ISLAMABAD: All schools should have the same basic standard of education, and special attention should be given to the country’s education sector – particularly with regards to the recruitment and training of teachers, speakers at a session on education reform said on Sunday.
The session, titled ‘Education Reforms in Pakistan: Separating Reality from Rhetoric’ and moderated by Isfundiar Kasuri, was part of the second day of A World of Tomorrow, a conference organised by Beaconhouse.
One of the speakers, lawyer and activist Mohammad Jibran Nasir noted that 20 million children between the ages of five and 16 are out of school, while those who are attending school are not provided high quality education.
Second day of World of Tomorrow conference focuses on diverse range of topics
“The last CSS results were eye-opening,” Mr Nasir added, in reference to the fact that over 90pc of participating students failed the Central Superior Services (CSS) examinations. He said the government should keep a check on the quality of education provided at the school level.
Mr Nasir added that millions of children are involved in child labour, and the government “should also focus on the three or four million students receiving religious education at madressahs”.
Nadia Naviwala said the government has increased education funding, with over $7 billion being spent on education every year, but attention needs to be paid to the quality of education.
Educationist Ali Raza, the Capital Administration and Development Division adviser to the Prime Minister’s Education Reforms Programme, said public sector education can be improved using a public-private partnership model.
He said a student-centric approach is being applied to Islamabad’s public schools under the reforms programme, adding: “Besides other initiatives, our main focus is to hire competent teachers through a competitive process.”
Another session, a presentation on the world of innovation by scientist and researcher Dr Attaur Rehman, enthralled the audience.
During the presentation, Dr Rehman discussed various innovations and technological advancements, such as e-textiles, clothes that can change colour while worn with the press of a button.
Another session on ‘The Future of Schooling’, featuring Saad Hamid, Dr Lawrence Burke and Jaweria Sethi, highlighted the various issues facing the education sector and recommended ways to move forward.
The second day of the festival saw significant attendance, and panel discussions and talks on topics as varied as gender, the media, heritage, literature, education, cybercrime and cyber-security, and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
In a session called ‘Art Without Boundaries’, artists including Sheema Kermani criticised the restrictions on freedom of expressions and suggested that art and its various dimensions be included in the school curriculum.
Separately, in an emotional discussion during ‘Identity Matters: Beyond Binary Schools’, the panellists appealed to schools, governments and society to accept their identity as transgender, and called on teachers to sensitise students.
Other sessions on gender identity focused on ‘The Future of Masculinity’ and ‘Working Men: Harmonising Home and Work’.
The latter explored the changing role of working fathers, and the panellists shared their experiences spending time with their children.
Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2017
The session, titled ‘Education Reforms in Pakistan: Separating Reality from Rhetoric’ and moderated by Isfundiar Kasuri, was part of the second day of A World of Tomorrow, a conference organised by Beaconhouse.
One of the speakers, lawyer and activist Mohammad Jibran Nasir noted that 20 million children between the ages of five and 16 are out of school, while those who are attending school are not provided high quality education.
Second day of World of Tomorrow conference focuses on diverse range of topics
“The last CSS results were eye-opening,” Mr Nasir added, in reference to the fact that over 90pc of participating students failed the Central Superior Services (CSS) examinations. He said the government should keep a check on the quality of education provided at the school level.
Mr Nasir added that millions of children are involved in child labour, and the government “should also focus on the three or four million students receiving religious education at madressahs”.
Nadia Naviwala said the government has increased education funding, with over $7 billion being spent on education every year, but attention needs to be paid to the quality of education.
Educationist Ali Raza, the Capital Administration and Development Division adviser to the Prime Minister’s Education Reforms Programme, said public sector education can be improved using a public-private partnership model.
He said a student-centric approach is being applied to Islamabad’s public schools under the reforms programme, adding: “Besides other initiatives, our main focus is to hire competent teachers through a competitive process.”
Another session, a presentation on the world of innovation by scientist and researcher Dr Attaur Rehman, enthralled the audience.
During the presentation, Dr Rehman discussed various innovations and technological advancements, such as e-textiles, clothes that can change colour while worn with the press of a button.
Another session on ‘The Future of Schooling’, featuring Saad Hamid, Dr Lawrence Burke and Jaweria Sethi, highlighted the various issues facing the education sector and recommended ways to move forward.
The second day of the festival saw significant attendance, and panel discussions and talks on topics as varied as gender, the media, heritage, literature, education, cybercrime and cyber-security, and the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor.
In a session called ‘Art Without Boundaries’, artists including Sheema Kermani criticised the restrictions on freedom of expressions and suggested that art and its various dimensions be included in the school curriculum.
Separately, in an emotional discussion during ‘Identity Matters: Beyond Binary Schools’, the panellists appealed to schools, governments and society to accept their identity as transgender, and called on teachers to sensitise students.
Other sessions on gender identity focused on ‘The Future of Masculinity’ and ‘Working Men: Harmonising Home and Work’.
The latter explored the changing role of working fathers, and the panellists shared their experiences spending time with their children.
Published in Dawn, March 13th, 2017
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