Category Archives: Education

The politics of public policy

Administration, Constitution, Economy, Education, Environment, Notable Personalities

javedBy Zubeida Mustafa

Is Pakistan a failed state?

This question has been debated ad nauseam with no definitive conclusion being reached. It has been conceded, though, that there is something wrong with the process by which public policy is formulated. Self-serving rulers – both civilian and military – have projected their style of governance as being democratic, whereas in reality, both have ruled with a heavy hand.

Take the case of education. It would seem strange that after the experience of formulating 10 education policies dating back to the very inception of the country in 1947 – none of which were fully implemented – the present government has failed to announce the eleventh policy which was due in January 2016. Continue reading The politics of public policy →

Walls of peace

Administration, Children and Youth, Culture and the Arts, Development and Poverty, Education, Environment, Social Issues
The walls of Rustom Baugh have images of Karachi's famous spots
The walls of Rustom Baugh have images of Karachi’s famous spots

By Zubeida Mustafa

IT is said that art heals and colours are therapeutic. As if proof were needed, one has to only see the transformational effect of a beautiful picture on a distressed child.

In this context it was a brilliant idea to paint Karachi’s graffiti-marred walls with pretty pictures. I am not an art critic but have enough sense to prefer a picture of beautiful animals to slogans declaring adherents of different faiths/sects ‘wajibul qatl’ (liable to be executed). More harmless but equally uncouth are the ads of obscure dawakhanas promising to restore to men their manliness. Continue reading Walls of peace →

Why English?

Books, Children and Youth, Culture and the Arts, Development and Poverty, Education, Language, Social Issues

By Zubeida Mustafa

A 9781783095841YOUNG mother recounted to me her harrowing experience of her daughter’s schooling in Lahore. The child was asked by her teacher to report on her classmates who spoke a language other than English in school.

When I heard this I was saddened but not shocked. Many parents have had a similar experience. Worse still, many believe that this is the only way to learn English. Continue reading Why English? →

Changing Lives

Books, Children and Youth, Culture and the Arts, Education, Human Rights, Library, Women
Official launch with Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland.- Photo by GWL
Official launch with Nicola Sturgeon, First Minister of Scotland.- Photo by GWL

By Zubeida Mustafa

WOULD you expect to see Qurratulain Hyder’s Aag ka Darya on the shelf of a public library in Glasgow? Probably not. But I actually found Annie Apa, as she was fondly called, in the Glasgow Women’s Library (GWL). The discovery was made more exciting by the fact that the library was a distinguished one as only a feminist library can be.

Set up in 1991, the GWL has grown and never looked back. In 2015, it celebrated the 25th year of its existence. Containing 30,000 books on women or by women (about 20,000 writers), the GWL is distinct from other libraries by the feminist ownership shown by those who manage it and those who use it. Continue reading Changing Lives →

Catch ’em young

Children and Youth, Development and Poverty, Education, Human Rights
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By Zubeida Mustafa

ACCORDING to Unesco’s Global Education Monitoring Report [GEMR] 2016 released recently, only two-thirds of children worldwide would have completed primary schooling by 2030, the deadline set by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals.

The report also stresses the need for human dignity, social inclusiveness and equity in education so that economic growth does not intensify inequalities in society but empowers everyone. For this, Unesco calls on policymakers to adopt new approaches and fundamentally change their thinking on education. Thus it hopes to create a safer, greener and fairer planet for all. Continue reading Catch ’em young →