Unions be gone!

IT was the second semester of the 2005 academic year at the University of Karachi. The semester examination was well under way. In the Department of Geology, however, the chaos prevailed during the exam when a student who was refused admission into the examination room, came with his gang and beat up a teacher.

This incident received widespread condemnation from both the students as well as the teaching staff all over the city. But it was only when the Karachi University Teachers’ Society (Kuts) sprang into action and demanded immediate disciplinary action that the student involved in this incident was rusticated.

This incident is one out of thousands where one appreciates the existence of unions and associations that are formed by teachers in educational institutes. In many cases, these unions are the sole respite of the teaching staff, a platform which is exclusively theirs, from which they can stand up on certain issues and take coordinated action. Simply put, a union gives teachers representation in any educational institute.

Unfortunately, it is these very unions that are now under attack thanks to the government of Sindh. On July 21, 2006, a notification issued by the Sindh education department effectively banned all forms of unions formed by its employees. These employees, unfortunately, include teachers as well, which means that unions for teachers of government-run educational institutes along with those which come under the district governments are now illegal (Dawn, July 22, 2006)

In the aftermath of this ban, many different associations formed by teachers have issued statements condemning this unjust clampdown. The Human Rights Commission of Pakistan (HRCP), Pasban, All-Pakistan Professors and Lecturers’ Association and the Sindh Professors and Lecturers Association (SPLA) are some of the bodies which have termed this ban as unjust and a means of further weakening the position of teachers who are already working in deplorable conditions.

In the wake of such extreme action, one is forced to ask the obvious: what have the unions done to merit such severe laws against them? In the ‘80s, it was the student unions which bore the brunt of oppressive educational policies when they faced a complete ban. Now, it seems, the noose has tightened and teachers’ unions have come under attack.

In this regard, the notification issued by the Sindh education department has cited various reasons for banning teachers’ unions. According to this notification, these unions were being misused by teachers. For example, teachers often went on strikes as a reaction to the government’s inability to meet their demands. In fact, according to well-placed sources, they often employ this method of non-cooperation as a way of negotiating for higher salaries.

It appears their concerns are not entirely misplaced for sometimes, unions do stand up for rather strange causes. A case in point is that of a female student appearing for her LLB examination in Karachi University who was allegedly harassed by a few employees. When students intervened and beat up the culprit, the employees’ union staged a protest, left their duties and threatened dire action. It is bizarre cases like this that show that employees’ unions do have the ability to misuse the power given to them.

Of course, one can’t help but wonder if unions are really as bad as they are made out to be. Many believe that unions, even though they may stand up for the wrong cause at times, are an absolute necessity in any educational institution and so, this sudden ban is really uncalled for.

Among teachers, there is a consensus of sorts — maybe unions have been banned because they were the sole voice of dissent on some of the policies pursued by the Sindh education department to date. The process of recruitment of teachers in government-run educational institutions which began during the previous city government’s rule was abruptly ended by the present regime. Bribery, political appointments and personal contacts are playing an increasing role in getting people employment in the educational sector. Moreover, there is a huge imbalance in the strength of teachers across different schools. In some public schools, there are 20 teachers for 25 students. In others, there are no teachers at all.

Teachers’ unions constitutes one group that actively pursues these issues and is all for a massive reform in public sector education and a quick look at some of the major events in the past few months confirms this. For instance, on April 29, 2006, more than 7,000 college teachers across the province went on strike to protest vandalism in Karachi’s colleges and the inability of the Sindh education department to deal with the perpetrators (Dawn, April 30, 2006).

But apparently, this form of protest didn’t go too well with the higher authorities. Instead of paying heed to the root cause of the dissent and trying to eliminate them, they decided to attack the unions and silence them once and for all.

Another opinion which prevails is that unions and associations of teachers are really a non-issue. They exist, hold their meetings and give their statements to the press. It is best to leave them as they are. This school of thought believes that there are more important matters related to education in Sindh. There are other atrocious and widespread practices like cheating, for instance, which need to be banned first instead of unions.

Specifically, some teachers, when approached had the following to say:

“There shouldn’t be a ban on teacher unions because teachers have rights, too, and unions help enforce those rights,” stated Zareen Ahmed, a teacher at a private school. “Of course, when we talk practically, some unions are used for a political purpose. So you never know.”

According to Zainub Qaimkhani, a teacher at a religious school, this is “really a non-issue. Teacher unions don’t have any constructive role as such.”

Students, however, have mixed views on the subject.

“I haven’t really been following the news but in my opinion, of course, there shouldn’t be a ban on teacher unions. They get paid such a meagre salary. They have a right to form unions. I say it’s absurd to put a ban on such unions,” said Sarah Abdul Rehman, a medical student.

Bushra Anwar, a Bachelor’s student, voiced her thoughts on the subject: “It depends on the institution. In schools, unions might be troublesome because those are smaller and closely run set-ups. But in universities they are needed because that’s where the administration is ineffective.”

Mahwah Ajaz, a Master’s student is in favour of the ban. “I feel it is a good decision. Unions are being used for entirely the wrong reasons. It is a good thing to have a stronger hold on pressure groups’ activities,” she said.

Nayyara Rahman, a business student, concurs. “I don’t know when and why the ban was placed. But I do feel that it’s about time some checks and balances were imposed. Of course, the ban will squash the freedom of expression, but it will also prevent malpractice and exploitation of already-depleted resources. It will put the greedy teachers in their place and will make sincere and devoted people truly stand out.”

At this point in time, one is again reminded of student unions and the useful role they were playing, not only in channeling the energy of the youth towards a constructive activity, but also in producing future political leaders. Once the ban on them was put in place, the entire process went haywire.

Of course, political groups exist all the same but since there are no official union elections, there is no central authority to control them. The results are clashes between different groups, resulting in strikes in public sector educational institutes. More than a few students have been critically injured and a few innocent ones have even lost their lives.

Banning all unions, no matter what the reason, is extreme behaviour. Granted that unions often give people reason enough to pull their hair out in frustration but removing them from the scene altogether won’t really solve anything. At best, it is going to give those at the helm of affairs a false sense of security but the political climate in educational institutions will steadily deteriorate, just the way it has happened because of the so-called ban imposed on students’ unions.

Myron Lieberman, author of the book The Teacher Unions, once said: “Let us not forget that teacher unions were established to promote teacher welfare, not educational achievement.” With the ban on teachers’ unions, here in Pakistan, the well-being of educators is threatened.

Webwatch

Engineering blues

http://www.efunda.com/home.cfm
For all professional and would-be engineers, this website is an absolute godsend. There are links to publications and software related to engineering. Plus, there are forums where registered members can interact with engineers from all over the world. There is also a wealth of information categorised into different engineering-related topics like formulas and mathematics.

Views and news

http://www.cbc.ca/science/
Don’t get enough science-related news? This website will definitely satisfy your curiosity about what’s new in the world of science and health. Featured here are detailed news reports on things like avian flu, tsunami and stem cells. Also worth reading are the opinions of different columnists writing for their own sections.

How‘s my page?

http://v03.browsershots.org/
How many times has it happened that you have designed the perfect website or web-page only to be told that it is looking absolutely horrendous on other browsers? Bookmark this website to ensure that this doesn’t happen again. All you need to do is enter your URL and this website will show you how your work will look on different browsers. You can then adjust your source code accordingly.

Tracking business

http://www.n2yo.com/?s=23192
Have you ever wondered what sort of pictures do satellites send back once they are in space? Here is your answer. Featured on this website are a number of satellites and you can see real time photos which they are capturing right now. You can also go through the news and analyses featured at the site.

Does your PC need help?

It is impossible that your PC doesn’t act up every once in a while. Everyone’s PC loves to act up — whether it is a problem of the computer shutting down every five minutes, browsers not working (where messengers are), pop-up windows appearing every two seconds, the computer slowing down to an almost agonising speed, and so on.

Those of us who are computer-literate to the point of efficiency can easily locate the problem and solve it. The majority of us who are not so fortunate have to dissemble the PC, load it into the car and cart it off to the nearest computer shop, where we are politely told that our hard drive will have to be re-formatted for the problem to be solved. No matter what the problem is, every time the PC has to be re-formatted. But, is it really so?

If you know the symptoms, then you can easily locate the problem yourself and hunt down the solution through a search engine. There isn’t any hard and fast course on “Tracking down the symptoms of an infected PC and dealing with It.” But there are loads of websites which you can visit any time your PC looks like its come down with something (except when it is facing browser problems). That’s when you’ll have to rely on your friend’s or library’s or computer lab’s PC.

The best website to begin learning more about computers and related problems is http://computing.net/ . A very comprehensive website, this one has clearly categorised sections for efficient browsing. If you are researching certain symptoms your PC is showing, then the best section to visit first is the forums’ section. The different forums are categorised by the Windows’ Operating Systems as well as Linux, Unix, DOS etc. There are separate rooms for security and virus and gaming as well. Once you’re in the appropriate room, simply scroll through the messages to determine whether or not your area of concern has been covered already or not. If it hasn’t, you can simply register yourself as a user, and post your query. And someone will definitely solve your problem.

If, however, you want to learn a thing or two about computers in general then the “Articles and Opinions” section containing a range of the same written by technology experts and analysts will definitely suffice. Then, there is an extensive how-to section. If you find that installing or updating certain software caused your PC to ‘crash’ then better check out this section, before carrying out any sensitive action on your PC. How-to articles have been divided into simple and advanced form for your convenience. A related section is “Novice Section” where you can access how-to guides related to purchasing PC stuff, using the Internet and accessing digital music. And finally, check out the FAQ section to ensure that whatever query you are about to post on the forums hasn’t already been covered.

Another resourceful website is that of CNET Forums at http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-7600_7-5565323-1.html?tag=txt . All you need to do here is sign up to become a part of a very diverse set of forums. There are many categories here along with the standard operating system category. Some of the interesting ones include Digital Media and Design, General Help and Software. It goes without saying that if you’re stuck with your PC, the best place to point your mouse and click is the General Help Forum.

Also, there is always the Microsoft Knowledge Base website at http://search.support.microsoft.com where you can search for any specific problem or piece of information using a very elaborate input form. You can also download critical security updates for various Microsoft products as well as your operating system to avoid any virus attack or hijack attempts. Moreover, you can access help and support regarding various Microsoft products as well by poring through the troubleshooting guide and how-to articles.

A useful search engine to pinpoint problems and locate solutions is http://answerpoint.ask.com/ . Simply write down your problem in a phrase and you will be directed to the appropriate websites to get your PC scanned and download the necessary software. If you already suspect your PC of being infected with spyware, for instance, you can directly access http://www.spywareinfo.com/ for remedies, for anti-viruses check out http://www.antivirus.com — and to fight homepage hijackers and irritating pop-up windows you can visit http://www.spywareinfo.com/~merijn/downloads.html.

An important thing to remember at this point is that there are certain occasions when a hard drive format becomes inevitable. To safeguard against such a time, when you run the risk of losing your important data, the best thing is to keep a backup of all the important files. Here, Yahoo’s briefcase at http://briefcase.yahoo.com becomes very handy. With 30 MB storage and a facility to create folders, you can easily upload your files there, categorise them in folders and access them if you lose the same on your hard disk.

For more sophisticated methods of file recovery, you can check out http://www.filerecovery.org/index.html . This website details the various different ways in which you stand at risk of losing your data such as mechanical and environmental factors, and then guides accordingly as to how to create a backup file and store data. It also has a comprehensive guide on how to maintain your computer so you stand at the minimum risk of getting it infected with some unknown problems. Some of the steps mentioned here include avoiding cluttering up your hard disk with unnecessary stuff, checking occasionally for viruses and worms, and shutting down the computer properly.

Hopefully, now you won’t have to suffer through loss of important data and other multimedia stuff unnecessarily. And even when a hard drive format becomes inevitable, you’ll have a backup.

Every day is like Sunday

“PAKISTAN is a nation of holiday makers. Everyone here loves to take the day off, and students are no exception,” is the favourite refrain of a very popular teacher at a private school whose students, upon hearing these words, look at one another with guilty smiles playing at their lips. Try as they might, these students, and indeed students in most educational institutions, cannot deny the fact that they love holidays and they will never miss an opportunity to avail them whenever they can.

To this end, summer vacations have been the subject of much speculation and debate at most official education meetings. In fact, on January 3, 2006, the Sindh Education Department announced that starting this year, all schools would close down for summer vacations from July 1, and commence their academic activities from August 16. This meant a 15-day increase in summer vacations, since prior to this change, academic sessions commenced on August 1.

The decision was changed in an All-Private Schools Management Associations (APSMAS) meeting, Sindh, on June 11, 2006. The APSMAS decided that all private schools would resume their academic activities on August 1, 2006, as they had originally planned to do, the main reason for this being Independence Day celebrations and their preparations.

Not to be left behind, the Sindh Education Department swiftly reiterated that academic activities could not resume before August 16, 2006, and any school defying these orders would be penalised. To add to the confusion, the Federal Education Minister, Javed Ashraf Qazi, asked for the vacations to be extended till August 31 with all schools reopening on September 1, 2006.

But to date, the Sindh Education Department’s stance is that since they have not received any official directives from the Federal Education Ministry to extend vacations, it will stand by the original notification; that is, reopening educational institutions on August 16.

Previously, students would have been overjoyed at the prospect of having more holidays at their disposal. Now, however, it is a different story altogether: “I am not at all happy with the extra holidays and I sure hope the authorities don’t increase the vacations to three months. Two-and-a-half months are bad enough,” says Fatima Ahmed, an O-Level student.

One can’t help but wonder why students like Fatima would feel this way about more holidays. “Statistics has been made compulsory in our curriculum, and the Cambridge Board only offers that subject in the October-November session. There is no way we will be able to complete that course in time for the exam. Besides, my school year is still going to end around mid-March after which I will get study leave, so I am going to be left with a shorter academic session. We must also bear in mind that national elections are scheduled to be held in January 2007, so we can all expect a lot of unscheduled closures. Thus, even if the government does cut down on unnecessary holidays, there is no telling how many times educational institutions may have to be closed down due to our country’s law and order and political situations,” explains Fatima.

Asma Jabbar, a teacher at a private school, voices similar concerns: “All these extra holidays are a waste of time and are making the students lazy. Most students while away their time, watching television all day because their parents cannot afford to take them on a vacation out of town. So overall, students become more unproductive in their free time.”

Then, there are parents who feel that extensive summer vacations are only going to make matters worse. “Personally, I find this appalling. Schools have been made to close on the smallest of pretexts throughout the year anyway, whether it was to celebrate winning a cricket match or giving our government a winning hand in their games of politics,” laments Atefa Jamal, mother of school-going children. “Not only does lengthening the vacations make things inconvenient for the schools, but the kids have to then forfeit their Saturdays to go to school to make up for lost time, and parents must rush around to find out whether the schools are open or not.”

Atefa completely agrees with the fact that all these holidays will give rise to a lazy generation. “By constantly giving our kids days off, aren’t we breeding the next generation to be lazy? Can we hope that our future generations will bring a positive change to our country when we are programming them to become slobs?” These are pertinent questions but there are people who actually believe that some good can come out of an increase in vacations.

There are others, of course, who feel that an increase in vacations will be beneficial to them. “I am definitely glad that the vacations have been increased, simply because I am too busy with my tuitions, summer courses and sports practices throughout July. I am hoping I’ll get some time to relax in August and to stay at my grandmother’s place,” explained Fizza Hassan, student of a private school.

“I think in a country like ours where the weather conditions are at such an extreme, summer vacations must be extended,” opines Maryam Masood, an ex-student. This is a valid point, considering the fact that it is not only the blistering heat which goes on till August, but also the monsoon season which is in full swing, causing hassle to the students and parents alike.

Fatima Saleem, who has just taken her matriculation exams, pointed out the dilemma of class nine students and the importance of an extended summer break to them. “Extending summer vacations this year was what the students of class nine deserved. They had their exams in mid-June and now their practical exams await them. If the vacations hadn’t been extended, they would have had only around 25 days left to relax and enjoy.” Other reasons cited in favour of the extension include the travelling factor. Many students go out of the city or country during vacations and the two-and-a-half months allotted for vacations allows them more flexibility and convenience.

However, in spite of its advantages, increasing summer vacations at a time when schools already have suffered from unscheduled closures owing to the unstable political environment in the city shows lack of foresight and planning among the powers that be which control the system of education in Pakistan. Consider the current year, for example. Schools are still trying to cope with the damaged caused because of the reopening of schools after an extended winter vacation on January 9, 2006, which were closed immediately afterwards for Eid holidays along with holidays on strikes and after Pakistan team’s victory in cricket matches.

The fact of the matter is that teachers have their courses to complete and exam papers to set. When the course isn’t completed on time, students either have to finish it on their own or rely on the mushrooming substandard coaching centres. Sometimes, teachers shorten the courses themselves which means that students are learning less than they should in a given academic year.

With all this in mind, one is forced to wonder why education suffers during crises. Ours is a country with one of the most atrocious literacy rates in the world and it is about time there was some semblance of order where educational decisions are concerned. Unfortunately, the situation is only going downhill by the day. Today it is a question of summer vacations. Tomorrow, there will be another issue to deal with, one which will cause further misery to students, teachers and parents.

Webwatch

Information on satellites

http://www.fourmilab.ch/earthview/satellite.html
Have you ever wondered about the function of satellites? Look for answers on this website, which is a haven for people who are interested in astronomy and extraterrestrial life. The site provides information on a number of satellites. Click on the picture of a satellite and you will be able to see pictures of our planet as seen from that satellite.

All about plants

http://plantfacts.osu.edu/
If you are interested in botany, here is something which will keep you busy for hours. Some of the site’s interesting features include a search engine, a glossary of horticultural terms and how-to videos related to gardening. Developed by the Ohio State University, this is one website that will give you a green thumb if you do not have one.

Going nuclear

http://simplethinking.com/home/nuclear_weapons.htm
Nuclear weapons, nuclear testing and nuclear technology — these are some of the words that have come to dominate news bulletins night after night. So what do these terms really mean? Check out this website, which features a very basic look at the fission and fusion processes and how they are used to produce nuclear weapons.

Creating backgrounds

http://bgmaker.ventdaval.com/
Are you a webmaster struggling with the look and feel of your website? This site should make your life easier. Using this tool, you can select ready-to-use backgrounds in various sizes, colour schemes and textures. You can customise them to suit the content of your website. The best part is that it is absolutely free.

Double-click

HERE’S a little something that teachers and students can indulge in while browsing the internet:

Knowledge is power

This is a multi-purpose website, catering to both students and teachers. Students can access revision guides for a variety of subjects, interact with other students and play educational games. Teachers can download audio and video clips for use in the classroom, read educational news and go through lesson plans on various subjects.

www.bbc.co.uk/schools

Pictures worth many words

If you thought there was no way history could ever be made interesting, here is a website which will dispel such myths. Whether it is about Egypt, Greece or the Vikings, be prepared to embark on an illustrative journey. You will have facts and figures thrown at you along the way but in an extremely fascinating and interactive way.

http://home.freeuk.net/elloughton13/index.htm

Advanced matters/b>

For the students and teachers of advanced chemistry, here is one website which will definitely prove to be helpful. It features external links to free chemistry software available around the internet. So whether you want to do chemical drawings or simulate experiments, look no further, for here is a website that will save the day.

www.sciencegeek.net/Chemistry/chemware/chemware.shtml

Street smart

Students are commonly told they must avoid slang when writing an essay or composition. Unfortunately, slang has permeated everyday language to such an extent that, at times, one is not even sure which words fall in this category. This website, featuring a dictionary of slang, should make things easier.

www.peevish.co.uk/slang/news.htm

Webwatch

Blog improvement

http://pkblogs.com/vaspersthegrate/2005/03/how-to-improve-your-blog.html
When it comes to blogs, most people are still clueless as to what really makes them different from mainstream websites. In this blog, Vaspers the Grate has featured some helpful hints and tricks as to how one can improve his/her blog. His conclusions are based on the observation of about 250 blogs.

Safety first

http://physchem.ox.ac.uk/MSDS/
Science students often get irked when their teachers and laboratory assistants get too strict about wearing a lab coat. But are they really as paranoid as they seem? This website presents the fundamental safety rules that science people should be observing while working in laboratories.

Proverbs engineered

http://www.multicians.org/thvv/proverbs.html
At first sight, this may seem like an odd combination. What do proverbs have to do with engineering? However, this hilarious website has some of the answers. Given here are quite a few proverbs which can easily be related to software engineering. Those who are actually in the field will be able to enjoy the wit of these proverbs more.

Still sceptical?

http://musr.physics.ubc.ca/~jess/hr/skept/
This website features a “Sceptic’s Guide to Physics”. It offers a collection of articles on interesting themes like “science and arts, not science versus arts”. Comparison has also been made between the poetry of physics and doing physics. Despite its technical nature, the articles will be of great interest to many.