Taleem pe yaqeen - By: Alisha Sajjal

God has blessed every single individual with certain capabilities that if applied in proper direction can open the horizons of success and glory. For some people, success is all about earning fame and money but individuals like me believe in making dreams come true by exhibiting the traits of hard work and uphill struggle. My name is Alisha Sajjal, and as left wing liberate person I strongly believe in equal education opportunities for entire Pakistanis irrespective of class, gender and social segmentation.

Education is essential

As a third world nation, we are deprived from standard living and even we have failed to meet the basic necessities of living.  History reveals the fact that prosperity and growth of any nation lies in the applied and professional education. In Pakistan, we have below average education standards and the main reason lies in the stratified education. By stratification, we mean the difference between courses and curriculum between different schools, college and university.

In education sector, we have diversity and unfortunately it is leading us to nowhere. We have American school systems, British school system, and typical Islamic schools. The selection of school, college and university is not based on choice of profession rather it totally depends on affordability. How come we stand on a single point, if we are not able to access our generation using a unified schooling system?  How come a graduate from Lums, Fast, or LSE can be compared with a graduate of nominal to sub nominal university? Moreover, in case of religious education system, even Islamic education is divided into different sects like Shia, Sunni, and others.  Keeping this situation in mind, we should not expect any kind of harmony and integration between students when it comes to the solution of critical issues. What we need is a unified examination system besides a unified course and syllabus at the initial education level.

Once providing equal opportunities with the basic level of education, students must be free to select any discipline or profession of their choice.  It’s not necessarily engineering and doctor degree that must be accomplished rather humanities and arts must be given equal prestige. Quality and profession oriented education in Pakistan is very costly. Government should put their best efforts to make this education accessible and affordable for every single Pakistani. Last but not the least; professional education must be accompanied with practical experience and job placements. Research environment must be cultivated as it is indeed a back bone to the progress of any nation. The above mentioned details are critical and this is the right time to propose a definite and authentic solution to various problems faced by our educational system.

Author : Alisha Sajjal

Technology is not what people think it is... by : Alisha Sajjal

Imagine a time where human use to live in a stone ages where messengers took a number of days to convey a message from one place to another. However, now I barely locate any single individual who is not acquainted with the use of mobile phones. Likewise, imagine a time when our social circle was restricted to family members and close friends but now a days, our world is totally changed due to extensive use of social media. Keeping these examples in mind, we can define technology as innovative implications that add convenience and standard to our living.  Technology can have both positive and negative effects on our society. In case of third world countries, like Pakistan the core problem related to technology is that we use it as a luxury of life rather it must be implemented as necessity of life. For instance, Iphone and other technology gadgets are used as a symbol of aristocracy while only 2% of the individuals are aware about the powerful applications and innovation proposed by this gadget.

It is not only the concept of innovation in technology but its utility and focus is equally important to make it beneficial for the society. In Pakistan people are using cell phones not for productive purposes but to take pictures and it is more of a symbol of class. People try to show that they are far better than others with help of latest cell phone. But is this the criteria of better living?

Even apart from pictures people usually play games. Cell phones are not only for the games or for photography purposes but it is a gadget that could be used for research, pod-casting or for other relevant research.

Internet is one of the most significant technology that has changed our approach and aptitude towards life. However, in case of Pakistan we are not using it for a valid cause and positive outcomes. In case of Pakistani students, it is indeed one of the supreme causes of time wastage. Social networks like facebook, twitter, and other platforms are only used for recreational purpose.  Connectivity of people at single platform must have raised the research and academic environment but still this trend is not achieved in our case. Likewise, we are using internet but failed to come up with proper data ware houses that can optimize our life to considerable extent. Internet can effectively enhance our business intelligence and decision making.  The managers and executives can scan through a large database for better analysis and accurate results.

Last but not the least, the technologies like Internet, Android Application, I Phone markets and all other creative applications must be brought under the access of ordinary and poor people. Technology must not be treated as a luxury; rather it is a necessity to keep a pace with the fast moving world. Still, there are billions of people in Pakistan, who never have an access to internet in their life. It is the right time for us to think out of shell and implement Internet technology in the poor and distal areas of Pakistan.

Author : Alisha Sajjal