By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn

AFTER a long period of despair there is light at the end of the tunnel in the library sector. A library support group has been set up by Saiban, an NGO, with the aim of strengthening school and community libraries in Karachi.

The group has already begun its work by collecting and distributing 816 books among five schools and one community library in Orangi. In one year it plans to reach out to 50 Orangi schools, which have already been earmarked. In the absence of a book reading culture in our society, one would consider it courageous on the part of Saiban to have undertaken this venture. Sceptics might find the move to be ambitious and expect it to run out of steam soon. But what gives rise to hope is the fact that the driving force behind the library support group is the untiring Tasneem Siddiqui, the non-bureaucratic bureaucrat who is the director-general of the Sindh Kachchi Abadi Authority and chairman of Saiban.
Continue reading New hope for the libraries →

By Zubeida Mustafa
Source: Dawn

SEPTEMBER 8 was International Literacy Day and the government observed the occasion as best as it could at a time when elections and politics are stealing the show. The media did not show much concern either, as the observance of such days has now become no more than a ritual.

This may sound cynical. But how else would one perceive Pakistan’s approach to literacy and education when after 55 years of experimenting with a variety of programmes and campaigns, those at the helm have not managed to make even half the population (above 15 years) literate?
Continue reading Education: the dividing factor →