South Asia Studies cordially
invites you to attend
Reforming
Education in Pakistan: Constraints and Opportunities
Monday
April 4, 2005
9:30am - 4:30 pm
Rome
Auditorium
1619 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS)
The Johns Hopkins University Universal
education equipping citizens to take an active role
in Pakistan’s
political and economic life is widely perceived to be a key
prerequisite for a vibrant civil society and for economic development. Many
Pakistani governments in the past have put education rather
low on the policy agenda, resulting in inadequate funding,
which may explain the dramatic rise of private education, including
religious schools, during the past decade. Inadequate
funding has also kept overall literacy rates, including female
literacy, at a low level. Over the past several years,
especially since 9/11, the country’s educational systems
have come under very close – and very critical -- scrutiny. Religious
schools, in particular, have been perceived to have a radical
disruptive agenda. Another issue is the social
impact of low rates of female literacy. There
is now a renewed effort, both by the Government of
Pakistan and by international donors, to improve
the quality of education and to make it more universal. This
conference brings together some of Pakistan’s best academics
and practitioners in the education sector to analyze trends
in education, to identify major challenges, and to probe the
likely outcomes of various policy options. The
goal is to stimulate discussion and debate among
the experts and to involve the audience as much as
possible in this exchange of views.
Introductory
Remarks: 9:30am
Ambassador
Jehangir karamat,
Ambassador of Pakistan Panel
1:
Delivery and Content: 10:00-12:30pm
Moderator: S.
AKBAR ZAIDI,
Visiting Scholar, SAIS Shahid
hafeez kadar,
Education Specialist, Lahore
“The changing educational landscape”
RUBINA
SAIGOL, Educational Sociologist,
Lahore
“State schools: Are they preparing students to be productive citizens?”
Bernadette
L. Dean, Aga Khan University,
Karachi
“Are there alternative curriculum models that would make students more
productive citizens?”
Anita
Weiss, University of Oregon
“The
neglected poor: who will educate them and what will they learn?”
Tahir
Andrabi,
Pomona College
“Religious school enrollment in Pakistan: A look at the data”
SALEEM
ALI, University of Vermont
“Are Islamic schools compatible with the demands of a modern society?”
Lunch Break: 12:30- 2:00pm
Panel 2: Partners, Communities, Donors & Government:
2:00-4:30pm
Moderator: WALTER
ANDERSEN, Associate
Director, SAIS
HAMIDA KHUHRO, Minister of Education, Government of Sindh, Karachi
;
“Government reform in curricula: building on the debris of
a half century of neglect”
Abbas Rashid, Society
for the Advancement of Higher Education (SAHE), Lahore
“Are the teachers qualified? And what will it take to make them better?”
SHANDANA KHAN, CEO, Rural Support Programmes Network, Islamabad
“Rural
people care about education: the experience with community-managed schools.”
KATHY BARLETT, Aga Khan Foundation, Geneva
“Are schools ready for children and are children ready for school?
A look at the high levels of early drop-out of young leaders.”
Vijitha Evango, USAID,
Bureau for Asia and the Near East;
“Identifying challenges and
defining progress by a major foreign donor: the experience of USAID”
AMBRIN HAYAT, Advisor, The Citizens Foundation
“Pushing the envelope on education: efforts of private citizens”
