Education for all : Budget 2010-11
Education for all
May 31: With the budget for 2010-11 now just around the corner, the question of
educational spending has come up again. At a pre-budget seminar, a
demand has been made that the allocation for this vital sector be
raised to three per cent of GDP. This makes good sense. While much lip
service has been paid to the cause of education, in reality there has
been no meaningful change for the people in the last six decades. The
vital missing ingredient is the lack of will of both the government and
the bureaucracy. Pressure from international agencies and funding from
abroad have been the cause for some effort but results have had a
negligible impact on actual statistics, with the number of
schoolchildren growing at an alarming rate as the population multiplies
rapidly. As far as the population factor is concerned, a literate and
educated citizenry will have fewer children than an uneducated mass. It
has been proven in many countries that the education of women has been
the main factor in bringing down the birth rate. This is reason enough
for the government to make an all-out effort to provide good education
to all children, especially in the rural areas of the country. The
economic benefits of a falling birth rate would go a long way in
helping the economy, enabling the government to provide more facilities
for health and education. Longer-term benefits would come in too, with
fewer people fighting for the limited jobs available in the market. It
goes without saying that the education of girls is as important as that
of boys, so that they too can become part of the workforce and
contribute to the family income. Apart from the numerous
economic benefits of education, there is the intrinsic value and
satisfaction of having access to knowledge - to being able to read and
understand literature and poetry, astronomy, economics or the millions
of other subjects that can open new vistas for children and adults
alike. People would then be able to take more informed decisions on all
subjects, be it their children's future, their health or the future of
their country. Many education policies have been formulated, some good
some bad. The problem lies in the fact that policies are not
implemented in their entirety. Before one policy has been given time to
show results, it is rejected when a new government takes over. A good
policy, drafted by professionals, needs to be designed with the
consensus of all the major political parties, and an agreement signed
that no matter which party is in power, the education policy must not
be subjected to change until the end of its agreed time period. More
funds are needed to back this and set up the foundation for change that
we so desperately need.
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Increase in education budget to 5% of GDP urged
Islamabad: The Centre for Peace and Development Initiatives
(CPDI) has written a policy letter to President Asif Ali Zardari,
demanding his advice to the federal government for increasing the total
education budget allocation to 5 per cent of the total GDP in the
federal budget 2010-11. The CPDI has also sent the letter to
Prime Minister Syed Yusuf Raza Gilani, federal and provincial education
ministers and other relevant officials and institutions, reminding them
of the policy resolve of the present government to increase the
education budget allocation to 5 per cent of the total GDP by 2010 and
7 per cent by 2015, as pronounced in the National Education Policy 2009. Lamenting
over the consistently missing political will of successive governments,
which have always made high promises in the past but repeatedly failed
to fulfil their commitments, the letter urges the president: "You as
head of the state should advise the government to fulfil its pledges
for increasing education budgeting to 5 per cent of the total GDP in
the year 2010." The letter contains a set of policy proposals
and says, "On behalf of civil society and conscientious citizens of
Pakistan, we sincerely believe and hope that your timely intervention
can stop further decline of country's education sector. We request you
to give serious consideration to these proposals and advise the
government for concrete policy measures for improving access to quality
education by all children in Pakistan." The letter raises
concerns over lack of transparency and culture of secrecy about making,
planning, reviewing and utilisation of education budget that seriously
hinders citizens' constitutional right to education and right to
information. It demands effective role of the parliament especially a
meaningful consultation with and consideration of recommendations of
parliamentary committee on education. It further underlines
efficient utilisation of education funds highlighting the long
unaddressed system inefficiencies, which cause under-utilisation of
already scant education budget. The letter further demands at least 15
per cent allocation for non-salary expenses, as appose to existing 5
per cent or less allocation whereas over 95 per cent budget was
allocated for salary related expenses in public sector schools
resulting into huge neglect of genuine needs of schools that include
repair, utilities, and expenses for water, electricity, and gas. The news
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Bangladesh blocks Facebook
Dhaka: Bangladesh has blocked social networking site Facebook for
posting caricatures of Prophet Muhammad (PBUH) and "obnoxious" images
of the Muslim-majority country's leaders, an official said on Sunday.
Facebook was blocked late on Saturday, the Bangladesh
Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (BTRC) said. The move was
ordered after the website "hurt the religious sentiments of the
country's majority Muslim population" by publishing caricatures of the
Holy Prophet (PBUH), BTRC Acting Chairman Hasan Mahmud Delwar told AFP.
"Some links in the site also contained obnoxious images of our leaders,
including the father of the nation Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, current Prime
Minister Sheikh Hasina and the leader of the opposition," he said.
Bangladesh's elite anti-crime Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) has arrested
one man over the images attacking the political leaders. "Facebook will
be re-opened once we erase the pages that contain the obnoxious
images," he said. afp
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LHC moved for permanent ban on Facebook
Lahore: A petition has been filed in the Lahore High Court, seeking a
complete ban on access to the Facebook, a social networking website, in
Pakistan, and registration of a criminal case under Section 295-C of
the PPC against its owners for committing blasphemy. The
petition was filed by Muhammad Azhar Siddique, chairman of the Judicial
Activism Panel (JAP), whose application for registration of an FIR had
been turned down by the Civil Lines police. The petitioner also
prayed that direction should be issued to the government functionaries
that no material with respect to blasphemy of any religion be
published, displayed, visualised or aired in Pakistan. Azhar
said the government authorities were not acting in accordance with the
law and not following the Islamic injunctions and also violating
article 2-A and other provisions of the Constitution. He
requested the court that the website ëFacebookí might permanently be
blocked/banned in the country. In the interest of justice and to
protect the Islamic injunctions, the government might be directed to
agitate the matter at the forum of the United Nations, Organisation of
Islamic Countries and International Court of Justice, the petitioner
prayed.
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NIP place 51,000 interns
Islamabad: More then 51,000 interns have been placed in different
departments and ministries under National Internship program (NIP). An
official of NIP while talking to APP said that NIP is designed to
benefit unemployed postgraduate youth of the country. He informed that
region-wise inducted inters are more then 51,303, from Punjab 21,966,
Sindh 8,611, Khyber Pakhtunkhawa 7,444, Balochistan 358, AJK 411,
Gigit-Baltistan 301, Malakand 5,648, FATA 216 and federal ministries
6,348 interns. He said that the programme has provided fresh mind to the government organizations to seek benefit from their abilities and to train them for future challenges regarding job.
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Misbehaving with teacher
Peshawar: University of Peshawar Vic-Chancellor Prof Dr Azmat Hayat
Khan Sunday said that strict action would be taken against those
involved in misbehaving with the director of Institute of Urdu Language
and Literature Prof Dr Farqeera Khan Faqri. "The university condemns the incident, which is totally intolerable," the vice-chancellor said in a statement. The
perpetrators have been put behind bars for misbehaving with one of the
most respected faculty members of the university, he said. A
committee under dean faculty of arts and humanities Prof Dr Farooq
Swati along with Provost Prof Dr Muhammad Bashir, Prof Dr Shafiqur
Rehman and Registrar Dr Syed Fazli Hadi has been formed to look into
the matter and take strict disciplinary action against the culprits
within a day or two, he said. "For now the university has done
what it has to do and that is to put the culprits behind the bars and
let the legal fraternity take action against them under the law," he
added. The vice-chancellor said the university was committed
to follow the conduct of zero tolerance for such acts. "We know how to
take action within our jurisdiction and defend the rights of our
people. Media is also requested to play a responsible role with the
humble request that whatever action we take will be communicated to
them," he added.
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Graduation ceremony held at Foundation School
Rawalpindi: The graduation ceremony of the Kindergarten Section
of the Foundation School, Satellite Town was held on Saturday, says a
press release. Professor Humayun Iqbal, Board of Intermediate and
Secondary Education Secretary was the chief guest on the occasion. With
the guidance and edification of their teachers a group of sprightly and
enthusiastic students presented a welcome song. The students of KG
class attired in colourful dresses preformed regional dances and also
uttered a few sentences in the regional languages which mesmerised all
present. The little speakers impressed everyone with their oratory
skills. Tableaux were also performed in which the students dressed in
costumes of animals looked awe some. At the end prizes were
distributed among the students for outstanding academic performance,
dynamic participation in class activities and for remarkable
improvement in studies. All the guests were captivated by the
performances of the little angles. The young tots with a sense of pride
and dignity received their scrolls from the chief guest. While their
parents heartily applauded on their achievement. In the end the young
graduates dressed in their gowns and mortarboards presented a beautiful
graduation song, expressing their feeling of gratitude for the teachers.
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Gender based violence discussed at FJWU
Rawalpindi: A seminar on gender based violence and its response
from government and civil society was arranged here by the Department
of Gender Studies at Fatima Jinnah Women University (FJWU). Prominent
personalities from different NGOs attended the seminar and discussed
issues regarding the legal, cultural and social remedies of issues
related to women. The session opened with remarks from Dr Rukhsana
Hassan, Chairperson Department of Gender Studies FJWU. Samar Minallah,
a well-known social worker and free lance journalist; Naeem A Mirza, a
renowned human rights activist and Chief Operating Officer Aurat
Foundation; and Maria Rashid, Co-director Rozan; highlighted the
ethical concerns while dealing with the survivors of violence and
strategies to reduce Violence against Women (VAW). Naeem A Mirza
enlightened the audience with their experiences in the field. The
seminar was followed by a healthy question-answer session, which helped
in clearing misconceptions lurking in the minds of students. Dr Shamim
Mehmood Zaidi, the chief guest at the occasion, thanked the eloquent
speakers and appreciated them for the informative discussion and
dissemination of their original experiences. In the end, university
souvenirs were presented to the worthy guests. The news
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