Author Archives: Zubeida Mustafa
29th August, 2012
Education pitfalls
HEALTH or education? Which should be the government’s first priority? I would say education and health. Both have a symbiotic relationship. A government that recognises the importance of its social capital and the value of its human resources will address both sectors
HEALTH or education? Which should be the government’s first priority? I would say education and health. Both have a symbiotic relationship. A government that recognises the importance of its social capital and the value of its human resources will address both sectors
15th August, 2012
Enigma of voters’ list
PRIME Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has said that fair and free elections offer the only way out of the present constitutional crisis. He is right, but only if the elections are truly fair and free.
PRIME Minister Raja Pervez Ashraf has said that fair and free elections offer the only way out of the present constitutional crisis. He is right, but only if the elections are truly fair and free.
8th August, 2012
Politicians and education
ELECTION season is here. The political leaders know no form of canvassing other than that of mud-slinging. Most of them can produce no documented evidence, but it is enough to start a vitriolic debate.
ELECTION season is here. The political leaders know no form of canvassing other than that of mud-slinging. Most of them can produce no documented evidence, but it is enough to start a vitriolic debate.
1st August, 2012
Are Pakistanis extremists?
THERE are two ways of effecting a change in a society: from top to bottom or from bottom to top. Conventionally, it has been believed — and development and political strategies are based on this notion — that changes at the top and the trickle-down effect will create an impact at the bottom, where it is needed.
THERE are two ways of effecting a change in a society: from top to bottom or from bottom to top. Conventionally, it has been believed — and development and political strategies are based on this notion — that changes at the top and the trickle-down effect will create an impact at the bottom, where it is needed.
25th July, 2012
Campus crisis in Sindh
WHAT are the qualities — in terms of scholarship and character — that one should seek in the head of a university if it is to be run competently and produce excellence in education?
WHAT are the qualities — in terms of scholarship and character — that one should seek in the head of a university if it is to be run competently and produce excellence in education?
18th July, 2012
Sense of déjà vu
IS history repeating itself? It appears to be. Look carefully at the accord between Islamabad and Washington reached earlier this month that broke the seven-month impasse between them.
IS history repeating itself? It appears to be. Look carefully at the accord between Islamabad and Washington reached earlier this month that broke the seven-month impasse between them.
11th July, 2012
Tightening the noose
WHILE the unending political circus in Islamabad engages the nation’s attention, there are significant developments in other fields that have escaped the media’s notice.
WHILE the unending political circus in Islamabad engages the nation’s attention, there are significant developments in other fields that have escaped the media’s notice.
4th July, 2012
Catalysts for change
HAVE our writers and artists met the challenges posed by the 21st century? Have they played the role expected of them to promote human rights in our society?
HAVE our writers and artists met the challenges posed by the 21st century? Have they played the role expected of them to promote human rights in our society?
27th June, 2012
‘Adopted’ school challenge
IN January 2005, I had commented in these columns, “The adopt-a-school programme (ASP) launched by the Sindh Education Foundation (SEF) in 1997 is in danger of falling prey to maladministration, misuse, corruption and apathy of the city government
IN January 2005, I had commented in these columns, “The adopt-a-school programme (ASP) launched by the Sindh Education Foundation (SEF) in 1997 is in danger of falling prey to maladministration, misuse, corruption and apathy of the city government
20th June, 2012
Budget in an election year
THE budget betrays much about the priorities and style of a government. Since the money being spent is the taxpayers’ it is incumbent on their rulers to spend it responsibly and honestly.
THE budget betrays much about the priorities and style of a government. Since the money being spent is the taxpayers’ it is incumbent on their rulers to spend it responsibly and honestly.
13th June, 2012
Our population time bomb
PAKISTAN’S Population Census Organisation’s website has a population clock on the home page which gave the country’s population as 179,850,379 on Tuesday — an average increase of 9,700 every day
PAKISTAN’S Population Census Organisation’s website has a population clock on the home page which gave the country’s population as 179,850,379 on Tuesday — an average increase of 9,700 every day
6th June, 2012
Making deals with the devil
IN his recently published memoirs, Jagtay Lamhay, Justice Haziqul Khairi, retired chief of the Federal Sharia Court, recalls his judgment upholding the transplantation law in Pakistan. The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Ordinance (2007) had been challenged by some 1surgeons on the ground that
IN his recently published memoirs, Jagtay Lamhay, Justice Haziqul Khairi, retired chief of the Federal Sharia Court, recalls his judgment upholding the transplantation law in Pakistan. The Transplantation of Human Organs and Tissues Ordinance (2007) had been challenged by some 1surgeons on the ground that
30th May, 2012
The language conundrum
PAKISTAN has failed to educate its children. This is shameful and now we have the proverbial insult added to injury.
PAKISTAN has failed to educate its children. This is shameful and now we have the proverbial insult added to injury.
23rd May, 2012
Educating the Educators
THE commodification of education is going full steam ahead. Not only is education being recognised as a good to be sold, its sales strategies are also being discussed.
THE commodification of education is going full steam ahead. Not only is education being recognised as a good to be sold, its sales strategies are also being discussed.
16th May, 2012
Why no social security?
THERE was a time when it was widely believed that Karachi’s roads were paved with gold. Anyone who came here could make a fortune — even if it was a small one.
THERE was a time when it was widely believed that Karachi’s roads were paved with gold. Anyone who came here could make a fortune — even if it was a small one.
9th May, 2012
The pleasure of reading
IN a country where a commonly voiced lament is that we are not a society of book readers, any effort to get people interested in literary pursuits is a feat in itself.
IN a country where a commonly voiced lament is that we are not a society of book readers, any effort to get people interested in literary pursuits is a feat in itself.
2nd May, 2012
Physician, heal thyself
AS inflation spirals in Pakistan, the one most seriously affected is the common man. Decent healthcare is said to be beyond the reach of the overwhelming majority.
AS inflation spirals in Pakistan, the one most seriously affected is the common man. Decent healthcare is said to be beyond the reach of the overwhelming majority.
25th April, 2012
Restless soul at rest
THE headline above is not mine. It is Murtaza Razvi’s, a colleague and friend from Dawn. I have borrowed it from the obituary he wrote of his mother, a writer, for Dawn’s Books & Authors when I was editing it.
THE headline above is not mine. It is Murtaza Razvi’s, a colleague and friend from Dawn. I have borrowed it from the obituary he wrote of his mother, a writer, for Dawn’s Books & Authors when I was editing it.
18th April, 2012
Education in a quandary
IN today’s age “of the one per cent, for the one per cent, and by the one per cent” (to quote Joseph Stiglitz) to seek equality — especially in education — amounts to looking for utopia.
IN today’s age “of the one per cent, for the one per cent, and by the one per cent” (to quote Joseph Stiglitz) to seek equality — especially in education — amounts to looking for utopia.
11th April, 2012
A century of bookselling
NOT many readers would have visited Juna Market, the commercial hub of Karachi where hardware and spices compete with halwa puri to find buyers.
NOT many readers would have visited Juna Market, the commercial hub of Karachi where hardware and spices compete with halwa puri to find buyers.
