Digitalizing education in the third world

 

Does digitalizing education help in Pakistan or third world countries?

Theoretically speaking, yes, of course, why not. Digitalizing education can make it easier for the students as well as teachers to remain part of the pedagogical setting. They may find it easier to just get out of the bed (or even in the bed) and still be in the classroom. They don’t have to travel all the way to the campus. The time and money can be saved. They (once again, theoretically speaking) might be well connected, more available to the stakeholders, the parent-teacher meetings can go frequently and parents may find it easier to adjust to the schedule, travel and all other related aspects.

On the other hand, reality is different. Rather, hell different!

In the third world, digitalization of education is not an easy task, on the part of institutes as well as students. Countries where people are still struggling for the basic rights of food water and shelter, the availability of internet across the board is kind of luxury. The Corona pandemic has confirmed that we are not ready for this challenge. The corona-binded digitalization due to lock down proved students suffer due to poor or no connection of internet, the institutes suffer financially and it became evident that teachers needed training as well. It was thought to be cost effective but in actual, it cost too much on all levels and to all stakeholders in the short-term as well as in the long run.

No doubt, it is easier to be present in the classroom direct from the bed, but the actual practice also revealed that the students taking classes from home needed the constant supervision from their elders or parents. Additionally, students also needed the regular doses of motivation to be in the class in time and be active participants in the discussions.

Similarly, teachers and students remain well connected but this same system puts more pressure on both the teachers and students. They never feel free, they always feel occupied and overwhelmed in some cases. The family life of the most immediate stakeholders also suffer. The poor quality of internet connection also add some more sour flavor to the dish and things become worse. The very situation which is supposed to be more interactive end up in nothing but frustration.

Hence, digitalization is not an easier task in the third world. A lot more is needed to be invested in the training of teachers, administration of institutions, students and their parents to accommodate everyone in the new scenario.

Resources and skills

 it is important to have resources in any country but just having resources cannot do anything. For the use of resources we need to have skilled hands, brains which can think, people who can make policies to convert random people into skilled ones and institutions which can actualize the policies from first to last step. if only one link is missing, then having resources cannot give benefit to its people. on the other hand, the unskilled people can waste the resources due to their ignorance, lack of skill or carelessness. we need to spread awareness among people regarding the resources around and their importance.

How hostility towards feminism started in Pakistan

The debate on feminism in Pakistan is not new. It is an ongoing topic of discussion ever since. Still our celebrities do not own this word in the on-camera discussions. Even the scholars do not want to be a part of this debate. This type of behavior is due to the perceptions attached to this term here. Lets dig this issue a more deep.

        In Pakistan, the patriarchal system is dominant. This system means the axis of power resides in the male members of family. They decide how to run the affairs of family. In most of the matters even the suggestions are not taken from the female members of family. Male members, father, brother and even son decides what and who is going to be the source of income for family. Who is going to be educated and to what extent. Who is going to be married where and to whom. What would be the nature of relations to the extended relatives. Who should be considered a friend or foe.

        With the passage of time, women got awareness that they are equal human beings. They have the same rights as their male members of family have. They have an equal right to be educated, to have a career, to be consented in the matters of marriage. This idea got acceptance by women around the world and was turned to a movement with time. This concept is termed as feminism.

        Under the flag of feminism, women got united from around the world. They asked for their rights. Due to their legitimate demands they were also heard in judiciary and legislature. Bills and Acts were passed and on various points amended where necessary. They got the right to vote. They were accepted into the field jobs. They also got commissioned in army.

        This share in the employment opportunities had two different after effects. For women, they were more powerful. They had some control over the finances in the family and on the overall decisions for the family as well. They started to appear in media, in politics, in business and in various other fields printing their footsteps in history as well. Until now, just a few, rather quite rare appearances are noted in history due to the patriarchal system around the world (with a few exceptions). If we go back to four hundred years ago just a few highly distinguished women can be traced. Now the scenario changed for women. For men, it was nearly the opposite. They had to be in the comparison with women in many spheres of life and in many instances they had to lose too in the hands of women. They became more accountable to the female members of family, and they had to share the prerogatives with women which were previously attached solely with them. This share in authority, resources and decision-making proved to be a hard pill to swallow for men. From this point on, the hostility towards feminism started.

Corona in Pakistan

Corona virus is taking lives from last three months. it started from china and now its spread is world wide. china is our neighboring country. naturally, when it started i was concerned so searched the material available on internet. i came to know this virus is not new only its intensity is. i also read its history, symptoms, and possible cures like herbal and treatment with nutrients. after a few weeks it reached Pakistan too. but we, Pakistanis, took it just like any other matter in our personal or national lives. we just didn't care until the time 50 cases a day started to report. we went to restaurants, malls, vacations and relatives. our social activities kept on booming like pre-corona time. government felt the need to close the academic institutes, students got free and from that day on almost all children of our colony can be seen in the grounds or in streets playing different games, making noise, shouting and quarreling on petty matters and making it impossible to work online from home as is demanded by different organizations from their employees. when children are not going to stay home, i don't understand why on earth they are out of schools. if parents do not have this awareness that their children are needed to stay safe by remaining inside then who is there to let them know this basic and very important piece of information? i think teachers might have more awareness regarding precautionary measures on corona, hence children should go to schools for full day, schools can manage to make students to wash their hands far better than parents. similarly, no social gathering is canceled or postponed around me anywhere, people are visiting their friends and relatives like before. i heard so many people as the office or university or college is closed so we are leaving for a hill station or to visit relatives in other cities. on the other hand, the same people are purchasing tons of food and other commodities for the fear of anticipated upcoming lock-down. i have seen people who check the website showing corona-toll twice but they wash their hands once a day, while moving out and seeing other people outside home. CM Sindh rightly stated that people themselves have to behave reasonably. whatever steps governments take, corona-spread can be minimized only with individual efforts. i heard yesterday that people tend to fled away from isolation units, they are like bombs. in my personal opinion, any person who is diagnosed and he is out of isolation unit should be declared as terrorist. they are as dangerous as a suicide bomber, a person who is putting other people's lives in danger while taking his own. in short, we need to work on individual level to fight the spread of corona virus. stay home, stay clean, stay safe.

Remembering my grandfather

My grandfather passed away three months ago but I am still in a kind of shock. I did not have any deep affiliations attached to him. He was just a relative. He was my father’s father. We left his home when I was seven year old. Here, people use to live in joint family, at least until my father’s generation. We used to visit his place twice a year, on both eids and rarely on a family gathering. I stopped visiting him in 2015, due to certain issues. In last four years I saw him just twice on family weddings. I never missed him all these years. On rare occasions his thought crossed my mind but it was just a passing thought. About two months before his death, I felt a strong urge to see him. I started thinking when would I pay a visit. I thought since it’s been four years we are not on speaking terms there should be a reason for my visit, of course for face-saving. I planned to see him on his birthday which was due in August 2020, but then I thought birthday is too far and I could not wait for that long. Then I planned to see him on New Year eve. That too was two months away but I could wait for that much. I thought that the reunion must have something special. So I collected a few photos and videos of his birth place. His birth place is in India. He migrated in 1947 after the independence of the subcontinent and partition of India from east Punjab to here in Pakistani Punjab. He belonged to pandori bibi village of Hoshiyarpur. He was a young boy at the time of migration. He turned 90 in 2019. He used to remember his home agricultural land and even his friends. He used to recount his migration, its hardships during the journey and his birthplace when we were kids. I thought he would love the photos and videos I collected. In one of the videos an old man remembers his pre-partition friends and he also particularly remembered my grandfather and his brothers. I also told his story of partition to my husband and he too watched the videos. But before that reunion he passed away. On his funeral I saw him after years and I still regret it. I regret that I should not have waited for the New Year eve. I should have gone to his house without waiting for a reason. His house is on walking distance from my apartment. We have a graveyard between our houses and he is now in one of the graves. I can never talk to him, or see him. All those videos are there unshared, unseen. I do not have the courage to either open that folder or even to delete it. Now I find myself watching his old photos which we used to capture on our childhood birthdays, result day etc. From years I never invited him on my birthday, I do not understand why I regret it now, I mean, usually the grown-ups do not invite grandparents on birthday parties. This year, as my birthday is getting nearer, I do not understand why I wish to invite him. I used to talk to him endlessly when I was a child, now I do not remember when I stopped talking to him. Roughly speaking I think I was 20 when we parted ways and with the passage of time all modes of communication lost between us. Now I want to talk to him but it is impossible. It is too late now and nothing can be done. Now I miss him so much but I don’t know whom to talk to about him. my husband does not have any interest in him and stories related to him, he acts like he is listening to every word I say but actually he lost it whenever I tried. My aunts start sobbing and sometimes even start crying upon mentioning his name in their presence. And I also got the response like you were never around how can you miss him. No one can ever understand how much I regret it now for not being around. Now all I can do is to regret. I just hope he is in a better place now and God will shower his blessings on him ever.