Systemic Exclusion of Youth in Pakistan. (Part 2)

The current education system is not facilitating and attracting the people from middle & poor class; and the country has separate types of education for varied socio-economical status people. As the government has been failed to provide Free education to their citizens. Pakistani families are consist [Average] 7-15 members and the majority of them belong from low income class, therefore, the parents are unable to bear the expensive education for their children, youth.

Secondly, Its amazing factor the basic education in Pakistan is not in mother languages; it become huge burden for child, youth to learn, speak and write Three languages at time [English, Urdu and M T] one of the drop out cause is it.

The Fee structure, Examination & grading system, internal teacher's politics and lack of quality teacher/tutors are also the factors which prevent majority of youth from educational practices.

2. What can be the potential issues that constrain youth participation in the mainstream process of development,livelihood and political processes?

* Economical issues
* Extremism, Terrorism
* Religious dominance
* Low investment in development sector by government
* Gender, minority and religious discrimination
* Cultural barriers and leakage of proper planning
* Scarcity of proper guideline channels and absence of basic resources
* Leakage of formal and Civic Education
3. How can the majority of socially and economically deprived youth be included as potential source of economic and political regeneration in the country?

The Isolated youth must be enrolled & provided skill based education; It will help them make better their economical condition than they will be able to pay the tax to government. And a micro finance system [with out mark up] can be introduce for youth particularly for beginning small scale business.

In government sector academy of local government can play role to engage the youth in non-violence political participation and development. NGOs can play their positive role too to engage and train youth as active citizens & provide them a platform in leading role of youth and connect it to other counterparts and abroad for their self development and resource generation than they will be to utilize their potentials for betterment of county.

4. If we believe that legislative process can bring a policy shift for ensuring the participation of youth in the mainstream development,learning and livelihood, what kind of possible actions should be carried out?

This subject had been pondered over 1989 – 2008, a National Youth Policy has been approved in December 2008, I think which can play good role against the deprivation and mainstreaming youth in above sectors. The 12 pages action plan is still out of work we should consult with all youth leading organization in Pakistan for taking possible action towards implementation/practical work on developed action plan for youth development by Pakistani government.

Dilawar Khan

College of Youth Activism And Development-Pak

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Today the youth of Pakistan are facing a difficult and contrivances phase, None had ever faced such era to understand, standup, to challenge, to find out spaces for meaningful learning is a very low letch thought. Even survival is major challenge being faced by youth. In past youth has never experienced such challenges as they are facing today. Youth developmental age is a specific biological period fro. 13-15 to 35 years in age. This journey starts from childhood when his or her body comes into existence. The adult are tested in their patients and experiencing from the age of 5 to 6. they check their boundaries/ limits and move forward & try to break such limits/boundaries, this is called testing. This testing moves towards bad experiences and he/she starts experimenting different level of risks. If environment is not supportive then these things starts affecting badly. Often when the young age approach, the life turn out more complicated, tough in our society. From young age to elder, age, the more responsible age approaches, the age of experiences get limited . The whole circle from childhood to adulthood, the journey has milestones and has got a lot of importance in a individuals life.

The journey from childhood to adulthood goes through trials and errors. As trials and chances of mistakes starts 1-1/2 0 to 6 and from 6 to 30 years the age of emotional, psychological and intellectual abilities are given in full by nature to all, and it is this age when he/she faces lots of restrictions, limits, and boundaries, in which most of the experiences,risks are stopped for innovation; many “ifs and buts” comes into mind & try to stop from innovation experiencing, learning and their growing. The personality that a young possess becomes complex, which needs extraordinary efforts from somewhere els. Similarly, in human development process we do need leaders, counselors, mentors and spaces for guidance. Such environment and spaces are decreasing gradually. On other hand the challenges faced by young him or her are on extreme at every level.

Glamour was never on extreme as much as it is today; from glamorization the instinct feeling of inadequacy has developed. In youth, especially glamorization is evolved in a systematic way. The first thing to be noted is biological growth; second thing is systems that were not as vicious as it is today. In past when systems used to establish it usually had lot of human factors involved with if. If the youth won't be involved in social change then they will never learn about decision making and mentoring approach for next generation.

Reality is quiet different, before the youth actually start his or her work, he/she has question in mind. In past the youth especially teenagers used to participate in every activity, but now youth has been used as consumers and as well as workers (work hard but still do not get any acknowledgement and benefits, all earning directly goes to owners of the work on to fulfill families needs). The thing that hasn't been as common as it is today is sexual exploitation. The openness of sexuality, to fight against industry of sexuality is extremely challenging and it has captured an youth. Young age has its own demands. In history, there was not any exposure, provision and diversion to this level as it is today. These things have made battle really tough to survive. The weaker in this age is not provided right to survive.

Now we can realize about the challenges faced by youth. Either they are aware about the challenges they have to face. If they are not aware then the danger has multiplied it has exceeded over 100% and become a compound danger.

The closer institution to youth and closest relation that remain to far is family. All other institutions are in disintegration except family. In west, they are having many strong institutions but family as an institution is disintegrated because of this the effectiveness of this on institution is affecting all other institutions. The cost of health, cost of ceasing mothers, cost of children in street, cost of teenage problems, and cost of crimes is on extreme. Just because of the breakup of one single institution(family) but in our case all institutions have broken down but only this single institute of family is left. However, the family system is prevailing but mostly these men and women in the family are not aware about the new challenges. Of new century that are being faced by youth. Family as an institute is still prevailing but same old thinking and demands restricts the imagination of young people. It is obvious how much the today's youth would be vulnerable.

Our responsibility is to acknowledge that the present scenario is very hostile especially for youth. We have to analyze and acknowledge such situation why this is happening. Today media is misguiding youth. Its points out towards an advertisement in which a girl uses cream, got fair color & finally got married to a very nice man.

Now we all have to think about the numerous girls & boys the pressure that they are having they are today the glamour, the glow on TV by officialized system & how many girl are discarded. Human rights organization, gender institute must raise their voices against such advertisement messages. But where are they all? To object and protest against such add. I want to display the true picture of society. Trying to show that this is very cruel period. In Pakistan young are in majority, more than 60% population of Pakistan comprised of youth. We are talking about social change but I am talking about survival. If we will survive with lively minded then we would bring any change. I have just tried to problematize such issue. How to address such issue? When I was young and started work, there were challenges but their nature was different. For example, the challenges that we faced were permission to do job and outer exposure. There were restrictions on doing jobs or going outside. Harassment was very common & easy in offices, field and at home. We were not aware how to deal with such issues it was the case because things were not clear. The other thing that we had to face was that we didn't have the understanding to judge strengths, weaknesses in development changes & there wasn't any space & none was found to make us clear about such issues.

There were some experiences but as we had moved forward and worked with youth the real painful lesson that came in front was its transparent / participatory nature, didn't understand how to avail those learning opportunities / instruction. We believe that there is need of support if this confidence is met in childhood then the young choose their way. Right choices in right direction. They become fast, effective & resistance free. It is reality-based conversation. I do not allow computers at children rooms because I am aware about its use, but unaware people think computers means education. The parents have to keep in mind about such issues but it would only happen if parents would be aware about such / problems. In a situation where family is unaware. The one who is having control is not well equipped. We are very far away from social change. First, we have to develop the human resource. Who must be well equipped, and then we can talk about social change. If we wont learn today then what would be the case with coming generation. Now we have to think about solution, it must be a small group working together systematically and growing in members. Then we would be able to do something for our coming generation.

As far as financial resources are concerned on basis of human resource development, a good, keen, strong and transparent person cannot be unemployed. Many be underpaid, but it is the need of time to have good personal. I don't think that there would be any financial problem but of course luxurious living won't be there. However, the young people have to convince families that we are not fuel of earning. Don't let them full fill their endless wishes by using us. We have to set limits whatever could be done for them we must do it. We are passing through the age in which we have to work hard and to struggle constantly. The young age is a big threat. The man is usually bound in his own problems. The one who comes out from such circumstances they enable to do much more. In IDSP the first year was conventional. There has been gradual change; first change that we are having is that we are not only remained community oriented; now we are talking about the whole world. In first year we didn't use to talk about world. We started to talk about institutional building. In the nest second and third year there were many radical courses, you are doing something but challenges are global. IDSP was immediately shifted toward other side and this was resulted in strengthening of concepts.

Every member of IDSP was committed at once. The other practice that we were having was about issues, the one who Is having such issue/ problem has to talk in forum either I have committed such mistake, the one who has committed mistake has to accept it in forum. It is not because to make you feel shame but when you will commit such mistake in public it will make you strong. This process has made us empowered. We call it emotional skill. We have decreased the fear of making mistake.

Dr. Quratulain Bakhteari
Director IDSP-Pakistan

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After a decade of focusing on access rates to schooling, the issue of quality of education was finally brought to the forefront of education debates at the World Education Forum in Dakar (Senegal, April 2000). It was recognized that access and quality cannot be separated from one another. Indeed, concerns about quality of education can be heard from several segments of the global population - if one is willing to listen closely. Whether it is the arrogant First World or the arrogantly dismissed Third World, educationists, teachers, parents and most importantly students, are increasingly becoming unsettled by the irrelevance and inadequacy of the educational services. In India, the Yashpal Committee Report (1993) made an insightful observation, (which has been ignored), that “there is a lot of teaching and training going on but very little learning or understanding”. In other conversations in Delhi, Bangalore and Mumbai, several business leaders have openly stated that, "Most college graduates, even IT students, lack the creativity, teamwork ability, communication skills and self-motivation to succeed in the fast-moving economy. We need to retrain them when they enter our organizations”.

In Pakistan, parental observations like, "we don't understand the relevance of this schooling", have been voiced in PTA and community meetings within Sindh and Balochistan. Several parents in the rural parts of Pakistan and India have stated: “Schools have spoiled our children. They are not able to get a government job in the city, nor do they have any respect for our family work (labor), our local culture, our values, or our relationships. Woh na ghar kai, na ghat kai." Thinkers and public intellectuals from Pakistan and India, like Dr. Parvez Hoodbhoy, have quoted in detail, embarrassing stories about the best Pakistani science graduates, who were unable to solve elementary math and physics problem with their books open. Social reformers and spiritual leaders would add to this list a comment on the burgeoning destructive values: greed, selfishness, hatred, insensitivity, violence, consumerism, loneliness, insecurity, fear, laziness, etc. and emerging ethical dilemmas (e.g., artificial intelligence, biotechnology, cloning, patents) that threaten the well-being of society. The crisis of quality becomes even more poignant if one asks a young person "what he or she wants to learn." The answers tend to range from blank stares to "whatever you want to teach me" to "whatever is needed to pass the exam." Upon deeper interrogation, the vast majority of school graduates will readily admit that their school education was/is irrelevant to their daily lives. Of greater concern, however, is that their natural capacities to be lifelong learners who can learn, unlearn and relearn throughout their lives have been rendered dysfunctional by their schooling experience.

In order to start improving the quality of education, we need to first understand where and why we have failed. Educationists from UNESCO, UNICEF, World Bank and established NGOs have tended to focus on some combination of: building more infrastructure (such as classrooms, toilets, furniture); training more teachers in joyful activities and providing them with progressive 'child-centered' and 'gender-sensitive' textbooks and didactic Montessori teaching aids; setting up more Village Education Committees to raise funds and monitor schools; introducing more tests and minimum standards. Along with these reforms, there are those who believe that the quality conundrum can be solved by a few more 'add-ons' - value education courses, vocational training, hobby classes, GK (or good-for-nothing knowledge), random chunks of local knowledge, and computers. All of these interventions, however, remain within an extremely limited realm of vision and action, in that they continue to look at quality education through school-colored glasses. They function with a set of arrogant assumptions that reinforce the role of education as an instrument to mold and 'socialize' (that is, control and indoctrinate) human beings to fit within the institutionalized framework of the Industrial Nation State and/or the Global Free Market Economy limiting our roles to the obedient Worker, Clerk, Soldier, Citizen, Consumer. These assumptions include:
1. Human beings are empty/deficient which implies that those who have not gone to school are ignorant;
2. There are a few intelligent children and a lot of dumb children - this can be measured by IQ tests;
3. Every child learns in the same way and this can be planned and standardized;
4. Literacy is only about reading, writing and numeracy;
5. Knowledge is inherently fragmented and can be de-linked from experience and context;
6. Competition, pressure and discipline through rewards/punishments brings out the best in human beings;
7. There exists a rational and objective truth which means that every question has a right or wrong answer;
8. Meaningful learning can only take place in the classroom and through the instructions of a teacher.

Much research from diverse disciplines and from practical experiences in a wide range of countries has emerged raising many questions about the legitimacy of these assumptions. Continuing our thinking and action in education, based on these assumptions is extremely dangerous for humanity. Not only will such kind of homogenizing educational frameworks prevent us from comprehending the complex 'gray' areas in life and imagining new systems and approaches necessary to address the widespread societal and environmental breakdowns that threaten our planet, they will increase our difficulties by undermining and destroying diverse learning processes, multiple intelligences, reflective expressions, caring and collaborative relationships, intrinsic motivations, practical knowledge systems, wisdom frameworks and deep linkages with Nature. Unfortunately, we won't be able to see the magnitude of the damage to the resiliency, creativity and spirit of the human species until it is too late. The terrible irony is that many people still believe that schooling in its present form leads to sustainable forms of individual and community empowerment. Despite the fact that we have 10 different toothpastes, 40 TV channels and thousands of politicians to choose from, our real choices - sustainable choices - in life, livelihood, culture, Nature, health, media communication, political power, etc. are actually decreasing day by day. A first step in moving towards a new paradigm of quality education that nurtures human beings who can learn, unlearn and relearn throughout their lives is to strongly question one-sided claims (that have been based on dubious quantitative World Bank rate-of-return studies) about the economic and social gains made in society because of schooling and literacy and to conduct a serious analysis of the real gains and losses to our society from schooling.

A second step is to open up our mental models and start valuing opportunities for playing, working, praying/meditating, engaging with and creating different media, interacting across generations and communities and being with Nature as part of a larger seamless web of lifelong learning. But in recognizing this, we should be careful not to fall into the trap of once again seeing human beings as passive recipients in these environments. Rather, human beings dialectically interact with their social, biological, physical, and spiritual environments - these environments impact them but human beings can also purposefully create and reshape these environments. This happens when learners themselves start to consciously think about their learning aspirations, learning styles, learning contexts, learning resources, meaningful learning experiences as well as about how they can contribute to other peoples' learning. All this means that talking about 'good' schools alone is not enough if we seek quality education. The human mind, human knowledge, human wisdom, and learning in human communities are too complex. We must appreciate, value and negotiate this complexity rather than continuing to try to kill it.

A third step, if we are serious about a new paradigm in quality education, is to start asking new questions - questions that allow us to critically interrogate economic, political and social systems and their linkages to education; questions that can open up new shared visions and possibilities for moving beyond existing systems; questions that are open to all learners to reflect on - not just the 'experts'. Such questions might include: What is a good human being?; What is a healthy society?; What is progress?; What is social justice and equality?; What is knowledge, wisdom and truth?; What is peace and love?; What is interdependence?; What is diversity?; What are the limitations of historical analysis and scientific analysis?; What are the dominant power structures in place and who controls them?; How are different institutions and technologies reshaping what it means to be human? Such questions can help to open up new parameters for assessing quality education in any community. Despite what some might argue, there are not any absolute universal answers to all these questions. In fact, discovering and creating individual and collective meaning around these questions in different contexts is an essential part of the learning process.

A fourth, and perhaps the most critical step, is to create spaces for genuine dialogue on the above three. This means that we need to move beyond campaign and propaganda modes of public engagement. We need to get out of the culture of approaching each conversation as a debate to be won. We also need to give up a hierarchical mindset of superiority and inferiority. In advocating for new spaces for genuine dialogue, we do not mean that we should naively ignore the larger power games that are going on in society. However, we should recognize that playing the same indoctrinating game ultimately undermines the agenda of quality education, that liberates human beings. Lastly, we would vehemently disagree with those who believe that there has already been too much discussion on education in Pakistan and India, it is time get on to action. Genuine dialogue requires an atmosphere of trust and honesty, of active listening, of being open to questioning deep-rooted assumptions, of speaking with both the head and the heart, of breaking out of static roles and relationships, of allowing for and valuing mistakes. Such an atmosphere is lacking in schools and educational policy circles in both India and Pakistan today. Dialogue, action and reflection must go hand-in-hand. This is the essence of quality education.

Manish Jain is the coordinator and a co-founder of Shikshantar - an institute engaged in 'rethinking' education and development, India. He can be reached at:

Wasif Rizvi is the principal academic and research advisor to the Institute for Development Studies and Practices (IDSP), Quetta, Pakistan and co-founder of Shikshantar. Wasif can be reached at:

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BALOCHISTAN IS A LAND OF DIVERSITIES AND CHALLENGES IF ADDRESSED WITH INNOVATIVE, PROFESSIONAL AND SYSTEMATIC PROCESSES OF COMMUNITY EDUCATION AND EDUCATION FOR EMPOWERMENT OF PEOPLE, ONE CAN MAKE A VERY GREAT DIFFERENCE IN THE LIVES OF THE CHILDREN AND YOUTH OF BALOCHISTAN.THIS IS THE ONLY MEANS OF BALOCHISTAN BECOMING IN CHARGE OF ITS OWN RESOURCES AND POLICIES,
EFA AND ECE GIVES AN OPPORTUNITY TO CREATE A SYSTEMATIC AND PRODUCTIVE STRATEGY TO GET CLOSER TO THE GOALS  OF BALOCHISTAN GOVERNMENT AND ITS PEOPLE’S NEED FOR EDUCATION.AN EDUCATION THAT IS NOT LIMITED TO THE PHYSICAL STRUCTURES OF BUILDINGS, NOR IT IS LIMITED TO THE CONTROLS AND STRUCTURE OF STANDARDS SET BY DISTANCED IRRELEVANT STRUCTURES OF NATIONAL AND INTERNATIONAL POWER STRUCTURES. 
BY NOW WE ALL KNOW NOW THAT EDUCATION IS A MEANS OF EITHER CONTROLLING PEOPLE OR EMPOWERING PEOPLE. THE GOVERNMENT OF BALOCHISTAN SHOULD DECIDE THAT WHETHER IT WANTS TO EMPOWER ITS PEOPLE OR ENSLAVE THEM TO THE EVER INCREASING GREED AND DEMANDS OF CONTROLLERS OF MARKETS AND RESOURCES OF THE WORLD TODAY.
EDUCATION IS A MEANS OF ENABLING PEOPLE TO LIVE AN INDEPENDENT, DIGNIFIED AND MEANINGFUL LIFE OF A CITIZEN OF A COMMUNITY AND NATION AND CONTRIBUTE IN IT AS A BUILDER AND SUSTAINER OF CIVIL SOCIETY MEMBER. EDUCATION WAS NEVER MEANT TO BE USED AS AN INSTRUMENT OF EARNING. IT IS THE SKILLS AND PROFESSIONS THAT ARE FUNDAMENTAL TOOLS OF EARNING A LIVELIHOOD, EDUCATION IS ESSENTIAL TO DEVELOP CRITICAL , REFLECTIVE AND ANALYTICAL THINKING OF THE BRAIN AND EFFECTS BEHAVIOR AND ATTITUDE FOR LIVING A LIFE AS A SOCIAL BEING.
MY PRESENT PRESENTATION OF THE STRATEGY IS VERY LIMITED DUE TO VARIOUS REASON OF TIME, UNDERSTANDING AND CHALLENGES FACED BY THE EDUCATION POLICY AND PLANNING UNIT.
THEREFORE I AM PROPOSING STRATEGIES THAT CAN BECOME FUNDAMENTAL BASIS FOR A FUTURE IMPLEMENTATION PLAN FOR EFA AND ECE PROGRAM OF THE PROVINCE OF BALOCHISTAN.

ANY STRATEGY FOR EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT  PROGRAM MUST KEEP IN FOCUS THE FOLLOWINGS

BALOCHISTAN IS DIVERSE IN CULTURE, TRADITIONS, VALUES AND EXPERIENCES OF LIFE AND LIVELIHOOD THIS IS THE STRENGHTS OF A SOCIETY AND NOT A LIMITATION, WHILE GOVERNMENTS AND POLICY MAKERS AND DONORS AND FUNDERS TAKES THESE EXTREMELY VALUABLE BASIS AS AN OBSTRUCTION TO EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES. THIS DIVERSITY OF BALOCHISTANI SOCIETY MUST BE ENSURED AT ALL COST. A REAL MEANINGFUL EDUCATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROCESS ALWAYS AND ANY WHERE RESPECTS DIVERSITY AND HELP COMMITTED GOVERNMENTS CREATE THEIR OWN EXPERTISE IN HOW TO BUILD ON THESE DIVERSITIES THEN TO DESTROY IT .
DUE TO ISOLATION FROM REST OF THE COUNTRY’S SOCIO ECONOMIC MAINSTREAM PROGRESS, IT HAS MANAGED TO PROTECT ITS CORE SURVIVAL VALUES.
ITS SMALL POPULATION OF CITIES HAS SOME ACKNOWLEDGMENT OF SCHOOL AS WAY FOR EDUCATION, BUT LARGE RURAL AND ISOLATED POPULATION HAS ITS OWN WAYS OF UNDERSTANDING EDUCATIONAL PROCESSES AND PRACTICES  ACCORDING TO ITS HISTORY AND ECONOMIC AND COMMUNITY LIVING. RADIO AND TV ARE ALSO A GREAT MEANS OF EDUCATION IN MODERN TIMES,
MOST OF BALOCHISTAN LEARNS FROM OUT OF SCHOOL EXPERIENCES.
WOMEN IN COMMUNITIES MUST BE ORGANIZED IN TO EDUCATIONAL FORUMS FOR THEIR CHILDREN AND THE MEN SHOULD BE ENGAGED IN THE PROCESS,

IT IS BEING PROPOSED THREE DIMENSIONAL STRATEGY FOR EFA AND CEC. IDSP IS ALREADY ENGAGED IN CREATING BASIS FOR THESE STRATEGIES IN  60 COMMUNITIES OF SEVEN DISTRICTS IN BALOCHISTAN.

1. URGENT SCALING UP THE  NUMBER OF SKILLFULLY EDUCATED YOUTHS UP TO 10TH GRADES OR ELEMENTARY LEVEL.

STRATEGY,

ACCORDING TO THE POLICY OF EDUCATION, EDUCATION IS ESSENTIAL FOR THE YOUNG PEOPLE SO THAT THEY CAN EARN A MEANINGFUL LIVELIHOOD AND LIVE WITH DIGNITY AND BE ABLE TO EARN HIS OR HER LIVELIHOOD.

THE MINIMUM WAGES IS RS 6000, PER MONTH A PERSON IS EXPECTED TO EARN AFTER COMPLETING TENTH OR 8TH GRADE.

THIS MEANS IF A YOUNG PERSON IS ALREADY EARNING RS.6000 OR MORE BUT HAS NEVER BEEN TO SCHOOL OR IS SEMI LITERATE, HE OR SHE CAN BE GIVEN A CRASH COURSE ON LITERACY, MATHS, AND COMPREHENSION SKILLS,  THE GOVERNMENT SHOULD SET UP AN EQUALIZING TEST AND SHOULD AWARD  A CERTIFICATE OF 10TH GRADE OR 8TH GRADE.
THIS WILL GIVE A GREAT JUMP START TO THE NUMBER OF 5TH, 8TH OR 10TH GRADERS IN THE PROVINCE.

BRIDGING THE FORMAL AND NON FORMAL WAY OF EDUCATION,

CHILDREN WHO ARE NOT ADJUSTED TO THE SCHOOLS WAY OF TEACHING AND LEARNING, NON FORMAL APPROACHES WILL BE  ADOPTED, THE CHILDREN WILL PREPARE IN IT AND APPROPRIATE ARRANGEMENT OF LEARNING'S WILL BE CREATED ACCORDING TO THE PEOPLES WAY OF LEARNING AND LIVING. WE MUST KNOW THAT IT IS THE ECONOMY THAT DICTATES THE CHOICES PEOPLE MAKE.

STRATEGY.

CREATING ALTERNATIVE LEARNING SPACES WITH COMMUNITY  AND GOVERNMENT’S SUPPORT.

HERE TOO THE EDUCATION THAT THE CHILDREN WILL GET HAS TO BE EQUIVALENT TO FORMAL SYSTEM OF EDUCATION BUT ACCORDING TO THE PEOPLE’S WAY OF LEARNING AND  EDUCATION.
THE PEOPLE’S NEED OF WATER, FOOD ,HOUSE, PEACE AND SECURITY, DIGNITY, HEALTH, SANITATION ALL MUST BE PART OF EDUCATION,THEIR IDENTITY AND COMMUNITY LIVING SHOULD BE THE CORE OF EDUCATION, ANY EDUCATION MUST ADDRESS THE POVERTY ISSUE OF THE COMMUNITY AND ENSURE THE FUTURE LIVELIHOOD OF THE CHILD,
THE HISTORY OF THE COMMUNITY MUST BE THE HISTORY OF THE CHILDREN’S LESSONS OF HISTORY, THE CONCEPT OF PEACE IN THE COMMUNITY MUST BE THE PRACTICE OF THE CHILDREN,THE ECONOMIC SYSTEM OF THE COMMUNITY MUST BE THE MATHS LEARNING APPROACH, THE LANGUAGES MUST BE MOTHER LANGUAGE, ITS CRAMMER IS IMPORTANT, THE COMMUNITIES MUST BE ORGANIZED TO  WRITE LEARNING BOOKS AS ADDITIONAL READING,LIVELIHOOD SKILLS SHOULD BE PART OF EDUCATION PROCESS, CHILDREN MUST LEARN THE PROCESSES OF DECISIONS MAKING AND UNDERSTAND AND APPRECIATE DIFFERENCE OF OPINION, RELIGION, TRADITIONS , LANGUAGES AND ETHNICITY,
AFTER CERTAIN DURATIONS THERE MUST BE TESTS BY THE GOVERNMENT EDUCATION SYSTEM AND THE ONES WHO QUALIFY'S CAN JOIN THE FORMAL SCHOOLS, OR WHO CANNOT OR ARE UNABLE TO  CONTINUE IN THE SAME COMMUNITY LEARNING SPACES.

PREREQUISITES REQUIRED:

POLITICAL WILL, FORMAL APPROVAL  AND OWNERSHIP BY BALOCHISTAN GOVERNMENT’S PLANNING AND POLICY MAKING OFFICES.

ESTABLISHING WITH EACH THEHSIL LEVEL  ELEMENTARY SCHOOL A SKILLS TRAINING PROGRAM FOR ENSURING LIVELIHOOD SKILLS BASED EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM.

AT DISTRICT LEVEL THERE SHOULD BE A COMMUNITY COLLEGE THAT MERGES INTELLECTUAL DEVELOPMENT WITH PROFESSIONAL LIVELIHOOD SKILLS OF OUR YOUTHS, THESE COLLEGES SHOULD BE CONNECTED WITH THE MARKET THAT GIVES JOBS AND ENTREPRENEUR OPPORTUNITIES FOR THE YOUNG PEOPLE.

STRATEGY FOR ECE.

EACH COMMUNITY HAD TO GO THROUGH A GENERAL COMMUNITY EDUCATIONAL PROGRAM. THIS PROGRAM WILL DEVELOP THE CORE UNDERSTANDING WITHIN THE COMMUNITY THE NEED OF PROGRAMS FOR EARLY CHILDHOOD EDUCATION.

WITH EACH PRIMARY SCHOOL A PARENTS GROUP WITH A FOCUS ON  MOTHERS GROUP MUST BE ORGANISED, EACH GROUP MUST GO THROUGH A PROCESS OF UNDERSTANDING MOTHERHOOD,AND ITS ROLE AND IMPLICATIONS ON HER AND HER UNBORN AND BORN BABIES, HER A PANEL OF RESOURCE PERSONS , MEDICAL AND MATERNITY HEALTH CARE, EARLY CHILD DEVELOPMENT, NUTRITIONIST AND EDUCATIONAL PHYCOLOGISTS AND COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT ,WILL BE AVAILABLE AT THE DISTRICT LEVEL.
THIS PANEL WILL DEVELOP COURSES FOR PARENTS, MOTHERS  TEACHERS, FOR ECE  IN COMMUNITIES AND IN ECE CENTERS AND CHILD CARE, AND ALSO FOR COMMUNTY’S ROLE IN CHILD CARE.
THE PRIMARY SCHOOL PREMISES WILL BE USED AFTER SCHOOL HOURS FOR MOTHER’S GROUP’S TRAINING AND EDUCATION ARE PRIMARY CARE GIVER OF HER CHILDREN'S, THE GRAND PARENTS AND RELATED FAMILY MEMBERS CAN ALSO JOIN IN ,THE FATHERS SHOULD ALSO BE EDUCATED IN RAISING THEIR CHILDREN,
AS EACH GROUP IS PREPARED AN ECE CENTER WILL BE ESTABLISHED NEXT TO THE PRIMARY SCHOOL BUILDING.

TO ENSURE THE EFFECTIVENESS OF THE ABOVE STRATEGY FOLLOWING PRE REQUISITES ARE ESSENTIAL,

POLITICAL WILL, APPROVED GOVERNMENT’S PLANS AS PART OF POLICY FORMULATION PROCESS,

SETTING UP OF AN ACTION RESEARCH TEAM TO CREATE EQUIVALENCIES OF NON FORMAL EDUCATION WITH FORMAL CREDENTIALS, THIS TEAM SHOULD BE AT THE PROVINCIAL AND DISTRICT LEVEL,

COMMUNITY EDUCATION SHOULD BE THE CORE PROGRAM WITH A LONG TERM VISION OF DECISION MAKERS AND FUNDING ORGANIZATIONS,

PARENTS LITERACY PROGRAMS WITH A FOCUS ON MOTHER’S IS ONE OF THE MOST ESSENTIAL PART OF COMMUNITY EDUCATION PROCESS.

PROPOSAL FOR A TWO DAYS CONSULTATION WITH DISTRICT EDUCATION OFFICERS AND STAFF,

BASED ON THE ABOVE STRATEGIC CONCEPTS FOLLOWING PLAN FOR A TWO DAYS CONSULTATION IS BEING PROPOSED FOR THE DISTRICT EDUCATION GOVERNMENT STAFF.

DAY ONE,

POINTS OF CONSULTATIONS,

1.WHAT IS EDUCATION? AND WHAT IS SCHOOLING? DISCUSSION AND UNDERSTANDING THE DIFFERENCE AND ITS IMPLICATIONS,

IS THERE ANY DIFFERENCE?

HOW DO PEOPLE SEE EDUCATION AND SCHOOLING?

ARE GENERAL PEOPLE OF BALOCHISTAN UNEDUCATED OR ILLITERATE?

HOW DO WE ALL DEFINE EDUCATED PEOPLE VERSES UNEDUCATED?

WHO AND HOW THESE STANDARDS OD EDUCATIONS ARE SET?

ARE THESE STANDARDS RELEVANT TO BALOCHISTAN?

DAY TWO.

THE PARTICIPANTS WILL MAKE WORKABLE PLANS TO FIND OUT HOW TO LEARN FROM PEOPLE OF BALOCHISTAN.

THE FOCUS OF THE PLAN WILL BE TO CREATE A FUNDAMENTAL UNDERSTANDING IN THE DISTRICT GOVERNMENT OFFICERS , ON THE FOLLOWINGS,

TO KNOW AND UNDERSTAND THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN THE GOVERNMENT’S FORMAL APPROACH FOR EDUCATION AND THE WAY PEOPLE’S WAY AND NEEDS FOR EDUCATION ARE.
IT IS THIS GAP THAT MUST BE WELL UNDERSTOOD AND HOW TO DEVELOP THIS UNDERSTANDING SHOULD BE THE DISTRICT PLAN.

A TWO WEEKS TIME CAN BE GIVEN TO CREATE THIS UNDERSTAND AND THE PLAN WILL DEVELOP A METHODOLOGY FOR TWO WEEKS OF WORKING IN THE DISTRICTS.

PLEASE READ THIS WRITE UP AS A BROAD FRAM WORK AS WELL AS AN OUT LINE FOR OURTWP DAYS WORK SHOP WITH THE EDUCATION STAFF.

I HAVE READ THE MAIL WITH TORS , I WILL HAVE TO DEVELOP THIS FURTHER ON IN CONSULTATION WITH YOUR UNIT AND AFTER THIS WORKSHOP.

I FINALLY GOT MY FLIGHTS CONFIRMED FOR TOMORROW NIGHT, WILL BE IN KARACHI ON THE MORNING OF 24TH APRIL, IF YOU FIND THE PAPER ON STRATEGIES INTERESTING AND YOU WANT ME TO LEAD THE WORKSHOP ON 27TH AS MENTIONED IN YOUR MAIL I WILL THEN COME TO QUETTA ON 24TH AND MEET YOU ON 26TH TO PREPARE FOR IT.

LET ME KNOW

REGARDS
QURATUL AIN BAKHTEARI
FOUNDING DIRECTOR IDSP-PAKISTAN

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Shah Jahan Baloch*

Educational issues and challenges are one of the core concerns of development discourse in Pakistan. During the last three decades national education plans and reforms, with heavy foreign financial and technical assistance, are claiming to improve the quality of education through various interventions.

But the actual results, particularly in the public sector are in fact not particularly encouraging. Over the period of time, the participation and retention rate even at a primary level is decreasing which is evident in the education reports generated by the state and civil society institutions.

In the rural areas of Pakistan, there are limited choices and the opportunities of education for children and parents is limited which is causing a high dropout rate at an early stage of education: in some provinces it is reported that there is a more than 50 percent dropout rate during the primary education period.

In order to improve the quality of education efforts by state and non-state actors are more concentrated on teacher training and education, improving physical infrastructure and access though fewer reforms in curriculum. If we review them in their historical context these were mainly guided by undemocratic regimes of the past in order to reinforce their own agendas thereby creating a basis of public legitimacy for their policies rather than to improve the quality of education and develop a prosperous future for future generations through educational development.

It is a fact that to improve the quality of education and translate it into policy, determining learning objectives and guidelines for developing learning material, the curriculum plays a significant and central role.

Therefore, the entire process of curriculum development and the production of textbooks should be a democratic process. This ensures the true representation and reflection of education and the learning processes of the country.

Unfortunately Pakistan is state oriented and federally centralized and such a regulated exercise within the narrow ideological boundaries and conceptions of a nation state becomes difficult to achieve.

In Pakistan mainly at the primary and secondary level, text-books are one of the main sources of imparting knowledge. These text books are rarely unbiased and often reflect and promote the confined, narrow state oriented ideologies and textual versions about different geographical regions, civilizations, religions, cultures, international relations, global affairs and various ethnic groups at a regional and global level. The students are therefore confined to a narrow and deflected world-view and they therefore need an alternative to offer them a holistic and balanced view.

The main focus of this paper is to highlight the importance and role of alternate textbooks. In the current context and crisis there is a need for promoting democratic values, creating a more pluralistic world view and giving a true and positive perspective of cultural resources such as literature and art for enhancing the aesthetic values of the students and to promote harmony, a peaceful coexistence and mutual respect between individuals and societies.

To contribute in this process an alternate curriculum can play a highly effective role. It is for this purposes that a discussion on this topic is useful and productive.

Shah Jahan Baloch*the learner and founding faculty of Institute for Development Studies and Practices- IDSP-Pakistan based at Quetta Balochistan. He has been a faculty member at the Institute and former Coordinator of Commonwealth Education Fund Pakistan.

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Militancy by a handful of people on the north-western border is tearing apart the fabric of Pakistani society, and the country is working hard to fight it. This problem is more evident in economically-disadvantaged areas, which have become major recruiting centres for militants. In Balochistan, Pakistan’s largest province, poverty is widespread and education rates are low, leading to high rates of unemployment, especially among youth. Furthermore, the conservative social setting does not allow youth to make their own decisions, often leading to identity crises among young people.

Due to the international media attention on the North West Frontier Province and the burgeoning militancy in that area, the government of Pakistan has been unable to focus on the province of Balochistan. With the literacy rate at 34 percent for both men and women, the fewest educational institutions per capita in the country, and the most limited infrastructure, the region is particularly disadvantaged, leading to marginalization and resentment towards government. As a result, militants and so-called ‘Jihadis’ have become more powerful in Balochistan and have managed to capture mosques and madrassas (religious schools). Through these religious institutions, militants preach hate and invite youth to crusade against ‘injustice.’ The lack of positive identity makes youth highly vulnerable, and easy prey for terrorists and militants. The current government system in Balochistan neither has the capacity to comprehend the situation in its totality, nor is it capable of creating alternative spaces and opportunities that nurture youth development against extremism to create bases for sustainable peace.
After working in human development, from grassroots initiatives to policy level engagements and social research, Raziq appreciates the importance of youth participation in community development and social change. Believing that involving youth is crucial to bring about change, Raziq conceived an innovative approach of combining literacy, learning and livelihoods for out-of-school girls in rural areas of Balochistan. Central to this approach is involving the community in a partnership that led to the creation of 120 schools in rural communities. His work at the provincial and district level has also helped him identify the critical age group of youth to focus his attention on: those between the ages of 15 and 24.

In 2008, Raziq launched the College of Youth Activism and Development (CYAD), and started visiting schools, colleges and isolated communities in the Pasheen and Khuzdar districts of Balochistan. His strategy was to talk to the students through youth forums about community participation in the development of their regions.

Within his youth forums, Raziq identified the ten most talented young men and women and initiated a youth fellowship program for this select group. The fellowship model focuses on learning and practice, with fellows sharing what they learn with community members as well as the community’s responses with their instructors. The application of this learning and practicing model has helped launch four community development projects including the construction of a girls’ school, construction and upgrade of a basic health unit, the establishment of a women’s education and vocational training center and rehabilitation of water channels or kareze.

To date Raziq has successfully identified 850 youths, and organized at least 29 youth forums. This year, he plans to hold two more youth forums. His trainings cover broader thematic areas like social and personal identity, youth problems, development, gender, social structure and economic development. Raziq also provides the youth with opportunities to meet prominent social, political and religious personalities to broaden their horizons and later to take leadership roles. Once the youth have received the training, they are asked to go back in to the communities and develop a community-based initiative. Once this initiative has begun, the students come back and report to the group regarding the strategy, goals and steps. The objective of this exercise is to keep the youth vibrantly connected to their communities.

Through his work, Raziq is creating a chain of mentors preparing youth to be leaders themselves. These mentors provide trainings to other young people with the goal of producing another generation of mentors. Due to this chain reaction, Raziq has been able to produce four generations of mentors in Balochistan. Many of the youth who have undergone training at CYAD are now starting their community level ventures and enterprises while providing peer-to-peer support to the younger generations.

Raziq is presently working in two districts of Balochistan and plans to expand his work in another two districts of the province. He wants to develop the CYAD as a center point for preparing youths to challenge national problems, poverty, lack of education, youth’s isolation and militancy, and present locally applicable solutions.

Raziq Faheem
Ashoka Peace Fellows
Director
College of Youth Activism And Development

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Systemic Factors of Exclusion in Education System:

The need of new  discourse on institutional inadequacies of education system with special reference to Balochistan.

Author: Fahim Abdul Razaq

It is critical to understand that the assent and emergence of existing schooling stemmed out from an institutional rationale of colonization in almost all previously colonized parts of the world. At the same time it does not seem that there have been enough efforts at minimizing the colonial elements from educational policies and diverting their attention to reshaping the overall educational goals that helps to redefine ideological and conceptual premise in which education correlate, influence and transformed the conditions of the society.

 Pakistan as one of the key countries of the regions also adopted and pursued the same model with some modifications. And the result is that “half a century down the road Pakistan remains a largely illiterate country. Close to two-third of the population and 80 percent of rural women are still illiterate more than a quarter of children between the ages of five and nine do not attend school. On the other hand, beginning with the national education conference in1947, seven national education polices, eight five years plans and about half a dozen other schemes have been prepared and launched and a dozen or more conferences, seminars, workshops and other moots on education have been held”.

Balochistan is one of the provinces which remains most deprived of education and development as a whole. Enjoying untapped mineral resourcefulness, geo-political significance and diverse social and cultural landscapes, “the province of Balochistan is (still) the most disadvantaged as regard literacy rate with 63% over-all illiteracy and 77% female illiterates. Around 90% rural females in Balochistan province are illiterate” while the female literacy rate stands between 3 per cent and 8 per cent” when it comes to individual districts.

A number of factors can be noticed in recent scholarly debates that attributed to the low literacy rate of Balochistan.  These, interalia, include; lack of awareness regarding the importance of education and literacy, lack of easy access to schools and literacy centers, social and cultural obstacles and taboos. Without any exception, most of these analyses seem superficial and insufficient when they overview institutional and systematic limitations and inadequacies and either come with quick-fix-approach or identify the victims as the primary source of their situation.

There is lack of researches with contextual references which identify and outline these institutional inadequacies, systematic limitations and procedural inabilities that fail to engage and outreach to its greater audience by synergizing with patterns of traditional societies. Hardly any research or document comes with genuine answers as to why the number of high and middle schools could not accede from 570 to 750 respectively for the 35000 settlements (villages) over the period of sixty years?  And, moreover, why 70 to 80% of the students leave schools before completing primary education?

It is thus imperative to launch greater discourses to identify and analyze institutional, procedural and curricular factors which systematically exclude people, and will equally explore new ways of viewing and perceiving education issues and options for the majority missed out. This discourse should relocate its locus onto genuine issues and help inform policy and practices to rethink the overall approach conceiving educational solutions and formulating diverse policy options for societies like Balochistan.

To set a context, this discourse should evolve around the critique on the appropriateness and relevance of available educational options in general and reviewing of the core debates ranging from its overall philosophical construction, institutional logic and packaging, to the nature of learning and cognition in order to understand education both as a philosophical pursuit and as  a practical means for social change.

The discourse eventually needs to consolidate the stream of arguments by focusing on the systematic excluding factors that prevail within different layers of the existing system. This will specifically include the institutional, procedural and curricular factors of exclusions in the education sector with contextual reference points that are being applied and implemented in Balochistan.

Existing educational frameworks  ignores, deviates and do not acknowledge the richness of people’s knowledge, wisdom and creativity  

School is unable to contribute in nurturing creativity, confidence and the spirit of challenge instead it creates false elitism in the students, which departs them for their livelihood, culture, local wisdom, indigenous skills, environmental sensitivity built over a long period of experiences.

It creates false notions of ignorance that physical labor is the signs of anachronism. Thus the current schooling is an instrument of dividing the communities and is promoting false standards without any opportunity to reflect on the output the schools are producing.

The schools look down upon all kinds of knowledge that is gained outside school. Thus schools do not links it’s learning with the reality of the child in his or her living situation.

The social conditioning and physical environment of people is not seen as a core area to be addressed in educational discourses. The external (non-school) environment is ignored, both as a reality and as a potential educational resource.

Schools promotes a way of life which convert human in consumer beings and which is insensitive to the peoples own way of living, culture and spiritual traditions and more important to the natural environment around people. 

The formal education system, and the way in which it has conditioned both teachers and learners, does not allow the space for students’ own socio-economic realities to be integrated into the system; nor for the life-experiences of the rural poor (who may be illiterate but are not necessarily ignorant) to be valued and included in teaching methods and information dissemination to students.

There are conceptual blocks inherent in the rigidity of the educational structure and its relationships, which inhibit possibilities for empowerment, and societal revival, as opposed to “education is only school buildings and books”


    Bangali Kaisar 1999. History of Educational policy making and planning in Pakistan SDPI-Islamabad

    Chohdary Munir Ahmad, 2005, Pakistan: where and who is the world’s most illiterates. http://portal.unesco.org/education

    Latif Aamir, Alarming Situation of education in Pakistan www.unesco.org/education/efa/know_sharing/grassroots_stories/pakistan

    Source: BEMIS 2004

    Source: District Based Multiple Indicators Cluster Survey 2004. Planning and Development Department government of Balochistan

    Source: BEMIS 2004