Value Education begins at home

“A child’s first teacher is its mother” (Peng liyuan).

This is a renowned quote, which everyone is well aware of. Mother is said to be an institution for kids that is responsible for providing the basic education to the children. The child’s ability to learn, perceive and understand a particular phenomenon, starts from home. From day one, when child comes into this world, he starts learning and adapting things from his environment. He is just like a green, fresh and flexible stem and you shape him the way you want. It now depends upon the parents and most importantly the mother with whom he spends most of his time, that how they shape their child. Beside the academic education, the necessary does and don’ts of life are taught to the children by their parents.

The system for value education is established by parent, grandparents and elders at home. The role of this education is to make children aware of sincerity, discipline, manners, respect of elders, sense of responsibility, punctuality and traditional values. It does not include imposing your thoughts and orders on children because this has never been an effective way of teaching something. The best way of teaching your children is the practical demonstration of what you want your children to learn. It is said that children close their ears to advice and open their eyes to examples. So the parents have to teach children not only by preaching but also by practicing.

Education at home is necessary because it is the first step that shapes the future of children. A person’s habits are a reflection of values passed onto him by his parents. People judge others level of discipline and manners through their activities. So in order to make children better human beings and citizen, parents must play their role in building up good habits and educating them the right values.

Parental Participation in education

Besides getting the children admitted in well reputable schools, parents do have another important role that is their active participation in the academic activities of their children. No surprise, some parents may arise questions like “Why do we have to put effort if we pay for the same thing at school? But according to my opinion parental participation is the only way to get maximum profit out of what you spend on your children’s education.

Parental participation in education proves to be very beneficial as parents are involved in day to day tasks of kids. They have a knowhow of weaknesses of their children and the areas where they need improvement. Parental involvement provides support to the children when they face any difficulties and hurdles in education. This helps to make children know the importance of education and to help them understand the sense and meaning of what they are learning. Parents who show interest in helping out their kids with homework, are aware of the interests that their children have and can guide them regarding their future and career decisions more wisely.

Schools should ensure active participation of parents in academic activities. Frequent parent-teacher meetings should be arranged to make sure that parents are fully aware of performance of their children. Research says that teachers believe that parental involvement in education results in better performance of children at school. Children become more responsible and focused in their studies when they are aware of the fact that their performance is being monitored by their parents. Parents must take time out of their busy schedule for their children, because they are the most valuable assets of their lives.

Pressure of Education is ruining Children

Education, no doubt is the most powerful instrument that designs the future of children in best possible way. It gives them confidence to flourish in every walk of life. But have you ever noticed that sometimes education becomes a pressure for the child due to which he loses his confidence in himself and ultimately fails to perform the way he or his parents and teachers want. As far as I have witnessed there are two major reasons for failure of students. Firstly burden of education and secondly pressure from the parents.

If we talk about the academic pressure that the children face, I feel that children are being overburdened. The education system is getting tougher day by day which in one sense is a good thing because you have to compete up with rest of the world but at the same time it is getting difficult for children. Facing a tough time to get good grades and to participate actively in extracurricular activities as well creates problems for students .It may also result in mental sickness, stress and anxiety.

The second pressure, which I guess is the biggest one is “comparison with other children’ Almost every child faces this situation when his parents start comparing him with children of same age group, class and mostly with the relatives. According to the parents, this is to make children realize that how other children with same resources and capabilities are doing better than them. This is probably the worst thing you can do to kill the confidence of your child. By doing this you are just making him believe that he will never be able to perform well because he is not smart enough. Using another technique which is called ‘’Appreciation’’ might be helpful. Children will start believing in themselves, they will try their best to meet your expectations, not because that it will make you happy but it will make them happy as well. Stop degrading children and start appreciating them, for who they are and what they can be.

Education is not a Business!

Education is the most pious profession all over the world. For humans of entire world it holds special respect and massive importance because without education our existence is a question mark. But today shamefully education itself has become a question mark. Now a days it is difficult to decide whether education is a profession or a business.

Drawing your kind attention towards The Private Education system!

 Well, we are not going to mention any specific name here because there are a lot many and you all are well aware of that. For such institutes if we look at the relationship of fee they charge versus education they deliver, no surprise it would definitely be a inverse relation. The standard of education has shifted from meaningful and productive learning to easy and massive earning.

Not only institutions but parents are equally responsible for this .For us, the standard of education has been confined to fluent English language.  The core values, the learnings, and the true sense of education are no more meaningful. We have lost our standards somewhere while running after comparisons with other cultures .We feel pride in adopting the foreign culture and shame in owning our tradition. If you are not able to speak Urdu properly that is considered COOL, but you are bad at English pronunciation, oh don’t you even dare! Such institutions charge the desired fee which is not affordable by everyone. Their primary purpose is to earn money while they don’t care for the teachings and values they are passing onto the children. Education seems to be converting into revenue generating business more than a teaching profession.

Role of rural education in national developement

Education, no doubt holds equal significance for every community of a nation but today we will emphasize upon the condition of education in rural sector. Rural sector generally lags behind the urban community in terms of facilities, technology, health, recreation, entertainment and sadly education too. If we go deep down into the matter we will somehow be able to understand that this dawdling education system might be the reason.

All of us might have visited villages, seen the educational institutions, if not visited would at least have heard about the condition of schools and colleges in rural areas. I feel very downhearted to state that this poor education system is one big hindrance in development of our nation. First of all there are a very few educational institutions whether government or private and those institutions are miserable. They do not have well trained faculty and no proper agenda to work upon. The children when not provided with basic education will never have any motive to get higher education or even strive for it.

Government needs to improve the education system in rural areas by keeping a strict check and balance on the institutions. If the literacy rate in rural area goes up, it definitely will have a very positive effect on economy. More educated people in backward areas will try their best to bring some change for betterment of their own people and area. That includes the utilization of natural resources available in rural areas to earn decent income on national as international level as well. They will work upon infrastructure, small businesses, health and educational facilities and will try to find out and fill the gaps which in long run will improve the overall economy of country. If it does not impact people on large scale, it would at least change their way of thinking. It can ultimately be a first step towards awareness and change.

Special Education

The universe we live in, is an emblem of versatility, so are the creatures existing within its boundaries. God has created each and every individual unique and different in terms of appearance, characteristics and abilities. The fact being that not all human beings are alike, some are slightly different in terms of abilities which are regarded as disabilities. But I think using the term “differently abled’’ instead of disabled would be more appropriate. For such individuals special institutions with special education are available which play their part in educating such individuals as much as possible.

Special education is designed in a way to ensure that special people are provided with the environment that helps them to get education, learn skills and grow effectively in society.

Under IDEA, fallowing are the categories under which students are considered eligible to get education according to law;

1.  Autism
2.  Emotional disturbance
3. Hearing impairments
4. Deafness
5. Deaf-Blindness
6.  Intellectual disability
7. Specific learning disability
8. Traumatic brain injury
9. Orthopedic impairment
10. Speech or language impairment
11.  Multiple disabilities
12. Health impairments
13.  Visual impairments

Special education is basically helpful in improving or eliminating the problems that cause hindrance in education of disabled people. This education helps to prevent any problem that might become a disability in future. Special education institutions are designed in such a way that they remove the effects of disabilities and teach the skills that allow individuals to function successfully. Improving functioning and learning through aid of devices is also included in this.

Parents have the most effective part in this situation as they must be aware of disabilities of their children. They can either leave their children the way they or can contribute to make them better human beings. They must know and avail the opportunities through which they can provide education or any kind of skill to their children which in turn will be help them to become better individuals and perform in a better way.

FFCL Scholarship Scheme Pakistan

Fauji Fertilizer Company limited has announced merit based scholarships for students who can’t afford but are willing to continue their studies.

Students enrolled in following programs are considered eligible for this scholarship;

Bachelors

·         Engineering (Mechanical, Civil, Telecom ,Chemical ,Electrical and Electronics)

·         Agriculture

·         Social Sciences

·         Agronomy

·         Computer Sciences

·         Management sciences

Post-Matric

·         FSC/ICS

Eligibility Criteria

·         Students securing 85% in last exam

·         Quota based; (75% and above for Balochistan and G.B Domicile holders)

·         1^st and 2^nd years of Bachelors

·         1^st year for post matric

·         Enrolled in Government approved college and universities

·         Land holding less than 50 acre and affidavit of farming as primary means of income

Stipend

·         RS 3000/-per month for bachelor

·         RS 2000/-per month for post Matric

How to Apply?

Application forms are available from FFC district sales office throughout Pakistan

Forms can be downloaded at  www.ffc.com.pk and  www.sonafoundation.org.pk

Forms along with documents to be posted to C/o SWF office, Sona Towers, 156-The mall Islamabad.

Contact Details;

Phone; 051-8452916-7

Email; info@sonafoundation.org.pk

Health education in schools

Health education is about building students’ knowledge and educating them about health. This includes awareness about mental, physical, social, intellectual as well as environmental health. Health education, no doubt is important for all age groups but awareness about health at school level is much more important. Studies have revealed that students who got education about their health issues, tend to get higher grades than students who did not get this education.

Absenteeism ratio appears to be declining due to health education, but how? When in schools, children are taught about health through activities, they blithely take part in those activities and learn from them. For example, if there is a chance of emergence of viral or infectious disease, then schools can conduct seminars in which they provide maximum awareness about that disease. This also includes explanation and demonstration of ways to save oneself from that disease.

This not only includes physical health but education about mental and intellectual health is also important. For a student, an active and healthy mind is very important if he is to perform well in studies. Sometimes we misunderstand the mental health issues of students and consider them their incapilibilty. There is a need of providing education and knowledge about these issues. This awareness would ultimately lead to better health of students and they will actively participate in studies.

HEC Need Based Scholarships

Keeping in view the financial instability, lack of resources and emerging potential among students, Government of Pakistan takes responsibility to support such students through HEC need based scholarships. Scholarships have been announced for 92 public sector universities and their campuses as well.

Eligibility criteria

Scholarships are available for HEC selected public sector universities and degree awarding institutions for studies at Undergraduate level.

Students need to compete for securing admission in universities as per admission policy and students who are already enrolled in 4 years degree program are also considered eligible.

Scholarships are awarded as per needs accessed by the Scholarship Award Committee.

Number of slots are decided by the universities and if any student availing the scholarship drops out, then scholarship will be awarded to other deserving student.

In case of medicine, D-Pharmacy and other 5 years degree program, scholarship will be awarded for complete period.

Financial support

The need based scholarship criteria covers the following expenses;

·         Full Tuition fee for duration of entire course

·         Books

·         Boarding and lodging

·         Transportation 

·         Academic expenses

Stipend

In addition to the tuition fee, HEC will provide Rs, 6000/- stipend per month to students for the entire program.

How to apply

Scholarship forms can be collected from financial aid office at the participating universities or institutions. The scholarship forms are to be submitted at financial aid office along with supporting documents.

The funds under this scheme are not directly provided to students. Payments are made through respective universities or institutions.

Willing and deserving students can apply for scholarship on http://eportal.hec.gov.pk

Contact

​​Project Manager, Needs Based Scholarship Program

Human Resource Development Division,

Higher Education Commission,

Sector H-8, Islamabad.

Email; hnbs@hec.gov.pk　

Follow; HEC Needs Based Scholarships - Facebook Community

Equality for Transgender in education

Gender equality, the most heated topic now a days. We repeatedly come across news, TV programs, seminars, walks and stuff like that, which emphasize on providing equal rights to all genders. Some people take gender equality merely as feminism but let me correct you here, “gender equality is not just confined to women”. It includes men, women and most importantly the third gender, which bewailingly is not considered as a gender in most of the cases. We have always suppressed their rights, their voices and their dexterity and have never provided them equal opportunities to excel in education.

Gender equality in education is one of those major issues which we, as a nation, are not able to understand and overcome. First of all we do not have any proper institutions of education for these people. But wait! Why can’t they study in same institutions as us? The reason being, we don’t allow them to study with us because we do not consider them normal human beings. For us they are someone who should always be hated and made fun of. If we are not humble enough to treat them equally, can’t we become nice enough to provide them with separate educational institutions?

Trans genders if provided quality education system can contribute a lot towards the development of the nation. They are being recognized as normal citizens internationally and they participate in every field of their interest and choice. A lot of people from this category are doing excellent jobs in corporate, media and education as well. In Pakistan equal educational and employment opportunities must be provided to these people for they are citizens of Pakistan. If not educational, at least some platform must be provided where they can learn some skills and earn noble livelihood. Our society might first be educated to treat them like human being because they do not deserve to be hated or misbehaved. Changing society mindset and attitude is very important if we want to create opportunities for this gender.

Determination,Key factor of Education

“Desire is the key to motivation, but it’s determination and commitment to an unrelenting pursuit of your goal, a commitment to excellence that will enable you to attain the success you seek .” 

Firmness of faith and a high level sense of determination are the qualities which bring elevation and exaltation in the educational success of a person.

Man is generally considered  to be  a social animal. Being so he cannot live alone. He needs the support  of others to satisfy his basic needs, which ultimately lead to the cultivation of society and state. Man also has to lead a life which has its own problems occuring time and again. For some life means missing out something  and for some it becomes a vicious circle.Life has its own mysteries . We have very little time at our disposal and within this we have to fulfill numerous responsibilities which will succeed us in educational field.

Just pay your attention to different factors which lead to educational success. Many people have come and many have left yet those who stay behind have to face the test of time and there is no running away from that time because it is so precious that it demands respect. It will reward you if you respect it but  will undoubtedly deform you if you go against it.Time asks to remain constant and determined. 

 Determination is the most important thing . It is the will to do something, and to do something positive and concrete so that others should follow your footsteps . History is a clear witness that many people, who are even disabled , use the tool of strong determination to attain the highest goals of prosperity in education.With  strong determination  and powerful will we can do wonders, we can make impossible possible.     

 The task is too big, the time is too short, but to cut short, we have to understand that in this world it is only determination which breeds success as Iqbal has aptly said:

             “You are a falcon breed;

              flying is your creed ;

            there are many skies for you to lead.”   

Why Technology in education is important?

In the era of continuous growth and development, the world is progressing day by day due to immense advancement in technology. Technology is considered to be one of the most debatable topics when it comes to development in education sector. Infact it would not be wrong to say that technology has now proven to be a desideratum for our new generation. Technology and education are somehow integrated and they tend to evolve and grow together with time. Lucky are those nations who sense the need of this compulsion and spare no effort to luxuriate their lives with this blessing.

With technology today, education has taken a whole new meaning. Combining both terms gives us a modified version of gaining, gathering, utilizing and spreading the knowledge, data, techniques and skills that have revolutionized the world so far. With technology educators have got multiple techniques. Various technologies like multimedia, computers, digital libraries, online profile portals, complaint and suggestion systems and informative websites are the examples of a very few technologies that have provided an outstanding assistance in education system. Hence technology knows no boundaries in revolutionizing the education system.

This is a huge universe, so immense is the knowledge therefore it is impossible for one to gather the whole knowledge .Rather different people with different approach, skill set and scope of knowledge in multiple subjects can educate each other through sharing it .And it is only possible with the help of technology. With growing education all over the world and sharing knowledge ,new and better technology emerges which in return does the same for education.

Education, The utmost necessity

As per my knowledge and thoughts I think that education is a vast aspect which starts from the birth of a baby. It goes on and on by going to institutions where one comes to get the basics of study from the teachers and mentors but it takes so long to get qualified and a time comes where one stops getting the syllabus study but if I share my thoughts education never stops not even at the last breath of life.

Education makes a man understand that it’s not about just reading the books; it’s about getting a vast experience that what's the purpose of getting qualified and getting well educated. Getting educated is what makes you different because education is necessary to know the dos and don'ts which everyone gets from it.

Education makes a man perfect human being which cares for everyone not just him or herself. It gives one the power of changing the society because the aim is to spread the same education to others. When a society is educated it gives an impact to other societies and social circles as well. It feels better to be called an educated person rather than a qualified person, because one can teach you books and you can learn them but for education one has to go through each and every individual from whom he or she is inspired, though that person could not be merely a tutor. Education is about manners not about what matters as like qualification, one can live with methods of qualification but no one can live without manners. This education tells us that what's our purpose to be born in this world, what is happening around us, how and why it is happening? That is meant to be our destiny and if we are educated then we can understand what to do and how to do.