Tuesday, November 23, 2010

Mock forums gainnig popularity in Pakistani schools!


By Khalid Khattak

THE growing trend of organising mock forums by students is a healthy sign as the same not only provides an opportunity to the youth to debate issues of national and international importance but also to know functioning of supreme institutions such as parliament.

The simulation exercise also provides an opportunity to the youth to experience the subtleties of diplomatic negotiations especially when a Model United Nations (MUN) is organised.

Punjab University (PU) students presenting Dr Aafia Siddiqui’s case in a mock court at the varsity last week rejected the allegations levelled against her in a US court.

The mock court, organised by Islami Jamiat Talaba (IJT), also decided to bring back Dr Aafia keeping in view sentiments and feelings of people of Pakistan. It also urged the Pakistani government to take all possible measures for release of Dr Aafia.

Similarly the 1st Indian Mock Parliament was organised by Seeds of Peace, Pakistan, recently and Pakistani students from different education institutions of the city participated in its different sessions and replicated the Indian Parliament.It is pertinent to mention here that Lahore University of Management Sciences (LUMS) Model United Nations Society has been organising Model United Nations (LUMUN) since 2000 to discuss sensitive issues of international concern.

According to Dania Mukhtar, director, Media LUMUN 2010, the annual LUMUN conference is one of the largest student conferences in Asia as it attracts over 1,200 delegates from all over the country and abroad.

At the conference, students assume the role of ambassadors representing different countries and discuss a wide range of issues in a setting modelling various committees of the United Nations, she says.

The initiatives like this have value not just as a mental stimulation but also as a means to understanding each other’s opinions, perspectives and cultural sensitivities.

She says a large reason for the success of LUMUN’s flagship conference is the exposure of its organising team at an international level. “Every March, an eight-member delegation, selected after careful screening, represents LUMUN at the Harvard World Model United Nations, the Leviathan of Model UN conferences. It attracts delegations from world over, including top of the line universities such as Oxford, Princeton, MIT and London School of Economics, to name a few.” “The LUMS delegation has nonetheless consistently been winning the Best Delegation Award at the conference for the past five years, a feat which has lent a big hand to its credibility,” Dania adds.

And that is not the end of it -even a social responsibility programme has sprung up under the LUMUN. The society now trains students from the CARE Foundation’s schools in public speaking and also held a CAREMUN just this summer. The LUMUN is going to be held from 22nd to 26th December, 2010, she concluded.Academic circles are of the view that the government should also take steps to introduce similar kind of ‘mock forums’ at public sector colleges and schools to provide students with an opportunity of a healthy and constructive debate and to explore their hidden potential.

——-lachvee@gmail.com

Source: The News International
Monday, November 01, 2010

No watchdog for private schools!

By Khalid Khattak

LAHORE: THE powerful private schools mafia has failed the Punjab government’s much-hyped policy of establishing a regulatory body for them despite the lapse of two years.

A high-powered committee, comprising educationists, MPAs and private schools representatives, was formed by Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif in late 2008.

Besides reviewing the existing Punjab Private Educational Institutions (Promotion and Regulation) Ordinance 1984, the committee was given the mandate to propose suitable amendments to the ordinance with the view to establishing a standard for infrastructure, teaching staff and syllabi, curriculum and examination system of the private sector schools.

It was also tasked with establishing fee structure of private schools linked to the standard of service and facilities offered by the institutions.

The committee, though after a delay, had given its recommendations. Afterwards, on various occasions, different government officials claimed that the draft regarding the proposed watchdog had been sent to the Law Department. However, nothing more was heard later on and people are still waiting for the regulatory body.

Besides genuine public concerns, the absence of a regulatory body has also been causing problems for the government as at times it seems unable to implement its policies in private sector schools.

Almost every year, private schools across the province lock horns with the government over the schedule of summer vacation while accepting or rejecting grade-5 and grade-8 uniform examinations by the Punjab Examination Commission (PEC) is another issue.

The failure in enforcement of policies is quite evident from the unbridled working of private schools where people are fleeced as much as a private institute can.

The most recent notification of the Schools Education Department, Punjab, regarding resumption of six working days is likely to meet a similar fate of “defiance” as many elite schools generally observe a holiday on Saturday.

It is important to mention here that on the instructions of the federal government, the Punjab government had announced functioning of schools five days a week instead of six days a week as part of the save energy drive. However, the Punjab government has now announced to resume old weekly schedule according to which Saturday will be considered as a working day.

The notification issued by the Schools Department clearly reads: “All public and private schools will remain open for six days in a week from November 22, 2010 and only Sunday will be the weekly holiday.”

The stakeholders argue that if the government cannot ensure implementation of its policies and rules in private sector schools why they are made part of notifications.

It is also pertinent to mention here that the Punjab government during the tenure of Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi as chief minister of the province was quite ambitious to introduce a regulatory body for private sector schools. However, this could not happen.

The current Chief Minister Mian Shahbaz Sharif also took up the issue quite ambitiously and formed a committee to introduce a regulatory body for private sector schools. Almost two years have passed since the formation of the committee but the proposed controlling authority is still not in sight.

Chairman of Chief Minister’s Taskforce on Elementary Education Raja Anwar was quite vocal and active regarding the establishment of the regulatory body for private schools in the beginning. However, it seems he has run out of steam now.

Sources claim that the CM’s taskforce chairman has completely focused the Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) ever since he became its chairman.

According to the sources, the issue of great public interest had been put on the backburner as the Punjab government was facing immense pressure from politicians who own big private schools.
The public has been quite critical of unbridled working of private schools over the years. People have been complaining about the absence of government’s authority in determining fee structure of private schools, heavy registration fee, mandatory purchase of uniform and stationery from the prescribed stores, annual charges and many other monetary matters.

When contacted, Secretary Schools Aslam Kamboh said he could not tell anything offhand about the proposed regulatory body for private schools. However, he said that any policy which seemed to be disputed could not be introduced at a time when academic session was at the peak.

Answering a question, he said mentioning private sector in notifications was important as almost 96 percent of such institutes followed government policies and academic calendar.

The News could not reach Chairman Taskforce for Elementary Education Raja Anwar for his comments.

Source: The News International
Sunday, November 21, 2010