Education Problems in Pakistan and Solutions

What is Education?

Education is the simple process of learning and knowing. It is not restricted to the schools only. Education starts from the mother’s lap. Parents and family inculcate good manners and make responsible citizens out of their children. Home is called first school of the children, but the formal education starts from the school, where they are taught, how to behave and understand what is going on around them.

Importance of Education

“The foundation of every state is the education of its youth”. Diogenes Laertius

                                         

Education is very important for every human being. It makes one able to understand what is happening around us logically and clearly. Only educated person has the ability to take practical decisions and make right moves at the right time. Human existence without education is just like fecund land. Education not only enables individuals to put their potential to best use and do something productive in the upcoming future, but also plays a main role in shaping an individual to be a better, responsible citizen and an active member of the society. An educated person with self-confidence and precise moves knows how to transform the world. Education provides the ladder for achieving success in life and enables us to utilize skills and caliber in a constructive way. Therefore, it’s the prime responsibility of an individual to get educated and live a prosperous life while being a responsible citizen.

Problems in Education of Pakistan

Education is considered as the cheapest defense of a nation. But the down trodden condition of education in Pakistan bears an ample testimony of the fact that it is unable to defend its own sector. Though 62 years have been passed and 23 policies and action plans have been introduced yet the educational sector is waiting for an arrival of a savior. The government of Pervaiz Musharraf invested heavily in education sector and that era saw a visible positive educational change in Pakistani society. Now a days, the economic situation in Pakistan is under stress and education is the worse effected sector in Pakistan. The Constitution of Islamic Republic of Pakistan says,

“The state of Pakistan shall remove illiteracy and provide free and compulsory secondary education within minimum possible period.”

In Human development Report Pakistan is placed at 136th position for having just 49.9% educated populace. The primary completion rate in Pakistan, given by Date Center of UNESCO, is 33.8% in females and 47.18% in males, which shows that people in the 6th largest country of the world are unable to get the basic education.

Problems in Education

Following are the problems in education in Pakistan.

 

         1.    Education System is based on 

             Unequal Lines

The educational system of Pakistan is based on unequal lines. Medium of education is different in both, public and private sector. This creates a sort of disparity among people, dividing them into two segments.

          2.    Regional Disparity

Regional disparity is also a major cause. The schools in Baluchistan (The Largest Province Of Pakistan By Area) are not that much groomed as that of Punjab (The Largest Province Of Pakistan By Population). In FATA, the literacy rate is deplorable constituting 29.5% in males and 3% in females.

          3.     Ratio of Gender Discrimination

The ratio of gender discrimination is a cause which is projecting the primary school ratio of boys & girls which is 10:4 respectively. For the last few years there has been an increase in the growth of private schools. That not only harms the quality of education but creates a gap among haves and has not.

4.    Lack of Technical Education

The lack of technical education is a biggest flaw in the educational policy that has never been focused before. Therefore, less technical people mean less.

          5.    Funds

The allocation of funds for education is very low. It is only 1.5 to 2.0 percent of the total GDP. It should be around 7% of the total GDP.

          6.    Untrained Teachers

The teachers in government schools are not well trained. People who do not get job in any other sector, they try their luck in educational system. They are not professionally trained teachers so they are unable to train a nation.

          7.    Poverty

Poverty is also another factor that restricts the parents to send their children to public or private schools. So, they prefer to send their children to madrassas where education is totally free.

Recently, minister of education announced a new Education policy for that next 10 years. The interesting thing is that the previous educational policy from 1998 to 2010 is still not expired. Although it is projected to give new plans and to make more promises with the nation. It is said in this policy that all the public schools will be raised up to the level of private schools. No plan of action have been discussed, yet a notice is issued to private schools to induct government course in 5th and 8th class and these classes will bound to take board exams. This disturbed the students of private sector also.

Solutions for Educational System

Estimating the value of education, the Government should take solid steps on this issue. Implementation instead of projecting policies should be focused on. Allocation of funds should be made easy from provinces to districts and then to educational institutes. Workshops must be arranged for teachers. Foreign states are using LSS system. This should be inducted in Pakistani schools to improve the hidden qualities of children. Technical education must be given to all the classes. The education board of Punjab has projected a plan to give tech- education to the children of industrial workers. Promotion of the primary education is the need of time. Teachers, professors and educationists should be consulted while devising any plan, syllabus or policy. The state seems to give up her responsibility and totally relying on private sector. The need of time is to bring education in its original form to masses. Burdening students with so much books will not work as he will not understand what the world is going to do next moment. Education is the only cure of the instability in the state and can bring revolution through evolution, by eradicating the social evils. This is how to remove illiteracy in Pakistan.

Identifying Community Problems

Learn how to analyze community problems to better understand root causes and plan effective interventions:

• COMMUNITIES HAVE PROBLEMS, JUST LIKE PEOPLE

• WHAT IS A COMMUNITY PROBLEM?

• WHAT IS ANALYZING COMMUNITY PROBLEMS ALL ABOUT?

• WHY SHOULD I ANALYZE A COMMUNITY PROBLEM?

• HOW SHOULD I ANALYZE A COMMUNITY PROBLEM?

• WHEN SHOULD I ANALYZE A COMMUNITY PROBLEM?

• GOING BEYOND THE BASICS -- DOES ANALYSIS REALLY WORK?

COMMUNITIES HAVE PROBLEMS, JUST LIKE PEOPLE

Problems are part of life -- they go together with being alive. And every community has problems, too; they go together with being a community. That's just a fact of community life.

Two more basic facts:

• Communities, like people, try to solve their problems.
• And analyzing those problems helps in their solution.

Example, A community problem. The downtown area of a community is declining. Stores are closing, and moving out; no new stores are moving in. We want to revitalize that downtown. How should we do it?

Our thinking here is simple:

• We'd be better off analyzing why that decline is taking place, why the problem is occurring, rather than simply jumping in and trying to fix it.
• A good analysis will lead to better long-run solutions. And therefore:
• A good analysis is worth taking the time to do.

So this section explains what analyzing community problems is about, and why it can be helpful -- and then how to do it.

WHAT IS A COMMUNITY PROBLEM?

This covers a lot of ground. There's a long list of nominees. And you probably know some of the main contenders. Can you name the leading problems in your own community? Chances are you can at least start the list.

Below are examples of community problems:

Example Community Problems: Adolescent pregnancy, access to clean drinking water, child abuse and neglect, crime, domestic violence, drug use, environmental contamination, ethnic conflict, health disparities, HIV/ AIDS, hunger, inadequate emergency services, inequality, jobs, lack of affordable housing, poverty, racism, transportation, violence.

WHAT OTHERS WOULD YOU ADD?

Rather than aim for a complete problem list, here are some criteria you may consider when identifying community problems:

• The problem occurs too frequently (frequency)
• The problem has lasted for a while (duration)
• The problem affects many people (scope, or range)
• The problem is disrupting to personal or community life, and possibly intense (severity)
• The problem deprives people of legal or moral rights (equity)
• The issue is perceived as a problem (perception)

This last criterion -- perception -- is an important one, and can also help indicate readiness for addressing the issue within the community.

Keep in mind that what is seen as a problem can vary from place to place, and from group to group in the same place. Although there's no official definition of a community problem, the above examples and criteria above should help you begin to name and analyze community problems.

WHAT IS ANALYZING COMMUNITY PROBLEMS ALL ABOUT?

Analyzing community problems is a way of thinking carefully about a problem or issue before acting on a solution. It first involves identifying reasons a problem exists, and then (and only then) identifying possible solutions and a plan for improvement. The techniques for analyzing community problems require simple logic, and sometimes the collection of evidence.

WHY SHOULD I ANALYZE A COMMUNITY PROBLEM?

To better identify what the problem or issue is.

Kids gather on a street. Sometimes they drink; sometimes they get rowdy. What is the problem here? The drinking? The rowdiness? The gathering itself? Or, the possible fact that kids have nowhere else to go and few positive alternatives for engagement? Before looking for solutions, you would want to clarify just what is the problem (or problems) here. Unless you are clear, it's hard to move forward.

To understand what is at the heart of a problem.

A problem is usually caused by something; what is that something? We should find out. And often the problem we see is a symptom of something else.

To determine the barriers and resources associated with addressing the problem.

It's good practice and planning to anticipate barriers and obstacles before they might rise up. By doing so, you can get around them. Analyzing community problems can also help you understand the resources you need. And the better equipped you are with the right resources, the greater your chances of success.

To develop the best action steps for addressing the problem.

Having a plan of action is always better than taking a few random shots at the problem. If you know where you are going, you are more likely to get there.

In general, when you tackle a problem, it's almost always smarter to analyze it before you begin. That way, you've got a deeper understanding of the problem; and you've covered your bases. There's nothing worse for member involvement and morale than starting to work on a problem, and running up against lots of obstacles -- especially when they are avoidable.

When you take a little time to examine a problem first, you can anticipate some of these obstacles before they come up, and give yourself and your members better odds of coming up with a successful solution.

WHEN SHOULD I ANALYZE A COMMUNITY PROBLEM?

Every community problem should benefit from analysis. The only possible exception is when the problem is an immediate crisis that requires action this very moment. And even then, analysis should help later.

However, there are conditions when analysis is especially important. And these are:

• When the community problem is not defined very clearly
• When little is known about the community problem, or its possible consequences
• When you want to find causes that may improve the chance of successfully addressing the problem
• When people are jumping to solutions much too soon
• When you need to identify actions to address the problem, and find collaborative partners for taking action.

HOW SHOULD I ANALYZE A COMMUNITY PROBLEM?

The ultimate goal is - to understand the problem better and to deal with it more effectively, so the method you choose should accomplish that goal. We'll offer some step-by-step guidelines here and go over a couple of specific ways to determine the causes of the problem.

1. Justify the choice of the problem.

Apply the criteria we’ve listed above – frequency, duration, range, severity, equity, perception – as well as asking yourself whether your organization or another can address it effectively, in order to decide whether the problem is one that you should focus on.

Let’s take the problem we used as an example earlier: The percentage of overweight and obese children in the community has been steadily increasing, and now approaches 25%. Since we know that childhood obesity tends to lead to adult obesity, and that obesity and being overweight are linked to chronic conditions – diabetes, heart disease, stroke – this is a problem that needs to be addressed now. Our organization has the will and the ability to do it.

2. Frame the problem.

State the problem without implying a solution or blaming anyone, so that you can analyze it without any assumptions and build consensus around whatever solution you arrive at.  One way is to state it in terms of a lack of a positive behavior, condition, or other factor, or  the presence or size of a negative behavior, condition, or other factor.

There are too many children in the community who are overweight or obese. The problem is particularly serious among low-income families.

3. Identify whose behavior and/or what and how environmental factors need to change for the problem to begin to be solved.

This can be as straightforward as individuals changing their behavior from smoking to not smoking, or as complex as persuading legislators to change laws and policies (e.g., non-smoking ordinances) in order to change others’ behavior (smokers don’t smoke in buildings or enclosed spaces used by the public) in order to benefit yet another group by changing the environment (children are protected from secondhand smoke in public.)

All, and particularly low-income, children should have the opportunity and the motivation to eat more healthily and exercise more. Parents may need to change their children’s – and perhaps their own – diets, and schools may need to adjust their lunch programs and exercise schedules. In low-income neighborhoods, there needs to be greater access to healthy food and more safe places for children to play or participate in sports, both outdoors and indoors.

4. Analyze the root causes of the problem.

The real cause of a problem may not be immediately apparent.  It may be a function of a social or political system, or may be rooted in a behavior or situation that may at first glance seem unrelated to it. In order to find the underlying cause, you may have to use one or more analytical methods, including critical thinkingand the “But Why?” technique.

Very briefly, the latter consists of stating the problem as you perceive it and asking “But why?” The next step is to answer that question as well as you can and then asking again, “But why?” By continuing this process until you get an answer that can’t be reduced further, you can often get to the underlying cause of the problem, which will tell you where to direct your efforts to solve it.

The difference between recognizing a problem and finding its root cause is similar to the difference between a doctor’s treating the symptoms of a disease and actually curing the disease. Once a disease is understood well enough to cure, it is often also understood well enough to prevent or eliminate. Similarly, once you understand the root causes of a community problem, you may be able not only to solve it, but to establish systems or policies that prevent its return.

There are too many children in the community who are overweight or obese. The problem is particularly serious among low-income families. (But why?)

Because many low-income children don’t eat a healthy diet and don’t exercise enough. (But why?)

Because their parents, in many cases, don’t have the knowledge of what a healthy diet consists of, and because, even if they did, they lack access in their neighborhoods to healthy foods – no supermarkets, produce markets, farmers’ markets, or restaurants serving healthy food – and therefore shop at convenience stores and eat out at fast food places. Kids don’t play outside because it’s too dangerous – gang activity and drug dealing make the street no place for children. (But why?)

Parents may never have been exposed to information about healthy food – they simply don’t have the knowledge. Market owners view low-income neighborhoods as unprofitable and dangerous places to do business. The streets are dangerous because there are few job opportunities in the community, and young men turn to making money in any way possible.

By this point, you should have a fair understanding of why kids don’t eat healthily or get enough exercise. As you continue to question, you may begin to think about advocacy with local officials for incentives to bring supermarkets to low-income neighborhoods, or for after-school programs that involve physical exercise, or for parent nutrition education or for anti-gang programs…or for all of these and other efforts besides. Or continued questioning may reveal deeper causes that you feel your organization can tackle.

5. Identify the restraining and driving forces that affect the problem.

This is called a force field analysis. It means looking at the restraining forces that act to keep the problem from changing (social structures, cultural traditions, ideology, politics, lack of knowledge, lack of access to healthy conditions, etc.) and the driving forces that push it toward change (dissatisfaction with the way things are, public opinion, policy change, ongoing public education efforts, existing alternatives to unhealthy or unacceptable activity or conditions, etc.) Consider how you can use your understanding of these forces in devising solutions to the problem.

Forces restraining change here include:

• The desirability and availability of junk food – kids like it because it tastes good (we’re programmed as a species to like fat, salt, and sugar), and you can get it on every corner in practically any neighborhood.
• The reluctance of supermarket chains to open stores in low-income neighborhoods.
• The domination of the streets by gangs and drug dealers.

Some forces driving change might be:

• Parents’ concern about their children’s weight.
• Children’s desire to participate in sports or simply to be outdoors.
• Media stories about the problem of childhood obesity and its consequences for children, both now and in their later lives.

A full force field analysis probably would include many more forces in each category.

6. Find any relationships that exist among the problem you’re concerned with and others in the community.

In analyzing root causes, you may have already completed this step. It may be that other problems stem from the same root cause, and that there are other organizations with whom you could partner. Understanding the relationships among community issues can be an important step toward resolving them.

We’ve already seen connections to lack of education, unemployment, lack of after-school programs, and gang violence and crime, among other issues. Other organizations may be working on one or more of these, and a collaboration might help both of you to reach your goals.

7. Identify personal factors that may contribute to the problem.

Whether the problem involves individual behavior or community conditions, each individual affected by it brings a whole collection of knowledge (some perhaps accurate, some perhaps not), beliefs, skills, education, background, experience, culture, and assumptions about the world and others, as well as biological and genetic traits. Any or all of these might contribute to the problem or to its solution…or both.

A few examples:

• Genetic predisposition for diabetes and other conditions.
• Lack of knowledge about healthy nutrition.
• Lack of knowledge/ skills for preparing healthy foods.

8. Identify environmental factors that may contribute to the problem.

Just as there are factors relating to individuals that may contribute to or help to solve the problem you’re concerned with, there are also factors within the community environment that may do the same. These might include the availability or lack of services, information, and other support; the degree of accessibility and barriers to, and opportunities for services, information, and other support; the social, financial, and other costs and benefits of change; and such overarching factors as poverty, living conditions, official policy, and economic conditions.

Sample environmental factors:

• Poverty
• Lack of employment and hope for young men in low-income neighborhoods
• Lack of availability of healthy food in low-income neighborhoods
• General availability – at school as well as elsewhere – of snack foods high in salt, sugar, and fat
• Constant media bombardment of advertising of unhealthy snacks, drinks, and fast food

9. Identify targets and agents of change for addressing the problem.

Whom should you focus your efforts on, and who has the power to improve the situation?  Often, these may be the same people. The best solution to a particular problem may be policy change of some sort, for instance, and the best route to that may be to mount an advocacy effort aimed at officials who can make it happen. People who are suffering from lack of skills or services may be the ones who can do the most to change their situation. In other cases, your targets may be people whose behavior or circumstances need to change, and you may want to recruit agents of change to work with you in your effort. The point of this step is to understand where and how to direct your work most effectively.

Targets of change might include:

Parents of children in low-income neighborhoods (or all parents in the community) for education purposes

The children themselves

Elementary and middle school teachers

School officials responsible for school food programs

Executives and Public Relations officers of supermarket chains

Gang members and youth at risk of becoming gang members

A short list of potential agents of change:

Parents of children in low-income neighborhoods (or all parents in the community) as controllers of their children’s diets

The Superintendent of Schools, School Committee, and school administrators, as well as those directly responsible for school food programs

Local public officials who could create incentives for markets to move into underserved neighborhoods

Community Recreation Commissions, school officials, YMCAs, and other entities that might create safe outdoor and indoor physical activity programs for children

Community hospitals, clinics, and private medical practices

Public relations offices of national or regional fast food restaurant chains

With your analysis complete, you can develop a strategic plan that speaks to the real causes of the problem and focuses on those targets and/or agents of change that are most likely to contribute to improving the situation.

GOING BEYOND THE BASICS -- DOES ANALYSIS REALLY WORK?

Try this analysis out with a current problem in your own community setting.

What do you conclude? We hope you'll find some value in analysis. We do know that when we have tried this method with real problems in our own communities, we have drawn some additional conclusions of our own, going beyond the basics:

• Analyzing community problems can be hard work. It takes real mental effort. We're not used to sitting down and thinking deeply about a problem. (We're too busy!)
• Real community problems are likely to be complex. Economic development may depend on the global economy, a force you can't have much effect on. You may have opposition, either from within the community itself, or from powerful forces trying to protect their own interests.
• When you go looking for reasons and underlying causes for significant problems, you are likely to find more than one. Several different reasons may be influencing the problem, in different amounts, all at the same time. It may not be an easy task to untangle all the reasons and their relative strengths, but it may be necessary in order to reach a solution.
• The problem may not only have more than one reason; it may have more than one solution too. Problems often call for multi-pronged solutions. That is, difficult problems often must be approached from more than one direction. So in revitalizing the downtown, you might want to (a) beautify the streets; (b) expand the staff of the chamber of commerce; (c) run sidewalk sales; (d) look for outside loans; and (e) recruit new businesses. These are all parts of the solution. Many different types of actions might be necessary for revitalization.

When analyzing real community problems, the analysis may show multiple reasons behind the problem. The analysis may not always be easy. The solution may be more difficult still.

But that's why problems are problems. Community problems exist precisely because they often resist clear analysis and solution. They persist despite our efforts. They can be real challenges.

Yet this doesn't mean we are helpless. Analysis, including the analytic methods we have described, can take you a long way. With good analysis, some resources, and enough determination, we believe even the most troublesome problems can be addressed, and ultimately, solved.

Online Resources

Addressing Community Gang Problems: A Practical Guide by Bureau of Justice Assistance Is a useful resource that provides a prototype to assist communities in identifying, analyzing, and responding to gang-related problems as well as assessing the effectiveness of their responses.

Assessment Primer: Analyzing the Community, Identifying Problems and Setting Goals is provided by the Community Anti-Drug Coalitions of America and the National Community Anti-Drug Coalition Institute. This helpful primer is designed to provide clear guidelines for anti-drug coalitions in defining their communities and assessing the real needs within them.

Framing the Issue, by Trudy Rice, Cheryl Burkhart-Kriesel and Karla Trautman, is a useful resource that explains how to analyze community problems and access community data. It includes a detailed step-by-step presentation.

Development Journalism

DEVELOPMENT JOURNALISM

Development journalism basically centres around how much freedom the media should have i.e. should they be able to publish whatever they wish to publish, at any time, or should there be controls and limits on this? In particular, how should they treat the government of the country? And, looking even more closely, how should they treat the government of a developing country? In such a case the government may have a difficult development task to do, because of poverty and a shortage of different resources. Thus the support of the media may be important to them in performing this task. Several theories have strongly influenced the way the press in Africa has responded to questions like the above. We are going to look at the three theories that have dominated the press in Africa:

• Authoritarianism 

• Social responsibility 

• libertarian theory 

And look briefly at the Development theory and how this has impacted on the other three. Then look at advantages and disadvantages of developmental journalism for the media. 

The Authoritarian Theory 

This has always been popular with colonial governments in Africa, also true in South Africa where it could be argued that the old Nationalist government did its best to put the authoritarian theory into practice. This theory says: The media are in the service of the state and therefore subordinate to them. I.e. they should do nothing that could undermine established authority. Rather the media must support the interests of the state at all costs. Because the authoritarian view holds that the state is more important than the individual, it also says that the individual can only achieve his/her goals if he/she is under the state. However, different individuals within an authoritarian state have different status/importance. E.g. the leader of an authoritarian state may be one person or an elite group who dominate the society. This kind of leadership uses the mass media to help them dominate the rest of society, i.e. The media are used as instruments of social control. In an authoritarian society, truth is limited and not all individuals have access to it. Most people have to accept the “truth” of the dominant person or group and must conform to this “truth” in their thoughts and actions. To stay in power, the leadership of an authoritarian state will use any means of persuading or forcing others that they consider necessary. At different times we have seen examples of this in Africa – in South Africa, Zimbabwe, Kenya and Nigeria. In this kind of society, the ruling elite uses the press as an educational and propaganda tool for controlling the people. They do not tolerate any criticism of the government. They do not see truth and objectivity/fairness as the most important principles guiding the media. Their view is that the interests of the state must come first, and they, the ruling class, must decide what these interests are. 

Libertarian theory 

This theory says the press was not just an instrument of the state. Libertarians believe we are rational beings who are able to distinguish right from wrong. Furthermore, they believe that society should create a forum, a free market of ideas so that people could look at different ideas and then choose freely. Thus the liberatarians believe there should be no formal controls at all over what can be published in the press or other media. Rather, they feel that where all ideas have an equal chance, truth will stand and win. The spreading of these ideas led to the acceptance of basic human rights such as freedom of speech and of the press. According to libertarianism anyone with enough money could start and publish a newspaper. But then people began to see that the media could use information not to inform the public but rather just to increase the circulation of the newspapers. So a new point of view developed which proposed that the press could no longer be allowed to function with total freedom. 

Social Responsibility theory 

A new approach to the role of the media in society developed, namely the social responsibility theory. Here objectivity is vitally important. Supporters of this theory felt that it was closely linked to the libertarian theory. However, the social responsibility theory develops, changes and deepens certain libertarian ideas – especially after World War II. Most English-language newspapers in South Africa have taken social responsibility as their guiding theory. During the apartheid era, various editors started to reject the strongly authoritarian control that the Nationalist Party exerted over the press, these editors began to feel that the social responsibility theory could be a better guide for them. Their group included editors of English-language newspapers and later editors of alternative newspapers and also some Afrikaans newspapers. Basically, this theory emphasises the responsibility that the media has towards society, more than it emphasises press freedom. It says the media should work within certain moral and ethical limitations that are like obligations they must accept. These obligations are mainly to be met by setting high or professional standards of informativeness, truth, accuracy, objectivity and balance. According to this theory the media must accept social responsibility and make sure that different attitudes and directions of thought all get fully and properly represented and heard. The media must see to it that the public has enough information to make necessary decisions. At the same time, freedom is important in this theory. It says the media must guard against possible interference by the state and by any other pressure groups which could threaten the media’s freedom. Control of the media should not be the job of an elite group in government. Rather the journalists themselves must exercise this responsibility, working for newspapers that are mostly privately owned. This theory rejects the way authoritarianism makes control actually lawful so that the media has no freedom of choice. Only the other hand, it also rejects a situation where there are no principles to limit and guide what the media can publish, that is, where they publish whatever they like and make the most money. This theory has been criticised quite a lot for example as being far too vague. However, it has value for the working journalist in that it gives journos a positive feeling that they are working in the public interest, and doing a public service. It also frees journos from writing only material that will sell well. 

Development journalism 

Development theory became popular in the Third World for fairly obvious reasons – but there are some problems with the idea. The terms Third World, undeveloped nations and developing nations all imply inferiority and something less than the best. I.e. seem to rate the Third World’s industry, commerce and political life against that of the world’s great nations. Some academics thus prefer the term “advancing journalism”. This theory sees the press as an instrument of social justice and a tool for achieving beneficial social change. In other words, the media should carry out positive development tasks in line with nationally established policy. However, in reality things have not worked out in line with this theory. In Africa generally there has been pressure on journalists to ally themselves with the political forces, but in doing so they have lost their independence. The most problematical part of this theory is the principle that the state can interfere with the media and use methods like censorship, state subsidies or direct control and restriction if it does so in order to advance development. In this way journalists can be severely hampered from reporting fully, fairly and independently. Also, we cannot be certain that development DOES get advanced in such situations. Obviously, a new government in a developing country may well wish to adopt the development model. It leaves control of the media in the hands of government if required and yet the media must still take responsibility. If the government decides that the media are not meeting its wishes or that they are challenging the state, it can intervene and apply whatever censure or control it deems necessary. Zimbabwe is a good example of a government seeking to use the press with some degree of compulsion to advance government policies, especially on economic and racial/ethnic issues. Editors who accept this approach must give up some editorial autonomy to government officials and in doing so, they give up their constitutional right to freedom of the press. Journalists in South Africa have had a very unhappy experience with government authoritarianism in the past. Therefore, they will not easily trust any government uncritically or risk their autonomy in the way that the developmental approach requires. Their fears about doing so are based on what they may have seen elsewhere. Thus while the developmental system may offer benefits, journalists feel that it extracts too high a price. Finally, developmental journalism promotes mass rights over those of the individual. It is rooted in the notion of doing what is right for the common good. South Africans have fought hard for their new constitution that protects the rights of the individual and therefore it will be hard for the government to promote the virtues of developmental journalism. However, that does not of course prevent the government of the day doing its best to get the press to report in a developmental way. 

Advantages of developmental journalism 

Development journalism has a lot of attraction for developing countries. First, in countries where poverty is the norm, the government of the day wants and needs as much support as it can get. A press that reports government inefficiencies is therefore not welcome. Also the government will probably have to take decisions which are based on the common good but which harm individual liberties. These decisions may be highly unpopular but they have to be taken, and a hostile press can hold back government’s progress while a supportive press can help the government push these policies ahead. One definition of the duty of a journalist reporting on development is to: “critically examine, evaluate and report the relevance of a development project to national and local needs, the difference between a planned scheme and its actual implementation, and the difference between its impact on people as claimed by government officials, and as it actually is.” The most important function of development journalism is its ability to nation build. However, many political leaders see journalists who do not follow this approach as traitors – and as for example in Kenya, they are charged. 

Disadvantages of Development Journalism 

The pitfalls of the development approach are many. First, the press becomes far less critical and eventually is forced to give up its “watchdog” role in society. As it continually panders to the government, the media loses its critical edge and becomes nothing more than another government mouthpiece. When this happens, it paves the way for a virulent underground or alternative press with a strong anti-government approach. The most dangerous pitfall is the fact that the press gives up its right to question and demand accountability from the government of the day. As the press tries to promote the government and the common good, it can start to lose sight of the individual and the individual’s human rights. In other words, a developmental press has come to be equated with one in which the government exercises tight control and prevents freedom of expression, all in the name of noble ends. Government censorship does only happen in Africa and South America. In 1975 Gandhi imposed strict censorship in India. But despite this censorship, many Indian journalists sneaked into their news columns words, phrases and even sentences and paragraphs that escaped the attention of the censors and that conveyed concealed meanings to knowledgeable readers. Overall, the message for any government is that it will have to struggle to keep up control of the media for very long and will need huge resources to police the system. What starts out as a good idea to promote development may end up a nightmare. 

NAB REFERENCES

ISLAMABAD: The Islamabad High Court (IHC) on Thursday disposed of a petition filed by the former prime minister Nawaz Sharif’s son-in-law challenging the indictment of the Sharif family in the London properties reference.

The accountability court will indict the former prime minister, his daughter Maryam Nawaz and son-in-law retired Captain Mohammad Safdar in the Avenfield Properties reference today (Friday).

This was the third petition filed against the order of the accountability court, which has been hearing four references against Mr Sharif, his children and Finance Minister Ishaq Dar since September 26.

The IHC dismissed all three petitions after a few minutes’ hearing without even issuing notices to the respondents – the National Accountability Bureau (NAB) and the accountability court judge.

On the directions of the Supreme Court, the bureau had prepared three references against Mr Sharif, his sons Hussain and Hassan, daughter Maryam and son-in-law Capt Safdar. The fourth reference was filed against the finance minister.

The apex court has directed the accountability court to conclude proceedings within six months.

Accountability Court Judge Mohammad Bashir on Oct 9 supplied a copy of the reference and a 53-volume report to Ms Sharif and her husband and decided to indict Mr Sharif, his daughter and son-in-law on Oct 13.

Earlier, the same judge had indicted Mr Dar less than 48 hours after supplying him with the requisite documents.

Mr Safdar, through his counsel, contended before the court that under Section 265-C of the Criminal Procedure Code (CrPC), the accountability court could indict an accused at least seven days after supplying them copies of the reference and related documents.

A division bench consisting of Justice Athar Minallah and Justice Miangul Hassan Aurangzeb heard the petition.

Mr Safdar’s counsel Amjad Pervez argued that he could not read the 5,000 page, 53-volume report in just three days. Even otherwise, he said, an accountability court gives a minimum of seven days to read the copy of the complaint and related documents before framing charges.

When the bench asked the counsel whether there was any judgement of the superior courts referring to the framing of charges after seven days, the counsel replied in the negative.

However, he asked the bench to restrain the trial court from framing charges until next week.

But the bench declined the request, saying the high court could not stop the trial court’s functioning for this reason. The court termed the petition “premature”, but directed the counsel to raise the matter before the accountability court, adding that the judge of the trial court would pass an appropriate order.

In the petition, Mr Safdar stated that he and his wife were in London to attend to his ailing mother-in-law, who has been undergoing cancer treatment.

According to the petition, Mr Safdar and his wife were voluntarily returning from London to Pakistan to join proceedings of the accountability court when, on Oct 9, the petitioner was arrested at the airport. However, he was released after he furnished the surety bond.

On the same day, the court fixed Oct 13 for the indictment of Mr Sharif, his daughter and her spouse. Since Mr Sharif is already in the UK to tend to his ailing wife, the court will frame charges against him through a pleader.

Published in Dawn, October 13th, 2017

Code of Media Ethics

The basic objective of news dissemination is to ensure that the people know what is happening and understand the possible causes so they can form their own opinions and arrive at their own conclusions. The most valuable asset of a journalist therefore remains public respect, which must first be earned and then maintained through adherence to the highest possible standards of professional integrity.

This is why, if the journalistic community is to play its due role in Pakistan, it must submit its own behaviour to the most rigorous scrutiny. Codification of our ethics is therefore imperative.

Dawn has always strived to discharge its duties and to encourage its staff members to discharge their responsibilities in line with the ideals of journalistic ethics and principles. In keeping with this effort, the following constitutes the baseline standards of a Code of Media Ethics for the members of Dawn’s editorial team, in conformity with universally accepted norms.

Code of Media Ethics

A journalist:

• Must uphold the highest professional and ethical standards and ensure that the information/editorial content being provided by him/her is fair, unbiased, and accurate.
• Shall avoid falsification by distortion, selection or misrepresentation.
• Shall do his/her utmost to correct inaccuracies.
• Shall, at all times, defend the freedom of the press and other media in relation to the collection of information and the expression of comment and criticism.
• Shall strive to eliminate distortion and news suppression.
• Shall not accept any personal favours, bribes or inducements or allow any other factor, such as advertising revenue for the Dawn Media Group, to influence the performance of his/her professional duties.
• Shall not take private advantage of information gained in the course of his/her professional duties.
• Shall protect confidential sources of information which can be shared with the line manager and the Editor.
• Shall mention a person’s age, gender, ethnicity, caste, sect, colour, creed, illegitimacy, disability, marital status, or sexual orientation ONLY if this information is strictly relevant.
• Shall neither originate nor process material which encourages discrimination, ridicule, prejudice or hatred on any of the above mentioned accounts.
• Shall obtain information, data, photographs, and illustrations only by straightforward means; the use of other means can be justified only for reasons of overriding public interest, and with the specific permission of the editor.
• Shall not intrude into anybody’s private life, grief or distress unless it is for reasons of overriding public interest, and then only with the specific permission of the Editor.
• Shall not exceed the limits of ethical caution and fair comment in his/her zeal to break a story.
• Shall not glorify the perpetrators of any illegitimate acts of violence committed under any garb or cause, including honour and religion.
• Shall take care while reporting on militants/insurgents/extremists of the need to balance public interest with the danger of ‘advertising’ extremist ideologies.
• Shall not print or upload gory images of violence, mutilated bodies and victims of any tragedy unless this is inevitable and in the public interest.
• Shall take the greatest care while reporting running stories involving sectarian clashes, communal disturbances, ethnic strife, hostage situations, etc, so as not to cause further deterioration of the situation, jeopardise lives or operations, or fan public discontent and anger.
• Shall not identify or photograph minor children and infants who are the result of sexual abuse, forced marriage or any sort of irresponsible partnering of their parents.
• Shall not identify or photograph rape victims or people living with HIV/AIDS without their permission. In case of minors, particular care will be taken and permission will be sought from their parent/ guardian after discussing potential implications.
• Shall not identify the accused in rape cases till the latter has been indicted by the court.
• Shall not plagiarise, and must honour copyright when using textual, video or image material from external sources.
• Shall not be guilty of gender discrimination, either in the dispensation of his/her professional duties or in his/her interaction with fellow journalists. Shall exhibit sensitivity to gender-role stereotyping by refraining from exploitation and by reflecting the intellectual and emotional equality of both genders whilst writing.
• Shall follow at all times the guidelines on employees’ use of the social media.
• Shall not undermine the rule of law, the supremacy of the Constitution, and democracy, and take care to abide by national and international laws and conventions while reporting/commenting on regional and international affairs.

Why News Exaggerate Things

Does the News Exaggerate Things more than the Importance of the Situation?

Image Credit: Brittan S., Chino, CA

The author's comments:

 I wrote it because i think the news exaggerates.

Do you think what they report on the news is really that important? Well think again. This is a common problem many Americans do not even notice. For example, do you think the Himalayas will have no snow by 2032? This may seem true when said by experts, but think again.

You know many of the people who exaggerate things. For example, you may know this person as the vice president of Bill Clinton; you may more commonly know him as Al Gore. He has exaggerated that the Himalayas will melt by 2032. This has grabbed attention to people, who are now blaming this on the government for not making the cities less polluted.

News sources often exaggerate things because it may seem more exciting to the viewer or people who are watching the news. For example if the news were to have the title of the breaking news story “The decline of average revenue in Microsoft went down 1%”. In other words this would not be an interesting situation. If we were to say, “The president broke his arm today, climbing a flight of stairs”. That would intrigue viewers to watch the news. There is a common saying in local media “If it bleeds it leads”. This means that if it is a violent and a crime related story more viewers would watch it.

Some of the examples of the past and in recent are for instance the Al Gore statement about the Himalayas that it was going to melt by the year of 2032. When this was said in the documentary “The inconvenient truth” It was a big controversy in the news. The news stations started saying that the Himalayas would melt by 2032.Another statement everyone was widely afraid of was the H1N1 disease, commonly known as the swine flu.CNN predicted 90,000 deaths, when only 4,000 deaths occurred in America.

Does all this exaggeration get them more viewers? Well according to Nielsen Ratings it seems like it does. Nielsen Ratings is a well known company for recording ratings and other data about TV shows and TV networks. CNN, the station with the most reports about exaggerating news has 100 million viewers watching it. Compared to the other top television networks, for example: Fox, ABC, and NBC, it is the leading network with the most viewers. Therefore, since CNN has the most reports of exaggerating, it probably gets more viewers from a combination of commonly reporting crime and violence.

Are you one of those people who get stressed easily over little things? Well there many people like you out there. And the news does not help at all. We may use the news a lot for getting information and even learning about new things, but it also stresses people out. The news may say positive things but it mostly focuses on the negative things, remember the saying “if it bleeds it leads”. This can cause stress in many people. Reports also show that if you have a positive attitude this lowers your blood pressure. So this could shorten our lives though, but not by much.

There are many channels which are positive. Following in the second most viewed channel is Fox. Even though CNN is in the first, Fox would be a more reliable source. You may also want to read multiple sources of the news to get an overall idea of what is happening around the world. Do not just read one source. If you read other sources you can see if they all match up, or at least are close. So remember, next time while watching the news, think about the reality.