Educational Reformist Club

PREPARING CITIZENS OF TOMORROW Written By : Shah Jahan In the recent years it has been seen rise in population and also literacy rate in Gilgit-Baltistan.the growth of public and government institutions resulted in the increase of literacy rate.however,what are state and public institutions doing to prepare these children of today into becoming capable citizens of tomorrow?the common complaint in the region is that mostly people lack the necessary fundamental skills compete effectively in the market place,thereby opening the gates for imported work force in many fields from the other part of the country. Are our institutions government and public schools providing the foundation to our students to turn into effective citizens?or we will continue to dependent on imported expertise?what then are the skills most parents would want their children to acquire?skills that would prepare them to take care of themselves independently and function effectively as adults. here's a list...

Social and Environmental Impact of Tourism Written By : Naila Ajaz The trend of domestic tourism towards North Pakistan, especially Gilgit-Baltistan, has increased exponentially during the last few years. The increasing trend itself is an evidence of peace and harmony in the region. I have heard people calling Gilgit-Baltstan a “Heaven on Earth”. I have also met people who are in love with the place and never want to go back. I regard those who have visited the place and invite those who haven’t. I like tourists, and it is always nice to welcome them to view the natural beauty of our mother land. I am not the one to stop you to picture the “Heaven”. You must come; it is your utmost right to sight the beauty and experiences the nature. It would be appreciated if you visited it with purpose, concern and care. Experiencing the natural beauty is also a means to connect with the divine; it really helps nourish the soul. Imagine a midnight walk under the clear blue sky with shinning st...

Understanding the GB Governance Order 2018 The people of Gilgit –Baltistan have been relegated to oblivion for 70 years of their struggle for meaningful integration with the mainland Pakistan.  By Amir Hussain Divine Comedy is profanity because it invokes the evil spirits where the inferno and purgatory consume the human will to goodness. Dante’s journey to hell, purgatory and paradise is instructive of our state of being in Gilgit-Baltistan in 21s century. Purgatory in the mountains of extreme North of Pakistan –the Gilgit-Baltistan was codified in an Order issued by Prime Minister Shahid Khaqan Abbasi on May, 29, 2108 in the GB Legislative Assembly (GBLA). Political agitation against what is termed as ‘a colonial style direct rule’ by the protesters seem to be unveiling the intent of the document as it unfolds to public in pieces. Being a piecemeal document with little attention to details there are serious discrepancies between the speech of prime minister and t...

Why Gilgit Baltistan should be a province of Pakistan Written By : SABENA SIDDIQUI Connecting Pakistan with China and the Central Asian states, the Gilgit Baltistan (GB) region is the starting point of the China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC), which is also the “flagship corridor” of China’s Belt and Road Initiative mega-project. Locked in by inaccessible terrain, the region was relatively unknown until it was opened up by the Karakoram Highway (KKH) in 1979. Constructed with great difficulty, it took Pakistani and Chinese engineers 20 years to complete the KKH due to the treacherous mountain ranges surrounding it. Apart from this, the region was famous for its heroic contribution to the Pakistani army – one of its most valiant units, the Northern Light Infantry, belongs to this region. Always considered a Pakistani region since the partition of the Indian sub-continent, it is surprising that the status of Gilgit Baltistan is being debated nowadays. Historica...

Pros and Cons of "Cross-Cultural Marriages  Written                                    By : Dr Sabah Zafar This is really a sensitive topic but after much rationalization and brainstorming I decided to write on it. May be much of you won't agree with me. May be some going to criticize but still I have freedom of expressing my own idea and perception. Personally I don't have issue with this but just to share my views and ideas I am writing this. "Marriage" when we hear this word our excitement level starts rising whether it's our own or someone's else. Before tying a node between two people many factors are taken into consideration. Marriage is not merely a relation between two people it's a bond which connect two families. Typical investigations that are made pre marriage decision are; what's their qualification? From where do they belong? What's their family background?  In c...

British Council The Charles Wallace Pakistan Trust Programme Scholarships 2018-19 Eligibility Criteria & Other Details Advertisement Latest British Council as announced Charles Wallace Pakistan Trust Programme Scholarships 2018-19 Application Form Download from. The Charles Wallace Visiting Fellowship Programme provides assistance to mid-career professionals who wish to undertake short visits to the United Kingdom to broaden their professional knowledge, skills and contacts.  Charles Wallace Pakistan Trust Scholarships 2018 For Pakistani Students The fellowship may take the form of an attachment to a university department, professional institution, or arts centre. The two principal purposes are:  i. Professional formalization and interaction ii. Study and research  A fellowship may last for between three weeks and three months.  Eligiblity Criteria:- Candidiate should be Pakistani nationals, residing in Pakistan Candidi...

Neo-liberalism and Poverty Poverty has been vaguely defined in development literature as an undesirable state of living with no indepth analysis of its real nature. If you read any social policy journal, an article on social development or a treatise on political economy, you will learn that poverty is multidimensional. The multidimensionality of poverty is a major theoretical impediment in understanding how it functions in the real world. The ambiguity of our development policy is primarily linked to our shallow and frivolous intellectual treatment of poverty as an untamable evil. We end up feeling pity for the poor when our strategy to address this multidimensionality of poverty fails. As long as we treat poverty as a complex and elusive notion, we will never be able to devise a pragmatic and workable development strategy. What is the real nature of poverty then? In a multidimensional approach, poverty is economic, social, cultural, intellectual, cognitive and even spiritual....

University of Pennsylvania  and   the United Nations Children’s Fund   (UNICEF)  are jointly  launching a free massive open online course on social norms and social change. The complete course, which consists of one theoretical and one practical part á 4 weeks coursework, is taught entirely in English. Students who already attended previous sessions of the course rated the first part of the course with 4.5 and the second part of the course with 5.0 out of 5.0 possible points About this course: This is a course on social norms, the rules that glue societies together. It teaches how to diagnose social norms, and how to distinguish them from other social constructs, like customs or conventions. These distinctions are crucial for effective policy interventions aimed to create new, beneficial norms or eliminate harmful ones. The course teaches how to measure social norms and the expectations that support them, and how to decide whether they cause specific beha...

Report of local experts’ committee on “Historical Perspective of Gilgit Baltistan” The political status of Gilgit Blatistan is again under discussion widely as the sitting federal Govt. has recently proposed a new reforms package for the area namely GB Government order 2018. The proposed draft of new reforms is criticized by all stake holders except PML (N) (the ruling party of Gilgit Baltistan and federation) as it is considered that the Govt. has roll backed the powers of GBLA and provincial Govt. of GB which were enshrined in the previous order, introduced by then ruling party (PPP) in 2009. After the wining the general elections of GBLA the sitting Govt. of PML (N) announced a new reforms package for the area in the light of its promises in its election campaign in GB. On request of GB Govt. the then prime minister Mian Muhamad Nawaz Sharief constituted a reforms committee under the supervision of Mr. Sartaj Aziz the then advisor on foreign affairs to PM. The committee c...