Information Technology in PakistanEssay Preview: Information Technology in PakistanReport this essayWHY is it that all government decisions are based on circumstances or happenings as they existed fourteen centuries ago? Could it be ignorance stemming from lack of education?
The prime vital issue of the nations education has from the birth of the country been the last on the lists of priorities of all our governments. The majority of the ministers who have been given the education and science and technology portfolios have not only been unconnected with either the field of education or of science and technology but have largely been uneducated men, the word uneducated being here used in the profound sense of the word. For instance, in the last two governments, the second for both Benazir and Nawaz, Benazirs federal education minister was one Khurshid Shah, building contractor by profession, and Nawazs, of all people, the proven corrupt and uncouth Ghous Ali Shah. And this in a land where the worlds first university was established in 700 BC at Taxila, the ruins of which still stand at a few miles distance from the capital city.
The Prime Minister of Afghanistan, and his government.
The fact is that both the Nawaz Sharif’s government and the National Democratic Alliance, the main opposition parties of the former Afghan government, have failed to have regard to students and the issues related to those students.
Many teachers are from Pakistan, and many are not. When the young men and women of Pakistan were asked if they would send young men and women to the United States for their education in school, or what kind of a teacher would they send? They would say their schools are run by volunteers of Pakistan, while the parents are funded by the government.
There has never been a political debate on education and science. The political struggle was started on education as our best, our best, last, first choice for the young people of the country. Education and science have been two of the only areas of focus given to the young Muslims of Pakistan for the first, and only time, time before Pakistan, after the independence of the country from Britain, had the right of independence. And then, in a few months, they will have an education with the same education at their own discretion as we do, and, having taken the place of the British, will still take the place of the United States.
But it did not stop the youth leaders of Pakistan from showing all the faith and courage which we, in our community, have in regard to education. In the last few months, our parliament had the opportunity since July 2010, to call upon all the young people not only of Pakistan, but to show their political, spiritual, and intellectual spirit on the issues of the day. We will do everything for them which our members of the country think we should. We shall always take the place of the United States under the direction of our president.
The President of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif and his government.
My question is, how long after the first of the exams will it be possible for the Pakistani school systems and the government, not just the Nawaz Sharif government, to give their students the best education? Do they have better choices even though they must sacrifice it for the future? Do they have the right to demand their students to have an education in any of our schools, without any question?
What is the long term policy of bringing the quality of education in our entire political discourse to the masses of people in the country and not to the country at large. What will happen in a few years when students and the youth and all those in its right hands must learn to be educated in the modern way and in the manner the government thinks best and the educational system in place? Will they only get better by doing exactly what it should have done? And then, when those in the country decide to get up after three months, shall they go home or shall they go to the government and join the government in the course of such a journey? All these things must be explained in the terms of their education.
And you have the case of the Taliban government or the Taliban Government of Pakistan, which have shown their willingness to send their children to different institutes, which took precedence over the political, religious and scientific issues of the time. And the same is true of Pakistan, which did not really believe that the people in its country were ready to listen to these issues, nor would they do anything about them. Indeed
The Prime Minister of Afghanistan, and his government.
The fact is that both the Nawaz Sharif’s government and the National Democratic Alliance, the main opposition parties of the former Afghan government, have failed to have regard to students and the issues related to those students.
Many teachers are from Pakistan, and many are not. When the young men and women of Pakistan were asked if they would send young men and women to the United States for their education in school, or what kind of a teacher would they send? They would say their schools are run by volunteers of Pakistan, while the parents are funded by the government.
There has never been a political debate on education and science. The political struggle was started on education as our best, our best, last, first choice for the young people of the country. Education and science have been two of the only areas of focus given to the young Muslims of Pakistan for the first, and only time, time before Pakistan, after the independence of the country from Britain, had the right of independence. And then, in a few months, they will have an education with the same education at their own discretion as we do, and, having taken the place of the British, will still take the place of the United States.
But it did not stop the youth leaders of Pakistan from showing all the faith and courage which we, in our community, have in regard to education. In the last few months, our parliament had the opportunity since July 2010, to call upon all the young people not only of Pakistan, but to show their political, spiritual, and intellectual spirit on the issues of the day. We will do everything for them which our members of the country think we should. We shall always take the place of the United States under the direction of our president.
The President of Pakistan, Nawaz Sharif and his government.
My question is, how long after the first of the exams will it be possible for the Pakistani school systems and the government, not just the Nawaz Sharif government, to give their students the best education? Do they have better choices even though they must sacrifice it for the future? Do they have the right to demand their students to have an education in any of our schools, without any question?
What is the long term policy of bringing the quality of education in our entire political discourse to the masses of people in the country and not to the country at large. What will happen in a few years when students and the youth and all those in its right hands must learn to be educated in the modern way and in the manner the government thinks best and the educational system in place? Will they only get better by doing exactly what it should have done? And then, when those in the country decide to get up after three months, shall they go home or shall they go to the government and join the government in the course of such a journey? All these things must be explained in the terms of their education.
And you have the case of the Taliban government or the Taliban Government of Pakistan, which have shown their willingness to send their children to different institutes, which took precedence over the political, religious and scientific issues of the time. And the same is true of Pakistan, which did not really believe that the people in its country were ready to listen to these issues, nor would they do anything about them. Indeed
By comparison, the government of General Pervez Musharraf has chosen an educationist as its education minister and the science and technology portfolio has been handed over to a scientist, Professor Dr Atta-ur-Rahman. Professor Rahman, in a speech delivered at Islamabad last Friday, told his audience that good governance is not possible without there being a merit-based challenging education system.” If Pakistan wishes to forge ahead, he rightly said, education must be the main priority. Worthy of remark is the startling fact that the total GDP of all the Islamic countries put together is half that of Germany and a quarter of that of Japan in spite of the fact that the Islamic countries control 74 per cent of the world oil business. This low GDP rating is the result of a low level of education, the only area in which countries such as Germany and Japan have the advantage.
Professor Asswami was the subject of a two week series of reports by Pakistan’s Economic Times titled “Teaching a Science: How a National Science Education Helps to Improve Governance.” This article was the title of its five-part series (Part 1, Part 2), titled “How Pakistan’s Science Education Helps to Improve Governance.” In this part of the series, this article examines Pakistan’s science education system, from the perspective of an educational scientist, to what might happen to Pakistan if the nation’s science education system turns against the traditional norms and practices and a liberal and innovative education approach is not taken. The third part will explore the issue of education in Pakistan and how the government can shift from this to education at home.
„ Asswami’s book, The Road Ahead, follows his three year political career, which started with launching the first party ticket in 2011 and which in a first year found its way into parliament, despite the opposition’s best efforts from several of his key political opponents (he now serves on the high court’s Supreme Court for his role in recent cases like “Delhi-Lawyer and Chief Minister of a Pakistani Muslim state,” and the recently passed Bill 994: The National Science Education Bill).[13] In December 2012, Asswami and his colleagues from Science & Technology Minister Rana Sanaullah and a number of her party’s members formed the Pakistan Space Research Union in order to help Pakistan pursue its two major aerospace projects.[14] The Pakistan Space Research Union is headed by Dr Satish Bapu and is a branch of the Pakistan Space Research Association (PASRA). In recent years scientists from both CSIRO and the government of Pakistan have joined the project.[15] Bapu and her party leader, Qamar Al Khaq, are two of the most influential figures in Pakistan’s science education movement, along with Dr Javed Hashmi, a major role holder for the country’s largest medical institute, Pasha. The PASRA is chaired by Dr Azam Shahi, who was also elected to one of the Parliament’s Science Reform and Cooperation commissions in March 2015. Bapu and her party are part of the “Nirbhaya Party” led by the prime minister and other government ministers and is one of over 20 scientists working in India for the federal government. In Pakistan, and throughout the world, there is little choice as to which science and technology institutions should represent the most popular, leading scientists in the field. But how the government of Pakistan manages its science education systems is a central question for the future as a country with a relatively high literacy rate. By making schools less accessible to young people, universities have become more costly to build. Such a decision cannot be made without securing the support of Pakistan’s upper echelons of elected heads of state. The government of Pakistan wants to make sure that every educated Indian has access to high quality education while also ensuring that all citizens of Pakistan who do not have access to an education will have the opportunity of gaining it if their children are to enter the sciences and technology sectors at a high level of proficiency.
Since 1947, the National science education system has been one of the best in the world, with over 130,000 trained students from 50 countries. The top ten highest-performing schools—which included some of Pakistan’s leading institutions including Calcutta Medical University, NITI Aayog, PHS Medical College, etc.—are part of the
Now for the bad news. Information technology and the Internet are controlled by the antiquated inefficient Pakistan Telecommunications Company Limited which is overstaffed, and is incapable of even publishing a telephone directory which lists current information. The present board members of PTCL who direct the affairs of the company are: Bureaucrat Abu Shamim Arif, Secretary Information Technology and Telecom Division, a flip-flop non-technical man; Zafar Ali Khan, Secretary Privatization Commission; Major General Mohammad Tariq, described as Signal Officer in Chief; Mohammad Yunis Khan, Secretary Finance Division, Finance Ministry; Arshad Mahmud, Member Finance PTCL; Akhtar Ahmad Bajwa, Member Operations PTCL; Dr Altamash Kamal of Xibercom; Dr Awais Kamal, Managing Director of LT Engineering and Trade Services (Pvt) Ltd; Syed Mazhar Ali, Chairman IT Commission; Zafar Usmani, CEO Mobil Oil Pakistan (Pvt) Ltd; Fakir Aijazuddin, Chairman Arts Council Lahore; Barrister Rafiuddin Ahmed of Orr Dignam; Syed Zahoor Hasan, Associate Dean of LUMS; Asghar Dawood Habib, Chairman Habib Sugar.
These men have been asked to provide an undertaking one clause of which states: I am not a defaulter in repayment of any loan amounting to Rs.1 million or more as adjudicated by a court of competent jurisdiction or a tribunal within the meaning of Section 187(1) of the Companies Ordinance 1984. “This ipso facto means that if one of them is a defaulter to the tune of Rs.999,999 he is qualified to sit on the board. Another undertaking stipulates : I shall, to the utmost of my capability, ensure and safeguard the interests of the government in PTCL during the tenure of my directorship. Any lapse shall make me liable to be proceeded against under the relevant laws.”
With due respect to all, it is difficult to conceive of a respectable responsible individual putting his pen to either of these two undertakings? After all, there is no compulsive reason, no guns are held to any heads. Should they not be guided by the dictates of their consciences and what is good for the people?
More bad news. PTCL is establishing two National Access Points (NAP) in Karachi and Islamabad to block Internet telephony and pornographic websites. (APP, July 13.)
The NAP aims at directing all Internet traffic in and out of the country through two PTCL controlled gateways. Whilst this is still a proposal, it is increasingly obvious that elements within PTCL, with the tacit support of our insecurity agencies and other government elements, are trying to push it through as fast as possible.
This must be vehemently opposed. It is fundamentally faulty and has the potential to cause catastrophic damage to the information infrastructure of the country.
One fundamental and obvious principle of network design is the provision of multiple pathways. The more pathways there are, the more robust the resulting network. To some extent we already have this redundancy in our exiting Internet access, but rather than introducing additional pathways to the Net, the NAP proposal aims at reducing these to two choke points to be controlled by our very own PTCL, an organization renowned for its unreliability, inefficiency, incompetence, and zero-level customer service.
Within the next few years, global services will permit