#PPP - کل بھی بھٹو زندہ تھا،آج بھی بھٹو زندہ ھے

Video Report - Chairman PPP & FM Bilawal Bhutto Zardari’s media talk along with UN Secretary General .

Disaster orthodoxy in Pakistan — floods aren't God's fury, we're the culprits and inaction is our sin

Sana Khosa

ALMOST 40 years ago, ‘disaster orthodoxy’ started being challenged and critiqued in Western societies by researchers such as Kenneth Hewitt, Paul Susman and Phil O’Keefe, amongst others.

According to Kathleen Tierney, a renowned professor of sociology, ‘disaster orthodoxy’ is the understanding that disasters are unexpected, unfortunate events that are suddenly thrust upon societies and cause normal functions and societal structures to be disrupted. This viewpoint largely absolves state institutions and the organisations (that are tasked to improve land-use plans, protect the marginalised, work towards sustainable development), for not taking responsibility for putting vulnerable communities in harm’s way. Disaster orthodoxy, unfortunately, still exists in our part of the world. We need to practise caution when we use the terms ‘natural disaster’, ‘climate catastrophe’ or ‘monsoon monster’ to explain the current destruction caused by floods triggered by the monsoon rains in Pakistan. These terms are used widely in practice and research relating to disasters induced by natural hazards. But we must realise that nature is not against our marginalised people in rural Pakistan. We as a nation should be collectively blamed for putting our marginalised communities in harm’s way time and again. This is not God’s fury to punish sinners; we are the culprits and inaction is our sin.

We the urban dwellers residing in our secure homes and caring least about the katchi abadis and slums a few blocks away from where we reside; we the government not creating local capacity to mitigate and prepare for the threats posed by natural hazards both in urban centres and in rural areas; and we the politicians fighting endlessly for power. This is a collective apathy and failure that requires action.

First, let us stop calling it a ‘natural disaster’. Yes, floods are a natural hazard but the destruction is mostly human-induced and exacerbated by our dwelling patterns, our patterns of deforestation, our weak structural and non-structural mitigation methods, our quality of building standards and the way we have geographically, socially and economically marginalised our impoverished population. Flood disasters in Pakistan are socially constructed due to decades of negligence, inaction and weak governance. We have created large bodies for managing disasters at the federal level (NDMA and the Federal Flood Commission) and at the provincial levels (PDMAs) but not much progress has been made to truly developing district-level disaster management systems.

Flood disasters in Pakistan are socially constructed due to decades of negligence. Although the NDMA Act of 2010 requires each district to establish a district disaster management authority, haphazard progress has been made to achieve this goal.

Recently, the district of Muzaffargarh developed a comprehensive district disaster management plan with financial and technical assistance provided by UK-DFID and UNDP after eight months of consultations with local government and local stakeholders. A key question needs to be answered: is this model plan being implemented in nearby flood-affected districts such as Rajanpur? A plan without the inherent local capacity to implement is questionable. A DDMA that is not designed to work all year long on mitigation measures and preparedness activities but is activated when a threat is imminent is also questionable. It should be called a ‘Disaster Operations Centre’ if its work is restricted to monitoring and facilitating immediate relief during a disaster. Our reactive and orthodox disaster management style requires change. Second, if we want to manage the ‘climate catastrophe’ or tame the so-called ‘monsoon monster’ effectively then we need to carry out local asset-mapping in every locality and district of the country whether it is prone to disasters or not. Each district needs detailed risk assessment and a disaster management centre/office that is engaged in proactive management of risks and threats.

Ideally, this entity needs to be separate from the existing administrative units tasked with the day-to-day running of affairs in the district. Each district needs to identify the existing assets in their community such as first responders (the police, Rescue 1122 teams, the armed forces), local NGOs, local businesses, retail outlets that can provide quick relief goods, tents for shelter, etc. If an administrative unit does not have the required assets (as we saw this year in the deadly fire incident in a Dadu village), it needs to have MoUs with neighbouring districts so when a threat is imminent institutional help, without red tape, can arrive in time.

Third, restoration, reconstruction and rehabilitation in flood-impacted communities will be an arduous task. Community engagement in developing comprehensive community development plans, that include disaster management, and land-use planning will help to build resilient and empowered communities that bring local experience and knowledge for creating environmentally sustainable development paths for local districts.Restoration and restructuring after the floods must involve careful engagement with local engineers, local planners, local architects, local teachers, local doctors, and volunteers alongside our traditional administrators. If we were to approach this in a holistic way, we will be able to manage disasters that are inflicted due to natural or man-induced hazards in a better way.At this point, when immediate relief is the need of the hour, battling threats of malnutrition in women and children, setting up medical camps to combat waterborne diseases, and providing shelter for survival are all essential. I do not want to be critical of the institutional efforts that are underway because everyone needs to engage in managing this mega catastrophe in an effective manner and the reach of the state cannot be compared.

However, when the storm is over, we need to change the way we view and manage disasters in Pakistan. Local capacity for managing disasters needs to be developed or else we will have the same script: slow realisation of a disaster; a national declaration of disaster; looking for international aid; a bureaucratic response with layers of red tape; lots of politics; and lots of blame games.

Educational Dividend In Pakistan: Imperatives For Single Curriculum – OpEd

By Muneeb Ur Rahman

Socialization is the process of inculcating the norms and ideologies of society in individuals. School in this regard is considered as one of the primary and important agents of socialization, where children learn about social expectations and social responsibilities.

The present schooling system of Pakistan can be recognized as a class divisions system which is dividing nation at three levels. The education system of Pakistan can be divided into three different tiers. Public sector schools are at the first tier, where medium of instruction is a local language and syllabus is mostly in Urdu language. These schools have a specific curriculum, teaching techniques, co-curricular activities, and evaluation patterns. These schools mostly have poor infrastructure and lack of water, electricity, and other facilities. There is an unbalanced student’s teacher ratio in these schools with small number of teachers and large number of students in classrooms. These schools mostly charge no fee.

At the second tier, we have Private English medium schools. The medium of instruction and syllabus in these schools is in English. These schools have mostly good infrastructure with relatively better facilities. These schools have a separate curriculum, teaching techniques, co-curricular activities, and evaluation patterns. The size of students in classrooms of these schools is relatively small with good teacher student ratio. These schools have specified and modern dressing and code of conduct. There is yet another small stratum of schools which encourage co- education schooling. Also, known as elite schools which are linked with foreign education system from curriculum to evaluation. These schools have very high fees which only few percent of the population in the country can afford. Finally, we have Madrasas where there is completely different setup from curriculum to evaluation and certification. The financial needs of Madrasas are mostly fulfilled by the individual charities. The students in Madrasas, mostly belong to very poor families who cannot afford to pay high fees to teach their children in other types of schools. Countering other and defending one’s own religious sect is also an important part of teaching and learning in these Madrasas.

Following this, the children coming out of these three different educational systems will have different cultural and social capital in terms of problem solving, knowledge, experiences, exposure and understanding.

The elite and private schooling system is inculcating the skills that is greatly contributing towards the personal growth and development of individuals. While the public and Madrasa schooling system stresses on civic oriented and ethical lessons with poor skills for personal development. In addition, this divided education system is creating different value structures. Therefore, it appears that the present education system of the country is divided on an extreme level. It has failed and has not been able to teach citizens to wait on traffic signal for their turn to go. Which shows the lack of understanding on civic responsibilities of the individuals. This education system should have been based both on teaching the required skills to its people and also inculcating the core national values.

Although there was a lot of criticism over the single national curriculum and a lot of resistance from private schools and Madrasas, but in my opinion the idea of a single national curriculum is a step in the right direction. The education system of a country is a mean to promote national identity by adopting the core values of the country. Even in the developed countries of the world, through formal and hidden curriculum, skills and societal values are inculcated and reinforced in the children through schooling. Apart from teaching academic curriculum, the school also teaches children about the social roles, rules, expectations, and integration of the society. For example, meeting deadlines, following schedules, fulfilling duties and responsibilities. It is the school and education, which through values and norms, mold the diverse groups of the society into a single shared identity and prepare the citizens for its citizenship roles.

A single national curriculum can bring integration, equality, and uniformity among all the students and citizens of the country. This can also provide a level playing field to all the students of the country. This could be one of the leading options to put an end to the dividend and class-based education system of the country. We need to include and advocate our comprehensive core values through a single national curriculum to flourish and move towards national integration and social cohesion. These core values should be guided by the principles of Islam including justice and rule of law where all students can have equal opportunity to higher education and upward social mobility. And the overall social development of the children is in line with local aspirations and evolving international trends.

https://www.eurasiareview.com/09092022-educational-dividend-in-pakistan-imperatives-for-single-curriculum-oped/

چیئرمین پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی، وزیرِ خارجہ بلاول بھٹو زرداری سے یو ایس ایڈ کی ایڈمنسٹریٹر سمانتھا پاور کی ملاقات

 چیئرمین پاکستان پیپلز پارٹی، وزیرِ خارجہ بلاول بھٹو زرداری سے یو ایس ایڈ   

کی ایڈمنسٹریٹر سمانتھا پاور نے ملاقات کی ہے۔

وزیرِ خارجہ بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے یو ایس ایڈ کی ایڈمنسٹریٹر کو سیلاب کی تباہ کاریوں سے آگاہ کیا۔

بلاول بھٹو زرداری نے متاثرینِ سیلاب کے لیے 30 ملین ڈالرز کی امداد پر سمانتھا پاور کا شکریہ ادا کیا۔

وزیرِ خارجہ نے ایڈمنسٹریٹر یو ایس ایڈ سے پاکستان کے لیے عالمی برادری کے وسائل متحرک کرنے کے لیے تعاون کی خواہش کا اظہارکیا ہے۔

ملاقات کے دوران بلاول بھٹو زرداری اور ایڈمنسٹریٹر یو ایس ایڈ سمانتھا پاور نے موسمیاتی تبدیلی سے متعلق گفتگو بھی کی۔

https://jang.com.pk/news/1133926