The beautiful and scenic northern areas of Pakistan comprising districts of Gilgit, Ghanche, Skardu, Diamer, Ghizer and Astore have been victims of sheer neglect for many years. Despite being under the control of the federal government, the locals have had no voting rights and constitution for decades. The government of Pakistan that provides funds to cover the administrative expenses of the area has not been able to provide basic education and health activities on a large scale.

Though apprehensions have existed for a long time that the northern areas are no more than a colony for Pakistan, the voices demanding rights for the locals are getting louder and louder with every passing day. With the assumption of power by the newly-elected democratic government the hopes of these people have been revived. The decision of the government led by Prime Minister Yousaf Raza Gilani to do away with Frontier Crimes Regulations (FCR) has been an indication that the government wants to do something for the region.

A visit to the headquarter of the northern areas, Gilgit, reveals that the absence of Pakistani government from different sectors has given NGOs, donors and development organisations sufficient space to intervene and contribute to the socio-economic development of the region. It is due to this factor that the literacy ratio in Gilgit is as high as 53.33 per cent.

These figures have been provided by the National Commission of Human Development (NCHD) that is working in the northern areas in partnership with Aga Khan Education Service, Pakistan (AKESP) and Aga Khan Rural Support Programme (AKRSP) to achieve the goal of universal primary education and adult literacy. NCHD, a fast track initiative of the Pakistani government, was established in July 2001 as a federal statutory body tasked with the objective of filling the implementation gaps and improving the public-sector delivery mechanisms to achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).

During a visit to an adult literacy centre in Gilgit, it was observed that the local community was extremely receptive to change and the female students were brimming with confidence. One major reason for this 'unexpected' response from these women is that they have been interacting with people involved with the development sector.

Another perception that proved wrong during the visit was that the students enrolled at these literacy centers did not belong to the Ismaili community alone. There was due representation of Sunnis, Shias and Noorbukshies at the centers as well.

Qurban Ali, an AKESP representative told that the Agha Khan Foundation does not discriminate on the basis of sect and its programmes are open for all. A proof of this, he says, is that AKESP has presence even in Skardu where the number of Ismailis is negligible. Qurban says, "these centres have also played a great role in creating harmony among different sects and ending animosity amongst them that would often lead to violence in the recent past."

The curriculum taught at adult literacy centres and post literacy centres has been devised in a way that it does not hurt the sentiments of any community. Post literacy centres are meant for those people who want to continue with their education after the completion of their basic course.

Amir Bilal, NCHD spokesperson, says that the literacy programme devised by NCHD expects the students to achieve basic literacy equivalent to grade 3 in 5 months. He says, "those completing the course must be able to write 7 to 10 sentences about their immediate environment, to add, subtract, multiply and divide a 3 digit figure and develop knowledge about techniques of tolerance and emotional control."

Similarly, NCHD's post literacy programme offers religious education, health education, awareness about environmental issues, agriculture, business, household matters, learning of English by phonics and so on.

The students enrolled at post literacy centres are mostly women, many of whom are mothers and even grandmothers. The northern areas are spread over an area of 72,496 square kilometres out of which 64,066 square kilometres comprises mountain area. The present population of the northern areas is around 870,000 and density is as low as 8 persons per sq km, living in some 650 small villages. This makes it difficult for the people to commute easily from one place to the other. Therefore, the emphasis of these bodies is on setting up literacy centres close to the houses of students and are managed by the people belonging to their own community.

Hazrat Noor, a mother of 12 children, studying at literacy centre in Salmaniya Mohalla, Jalalabad, Gilgit says, "she feels much more confident than she was when she had not started coming to the centre."

She adds that initially she and other aged women of her area were ridiculed for going to school at this age. But over the period of time more and more women have joined them. Noor adds "our goal is to become good mothers and grandmothers. We have proved that age is no barrier if you want to learn."

Muhammad Muneer, incharge NCHD operations in Federally Administered Northern Areas (FANA) and Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) says that unlike other parts of the world NCHD did not set up its own offices here. Instead, it capitalised on the achievements made by AKESP and joined hands with it for the betterment of the people. He says that under the partnership NCHD provided reading material and teacher training to people whereas the task of community mobilisation and provision of basic infrastructure was the responsibility of AKESP. NCHD also provides teachers for the literacy centres and pays them salaries.

While these efforts have started giving tangible results lately, there are fears among the locals that the gains made through these initiatives may be undone for more than one reason.

First, AKESP is closing its field education units from some areas after the end of the current funding phase from the European Union. Second, the NCHD is waiting for release of funds by the government of Pakistan to continue with its services in the region. This will lead to loss of jobs and lack of educational facilities to people of an area that has already been deprived of basic amenities for six decades.

In today's digital age, every aspect of our lives is governed by technology. Television, radio, electrical appliances etc are now widely outdated with the advent of computers. Information technology is a vast field which attracts a lot of college students in good universities, but some of them are not able to cope up with the program because of insufficient background in computer education. A profession in IT is not the only reason why computer education is important, in fact, any profession requires a certain degree of proficiency in the field.

The benefits of a computer assisted educational system are numerous. Within the classroom computer education will enhance individual intellectual skills and outside it will broaden a child's mind to explore more options for what they learn through means of the internet. However, computers are expensive and in a developing country like Pakistan it is not easily accessible as most cannot afford it.

Luckily, there are those who understand the importance of computer education and are striving to bring about as much exposure as possible to developing countries, devising schemes to boost computer culture amongst children. One such program currently being offered in Pakistan is Intel's World Ahead program.

The Intel World Ahead Program aims to connect the next billion people to 21st century opportunities by improving access to technology, high-speed internet connectivity, effective teaching and learning, and relevant local content. Their five-year objective is to extend broadband PC access to the world's next billion users while training 10 million more teachers on the use of technology in education and with the possibility of reaching another 1 billion students.

Intel has formulated child friendly Class Mate PCs (CMPC) for interested individuals and educational institutes who can't afford to buy computers. CMPCs are available for as little as Rs. 17, 000. They can also be purchased on easy installments with lower mark-up rate. So far in Pakistan, the scheme is a huge success.

The ICT for Education Program was launched in 2007 as part of Intel World Ahead Programme under which Intel is donating computers (Laptops/Desktops) to various government schools in Pakistan. The purpose was to promote 1:1 computing; prepare teachers and students for a knowledge economy and promote ICT in Education.

In this connection 7,000 computers will be donated over the next 3-4 years. In 2007, Intel donated 750 PCs (150 CMPC and 600 APC) across Pakistan with joint consultation of Federal as well as Provincial Education Departments. Three pilot labs of 50 CMPC (classmate PCs) each (2 in Islamabad and 1 in Lahore) were established out of 750 donated PCs.

Three schools namely Islamabad College for Girls F-6/2, Islamabad, Islamabad Model College for Boys, F-8/4, Islamabad and Govt. Comprehensive High School for Girls Wahdat Road, Lahore were identified by the Federal Directorate of Education, Ministry of Education and Provincial Education Department, Punjab for the Pilot Project.

After the training of the teachers, CMPC lab was established at all the three selected institutions. Product briefing and training was conducted 2-3 times at each institution for the teachers to get familiarised with the product and its usage. Besides CMPC, 1 Teacher Laptop, 2 digital cameras and 2 WIFI Access Points were also given to each institution.

While explaining the programme in an exclusive interview with Education-Zine in Karachi, Naila Kassim, said that the basic purpose of ICT is to equip the students with ICT skills. She said that Intel has made the portal in which it has added around 500 ready-made lesson plans for the teachers and students for the Science subject.

She said that the Federal Ministry of Science and Technology is keen to localise these lesson plans for different subjects and to bring the existing curriculum at par with these lesson plans. Intel will collaborate with the government in this connection.

The next phase of deployment of PCs to different schools of NWFP, Punjab, Sindh and Balochistan has also started. The provinces have assigned focal persons to manage this program with Intel. The school listing from the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE) as well as from Provincial education departments in coordination with Focal persons for deployment has been provided. A survey of the selected institutions for the deployment has also been done.

Will the ICT learning replace text books? "Not at all, instead, the programme will integrate with the conventional education system which was based on text books only," said Naila Kassim. "Now the students will be able to supplement their studies and enhance their skills through the use of computers."

Speaking about their own experience with the programme, an Instructor at Islamabad College for Girls, F-6/2, told that CMPC have built-in softwares through which the teachers can monitor the performance of 4-5 students simultaneously. The programme provides facility of Voice chat and Voice broadcast. On a question, she told that the programme offers direct communication facility. After students complete their presentations they deliver it through a system and the rest of the students listen to it, ask questions and also give their comments in a disciplined manner without making noise. MCQs automatically come on all the PCs. Similarly, the teacher can transfer any file, photo or video directly to the PCs of the students. She termed the programme a complete e-learning solution.

In this school, out of 50, 45 CMPC have already been distributed. Initially these PCs are given for the students of Class 6. The teachers teach English, Science, Social Studies, Maths through this system.

If the aim of education is achieving, maintaining and fostering so-called intellectual excellence, then stereotype practices need to be transformed into challenging, feasible and rewarding priorities.

Restructuring Admission Priorities

While the current educational scenario is said to be highlighted by such concepts as 'marketing education' or 'an open admission policy", many institutions have maintained their credibility and reputation due to their 'admission on merit policy' and consistency.

Although it may sound idealistic but it is feasible to give top priority to the psychological, educational, family and social background of both students and parents at the time of admission. This is simply possible because we may have within our managerial, counselling and teaching ranks a few such personnel who can diagnose and identify any applicant's problem that have the potential to adversely affect the overall school atmosphere. Considering in advance the applicants' likes, dislikes, interests, motivations and the company they encounter at home and in social circles is appropriate in addressing the alarming problems related to students' attitude, discipline and studies at school.

Revamping the criteria of hiring teachers

The very credibility of the elite brand of institutions is said to speak for itself of its teachers' qualities, qualification, experience, integrity and commitment, which conform to high-level teaching standards. However, it is sincerely suggested that in order to suitably cope with any type of student, parental or managerial concerns or complains about teaching; we need to improve the idealistic faculty selection procedures since they have a positive and practical bearing on our endeavours in educational excellence.

Addressing disciplinary concerns

Disciplinary problems include peer teasing or bullying, misconduct with teachers, disturbing the class atmosphere, adversely affecting school discipline or decorum, consistently non-serious attitude towards studies and assuming aggressive or escapist tendencies.

What state of mind and what condition of body a student comes to school and interacts with colleagues and teachers, with parents and family and in social circle should be closely monitored and understood before dealing with a child in a certain manner. There has been a tendency of children sleeping late at night due to internet usage, TV or social engagements or personally and psychologically taxing and draining problems. A few hours of disturbed sleep and skipping breakfast, the most important meal of the day, is the start of turmoil within. Academic deficiencies and gross misconduct are aggravated due to lack of sleep resulting in a disturbed mind and erratic behaviour and because of improper breakfast, low glucose levels and slow blood circulation so essential to carry out a healthy routine. It is that weakening state of mental and physical health of these children that need to be addressed by taking them and their parents into confidence.

Stealing the academic show

While our students' personality development remains important, it is vital that they also excel with top honours both in in-house and external examinations. There are no two opinions about the fact that most of our students are bright and intelligent, full of promise and potential and are capable of bringing laurels to themselves, their families, their institution and their country. The question is as to how they can steal the national and international show academically by earning distinction and merit. It all begins with being mentally, physically, academically and intelligently equipped in order to earn the cherished grades and by being position holders! It is where teachers and parents can realise and join hands to inculcate in children the practical need for proper rest, sleep, exercise and diet.

The race for a few and fancy study options need to replace with aptitude-oriented education through awareness for concerned parents, teachers and students. It has to be ensured that our children are regular and attentive in class and clear concerns with questions and queries there and then. If questions remain unresolved teachers may be approached in break or library periods, colleagues may be consulted at school, friends may be contacted over the telephone, parents, brothers, sisters or elders may be requested for any academic help as, where and when possible the same very day.

The point to be advocated and inculcated as habit among students is to understand whatever that has been taught at the school the same very day, comprehend it the same very day, learn it the same very day, write it in the copy the same very day and revise it over the weekends.

Parents' orientation workshops

The objective of the individual parent-teacher meetings is mutually assessing students' academic progress, addressing their educational problems, identifying their creative faculties, and catering to their behavioural concerns, if any. Students' psychological, social, innovative, educational and career concerns may collectively be addressed through parents' workshops by taking concerned parents into full confidence and by inter-acting with them as appropriately and as sufficiently as possible.

Parent-teacher-management brain-storming workshops on children's personality, creative and educational development, bridging teacher-parent-gap, fostering student-teacher understanding and building school-parent trust slowly but surely lead towards mutual cheerfulness and rewards of the concerned participants. It is, however, to be ascertained that the consensus of opinion of these workshops is in consonance with those consistently and comprehensively fruitful endeavours in educational excellence and are followed up practically by being planned, organised, directed and promoted in letter and spirit.

Teachers' level of motivation

Last week's edition of Education-Zine was extremely insightful, I would like to congratulate your team for such superb work. Speaking with reference to the article "Internet's hidden tariffs: Menace in disguise" on PTCL's hidden charges for internet users I would like to add my two cents; anyone who studies in KU knows the number of assignments and reports the students have to submit in the second or third year at the university, and they usually need to refer to sources on the internet to construct these projects. Not all students have computers at home let alone an internet connection, and at the university the only reliable place for internet usage is LEJ which is extremely far away from most departments, and remains inaccessible to most of the students. Besides, one has to buy membership in order to use the computers there. The other option we are left with is the computer lab at the main library which charges a small amount of Rs 10/hr. However, most computers in the lab are not fully functional, other than that if the electricity goes out so do the computers. As everybody knows, power outage is a routine in Karachi and university is no exception. The question I want to ask is: when will the university realise the needs of the students and furbish the departments with their own computers, albeit with free internet connection because with enhanced PTCL charges, it has become very difficult for the students to use this most important technology for their studies.