By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
THE education sector is for once under the spotlight and is receiving some attention from the higher quarters. We should be grateful for that.
But it is not clear if the policymakers have made field trips to get a true picture of the working — or dysfunctional — state of our schools which they are trying to improve. It would help if they did. My recent visits to government schools in Orangi have been an eye-opener.
Continue reading A study in contrast
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
AT the far end of Korangi, much beyond the densely built-up sectors interspersed with wide roads, is a complex of neatly laid-out structures designed by renowned architect Habib Fida Ali. It is set in the midst of a cluster of shantytowns, an oasis in a desert of underdevelopment.
Continue reading To give is to gain
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
THE much-touted Prime Minister`s Housing Scheme (PMHS) is heading for doom. The housing minister disclosed recently that the government had signed 36 MoUs with a number of foreign construction companies but none had so far begun work on the project aiming for one million `low-cost` housing units completed at a cost of Rs40bn.
Continue reading A city with two souls
By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn
HOW should the media report a war? This is the question journalists should be asking themselves in the changed circumstances of today. They seem to have been caught off guard. One cannot even be certain that they are aware of the dilemmas that should be their dilemma.
Continue reading Fighting on home soil