Connect with us

Education

Protect the Right to Education for all

Fariyal Mir

Published

on

The right of rights is the right to education. And it must be preferable and approachable for all. Education is the only solution to all the root causes of problems. United Nations is always committed to ensuring basic rights and so far doing very well.

UNITED NATIONS, (APP): United Nations Secretary-General Antonio Guterres has called for an end to attacks on schools, as he marked the International Day to Protect Education from Attack.

He spoke at an event on Thursday and said: “The global community needs to speak with one voice: attacks on schools must stop. Nevertheless, he added, “year after year, this fundamental right comes under attack”. Further, the top UN official encouraged the participants to imagine being a child in a classroom eager to learn, or a teacher dedicated to shaping the minds of the next generation.

Moreover, the Sectary asked to imagine the horrors inflicted by conflict on learning. He highlighted incidents like, painting a picture of schools being targeted, destroyed. And also used for military purposes and for children facing violence, exploitation, even being recruited to fight simply because they want to study.

The Secretary-General cited the Global Coalition to Protect Education from Attack in revealing that between 2015 and 2020, over 13,000 reports of strikes on education, or the military use of educational facilities, had been recorded around the world. He showed his concerns about Afghanistan’s situation.

Guterres reminded that these are not numbers on a page, but thousands of individual lives and individual futures.  He stated that: “The loss is incalculable”.

The UN called on all countries who have not yet done so, to endorse the Safe Schools Declaration – an inter-governmental political commitment to protect students, teachers, schools, and universities, from the worst effects of armed conflict. Endorsed by 111 States to date, the Declaration outlines concrete steps for governments to protect schools and learning.

The mouth of humanity said: “We urge Member States to go beyond their commitments under international law and put in place national policies and laws that protect schools and learners”, the UN chief said.  He flagged the need to “hold perpetrators accountable” by making attacks on schools “unacceptable and punished” in every country and jurisdiction, the world over.

Finally, the UN chief called for increased global support for the UN Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) and UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF), who are “working around the clock” to protect education, students, teachers, and schools in some of the most dangerous places around the world. While he added that to protect the right to education great strides have been made in recent years.

He concluded that: “As Secretary-General of the United Nations, I am proud to stand with you in this important effort. Because when we protect education, we protect the future”.

In May 2020, the UN General Assembly established the day by a unanimous decision, calling on UNESCO and UNICEF to raise awareness of the plight of millions of children living in countries affected by conflict.  The resolution affirmed that Governments have the primary responsibility to provide protection and ensure “inclusive and equitable quality education at all levels to all learners, especially those in vulnerable situations”. Moreover, it emphasized the need to intensify efforts and increase funding to promote safe and protective school environments in humanitarian emergencies.

Continue Reading

Education

Chinese company MRDL fully supports local youth education in #Balochistan

Published

on

By

Chinese company MRDL fully supports local youth education. MRDL has been fully financing the Saindak Model School in #Balochistan, the most sparsely-populated province in Pakistan, bearing all expenses on textbooks, staff salary and equipment.

Continue Reading

Education

Standard Education would be the key to change our Mindset and System

Fariyal Mir

Published

on

By

There is a standard of everything and it has the power of attraction and fascination. Most of the time people associate the word standard with life “standard life” and each of them define it according to their approaches. Standard life might be the name of having a good job, a well-furnished house, an accelerating car, servants, meet-ups at expensive points, wearing and eating brands, and walking with human brands. Such standard life is the game of money. The other standard can be of education.

The standard of education is a bit different from the standard of life. But it is the key to have a standard lifestyle. We cannot confine the definition of standard education in one line, or paragraph even on a page. I would like to give my opinion about standard education. For me, standard education is to have well-trained facilitators, good infrastructure, equipped labs, learning environment with advanced technology. There should be a facilitator in learning institutes instead of teachers. And for better learning students should be the center, not the teaching. If the learning would be student-centered then they can learn more and with enjoyment. This sort of education system can help us to educate the nation in true sense and can change the mindset and system as well.

The traditional education system cannot work in this era and we cannot compete with the world. In Pakistan, we have an education system but it needs reforms. The private education system meets with the standard whereas the actual education system is far beyond. Every individual cannot effort private education hence it is necessary and urgent to provide one standard system of education. The government aims to bring reforms to the system and it is really good news for the whole nation. Because education is the only solution to all the problems. The education department of Pakistan is working on the curriculum and will implement the One Nation One Curriculum for the nation (Aik Qaum) . It is good to hear that the Balochistan government announces the establishment of 100 middle schools. And I would like to request Balochistan Govt not to just establish schools but with the standard education system.   If you have a standard education system then you have everything.

The children who are in the playgroup today are going to be the leaders of tomorrow. And it is well said that today’s readers are tomorrow’s leaders. So, train the readers to make them the leaders. Follow one curriculum, maintain one standard and be one nation (Aik Qaum).

Continue Reading

Article

Some of the renowned Pakistani-English Poets

Fariyal Mir

Published

on

By

Pakistan is the land of talented and intellectual people. It has given birth to talent in every field. The people of Pakistan are good artists, who can produce art of any kind. They have a grip over musicology, they are the best actors, they produce living pictures, and their architecture is depicted in their construction. These people are high in intellect as they have contributed to the different fields of study. They are the sculptors and producing amazing items from mud. They are no less than anyone in the ground of sports. The brave people are the top-level mountaineers. They are never behind in the field of studies. The spontaneity of their writing skills is outstanding. They do not just write in their language but also have earned a name in multi-languages. And their written pieces are full of knowledge and power.

A good number of Pakistani writers have proved themselves as the best writers in the English language as well. They have disseminated their visionary thoughts to the world through different genres. There are many good poets, novelists, researchers, and essayists. But today we will talk about some of the prominent Pakistani-English poets.

  1. Taufiq Rafat

The influential Taufiq Rafat was born in 1927 and passed away in 1998. He is known to be the father of Pakistani Idioms which he translated into English. He has written Urdu books as well. But his contribution to Pakistani English literature is appreciable. His ‘Collection of poems’ and ‘Arrival of the monsoon’ were published in 1985. He has translated the verses of Bulleh Shah and Qadiryar Puran into the English language.

  • Daud Kamal

The multi-stakeholder Daud Kamal was the child of Abbottabad who lived from 1934 to 1987. He has served the University of Peshawar (English department) as a teacher and chairman for 29 years. He is also known to be the founder of Jinnah College for Women. Above all, he was influenced by modernist English writers like Ezra Pound, W.B Yeats, and T.S Eliot. He has written four English books which are Remote Beginnings, Compass of love and other poems, Recognitions, and Before the Carnations Wither. He has translated some selected Urdu poems of Faiz Ahmad Faiz.

  • Alamgir Hashmi

The multi-talented Alamgir Hashmi was born in 1951 in Lahore. He has received his education from the same city. He is a great living name among the Pakistani English writers. Hashmi is famous for his being a poet but he has been a professor of English and comparative literature, and editor of literary and scholarly journals, a scholar-critic, a broadcaster, a translator, long lapsed lay minstrel, and a weekend canoeist. He has contributed to literary criticism and different other scholarly editions. His most famous poems are; The Oath and Amen. (Philadelphia, Dorrance 1976), America Is a Punjabi Word. (Lahore, Karakorum Range, 1979), An Old Chair. (Bristol, Xenia Press, 1979), My Second in Kentucky (Lahore, Vision Press, 1981), This Time in Lahore (Lahore, Vision Press, 1983), Neither This Time/Nor That Place (Lahore, Vision Press, 1984), Inland and Other Poems (Islamabad, Gulmohar Press, 1984), The Poems of Alamgir Hashmi (Islamabad, National Book Foundation, 1992), Sun and Moon and Other Poems (Islamabad, Indus Books, 1992), A Choice of Hashmi’s Verse (Karachi and New York, Oxford University Press, 1997).

We are grateful to all the intellects who have presented us in front of the world with the help of the English medium.

Continue Reading

Most Popular

English اردو