•Dance Classes: Internationally renowned Kathak dancer Nahid Sidiqui is conducting 15 sessions, 23rd June to 23rd July 2008, of dance workshops for students age 12 & up. The classes are held thrice a week, Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday from 8pm to 9.30pm. Basics of Kathak dance theory & practice, followed by discussions on the process and production of dance performance form the core structure of the workshop. Participants are awarded certificates at completion of course. The course is designed both for beginners and advance students of dance.Last date for registration: 19th June 2008. Only 20 seats.

opportunity
Skill has a market at all times
Many art students earn alongside studies by doing freelance work and feel happy about it
By Naila Inayat
Sometimes when I look back at my college life, especially the later part, I feel that taking the graphics courses was the best thing that could have happened to me. There are numerous reasons why I feel this way and one of them being that it gave me opportunity to do substantial work and earn money. Moreover, all those consecutive eight to nine hour classes didn't go waste after all. Somehow designing visiting cards, brochures, portfolios, posters, flyers etc was more interesting than other theoretical courses that we studied. Or maybe it was made interesting by our instructors.

Primary schoolers
Parents brave the ordeal of primary school admissions to provide their children the best opportunities
By Jazib Zahir
Twenty-eight year old Ahmed could be forgiven for believing that the sight of school walls would never cause him trepidation again. He had not set foot on an academic campus since graduating from an engineering university seven years ago. In the meantime, he has graduated through the ranks to become a manager at PTCL, and a wife and son occupy much of his spare time.

There were 30 autonomous schools in Punjab out of which 29 have been returned to the government with the exception of Central Model School (CMS), Lower Mall, Lahore.

Let's look at the idea of giving autonomy to a school. "A strong board of governors can bring in good money for the school -- the kind with which the building and the infrastructure of the school can be improved," says Qazi Afaq, former secretary education and the person in whose tenure the new board of governors of CMS was formed.

When asked if there would be any fee raise, cut in the number of students or change in the academic staff, he said, "There will be no fee raise, and the number of students and teachers will also remain the same as before."

In a notification NO.SO(A-II)I-6/2001, dated 8-3-08, issued by the Punjab Education department (school wing), the governor Punjab constituted a new board of governors (BoG). The new chairman of the BoG of the school is Bashir A. Tahir, Chief Executive Abu Dhabi Group.

For five years, the school remained without a board of governors. More than three months have passed since the formation of the new board but it has not met even once. All the members of the BoG are high-profile people but none of them has any experience in primary or secondary education system. It is evident that they do not have time for the school. The chairman met the headmaster of the school once, though. While Qazi Afaq said that Bashir A. Tahir was an old student of CMS, Bashir Tahir himself corrected the headmaster in his only meeting with him that he was not a Modellian at all.

The presence of a BoG makes it difficult for the headmaster to hire a teacher, procure equipment or initiate renovation of the school building. No teacher could be hired at Central Model School, Lower Mall, Lahore, in the last three years. The Education Department made the school an autonomous body in the hope that it would bring in money and the building and the infrastructure will improve. Contrarily, the school is short of funds.

There is no government money for an autonomous body. In the year 2005, the then education minister Punjab Mian Imran Masud came to the annual function of the school and announced a grant of Rs 10 lakh for its renovation. But the money was refused by the (then) additional secretary education on the grounds that Central Model School is an autonomous body and there is no government money for them.

The board of governors whose all seven non-official members are old Modellians, haven't met as yet, so nothing going. What good is autonomy, then?

When the government has taken back all the other 29 autonomous schools in Punjab, it should take back this one as well. Why single it out.

It is important that the government takes back this school and provides it good funds so that this prestigious institution is saved from crumbling down. The school is giving good education to the poor children at nominal fees. At least 400 boys get admission to pre-engineering and pre-medical sections of colleges after passing out from here every year. The government should reward where there is sincere service to mankind and this school can certainly claim that.

The 130-year-old school is built on a 100-kanal land and has over 8000 students at present. It has maintained good results throughout -- 95-98 per cent. CMS has remained a nursery of Government College, Lahore, now called Government College University. The government must realise the contribution of this school to the country and give it necessary funds to enable it to restore its traditional position.

Every school has a motto and the pupils know it by heart. For a long time the motto of Central Model School will be printed on the school notebooks. It goes,

Seek knowledge and skill

Even if you have to put your life at stake

From wherever and whoever you can

In whatever way you can

The above lines are penned by Nazir Asim Panipatti. He worked as a librarian for Maulana Altaf Hussain Hali.

A senior teacher of the school puts it aptly, "In the 90s, we used to say that wisdom and power in this country have long remained in the hands of the boys that have been educated and groomed in Central Model School." This school is the poor man's Aitchison College, as one parent puts it.

Why would any government want its best school to be managed by others? This is something hard to understand. The school caters to the population of the old city mainly, but it receives students from all over. It has always remained a prestigious institution.

Isn't schooling a government's primary responsibility? But, in the last one decade, we have witnessed a large number of government schools being given away for adoption to NGOs.

Central Model School, Lower Mall itself would have been given away for adoption to the Abu Dhabi Group in 2005 had the people concerned not raised hue and cry. A report that appeared in The News on Sunday on December 18 the same year quoted a number of eminent old students of the school who strongly condemned the move, and the adoption was shelved.

MNA Bilal Yasin, in whose constituency the school falls, also happens to be an old Modellian. Saad Rafiq and Salman Rafiq are also old students of the school. Imran Nazir, Member Provincial Assembly, also an old student of CMS, says, "We will take teachers and parents' views into account before deciding anything for the school. This school is a valuable asset of the nation and we will take care that nothing goes wrong with it."

TNS could not talk to the chairman board of governors despite several attempts to contact him. The present secretary schools was also not available for comment.

It is hard to understand that the government doesn't have funds for this most prestigious school while grants to Lahore College for Women and Government College University are increasing by the year. Ironically, these are the institutions whose students pay a good sum for education. These are also the institutions that attract students on self-finance basis as well, while there is no such thing in Central Model School, which attracts a huge number of boys from low-income group because it has been imparting high quality education for over a century. Hence, the school deserves the government's attention and generous grants. Let's hope the government takes it back in its fold and puts an end to discrimination.

It was his fault but not big enough to be punished with a bullet shot in his leg. Yes it's exactly what happened with Majid Abbas, 17, earlier this month. The poor boy had dared to answer the call of nature at the site of an under-construction plaza at Liberty Market. Majid, who later recorded his statement with the police, says a private security guard posted at the site asked him to get up and move away but he couldn't as it was too late. "I couldn't hold it back any further, but I didn't know the guard will fire a shot at me." He says it was only after a failed attempt to find a public toilet or such facility at some public place that he used the space as a last resort.

The ordeal which Majid went through (before the shooting incident took place), has been experienced by most of us many a time. It's no secret how difficult, rather painful it becomes when you can't find a place to relieve yourself. Had there been a nearby public toilet, even a paid one, Majid would have avoided coming in the line of fire.

The non-existence or unusable state of public toilets at places like bus terminals, shopping centres, public parks, government offices and courts is something that needs urgent attention of the authorities and an immediate redressal. Despite being an essential component of all town planning exercises, public toilets are nowhere to be seen in our city. Even if they are, it's next to impossible for a normal human being to enter them and bear the stench and the gory sight of what awaits them. To make matters worse there is no water connection and the wash basins and other sanitary ware are cracked or broken altogether.

It's a pity that the number of public toilets in the city has gone down instead of going up irrespective of the fact that Lahore's population has grown at an alarming pace over the years. Till last year there were only 40 public toilets in a city of around 8 million inhabitants. This phenomenon appears even absurd keeping in view the fact that a dedicated public facilities department has been established by the district government to settle public grievances regarding parking stands, public toilets, bus stands, shades in parks and so on.

Lahore District Nazim Mian Amir Mahmood has recently announced that 50 spots have been identified in the city for construction of public toilets. When will the funds be released to purchase and construct public toilets and what will be the timeframe, are questions yet to be answered.

Ali Imtiaz Kirmani, District Officer (DO) Public Facilities tells TNS that he knows about the plan but does not have accurate information at hand. "I have been posted here recently and can let you know about the exact details in a couple of days," he adds.

An official at City District Government Lahore (CDGL) tells TNS on conditions of anonymity that construction of public toilets is seen as unprofitable project for the city government. "The project requires land, the price of which has skyrocketed over time. As public toilets are needed the most at busy and crowded places the price of land is highest there." The official goes on to say that maintenance of public toilets is more difficult than merely constructing them. Even if you put a price tag on the use of public toilets the returns are not sufficient to pay the utility bills," he adds.

Chaudhry Mahmood, a town planner, has a solution in his mind. Citing the example of San Francisco's street toilet programme, he says the model can be replicated here after little modifications. He says though public toilet users pay money for availing the facility, the main costs of maintenance are covered by selling advertising spaces on cylindrical kiosks housing these toilets in high traffic areas.

Anyhow, the non-availability of public toilets does not mean that all the Lahorites have to relieve themselves within the range of a rifle shot. Men can easily do that against any wall caring less for what's written inches above: "Woh dekho kuttay ka bacha peshab kar raha hai." Or they can use the toilets built at mosques. But in such a case they have to offer prayers there as these toilets can be used only by 'namazis'.

The problem is even bigger for women who cannot avail these options. They have to look out for a fast food outlet, hotel or a big departmental store. Sometimes they can do it for free but on other occasions toilet usage can cost a few hundred rupees spent on food or some other merchandise.

A recent development in the right direction has been the authorities' realisation of the fact that all construction bylaws need to be followed with extreme diligence. Haji Javed, a computer vendor at Hafeez Center, tells TNS that several committees formed by civic bodies are inspecting commercial buildings to check whether all the requirements have been fulfilled or not. He says it's binding on the owners of all commercial plazas in the city to construct public toilets at every floor of a building. "What normally happens is that shop or office owners keep toilets for their own use and lock them otherwise. We have received instructions that these toilets should be kept open as customers have an equal right to use them," he adds.

MOOD STREET

•Dance Classes: Internationally renowned Kathak dancer Nahid Sidiqui is conducting 15 sessions, 23rd June to 23rd July 2008, of dance workshops for students age 12 & up. The classes are held thrice a week, Monday, Tuesday & Wednesday from 8pm to 9.30pm. Basics of Kathak dance theory & practice, followed by discussions on the process and production of dance performance form the core structure of the workshop. Participants are awarded certificates at completion of course. The course is designed both for beginners and advance students of dance.Last date for registration: 19th June 2008. Only 20 seats.

• Tens-2-Teens: Four weeks of fun, excitement and learning for girls starting 16th June from 11am to 2pm, Monday to Friday. Painting -- fabric, glass & pottery painting, clay crafts, flower arrangements, creative crafts -- hand bags, gift boxes. Contact: 142 F Block Model Town, Lahore. Tel: 5850969

Sometimes when I look back at my college life, especially the later part, I feel that taking the graphics courses was the best thing that could have happened to me. There are numerous reasons why I feel this way and one of them being that it gave me opportunity to do substantial work and earn money. Moreover, all those consecutive eight to nine hour classes didn't go waste after all. Somehow designing visiting cards, brochures, portfolios, posters, flyers etc was more interesting than other theoretical courses that we studied. Or maybe it was made interesting by our instructors.

Over the last couple of years freelancing amongst students has widened its scope. "Nowadays students are capable of doing multiple tasks, it is an age where these students have exposure to so many things such as computers, art, animation etc. They are not confined to their majors," says Shabeen Niazi, in charge of a local college.

Omair says, "I make caricatures for a monthly magazine, it becomes difficult for me to meet the deadlines but I just want to do it for various reasons and the most important one is to pay my hostel fee in time."

Hina, a student of Mass Communication tells TNS, "I design invitation cards for an international company, every month I'm given a huge assignment and it kind of does wonders for me." Hina further says that by freelancing she is able to share some burden of her parents. "The fee structures are sky high and by designing I definitely shoulder their burden."

Similarly, Naveed, student of Pakistan School of Fashion Designing (PSFD) tells TNS that he has been freelancing with one of the leading fashion designers in Lahore and the experience has been incredible. "I feel that designing with a professional has helped me a lot in my creative growth. And frankly I feel I have an edge over my fellow students because I can generate ideas more swiftly now."

Talha, student at a computer college, often freelances as a video editor with a private channel. He makes exclusive tele packages and all the work is done at home. "For me this work is like a blessing in disguise and with so many channels coming up I think there is a lot of work in the market."

Shabeen Niazi believes that students tend to be much cheaper for the companies or individuals who hire them.

Yes, it is cheap but sometimes it means sacrificing quality. It is not a picture perfect scenario however, these students are most susceptible.

Nida Khan who has been working with an interior designer, believes that she can design better than the designer. "She is using my designs as her own but what can I do. I need to work and intern and gain experience. It will later help me with my own career." It is true Nida cannot do much knowing that there is not an effective copyright law in the country.

"These companies and brands exploit young talent. Like these advertising agencies, they hire interns for three to six months without pay. They make the interns work and after exhausting these champs of their ideas they let them go," says Rabia Suhail, brand manager of a local company.

Sara Talat feels that these new companies exploit the students. "Last year I made a four component (calendar, poster, hoarding and banner) package for a new company in Fortress. Several months passed and there was no response. When I went to their boutique I was shocked to see my designs copied."

Bilal Mehmood disagrees with this notion he says, "I think it is good for the freelancer. The companies and known figures hire children; even if it is for minimum wage it suits them. The person gains experience and gets the name of companies on his/her portfolio and the companies get their work done plus they get fresh ideas and fresh input." At the end of the day it is the individual's gain.

Is this all that the students can do for freelancing or is there anything else?

Mahmood Raza, sheds some light on the issue. "The easiest way for me to make money is by doing my classmates thesis and assignments. As a student I have done this all my life and now I feel people trust me. I get the money and they get their assignments done on time."

Twenty-eight year old Ahmed could be forgiven for believing that the sight of school walls would never cause him trepidation again. He had not set foot on an academic campus since graduating from an engineering university seven years ago. In the meantime, he has graduated through the ranks to become a manager at PTCL, and a wife and son occupy much of his spare time.

As his son Usman approached the tender age of three, Ahmed found himself returning to familiar playgrounds as he sought the best primary education available for his child. He felt out of the loop in the rapidly changing educational landscape and sought out advice from friends who had recently been through the ordeal and could share tips in selecting schools and preparing for the interview.

Ahmed settled on applying to the Kids Campus of Salamat Academy in Gulberg after hearing glowing recommendations from some friends. He also learned that the interview would test both his son and both parents as the school decided whether his son would be a good fit. The next few weeks were devoted to improving his sonís confidence level and conversational abilities. At the same time, Ahmed and his wife discussed why they wanted their son in this particular institution so they would be able to convince the interviewer that they had done their homework.

Once D-Day arrived, Ahmed took a half-day leave from work and met up with his wife and Usman at the school. After a tense wait, they sat through an interview lasting over half an hour. It involved Usman conversing briefly with the interviewer and demonstrating his aptitude for recognizing colors and playing with a puzzle. The parents were grilled on the type of environment they had cultivated for their child at home and how they would contribute to his life at school.

"Ultimately, all these private primary schools are looking for children from good families where education is valued,î explains Ahmed. ìThey want to make sure the parents will play an active role in the childís growth and realize that his success will be because of a joint partnership between the parents and school."

Ahmed was proud that Usman was accepted into the play group, but that was just the beginning of the journey. In three months, he will be shifting to nursery, followed by prep. Eventually, Usman will graduate to class one. "In many ways, the first step of getting your child into a good play group is critical to the whole process," Usman reflects. "It just makes it easier for the child to continue to get into good schools for his further education."

Ahmed also appreciates the option of enrolling toddlers in the playing gym at Salamat before they attempt to join the play group. "Many children are just not prepared for play group," he says, "and enrolling them in the playing gym helps them develop the confidence of being away from their parents before it becomes a permanent feature of their life."

Different parents adopt different approaches to identifying the primary school of choice. Javed is keen for his son to eventually enroll in Aitchison College which has not incorporated classes before class one into the institution. "I've heard getting my son into Aitchison would be much easier if I were an alum of the institution myself," he says. "It's too late for that now but I have enrolled my son in a primary school in close proximity to Aitchison which has traditionally sent many of its graduates there."

Javed is also wary of how admissions to primary schools are becoming increasingly competitive. "You would think admissions to such schools would be casual since there's really not much you can test a child on at that age," he says. "But there are so many people jockeying for positions at a few select schools even at this stage of their lives. It means parents are starting the process earlier and earlier and keenly looking out for contacts to give a helping hand."

Private primary schools too keep innovating to stay ahead of the competition. Several new schools in the Defence area boast state of the art teaching and play facilities for the privileged toddlers selected to enter their hallowed halls. But Javed is wary of such institutions. "You have to remember that you will end up investing heavily in your child's education over a period of time," he cautions. "Splurging on the first few years of his education may not prove to be wise in the long run."

Ultimately, the most committed parents will consider a variety of parameters, both quantitative and qualitative, in evaluating primary schools. Sana, a mother of three, recalls visiting several primary institutions before selecting one. "I walked around all of them and found one where the teacher actively involved students in activities rather than encouraging a passive experience," she says. "I knew right away that I had found the right school."

1. Metro

2. Makro

3. CSD

4. Fortress Stadium

5. Pace

6. Karim Block Market

7. Liberty

8. Jalal Sons

9. Defence Y-Block Market

10. Anarkali