on teaching. The existing assessment system taps only lower-order thinking skills. In other words this system focuses only on ‘what’ type of questions and ignores ‘how and why’ thinking. The assessment system needs to be totally revamped if we are serious about producing thinking citizens.
The writer is director, Centre for Humanities and Social Sciences at Lahore School of Economics and author of Rethinking Education in Pakistan.
shahidksiddiqui@yahoo.com
There were orders to follow
The New York Times
YOU can often tell if someone understands how wrong their actions are by the lengths to which they go to rationalise them. It took 81 pages of twisted legal reasoning to justify President Bush’s decision to ignore federal law and international treaties and authorise the abuse and torture of prisoners. It is [a must-read] for anyone who still doubts whether the abuse of prisoners were rogue acts rather than calculated policy….
The purpose of the March 14 memo was … to make sure that the policymakers who authorised those acts … were not convicted of any crime. The list of laws that … [the] memo sought to circumvent is long.
American and international laws against torture prohibit making a prisoner fear “imminent death”. For most people, waterboarding — making a prisoner feel as if he is about to drown — would fit. But … [the memo] argues that the statutes apply only if the interrogators actually intended to kill the prisoner. Since waterboarding simulates drowning, there is no “threat of imminent death.” … Reading the full text, released this week, makes it startlingly clear how deeply the Bush administration corrupted the law.
When the abuses at Abu Ghraib became public, we were told these were the depraved actions of a few soldiers. The … memo makes it chillingly apparent that senior officials authorised unspeakable acts and went to great lengths to shield themselves from prosecution. — (April 4)
Unbecoming a judge
The Boston Globe
THE State’s Commission on Judicial Conduct is taking a strong stand on the case of Superior Court Judge Ernest Murphy, who sent letters demanding that the publisher of the Boston Herald pay him money and not appeal a libel verdict against the paper. But even the proposed $25,000 fine, public censure, and 30-day unpaid suspension don’t go far enough.
The case is complex, and bizarre. It is rooted in a Herald report ascribing callous remarks to Murphy in the case of a 14-year-old rape victim. In February 2005, a jury found that the Herald had maliciously published false and defamatory information about the judge. The jury awarded Murphy $2 million. Shortly after, Murphy wrote a letter to Herald publisher Pat Purcell, urging him to deliver a $3.26 million check at a confidential meeting.
Even though a hearing officer saw fit in November only to issue a reprimand for “unbecoming” conduct, the commission found that Murphy was being intentionally intimidating when he sought to settle the case for an “excessive” amount. It noted Murphy’s warning to Purcell that it would be a “BIG mistake” to share the letter with his trial lawyers. The commission cited both the odd use of capital letters and an ominous tone suggesting that Murphy might even engage in “some form of retribution against Mr Purcell.”
A short suspension and a fine isn’t a just resolution to this case. — (April 5)
