Karachi elite schools say no to national anthem
City's elite schools say no to national anthem
Karachi, May 03: The restive Balochistan province is not the only place where the national
anthem remains barred from many of its educational institutions. Several
leading elite schools of Karachi have also stopped following the
tradition in their morning assemblies, calling it a "waste of time and
energy." To the utter dismay of many parents and students,
several schools, including Bayview High School, the CAS and Rhodene
Academy, have either abolished the singing of the national anthem
altogether, or have been doing it only once a week for the past many
years. As the regulatory authorities concerned looked the
other way mainly because of the influence and connections of owners of
these private schools, a tradition that ruled every school of Karachi
for decades has been erased. The schools, which abandoned
the tradition of the national anthem, mostly follow the Cambridge
International Examination system, catering mostly to the elite,
upper-middle class and middle class families. Nadeem
Islam, vice principal of Bayview High School, said that assemblies occur
in his school every day, but the national anthem is sung only once a
week. "It takes too long, and wastes time that can be used in the class
constructively." He argues that celebrating the Independence Day and teaching history are enough for the students. The
answer of the principal and owner of another private school, who spoke
on the condition of anonymity, was more baffling. "I do not ask students
to sing the national anthem: firstly, because it is in Urdu; secondly, I
do not believe in national cohesion. What purpose does the national
anthem serve? Students should be engaged in more meaningful activities."
The principal's obvious disdain for the national
language and anthem underlines the fundamental crisis of Pakistan's
education system which remains divided not just on the class basis, but
also on the ideological grounds. Many students of these
so-called modern liberal schools remain stranger to their own country,
people, language and history, senior educationists say. Anwar Ahmed
Zai, chairman Board of Intermediate Education, says that singing the
national anthem has been a tradition at all the educational institutions
since 1952, when Hafeez Jalandhri's verses were finally selected from
among many hundred entries. "Not singing it (the national
anthem) should definitely be discouraged," he says. "The national anthem
serves three main purposes: ownership of the country, unity and
identity. These values can only be inculcated at a tender age, not when
the children are old and have grown up thinking it as unnecessary. "Forget
schools, there was a time when movies in cinemas played after a
collective national anthem was sung. If entertainment was followed by
it, then educational activities should surely follow suit." Dr
Muhammad Memon, director Institute of Education Development-Aga Khan
University, believes that the national anthem should be "mandatory." "When
we gather in the morning to sing the national anthem it is a commitment
to serve the country. There is no second choice. We must do it every
day." Professor Dr Syed Jaffar Ahmed of the Pakistan Study
Centre at Karachi University says that singing the national anthem is a
general practice worldwide. "It is a beautiful
composition, and a tool we desperately need in these times to maintain
national identity. Those who are against the practice should reconsider
their position." Salman Asif Siddiqui, director Education
Research and Development Centre, says: "School is the only place where a
child can learn the national anthem. He might not comprehend it at that
age, but the tune will stick to his head, exactly like a nursery rhyme.
At a later age, he can draw context from his memory." "It
takes three minutes to sing the national anthem. Why should it be a
waste of time?" says Yasmeen Qazi, the mother of a student at one such
school. Ibrahim Muzaffar, the father of another
schoolchild, is also concerned. "There are certain norms that make up
collective citizenship. How else will one expect students to consider
themselves patriotic Pakistanis?" he asks. "School age is
the period when students can memorise the national anthem. One cannot
discard everything by calling it unnecessary," says Fariha Sanaullah, a
mother of two school-going students. "Why destroy the beautiful tradition which we have cherished as a nation for decades?" "If
a child grows up thinking the national anthem is unnecessary, he will
have the same attitude towards other things, like patriotism or building
one's country," says Farah Khan, a young mother of a three-year-old.
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Students asking for second answer sheet slapped
Karachi: During the ongoing matriculation exams, two unusual but similar cases of
misdemeanour were reported, where an invigilator slapped two students
for asking for a second answer sheet. On April 25, during
the chemistry paper of the Board of Secondary Education, a student from
Al-Ilm Academy, who wishes to remain anonymous, was told not to waste
paper by asking for more sheets. "I was given one when I insisted, but only after I was slapped hard across the face." Another
student of the same school shared a similar experience. "After being
denied for the first time, I was handed over the second copy with a
slap." Both the students said that they were distressed
after the episode. They missed out parts of their paper and were not
able to study for the next exam. They also said that the same
invigilator was seen helping out another student with the multiple
choice questions. Meanwhile, the authorities at the
Whitehouse Grammar School denied the charges. "A second copy is every
child's right, and we are not short of stationery," said Saadia Ambreen,
the institute's vice principal. "I received a complaint
from the parents this morning. I sat with the two boys, listened to
their story, and believe me, nothing of this sort has happened." Many
cases of the use of unfair means have been detected during raids on the
school by officials of the Board of Secondary Education Karachi. The news
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Democratic panel wins teachers' election at FUUAST
Karachi: Democratic panel won the annual election 2012 of Teachers
Association of Federal Urdu University of Arts, Science and Technology
(FUUAST). According to result, Political Science Department Chairman
Prof Dr Ismaeel Moosi has been elected as president, Business Department
Prof Najamul Arfeen secretary general, International Relations
Department's Prof Syeda Dawood vice president and Sindhi Department's
Prof Seema Abro joint secretary. The election committee comprises Prof
Shehnaz Asif, Prof Dr Shahid Iqbal and Prof Hashim. Teachers'
representative in Senate of FUUAST Prof Nasir Abbas has congratulated
the winning party. Daily times
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International labour conference begins at KU
Karachi: A two-day international conference "Labour in the Age of Globalisation"
started at the Arts Auditorium of the University of Karachi (KU) on
Wednesday. The conference is being jointly organised by the
Pakistan Institute of Labour Education and Research (PILER) and KU's
Pakistan Study Centre. It is a part of the series of events/interactive
sessions being organised through the year to mark thirty years of PILER,
a research, education and advocacy institute focusing on labour rights. The
conference has participation from national, regional and international
academics, experts on social and workers' issues along with trade union
bodies and labour rights advocates. The purpose of the conference is to
put into perspective contemporary challenges being faced by the labourer
and the links and influences of regional and international developments
in shaping the direction of the workers struggle. Key speakers
during the two days of the conference include Prof Dr Jan Breman; Prof
Emeritus, University of Amsterdam; Dr Amrita Chachhi, Institute of
Social Studies, The Hague; Dr Kaiser Bengali, Senior Economist; Dr
Rubina Sehgal, Independent Researcher and Dr Asad Saeed, Senior
Researcher Collective of Social Science Research. KU Vice Chancellor
Prof Dr Mohammed Qaiser was the chief guest at the inaugural session of
the conference. In his keynote address at the inauguration, Prof
Dr Jan Breman said deprivation of the poor is being overlooked even at
the state level. Nobody has any concern to see how the labourers live
and under what circumstances. "The state has lost its legitimacy because
of its dismal failure to provide care to the labouring poor," he added. Prof
Dr Breman said inequalities are growing in Pakistan. He said in larger
parts of the world including Pakistan, people are pushed out of
agriculture, the primary sector of production. They were already
landless, land fragmentation has triggered off large-scale land flight,
he added. "People are not only driven out of agriculture, in
which they had remained rooted from generation to generation, but are
also forced to leave their rural habitat in search of a better
livelihood elsewhere," he remarked. He said he was on a visit to
the state of India for a research study where he found the growing
number of paupers, those who have grown old and lost the power to work.
Even though it was difficult to find the labour for youth, it is even
very difficult to find job in old age. Dr Breman said, according
to a news report, a person committed suicide by self immolation in
Sindh because of he did not find job. These issues themselves are enough
to understand the situation in which rural people live without basic
facilities, as compared to other citizens enjoying better life style. Similarly,
Jan said, Pakistan's industrial hub of Karachi has become a theatre of
the horrendous violence, a nightmare, fuelled by a mix of political
rivalry, ethnic strife and religious intolerance with the laboring poor
in variably on the receiving end. It is happening because the state in
Pakistan has lost its legitimacy, its dismal failure to provide care for
the laboring poor. KU Vice Chancellor Prof Dr Mohammed Qaiser
said globalisation is not a new phenomenon and can be traced back to the
emergence of trade capital in the 17th and 18th centuries. The current
phase of globalisation has been so domineering and powerful that it has
totally transformed the world at the macro level and the lives of the
individuals, at the micro level. He announced on the occasion
that he would take up the matter with KU Syndicate to establish a
separate chair on Labour Rights in the university. Three books printed
by Pakistan Study Centre were also launched on the occasion. Karamat
Ali, Director in his welcome address briefed the participants about the
aims and objectives of the conference and said the government has put
the labour to face inequality. Later during the first session of
the conference veteran town planner and architect Arif Hasan gave an
overview about urban development bias towards poor. He said it seems the
poor in the new development paradigm do not have any value. Development
schemes in poor localities are more substandard than the development
schemes in posh localities. Poor are getting substandard water,
inadequate sanitation, insufficient health and education facilities for
which they are entitled as a citizen." Though there is enough
state land lying in Karachi city, it is not provided for the social
development purpose. He underlined the need to change biased mindset so
we it can make possible to bring the poor in mainstream development. The speakers of the other sessions included Faisal Siddiqui, Farid Awan, Manzoor Razi, Lateef Mughal Akeela Naz and others. Daily times
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SU to provide loan to faculty members for laptops
Hyderabad: The University of Sindh (SU) will provide interest-free loans to faculty
members and officers to† purchase† their own laptop computers, while
computer laboratories of the departments of the social sciences†would be
fully equipped to facilitate students and teachers. The
decision in this regard was taken in a meeting of the Dean and Heads of
the Department of the Faculty of Social Science under the chairmanship
of Acting Vice Chancellor Professor Dr Perveen Shah here on Wednesday. The
meeting was convened to discuss the problems being faced by various
departments of the faculty of social sciences and seek guidance for
improvement. It was attended by the chairpersons of all teaching
departments of the faculty of social sciences, director finance, acting
dean research, controller of examinations (semester/annual) , project
director engineering wing, purchase and store officers and other
concerned officials. Dr Shah welcomed the participants and
said it aims at discussing problems and resolving them immediately.She
observed that the law and order at the Campus had improved
significantly. She said the purpose of the meeting was to seek
cooperation from heads of the departments. She also highlighted the
efforts made for improvement in the academic activities.
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IBA organises marketing conference
Karachi: IBA has taken yet another leap forward by organizing the first ever
marketing conference to be held in Karachi. The curtains of this
prestigious conference, the International Conference on Marketing 2012
(IBA ICM 2012), will rise at the IBA Main Campus from May 5-6, 2012. Being
hosted for the first time by any business school in Pakistan, the
Conference will seek to explore all aspects of this year's theme:
'Contemporary Market Trends'. This idea is core to the marketing
landscape in Pakistan primarily because the strongest demographic
sub-section of Pakistan is being lead by 114 million young Pakistanis
under the age of 30. To capitalize on this important revelation,
marketers are to understand how to reach this young population through
emerging digital technologies and media. The Conference aims to identify
the contemporary trends from strategic marketing to the more recent
E-marketing, and evaluate the potential of these trends for Pakistani
businesses. Including a multitude of globally renowned
speakers and professionals from across several European countries and
USA, the Conference will comprise of a number of intellectually
stimulating sessions aimed at exploring the paradigm of marketing. For a
chance to network with marketing gurus from around the globe, IBA
welcomes scholars, students and professionals in Pakistan to attend the
International Marketing Conference 2012 at its Main Campus premises. The new
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