Voice Of Children

Islamabad—Federal Minister Riaz Hussain Pirzada said, here on Thursday said according to United Nations Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO), Pakistan has the largest number of out-of-school children in South Asia with the majority being girls.

Addressing the launching ceremony of Annual Survey of Education Report (ASER), held at Planning Commission, he said, “Pakistan continues to perform extremely poorly in education and we are seen to be off track in terms of meeting the education targets set in the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) and Education for All (EFA).”

The Minister said the ASER 2011 data gave us district by district vital information on gender desegregated details that can help in planning and more importantly mobilizing resources according to required needs.

Riaz Pirzada appreciated the South Asian Forum for Education (SAFED), National Commission for Human Development (NCHD), Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi as well as the development partners, the Department for International Development (DFID), the Foundation Open Society Institute (FOSI) Pakistan and Oxfam Novib for supporting this extremely critical participatory initiative. He said they provided us support for enabling our citizens and state to become aware of the current status of education in the country and the challenges faced by children from age group of 3 to 16.

The Federal Minister said, “As we approach 2015 the target date for fulfillment of MDGs and EFA, ASER Pakistan is indeed a persuasive tool to gauge challenges and progress in education annually”.

He said the timing of release of the ASER Reports each January is quite appropriate for informing the planning and budgeting processes.

Riaz Pirzada said, “As we step into the election year, I believe it is extremely necessary to make education as the highest priority in the electoral debates.”

It is that single most important sector that would lead to significant gains in vital indicators of health, population, environment, gender empowerment, economic growth and democratic participation for sustainable societies, he added.

The Minister said, “I believe, movement like ASER provide us with an excellent opportunity to make education a centerpiece for political debates, provide a sound rationale for raising resource allocations and expenditures for measurable improvement”.

LAHORE - Shanzay Ali, a mother of three, is upset over the changes she detects in her children’s everyday language. She says her children, Faizan, 8, Momina, 10, and Salman, 12, frequently use Hindi words in their everyday speech. “Cable television is responsible,” Shanzay says, “The language the next generation will speak is being transformed.”
The rise of Hindi
channels: While most imagined the Hindi-Urdu controversy would end with the creation of Pakistan, the debate is rising as inter-cultural interaction increases. The rise of Hindi-dubbed channels, with Hindi being the closest equivalent to Urdu, means children have begun to watch both informative and cultural programs in the Hindi language. Over 70% of channels being broadcast are either in Hindi or been dubbed in Hindi, with all children’s channels being broadcast in Hindi.
“What can be done? Children love watching cartoons and all cartoon channels have been dubbed in Hindi,” complained Shanzay.
Broadcast channels in Pakistan are transmitted from two sources; satellite and cable-networking. Cable operators have shown a preference for Hindi-dubbed over English channels to cater to an audience that rarely understands English.
Out of the top five channels watched by children; Cartoon Network, Nickelodeon, Baby Tv, Disney and Pogo; four are in Hindu, while one is in English. Similarly, all three informative channels, National Geographic, Animal Planet and History Channel are only available in Hindi on cable networks. Indian movie and Indian drama channels are also aplenty.
Only Hindi children’s programming: “All that children like to watch is available in Hindi. One can’t stop children from watching TV and I prefer my children not watch news channels,” said Ayesha Malik, a class 6 teacher and a mother of two. She said, “Children speak Hindi words in class too, but the school environment is not responsible for the change…televisions are.” Ayesha said, “Children subconsciously learn words like vishaal, shanti, mukti and adhikaar and use them in conversation at school.”
Talking to Pakistan Today, PEMRA Regional General Manager Khurram Siddique said only foreign channels given permission are being broadcasted. “All Indian channels are banned by PEMRA, and changing the language of the channel from English to Hindi is considered a violation,” said Khurram. He said cable operators are not allowed to change the language of approved channels and PEMRA keeps a check on the matter.
‘It’s public demand:’ Ijaz Mustafa, a cable operator in Allama Iqbal Town, said that they used to transmit children’ channels in English language but switched to Hindi on public demand. “People called and asked us to change the language to Hindi,” he said. He said competition between cable operators means that not- complying with a clients request means clients switch cable operators.
Culture guardians: Amjad Islam Amjad, a renowned poet and writer, looks at the picture from the perspective of globalization. Speaking to Pakistan Today, Amjad said, “We must understand that the world of today is the world of the economy and market. Instead of banning foreign channels, we must come up with better Urdu programming.” Amjad said, “The task begins at home. Mothers are responsible for reviving the value of Urdu and local languages.”
Orya Maqbool Jan, analyst and column writer, said media had no serious Urdu programming other than talk shows. He said no documentaries are made, no urdu cartoon channels are available and this is the media’s responsibility. He said media should operate in their own business environment and PEMRA should facilitate them. Jan demanded PEMRA ban Hindi-dubbed channels to create the space for new channels to co

LAHORE: Meet Josephine, a 34-year-old divorced mother of two. She runs an orphanage outside Lahore, where she gives shelter to children and has become a saviour to those bonded by labour.
“I visit brick kiln factories, where single parents and the elders of orphans make these little ones work to pay the debt they have taken,” says Josephine
Her task is not an easy one, as she has to convince the guardians that they are better off with her. “I am currently pursuing a mother of five to give her children to me because her husband died and now she has to work day and night along with her children to pay his debt.”
Brick kiln owners are the main hurdle and have threatened her. “They say if I can pay their loan, I can take the children, otherwise they will work till the loan is paid.”
In Pakistan, although illegal, slavery in brick kiln factories is common knowledge and it originates from a vicious circle of debt which sucks in labourers. Josephine has surveyed these factories for a year and has been able to convince almost 20 families to give their children to her.
She only helps the Christian minority currently because she feels they are more marginalised. “Most of the workers at these places are of Christian faith, and that is why I contact the local pastor of the area and take him along too, to get easy access.”
Trained to be a nun but not allowed by her parents to leave the country, Josephine now uses what she has learnt to mother the orphans.
She has rented an upper portion of a house, 20 kilometers outside Lahore, for Rs5,000 per month, where she lives with her own two offspring plus another 10 boys and 7 girls.
“I do not have any funding source. I teach at a local private school, and with whatever money I get, I try to give these children their lives back.” Along with this, she receives help from her brothers and the school principal where she is employed, but things are still hard. “Thankfully the principal has acknowledged my efforts, and has waived off fee for these children.”
Surprisingly, ever since she started the orphanage, she has been asked by a number of parents to take their children away. “People are so poor in these villages that they want to get rid of the children even they are not in debt.”
But she rejects them saying that she doesn’t want those who are orphans to feel different while living with such children who have parents.
The children in Josephine’s care were not allowed to go to school due to their slavery status, Now they have learnt how to read and write.
Published in The Express Tribune, January 23^rd,  2012.