Corona Lock down and Schools

Corona Lock down and Schools

Dr Nasir Javed

The revelation of Quran started with the word Iqra. Read.  

The schools and all educational institutions are closed for 3 months at least, may be more. Loss of students’ time might be a bigger collateral damage than even the economy.

In the current scenario, apart from health (including the psychological issues of anxiety, depression and stress), the two key sectors of society and government that are worst affected by the lock down are economy and education. 

First the Education:

While schools were closed abruptly, there was no preparation, like we have prior to summer vacations and thus students and their parents are at a loss as to how to compensate for this loss of time. And this is irreparable loss. We also need to keep in mind that the quantity and quality of our education as a nation, is one of the lowest, even when the schools are open. Hence the worry is more serious. Presence of directionless kids at home is a cause of considerable stress for the parents as well, especially when the young & immature minds are being constantly bombarded with morbidity & death related news & discussions.  

Some of the higher learning institutions and high-end private schools are resorting to e-learning through online modules and lectures. Well done. While this is certainly appreciable, what about the more than 95% schools that won’t / can’t arrange this. Even Government is talking about e-learning. Not all students would have the luxury of net or computers to benefit from e learning. This elite thinking is similar to the one of city planners, who build just underpasses & signal free corridors and no pedestrian walkways. Same elite thinking is working here as well. The divide between the haves and the have-not’s shall further widen. Justified?

By the way, do we have any idea of the way majority of the schools in Pakistan are functioning? The quality of teaching, teachers, facilities and learning techniques? I am referring to around 100,000 public schools and another 100,000 private schools. Now whenever someone talks of private schools, we only think of The City school, Lahore Grammar, the Beaconhouse and the likes. Again the same elite mindset. This type of schools cater to less than 10% (max), of the private school students. More than 90% of private schools (around 90,000+) are pseudo English medium schools, where quality of content and teaching is pathetic, with most of the teachers, just educated and untrained. Majority have a lower standard than most of the public schools.  We need to cater for this 90% as well, may be on priority.

Starting April 01, the Government of Punjab has initiated the Taleemghar online and cable series. I have seen some of the ‘animated videos’ on Youtube, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JSqvoxWiOwA as cable TV in my area still has no such channel. Honestly speaking, found these quite boring with unnecessary music and lifeless animations. Who plays music in a class room? These might be good for pre-school & KG kids. But here we are talking about very serious curriculum to be covered from class 1-12, and these animated cartoons are certainly not suitable.

Why do we jump straight to hi-end IT based systems, when simple tools and technologies are available, much less expensive and many times more accessible. Let’s approach the problem, in a more practical manner, closer to reality, with a wider access.

Government should plan for a Television based learning program. Setting up a satellite channel is not a rocket science, and neither requires any World Bank Loan. There are already many channels and government can even lease some of these. (Would have side effect of reducing some anxiety and tension, if we close some of these fear spreading channels!).

Am sure we do realize that TV is the most powerful & pervasive medium that we have. In many cases, even more powerful than internet and social media. So let’s make use of this simple tool that is available in most of the houses. If we can afford full time channels for sports, cricket, old movies, drama, music and what not, why not these five or six channels for the most critical necessity.

We have the experience of Allama Iqbal Open University and the Virtual University. All we need is a good teacher, a few students, a green board and a chalk. A couple of students in the room, sitting at a distance, would be needed for question answer as this improves learning. A teacher in an empty room is less effective. The teacher should teach these students, just like in a normal school. Video record these and make a library, cataloged class wise, subject wise, chapter wise and session wise. These should be exactly in accordance with the syllabus and text books, so students can relate to these and cover their syllabus.  Some of the good examples are  https://www.youtube.com/edkasa ,  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dci5dbTpWwA  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAedHfzkuM8 , or even this one https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pncGpyOin_M .

We need six satellite channels to broadcast these lectures, according to a fixed time table. One channel for class 1-5 Urdu Medium. Second for class 6-10 Urdu medium. Third for class 1-5 English medium. Fourth for class 6-10 English medium. And fifth channel for Intermediate classes.  

There is also a serious need for teachers’ training. The teachers are free for these 3 months. Let there be a sixth TV channel dedicated to teachers training, with a structured curriculum for these 3 months. Once the situation returns to normalcy, the teachers be asked to appear for an examination, based on this curriculum, with an incentive for those who pass.

The TV schedule shall keep students under a regime and they would follow these time schedules and this discipline is critical. The flexibility of online modules is not suited for school level.  The scheduling should be such that every student gets a 30 min session followed by a 30 – 60 minute break. This scheduling shall facilitate that if a family has students of different classes, each one should be able to get around 2-3 hours a day, with breaks. We can start at 8 am and continue till 6 pm.  

Every day the sessions should end with some homework as well, like a normal school. Parents would be happy to supervise this home work.

On a weekly basis, there should be a test, based on what is taught and on Monday, the solution should be shown on TV. Thus students can self-mark the test, or seek help from parents and elder siblings. Weekends could be used for revision of sessions, in case someone has missed or is a slow learner.

Once the system is settled, this can continue during summer vacations and even after that, to make up for the lost time and even as a permanent feature for improving the overall quality of learning. We certainly need desperate measures to improve the quality of our education, not only for the elite classes, but for everyone. 

Quality education is the best social equalizer, in the long run.

University students are mature and educated enough to be catered through online learning modules and lessons and HEC can support and regulate them.

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A sustainable model for Shelter Homes Dr Nasir Javed

A sustainable Model for Shelter Homes

Dr Nasir Javed 

While the Government’s vision for building shelter home in cities is a commendable initiative, there are fears that an incomplete evaluation of viability and lack of attention to details may hamper the long term sustainability of the project. As is the case with countless well-meaning initiatives past administrations have taken, the question is often raised of a future when the Prime Minister is gone or is tasked with more pressing matters? 

Considering the rapid rates of urbanization and population growth, are these shelter homes meant only for a few thousand or aim to scale over a given period of time? While answering these questions, it is also imperative to study, analyze, and import sustainable practices from similar models abroad while mapping the institutional design. The following key elements of the design need to be addressed, upfront: 

Sustainability is the fundamental concern. This could stand a better chance, if simplicity seeps into every rung of the supply chain. It is imperative to favor standardization by choosing simple building designs over lavish photo-opportunities that boast concealed piping, cosmetic touchups, and require high energy costs. Architectural insights need to play a role in designing weather-protected and well-ventilated spaces that minimize maintenance costs. High ceilings, thick walls, ample fly-proof windows and preferably verandahs on east & west are some of the energy saving factors.

  

The same approach would also favor the usage of cotton-filled razais over blankets as they are easier to sanitize and re-use over a longer period of time. The fancy razais we see in the photo shoots would be difficult to store and wash.

Some of the shelter homes are being furnished with foam mattresses, which again would become smelly and unhygienic in less than a season. Charpais offer benefits while remaining versatile, easily moveable and storable.

Attached bathrooms with concealed piping are difficult to maintain, even in private homes. It is easier to build and maintain a row of separated bathrooms, with open pipelines instead of attached bathrooms which requires more complex plumbing.  

Determining the criteria for occupants is critical for these facilities. The most important element of these homes is the people living there. We need to have a robust system to manage entry and exit. Who is allowed to live there? Some people would be random visitors, like for a night or two, while some are likely to be permanent residents, like handicapped, old and mentally unwell. A third category is daily laborers, who would find it less expensive than renting a room. This would perhaps mean having a diverse category of homes, depending upon the inmates’ categories ranging from permanent destitute homes to emergency night stay places during extreme weather.

We need to a daily monitoring of every inmate, to make sure that everyone is not only properly looked after but to ensure that the neediest benefit, as demand would always outnumber supply. In addition, we need to avoid these homes from becoming hideouts for criminals. We need some skill building activities for able bodied job-less adults. We need to have a program for graduation of these able bodied men to move out, once they can afford to and are made capable of. A networking with appropriate programs and NGOs would be necessary.

A simultaneous step that is absolutely essential is to strict enforcement of the ban on beggary. While most of the street beggars form part of organized mafias, who need to be just removed, the small category of genuine destitute should be accommodated in long stay shelter homes, with plans for skill building and job opportunities. This could be a major step if we can make our streets and signals beggar free.

Keeping all this in mind, the management of these homes is as important as the facilities being provided. Who shall run these homes is a big question mark. The traditional mode of dumping this function to the DCs and ACs might work as a campaign and offer short term political mileage, but we all know is not sustainable. Perhaps the best option could be to make a role for registered and well reputed NGOs, CBOs and even Mosque committees of the nearby mosque. The work requires empathy and a regard for higher human values, than mere bureaucratic management. A formula for making payments on type of facilities and number of beds could be worked out for payments. However, a supervisory committee, under some local minister, MPA, Mayor or even DC could be formulated for monthly inspections and complaints redressal etc.

All said and done, the million dollar question still remains, as to how to finance the whole initiative with a sustainable model. The government won’t be able to finance it, we all know. Pakistan is one of the countries with the highest charity rates. The government can place separate charity boxes at mosques, mazaars, markets and even roadside for people to donate. Once we all see the system working and no beggars on the streets, there would be no shortage of funds. Let the Government provide seed money of a few billions from the poverty alleviation & ehsaas fund, make a trust of the same and enhance it on charities. Transparency and quality of service is the best bet, with a central Trust Committee to manage the funds.

Last but not the least, this all requires some institution to manage this huge system. But institutions requires regulatory framework. The past history shows that we often forget to make this framework and just rely on verbal orders, PowerPoint presentations, minutes of meetings, directives and increasingly, social media tools. This is never enough. So we need real good rules, regulations and SOPs. Let’s spend some good time and effort with expertise to develop a sound set of these rules that govern all this system.

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