آیئں سكهرکی سیر کو چلیں

سكهر صوبہ سندھ کا تیسرا بڑا شہر ہے بتایا جاتا ہے کی جدید سکھر کی بنیاد فرنگی جنرل چارلس جیمز نیپئر نے ١٨٤٠ کو رکھی شمالی سندھ مئی دریائی سندھ کے سنگھم پے واقع یہ شہر سندھ سیمت پاکستان بھر میں اپنی تاریخی اور بیشبہا ثقافتی  ورثا ، قدرے متعدل مذہبی رجحان ، شدید گرمی اور سكهر بیراج کی وجہ سے جانا جاتا ہے اپنی جگرافیائی محل وقوع کی وجہ سے سكهر کثیر قومی اور کثیر لسانی افراد پر مشتعمل شہر ہے  یہی وجہ ہے کی یہاں کئی صدیوں سے مسلمان، ہندو اور مسیحی برادری انتہایی محبّت ور پرامن بقاے باہمی کے اصولوں کے مطابق  رواداری کے ساتھ رہتے ہیں 

  تاریخ کے مطالعے سے معلوم ہوتا ہے کہ 326 قبل مسیح میں  الیگزینڈر عظیم کے سندھ پر حملہ کرنے تک سكهر شہر سندھ کا دارلخلافہ ہوا کرتا تھا 711 عیسوی میں 17 سالہ محمد بن قاسم سکھر اور زیریں پنجاب سمیت سندھ پر حملہ آورہو گیے  اور سکھر کواموی خلافت کا حصہ بنایا. بعد میں مغلوں اور کئی نیم خودمختار قبائل سکھر پر حکومت  کرتے رہے سکھر شہر 1809 اور 1824. درمیان یرپور میرس کے کے حوالے کردیا گیا تھا، شاہ شجاع  (قندھار کے ایک سردار)نے سکھر کے قریب تالپور کو شکست دی اور 1843 میں برطانوی (جنرل چارلس جیمز نیپئر) حیدرآباد کے قریب میانی کی لڑائیوں میں تالپور کو شکست دی. سکھر، سندھ کے باقی علاقوں کےساتھ ساتھ،1947 ء میں پاکستان کی آزادی تک برطانوی حکومت کے تحت تھا. 

تاج برطانیہ کے دور میں سكهر شہرکواہم سماجی و اقتصادی ترقی کودیکھنا نصیب ہوا ١٩٢٣ سے ١٩٣٢ کے دوران برطانوی حکومت نے دریاے سندھ پر سكهر بیراج کو بنایا جو دنیا میں سب سے بڑا آبپاشی کے نظام میں سے ایک کو کنٹرول کرتا ہے 5،001 فٹ طویل بیراج پیلے پتھر اور سٹیل سے بنا ہے اور اس کی سات بڑی نہروں کے ذریعے کھیتوں کی تقریبا 10 ملین ایکڑ پانی کر سکتے ہیں.

سکھر بہت سے چھوٹے اور بڑے پیمانے کی صنعتوں کا مرکز ہے. اہم صنعتوں میں سے بسکٹ فیکٹریوں، سبزیوں تیل اور گھی کے ملز، کپاس ٹیکسٹائل، سیمنٹ، چمڑے، تمباکو، پینٹ اور وارنش، دواسازی، زراعت کے آلات، دھات فاؤنڈری، پمپ، تالا سازی، چاول اور چینی ، ہوجری، کشتی سازی، ماہی گیری لوازمات، دھاگے کی گیند چرخی، ٹرنک سازی، پیتل کا سامان، کٹلری، چینی مٹی کی چیزیں اور دودھ پلانٹ  شامل ہیں 

سکھر میں زمین کی زرخیزی اور گرم مرطوب موسم کی وجہ سے خریف کے دوران، چاول، باجرا، کپاس، ٹماٹر اور مٹر    کاشت کئے  جاتے ہیں جبکہ ربی کے دوران گندم، جو اوردالیں کاشت کیے جاتے ہیں؛ایشیا کی سب سے بڑی کھجور کی منڈی بھی سکھر میں واقع ہے

سماجی ترقی کے عشاریوں کے حوالے سے سکھر کے حالات بھی دیہی سندھ کے دوسرے علاقوں سے کچھ زیادہ مختلف نہیں ہیں خاص طور پر معیاری صحت اور معیاری تعلیمی اداروں کا بہت فقدان ہے ڈسٹرکٹ ایجوکیشن رینکنگ-٢٠١٦ کے مطابق  سکھر پاکستان کے 152 اضلاع میں سے ٧٧ نمبر پر ہے مزید براں اسکول جانے کی عمر کے بچوں میں سے آج بھی         ٣٧فیصد بچے اسکول سے باہر ہیں اس کےعلاوہ 44 فیصد اسکول بجلی جیسی بنیادی سہولیات، پینے کا پانی، ٹوائلٹ اور چار دیواری کے بغیر چل رہے ہیں یہاں کے سکولوں میں جنسی مساوات بھی ایک اہم مسئلہ ہے ہر ١٠٠ پرائمری سطح کے سکولوں پر صرف ١٢ میڈل ، ایلیمینٹری یا ہائی اسکول ہیں اس کے علاوہ سکھر کے  ٧٣ فیصد اسکول ایک استاد یا ایک کلاس روم پر مشتمل  ہیں علاوہ ازیں سکولوں میں اساتذہ کی قابلیت بھی  نہ ہونے کے  برابر ہے جس کی وجہ سے ٣٩فیصد بچے اپنی اسکول کی تعلم مکمّل کرنے سے پہلے ہی اسکول سے ڈراپ ہوتے ہیں اور جو بچے ڈراپ ہونے سے بچتے ہیں ان میں سے ٥٢فیصد بچوں کو اپنی کلاس کی انگریزی اور ریاضی کی کتاب ٹھیک سے پڑنی نہی آتی- اس پسمنظر میں مقامی سیاسی نمایندوں کا کردار یا تو لاتعلقی والا ہے یا پھر معاملات کو اور بگاڈ کی طرف لے کے جانے والا ہے نتیجہ یہ ہے کہ ٨٠ فیصد عوام کی لاشعوری اور ٢٠ فیصد باشعور عوام کی لاتعلقی اور ذاتی مفادات کی وجہ سے آج سکھرمقامی لوگون  کی غربت اور جہالت بیچ کے مال بنانے والوں کا  بہترین مرکز کے طور پرسامنے آرہا ہے ضرورت اس آمر کی ہے کی مقامی لوگ اپنی ذاتی مفادات سے بالاتر ہو کر اپنے حقوق کے لیے جب تک اپنی آواز بلند نہیں کرینگے اور حکومتی اداروں اور اپنے منتخب کردہ سیاسی نمایندوں کو جوابدہ نہ بنیائینگے حالات میں کوئی بہتری نظر نہی آتی ہے. اب وقت آگیا ہے کی سکھر کے  باشعور لوگ اپنی آیندہ آنے والی نسلوں کی خاطر اپنی ترجیحات کا تعین کریں اور معیاری تعلیم کو اپنی ترجیحات میں خاص طور پر جگہ دیں ورنہ آیئے روز  ہر چوراہے پر یوں ہی بکاریوں کی کھیپ بڑتی ہی رہےگی اور چند مفادپرست لوگ غریب عوام کے نام پہ اپنی ذاتی مفادات کو آگے بڑاتے رہینگے 

بے روزگاری، وجوہات اور اسکے اثرات۔۔

By Sikander Ayoub:

وہ یونیورسٹی کے آخری سمسٹر کے آخری دنوں میں تھا، اب چند دنوں میں گریجویٹ ہونے والا تھا۔ یونیورسٹی میں اس نے جو کچھ سیکھا اور پڑھا تھا اب اسی کے سہارے زندگی کے سمندر کی بے رحم موجوں کو تیر کے پار کرنا تھا۔ اسے علم نہیں تھا کہ دنیاوی حالات کے سمندر میں اسے کس قدر مشکلات ہونگی، رحمت میرا اچھا دوست تھا، اپنے فیملی میں سب سے محنتی، قابل اور اپنے بہن بھائیوں میں سب سے بڑا تھا۔ وہ بھی دوسرے ساتھی طالب علموں کی طرح یونیورسٹی سے فارغ ہونے پر خوش تھا۔ وہ چاہتا تھا کہ یار دوستوں کے ساتھ ایسی زندگی چلتی رہے، پر حالات کو بدلنا ہی ہوتا ہے اور حالات کے ساتھ بدلنا انسان کے لئے بہت ضروری ہے، تاکہ گزرتے وقت کا مقابلہ کر سکے اور زندگی آسان ہو سکے۔  

دن گزرتے گئے رحمت اب گریجویٹ ہو گیا تھا اور چاہتا تھا کہ جلد سے جلد کوئی اچھی سی جاب مل جائے، تاکہ وہ اپنے بہن بھائیوں کا خرچہ اٹھاسکے۔ وہ اپنی پہلی سیلیری سے اپنے ماں باپ کے لئے کچھ کرنا چاہتا تھا، اس لئے اب رحمت سے صبر نہیں ہو رہا تھا۔ حالات کا مقابلہ کرنا اس وقت بہت مشکل ہوتا ہے جب آپ اکیلے ہوں اور ہر چیز اپکے مخالف سمت میں کھڑی ہو۔ ایسے میں یا تو خود کو حالات کے رحم و کرم پہ چھوڑنا پڑتا ہے، اور حالات جو اپکے مستقبل کے لیے فیصلہ کریں اسے مجبوری کے بوتل میں ڈال کر افسوس کے ساتھ ہلا ہلا کر صبح شام غم کے ساتھ پینا پڑتا ہے۔  یا پھر حالات سے لڑنا پڑتا ہے جب تک قسمت کا سورج طلوع نہ ہوجائے۔۔
رحمت کے ساتھ بھی یہی کچھ ہو رہا تھا، حالات اسے کبھی ادھر تو کبھی لے جا رہے تھے۔ اس کی مثال بڑے سمندر میں ہچکولے کھاتی ہوئی اس چھوٹی سی کشتی جیسی تھی جس کا کپتان خود ڈوب گیا ہو، اور وہ صرف سمندری لہروں کے بھروسے  پہ تیر رہا ہو۔

وقت گزرتا گیا، دن ، مہینے سال تو جیسے چٹکی میں گزر گئے ہوں۔ رحمت کے لئے اب گزرتا دن بھاری پڑتا جا رہا تھا۔ اپنی دم گھٹتی امیدوں کے ساتھ ہر جگہ اس نے اپلائی کیا پر ایکسپیرینس اور ریفرنس نہ ہونے کی وجہ سے ہر بار ریجیکٹ ہوتا گیا۔  بے روزگاری کے حالات میں اپنے دوستوں خاص کر رشتہ داروں کا سامنا کرنا بھی ایک اذیت اور تکلیف سے کم نہیں ہوتا۔ اسی وجہ سے رحمت نے اپنی سوشل لائف اور انٹریکشن بہت محدود کیا، اور اپنی دنیا میں کھو گیا۔ اپنے خوابوں اور خواہشوں کو ادھورا دیکھ کے وہ اندر ہی اندر ٹوٹ سا گیا اور بلاآخر حالات سے ہار کے اپنی جان دے دی۔۔۔۔

اگر ہم اپنے معاشرے میں اردگرد دیکھیں تو ہمیں ایسے بہت سے رحمت دکھائی دیں گے، جنہوں نے ہار مان کے جان دے دی۔ ان واقعات کا ذمہدار سب سے پہلے میں ہمارے تعلیمی نظام کو دیتا ہوں، ہمارا تعلیمی نظام اب بھی جدید دنیا سے ساٹھ سال پیچھے ہے۔ ہمارا نظام اب بھی ریڈیو اور بلیک اینڈ وائٹ ٹی وی کے ذمانے میں رینگ رہا ہے۔ جس کی وجہ سے ہزاروں طالب علم جدید دنیا کے ساتھ مقابلہ نہیں کر پاتے اور اپنی جان گنوا دیتے ہیں۔ پورے پاکستان کے کسی بھی کالج اور یونیورسٹی میں کانفیڈنٹ بیلڈنگ، پرسنالٹی بیلڈنگ اور کیرئر کونسلنگ جیسے شعبوں پہ توجہ نہیں دیا جاتا۔ اب بھی زیادہ تر سکولوں اور کالجوں میں پرانی سیلیبس اور ہسٹری یاد رکھنے پہ ہی زور دیا جاتا۔ جس کی وجہ سے ہمارے تعلیمی اداروں سے طلبہ کوالٹی میں نہیں، قوانٹیٹی میں فارغ ہو رہے۔ ہمارے تعلیمی اداروں کی ناقص کارکردگی کا ادازہ اس بات سے لگایا جا سکتا ہے کہ پاکستان میں تقریبا 47 فیصد گریجویٹ روزگار کی اہلیت نہیں رکھتے، 35 فیصد گریجویٹس صرف کلرک کی نوکری کی اہلیت رکھتے ہیں، 15 فیصد گریجویٹ ہی بہتر نوکری کے قابل ہیں۔ ورلڈ بینک کے دوسرے رپورٹ کے مطابق پانچویں کا طالب علم دوسری کلاس کا حساب نہیں لگا سکتا۔ ہمارے ملک میں اب بھی دستخط کرنے والے کو بھی پڑھا لکھا سمجھا جاتا ہے۔ یہ کہنا غلط نہیں ہوگا کہ ہمارے ادارے علم سے زیادہ ڈگریاں فراہم کر رہی ہیں تعلیمی نظام کی اس ناقص کارکردگی کی وجہ سے ہمارا ملک تنزلی کا شکار ہے۔۔

بےروزگاری اور دوسرے معاشرتی مسائل کی ایک اور وجہ حکومتی  غفلت ہے۔ ملک میں گڈ گورنس اور میرٹ کا نفاذ نہ ہونے کہ وجہ سے حالات ابتر ہو گئے ہیں۔ ہمارے یہاں قابل اور محنتی نوجوان صرف سفارش نہ ہونے کی وجہ سے رہ جاتے ہیں۔ قومی سطح پر نوجوانوں کی حوصلہ افزائی کے لیے حکومت کی طرف سے کوئی اقدامات نہیں کیا گیا۔ بےروزگاری کو ختم یا کم کرنے کے لئے ایک سال کا انٹرنشپ فراہم کر کے نوجوانوں کو کچھ وقت کے لیئے لالی پاپ دیا گیا۔ حکومت کو تعلیمی ترقی اور بے روزگاری کے خاتمے کے لئے لانگ ٹرم اقدامات شروع کرنے ہونگے، اس کے ساتھ ساتھ میرٹ پہ سختی سے عملدرآمد کروا کے لئے کوشیشیں تیز کرنے چاہئے، اس سے پہلے کہ ہمارے ملک میں رحمت جیسے قابل اور محنتی نوجوان ملک اور حالات سے مایوس ہوجائیں اور  ہمارے معاشرے سے ایسے لوگوں  کی کمی ہوجائے۔۔

Fall In Love With The Natural Beauty of Gilgit-Baltistan

BY SIKANDER AYOUB:

Due to its spectacular beauty and unique culture, Gilgit Baltistan is the one of best place to visit in Pakistan.  It has a pure natural beauty which attracts every person towards it. The gigantic mountains and streams and rivers of fresh water always welcomed national and international tourists. Gilgit Baltistan has five mountains that are above 8000 meters that are K2, Nanga Parbat (9^th largest), Gasherbrum I (11^th highest), Broadpeak (12 highest), Ghesherbrum II (13 highest) respectively. It has also the longest glaciers outside the polar region notably Biafo Glacier, Baltoro Glacier and Batura Glacier. Travelling the Karakuram Highway (KKH) - the 8^th wonder of the world - makes this journey more amazing.  Whoever visited Gilgit Baltistan, he/she fell in love with the natural beauty of the Valley.  

Sikander Ayoub with his friends at Naltar Ski Resort, Gilgit

Gilgit Baltistan is located in the north of Pakistan, its economy mainly dependents on the tourism industry. Unluckily this industry was badly affected after 9/11 and subsequent incidents of terrorist attacks and deteriorating law and order condition in Pakistan. But after the startup of Zarb e Azb Operation in Waziristan and Khyber Agency, the security of the country becomes immensely improved; thus positively affected the overall tourism industry, economy and security condition of Pakistan.  This operation recovered the image of Pakistan nationally and internationally.

this operation  also affected positively the picturesque Gilgit Baltistan. The Increase in the number of National and International Tourists on KKH to reach Gilgit Baltistan is the proof of the betterment of security of the country. The peaceful environment of country encouraged all and sundry to visit GB and explore it’s untapped natural beauty. According to a recent report of PTDC and local media reports, more than 1 million tourists visited Gilgit Baltistan from last year to explore the unnoticed beauty of the valley. This ratio of national and international tourists in the region is highest in this year in the tourism history of Gilgit Baltistan. The industry is blooming and flourishing after the betterment of National security. 

The historic Altit Fort and Baltit Fort situated in Karimabad Hunza

Gilgit Baltistan has 6 districts in which Hunza Valley is the most scenic town. It takes 2 or 3 hours to reach Hunza from the Gilgit city. The picnic schedules of tourists become incomplete unless they visit Hunza Valley. The 900 and 500 year old Baltit Fort and Altit Fort, Duikar meadow, Rakaposhi view, Atabad Lake, Kunjarab Top and beautiful and kind hearted people are the main reason of tourist attraction in the valley. The cold streams of glacier water and breeze of fresh air compel the visitors to fall in love with the Valley. Everyone who visited Hunza Valley is wishing to spend summers in Hunza Valley every now and then in their coming life.

The stunning glaciers of GB are the key attractions of expedition teams 

During the season, I saw the flood of National and international tourists in Hunza. The Unexpected number of tourists in Hunza and surrounding areas made some critical issues for the locals and traffic police. High number of tourist vehicles in Hunza resulted in road jams and lack of availability of hotel rooms made the situation worse. Taking the benefit of this issue, many people in Hunza convert this problem to a source of income; they provided their empty houses to the tourists. This seems great and pleasant situation to both tourists and locals of the valley.

Annual ski championship  is the hallmark of picturisque Naltar Valley

Despite of all of this I see the usual mismanagement of Government. Improper planning of local government during the days of Ramadan made difficulties for Locals and tourists in the season. One of my friend said that,” I visited heaven and I see that heaven hasn’t light” this is an alarming situation for the people and tourism industry in GB. The government should take long standing steps to address energy crisis in GB in general and picturesque Hunza Valley in particular. It also needed to devise a proper mechanism to collect and dump garbage thrown by tourist and locals alike.  Similarly, concern Government bodies are lethargic in promoting natural beauty of GB. Therefore, it is high time for the government to take tangible steps to promote tourism in Gilgit Baltistan. Due to lack of Advertisement and promotion of Gilgit Baltistan many tourists didn’t visited beautiful places like Naltar, Phandar and Rama and Astore Valley. These valleys are amazingly beautiful. The local government can collect a lot of income from tourism industry by promoting its natural beauty internationally. The local government will not be dependent on federal government for the funds if it takes serious and long lasting steps for the betterment of Tourism. This will generate much needed employment opportunities in GB where a large number of people and families’ livelihood is directly or indirectly associated with tourism industry. 

Pakistan lost its ‘angel of mercy’ Abdul Sattar Edhi

“Empty words and long praises do not impress God. Show Him your faith by your deeds.” Edhi

خدا کے عاشق تو ہیں ہزاروں بنوں میں پھرتے ہیں مارے مارے
میں اسکا بندہ بنوں گا جس کو خدا کے بندوں سے پیار ہو گا-

Angels in skies has received an angel from earth today.إِنَّا لِلّهِ وَإِنَّـا إِلَيْهِ رَاجِعونَ
Edhi, the 'Saintly Fakir' and 'the richest poor man of Pakistan' died before midnight on Friday after a long battle with a kidney illness, triggering an outpouring of grief in the country for a man who transcended social, ethnic and religious divisions to help suffering humanity. 

Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif, who mourned the loss of ‘a great servant of humanity’, announced a state funeral and a day of national mourning in honour of the man who owned just two sets of clothes, but who became the messiah for the country’s destitute and orphans and created a place in the hearts of millions of Pakistanis.

It was the country’s first state funeral since the death of military dictator General Ziaul Haq in 1988. Top political leaders, including President Mamnoon Hussain, provincial chief ministers and three services chiefs were present at the National Stadium in Karachi as a military jeep carrying Edhi’s coffin draped with national flag and covered with rose petals, drove in. A crowd of thousands of mourners broke through the military lines to help carry the coffin. The stadium reverberated with the slogans of Nara-e-Takbeer and Kalma-e-Shahadat.

After Maulana Ahmed Khan Niazi led the funeral prayers, the military fired a 19-gun salute and presented a guard of honour to Edhi. “As the state carriage leaves the stadium 19 guns salute begins- state funeral Edhi Sahib,” chief military spokesperson Lt Gen Asim Bajwa wrote on Twitter as Edhi’s coffin headed for Edhi Village on the edge of Karachi.

Attendees at the funeral included myself and my brother, President Mamnoon Hussain, Senate Chairman Raza Rabbani, the chief ministers of Sindh and Punjab, federal and provincial ministers, top politicians and famed philanthropists. Army chief General Raheel Sharif, Air Chief Marshal Sohail Aman, Naval Chief Admiral Zakaullah, Corps Commander Karachi Lt Gen Naveed Mukhtar, DG Rangers Maj Gen Bilal Akbar and IGP Sindh Allah Dino Khowaja were also in attendance.

The military jeep drove Edhi’s coffin to the Edhi Village on Superhighway where he was to be laid to rest according to his will in a grave he had dug for himself more than two decades ago. A large number of security and private vehicles accompanied the coffin in a convoy.

A military band played out trumpet as Edhi’s coffin was lowered into the grave by renowned social worker Sarim Burney and Ramzan Chhipa. 

کس قدر نازاں ہے یہ خاک اپنی قسمت پہ

اِس نے اِک گوہر اپنے اندر چھپا رکھا ہے

“My religion is humanitarianism, which is the basis of every religion in the world.”

Call for Educational Emergency to Address Educational Crisis in District Diamer, Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

Lately Alif Ailaan and ASER Pakistan have released their reports on Pakistan District Education Rankings 2016  and Annual Status of Education Report-2015 respectively. Both of these reports were showing nationwide educational attainments in terms of learning outcomes, enrollment, school infrastructure and facilities among other indicators. In this regard, I have already assessed the ASER Report-2015 and published my findings with respect to the ground realities in comparative analysis of education in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) Pakistan. The crux of both the reports is that, overall performing of GB is over and above the national average in terms of net enrollment, retention and learning outcomes in language and numeracy. However, the school infrastructure score remains deplorable, with more than 50% of the schools failing to provide basic facilities to students in GB. District Hunza-Nagar and Ghizer are on top of the list in terms of Primary schools as % of total schools at national level. In this regard Diamer is ranked at 106 out of 145 districts in Pakistan. Similarly, across GB, Diamer is the worst performing district as almost all of its indicators in education sector shows alarming outlook; thus badly affecting the overall ranking of GB in education at national level.

Therefore, this write-up is mainly focusing on what works, what not works and what needed to be done to address the educational crisis in District Diamer in the days to come.

According to United Nations Children’s Fund’s (UNICEF) report on ‘State of Children in Pakistan’ in District Diamer with an estimated population of 200,000-plus, “only four girls attend middle school.” According to the Alif Ailaan’s Pakistan District Education Ranking 2016, Diamer is ranked 92 out of 145 districts in educational attainments. On the scale of 0 to 100, in the year 2016, district Diamer scored 28 in enrollment (access), 82 in learning outcomes (test scores), 56 in retention (survival rate up till class 5) and 53 in gender parity (equity). As compare to last year, the overall school enrollment score has been decreased from 39 to 28 and retention score from 78 to 56. Nevertheless, as compare to last year gender parity and learning score of Diamer have been improved, but still there is a long way to go to abridge this gap and bring it at par with regional and national average.   

It is alarming to see that as per ASER Survey-2015, 91% of children (age 3-5) are out of preschools and 52% of children (age 6-16) are out-of-schools in District Diamer. This means overall a whopping 72% of children (age 3-16) are out-of-school in Diamer. Out of these out-of-school-children (OOSC), an overwhelming 69% are girls. And out of all enrolled girls in Primary schools, only 16% can read a sentence in Urdu and 15% in English in Diamer. However, it is interesting to note it here that, in terms of learning outcomes (test scores) in numeracy (mathematics) District Diamer is among the top performing districts at GB and national level as 65% girls and 64% boys can do at least two digit subtractions. This shows that the children of Diamer are equally talented but they needed access to educational facilities and a level playing to unlock their true potential. And this is where state institutions needed to intervene.

In terms of overall education score of Diamer, Pakistan District Education Rankings 2016 have placed Diamer at the bottom of the list as its average score in education is 1^st quartile which is much lower than regional and national average. 

Similarly, regarding infrastructure facilities, the Diamer district has been ranked 79 out of 145 districts at national level and 4 out of 7 surveyed districts at GB level. Last year it was ranked 127 out of 148 districts at national level and it was at 4^th position out of 7 districts at GB level. This shows a commendable improvement in infrastructure in terms of electricity, drinking water, boundary wall and physical condition of school buildings in Diamer. However, availability of functional toilets and boundary wall are some of the main issues as 88% of schools are running without toilet facility and 55% are without a boundary wall in Diamer. These are the major reasons in this conservative society, due to which 44% school children (especially girls) are dropping out of school without completing even the Primary level of schooling in Diamer.

It is befitting to note it here that, out of 239 total schools, 86% are Primary Schools in Diamer. While in GB and national level, there are 63% and 46% Primary School. Similarly, there are 68% Primary schools with a single teacher in Diamer; whereas, it is 35% at GB level and 15% at the national level. In the same way, there are 38% Primary schools with a single classroom in Diamer; whereas, it is 11% at GB level and 7% at the national level.

These indicators underpin the GB government policy through which it has opened small schools with a multi-grade system in isolated and equally scattered areas. As a consequence, there is a proliferation of schools, but ironically many lack quality staff and the basic requirements of a school. According to local media reports, the backdoor appointments of under-qualified kith and kin of powerful government officials as a school teachers have made the matter worst in the Diamer district in general and Goharabad in particular. As a result, the otherwise bright children of Diamer are depriving in getting their basic human and constitutional right in terms of access to quality education. This deprivation have further trapped locals in poverty cycle and exacerbated security related challenges in the region as we have already seen manifestation of this intellectual poverty in the form of 2013 Nanga Parbat massacre, sectarian killing in Harban Nala, terrorist attacks on law enforcement agencies and blown up of girls school buildings in recent past in District Diamer.

Therefore, I call upon the GB government in general and the Education Minister and Secretary Education in particular to enforce educational emergency to address the educational crisis in District Diamer. In this regard, it is suggested to provide all missing facilities in existing schools under forthcoming provincial budget besides starting enrollment campaign through community mobilization with special focus on out of school girls. Also build new girls’ schools and post-primary level schools, closer to large communities with higher out-of-school girls’ populations and low transition levels from primary to middle as it can potentially improve gender parity score. Additionally, it is suggested to offer incentives to get education  and prevent corporal punishment to increase girls' enrollment.

Furthermore, proper monitoring and participatory evaluation of the existing school to ensure the presence of school teachers, timely control of dropouts along with quality of teaching through teachers training and merit-based appointment of teachers is the need of the hour. Besides this, the government needed to involve private sector through Public-Private Partnership (PPP) as this kind of partnership with the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) under the Education Development and Improvement Programme (EDIP) have already proven to be a highly fruitful venture as it helped increase the enrollment and learning outcomes for both girls and boys in local schools in Diamer District. Last but not the least, GB government, educated youth and locals needed to take ownership of educational development by protecting educational facilities, pinpointing their educational issues and find local solution with the help of concerned stakeholders, including  Non-Government Organizations besides encouraging children to attend school to address the educational crisis in District Diamer. To sensitize locals and resistance forces against girls’ education,  it is suggested to arrange exposure visits to local elders, clergymen and notable social activist from Diamer to other districts in GB where educational attainments are impressive and gender parity is at its best in Pakistan. Furthermore, in the age of social media, GB Education department is needed to virtually engage targeted communities through social media updates and complaints redressal. Let’s reiterate our commitment to play our due role to promote quality education in District Diamer as educated Diamer is in the very interest of prosperous GB and secure Pakistan.   

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 Readers of this column also read "Comparative Analysis of Education in Gilgit-Baltistan Pakistan" 

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District-Wise Status of Education in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan

There are no two opinions that a person who is able to read or write or do basic arithmetic during early formative years, is highly likely to acquire other important life skills that are important to have a productive and meaningful life in today's competitive world. Therefore, it is very much important for all of us to know how our children learnt and also identifies areas where they needed to bring further improvement with respect to educational attainments along with enrollment. In this context, I have written this write-up on the basis of secondary data of ASER Survey-2015 which have lately assessed 13,056 children having an age range of 3 to 16 years from 208 Governments and 120 Private schools of 209 villages from all 7 districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan.

The main objective of this write-up is to give you a fair outlook about the latest status of education in Gilgit-Baltistan (GB) Pakistan. So that we, all the stakeholders in GB, could see our educational attainments with reference to national level figures and play our due roles to place learning at the center of our attention and discourse by moving from evidence to solutions; thus achieve sustainable development goals (SDG-4) by focusing on access-plus-quality education in GB.

1. Status of In-School (IS) & Out-of-School-Children (OOSC) 

AS can be seen from the aforementioned table, 85% of our children are enrolled in school in Gilgit-Baltistan as compare to the 81.5% enrollment rate at the national level in Pakistan. This indicates that overall GB is performing better in the education arena of Pakistan.

In GB, district Hunza-Nagar is on top of the list with a 97.6% enrollment rate, then comes district Ghizer with 96.9% enrollment followed by district Astore with 92.8% enrollment rate in class 1 to 10.

But ironically, district Diamer is worst performing with respect to enrollment of children having an age range of 5 to 16. This is badly affecting the overall enrollment rate of GB. The data also reveal that there is a wide gap in the enrollment between the boys and girls in the educational institutions in Diamer. According to recently released report of United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) on ‘State of Children in Pakistan’ "in District Diamer with an estimated population of 200,000-plus, only four girls attend middle school".

Even though district Diamer had five members in Gilgit-Baltistan Legislative Assembly (GBLA) from 2009 to 2015 but more than 52.2% children are still out of school in District Diamer. This shows criminal negligence from the political leaders and state representatives from Diamer who needed to work on war footing to address this dismal situation that is the product of a confluence of adverse factors, including a difficult geography, influence of orthodox religious scholars, insufficient government resources and cultural biases against women’s education.

In district Skardu 18.7% of children are out of school in the year 2015 from where 5 PPP members along with other 2 members, including then Chief Minister (CM) Mehdi Shah were sitting GBLA, but here again, they have failed to provide education to almost two fourth of children from district Skardu. Almost the same is the case with district Gilgit-the constituency of current CM Mr. Hafizur Rahman, where 11.8% children are out of school.

2. Status of Enrollment in Pre-Schooling

As the scientific research have categorically proved that early years schooling have an important role in the development of social, emotional, and cognitive skills of a child. Therefore, we the GBians have started to understand this reality as 40% of our 3 to 5 years old children are receiving Early Years Schooling as compared to the 37% enrollment rate in ECE at national level in Pakistan. But we needed to concentrate on Early Years education (ECE/ECD) especially in Diamer, Skardu, Ghanche and Gilgit; whereas, Hunza and Ghizer district are relatively moving in the right direction regarding pre-schooling (ECE/ECD).

3. Learning Level of URDU by School Type and Gender

To enroll our children in school is mere a mean to an end; and the end is to improve learning level of school going children. In this regard, when we have a look at the subject-wise learning outcomes of school going children (age 5-16) in Gilgit-Baltistan, it comes to know that in the subject of Urdu our children in GB are learning more (64%) than the learning level of Urdu at national level (i.e. 61%). It is interesting to see that at the provincial level, the children from district Ghizer are outperforming in Urdu at GB level, followed by children from Astore, Diamer and Gilgit. Whereas, school going children and concern teachers from Hunza-Nagar, Skardu and Ghanche needed to concentrate on improving their learning level in Urdu. It is high time for concern education department and stakeholders to concentrate on improving learning outcomes of our children in Urdu in Hunza-Nagar, Skardu and Ghanche districts of GB.

It is equally interesting to see that our Government Schools in GB are rendering much better quality education in Urdu than those of other government schools in Pakistan as the learning outcomes of our children in Urdu is much better than that of learning outcomes in Urdu at national level in Pakistan.

4. Learning Level of ENGLISH by School Type and Gender

There are no two opinions about the importance of learning English language, as it is the language of science and technology in today's globalized world. English is the dominant business language and it has become almost a necessity for people speak English if they are to enter a global job market. In this context, it is heartwarming to see that our Government and Private schools are equally equipping our children with English language as the learning outcomes of English is much higher in GB than that of learning English at national level in Pakistan.

At GB level, our children from district Hunza-Nagar, Astore and Gilgit are outperforming in English; whereas, children from district Diamer, Ghanche and Skardu needed to concentrate on improving learning outcomes in English in the days to come as they are performing at a lower rate than the regional average learning rate in English.

5. Learning Level of ARITHMETIC by School Type & Gender

As can be seen from the aforementioned table, the children having an age range of 5-16 from district Astore are at the top of the list regarding learning outcomes in Mathematics, then comes children from district Ghizer and Diamer. Whereas, children from district Hunza-Nagar, Skardu, Gilgit and Ghanche needed to focus more on learning mathematics as their learning level in Mathematics is less than regional average but somewhat above than national average learning level in Mathematics.

6. Status of School Children Attending Paid TuitionAs can be seen from the given table that, at national level parents are spending more resources to provide tuition for their children from class one to ten; whereas, in GB this is not a common practice though it has taken momentum during recent years. For instance, in GB, overall 7.8% children were receiving paid tuitions during the year 2013 whereas, this has been increased to 13% in the year 2015 showing a whopping 60% increase in the rate of receiving paid tuitions in GB. 

7. Status of Parents Having At Least Primary Schooling

As can be seen from this table, 39% parents of school going children having an age range of 3-16 years have at least primary schooling in GB; whereas, this is 38% at the national level. District-wise Hunza-Nagar has the highest number of parents who have passed at least primary level of schooling. Whereas, Diamer, Astore and Skardu have the lowest number of at least primary pass parents. In district Hunza-Nagar, the mothers of school going children are more educated than those of fathers from Skardu, Astore and Diamer district in GB. 

8. Status of Absenteeism in Government and Private Schools

Overall 87% children and 90% teachers were present during the day of visit to  

208 Governments and 120 Private schools in 209 villages from all 7 districts of Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan. In private schools, 90% children and 91.7% teachers were present; whereas, 84.1% children and 89.4 teachers were present in surveyed Government schools in Gilgit-Baltistan.

9. Status of Facilities in GB Schools

 As can be seen from this table, overall 74% survey schools have connection of electricity, 38% schools have library, 68% schools have boundary wall, 52% schools have playground, 66% schools have toilets and 67% schools have drinking water facility. Furthermore, on the average sum of 8 classrooms were being used for classes in each surveyed school in Gilgit-Baltistan.

10. Qualification of  School Teachers in GB Schools

There are more qualified teachers in surveyed Private Schools as compare to surveyed Government Schools in GB. As can be seen from this table, in terms of General Qualification, majority of teachers have Bachelor's, Master’s or Above level degree; whereas, only 27% teachers are under intermediate certificate in GB. Only 1% school teachers in surveyed school Similarly, in terms of professional qualification, 76% school teachers have B.Ed, M.Ed or above level degree in GB. 

9. Conclusion and Recommendations

From this report, we can easily infer that at national level GB is performing better regarding enrollment and educational attainments in language (Urdu/English) and numeracy (Mathematics). But across the GB level, still a lot more is needed to be done to ensure access plus quality education, especially in pre-schooling (ECE/ECD). Similarly, it has been cleared from this report that learning level of children attending private schools are only marginally better than those of the kids attending private schools of GB as our government schools are doing a good job in imparting quality education to our children, thanks to their attractive salaries in GB.

In terms of enrollment in early years schooling to class 10, gender parity and parental education, district Hunza-Nagar stood on top of the list among all the seven districts of GB. Nevertheless, to sustain the soft image of Hunza as "a paradise of high literacy and gender equality in a remote corner of Pakistan" we needed to put our best to improve learning outcomes of children from class 1 to 10 in Mathematics and Urdu. I am fully convinced that now that when district Hunza have been separated from Nagar, the indicators will definitely show much better outlooks in forthcoming surveys as the educational attainment related indicators were being affected due to low literacy rate in Nagar district.

Similarly, in terms of overall learning attainments in Urdu, English and Math, district Ghizer and Astore secure 1st position at GB level followed by district Hunza-Nagar and Gilgit respectively.

Although district Ghanche have shown impressive outlook in terms of enrollment in school other than ECE; nevertheless, it needed to concentrate on improving learning outcomes of children from class 1 to 10 in English, Urdu and Mathematics.

It is a refreshing to see that students from Diamer are more talented in ARITHMETIC than those of the students from Hunza-Nagar district. But ironically, enrollment is highly skewed in favor of boys and the Out of School Children (OOSCs) are more than In-School children (ISCs) in class 1 to 10 in Diamer. Only 16% of Girls from these enrolled students can read at least a sentence. In ECE class only 9% children are enrolled whereas, 91% of ECE level kids are out of school in Diamer. Therefore, it is strongly recommended to all the stakeholders in general and GB Government in particular to concentrate on ensuring access plus quality education to our children in district Diamer as it's the responsibility of state under Article 25-A of the constitution of pakistan "to provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of 5 to 16 years in such manner as may be determined by law". Furthermore, after 18th amendment in the constitution of pakistan, education planning and development comes under the jurisdiction of provincial governments in Pakistan. The current GB government's decision to hand over the early years schooling to womenfolk besides merit based induction of thousand of teaching and non-teaching staff in the government's education department are the right move in the right direction. Nevertheless, it needed to formulate a policy on education and children’s rights and address our education related issues on top priority basis. So that we could achieve SDGs on time.

It is interesting to see that district Ghizer have impressive credentials with respect to overall enrollment, parental educational and educational attainments of children from class 1 to 10 in Urdu, English and Mathematics. Nevertheless, enrollment in Early Years Schooling (ECE/ECD) and paid tuition are yet to catch up with national and regional average in the days to come in district Ghizer.

Skardu, once a top performing district in GB, has experienced setbacks during recent years in educational attainments, enrollment and gender parity due to alleged corrupt practices in hiring teachers and rent seeking activities of last PPP government under its representative in GBLA and then CM GB from Skardu.

In the backdrop of the aforementioned facts and figures, our unique ground realities and raising needs of our region with respect to massive China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) project, we can easily infer that quality education is the only way for the meaningful development of GB in the days to come. Furthermore, our education sector in GB has every reason and potential to be nurtured as a model for the rest of the country. However, efforts are needed at multiple levels and in all districts to strive for the cause of education in Gilgit-Baltistan, Pakistan.

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