Vision of Pakistani Nation

Vision of Pakistani Nation

As Reflected in Education Policy of Pakistan 1998-2010

                   The implications of Ideology of Pakistan

“The ideology of Pakistan lays down two important obligations for the government. Firstly, education will be accessible to all citizens. Secondly, it shall enable them to prepare enlightened and civilized individuals committed to the cause of Islam recognizes provision of education as a right of the individual.

The ideology of Islam forms the genesis of the State of Pakistan. The country cannot survive and advance without placing the entire system of education on sound Islamic foundations”.

The Vision

“The vision is to transform the Pakistani Nation into an integrated, adhesive entity, that can compete and standup to the challenges of 21^st Century. The Education policy is formulated to realize this vision of an educationally well-developed, politically united, economically prosperous, morally sound and spiritually elevated nation”.

Extracts from Education Policy of Pakistan

(1998-2010)

  

Curriculum

What is Curriculum?         It is combination of all those elements and sources which are used to achieve the aims and objectives of education.

Its main elements are:-

v  Education standards (comprehensive, subject and grade level standards)

v  Text Books and Helping Books.

v  Practical and Experimental Activities.

v  Co-curricular activities, extra-curricular activities and sports.

v  All facilities and equipment used as aids for teaching.

v  Evaluation / Examination.

Standards-   Standards setters have adopted the definition of standards in shorthand phraseology- “what students should know and be able to do”

Comprehensive Standards.        Can be defined as what students will know or be able to do as a result of our entire comprehensive educational program and services. These are the qualities that we strive to bring out in each student. These are the standards which our Mission Statement strives for and the type of standards our parents would like to see our students aspire to. While these general standards constitute general high expectations, they are not specific enough to serve as the basis for instructional planning or assessment development. Each standard identifies an important and complex act that requires students to use knowledge from various subject areas, thinking processes, and communication procedures. They are not tied to any specific grade level nor to any specific subject area, but rather, represent student skills, knowledge and characteristics that our Mission Statement and parents expect from our students. These standards “Line-up” with our Mission Statement and will provide a rare opportunity to further define our Mission Statement in regards to students expectations and standards.

Subject Area Standards-  Can be defined as what students will know or be able to do as result of the entire educational experience in the subject area, here at School. These are developed from the anticipated educational experiences the student has encountered in a specific-subject area program from Kindergarten through Grade 12. We thus define Subject Area Standards as those which “spell out the subject to learn” throughout their pre-degree education.

Grade Level Standards by Subject Area-        Specifies what students will know or be able to do at each grade level in a given subject area. They must be measurable.  These standards are developed using the national standards developed by national professional educational or curriculum development organizations. These must be achieved during the period laid down for the purpose.

FFC Public School, Mirpur Mathelo

Definitions of Standards and their Relation to the Vision of State of Pakistan

Genesis of State of Pakistan

(Ideology of Pakistan)

 

Vision of Pakistani Nation

Mission Statement of the School

 

Points of School’s Philosophy

Comprehensive Achievement Standards

What our graduates will know and be able to do as a result of our K-12 comprehensive educational program.

(vision---not easy to measure)

Subject Area Standards

What our students will know or be able to do as a result of our entire K-12 education program in a specific subject area.

(some what measurable)

Benchmarks- Grade Level Standards

What students will know or be able to do as a result of the level’s educational program (must be measurable)

(Implementation during the Academic year)

Assessment / Evaluation

Mission of Sona Public School, Mirpur Mathelo

By definition a “Statement of Mission” is meant to be a clear and concise expression of the schools purpose and function…….. a bold declaration of what the school will be. It is a powerful statement meant to pull the school’s curriculum and instruction towards new heights of excellence and accomplishment. In fact, all curriculum and instructional decisions should be tested for consistency against the “Statement of Mission”. It is meant to focus all of the School’s attention and to concentrate all its energies towards achieving that purpose.

Mission Statement

“The mission of Sona Public School Mirpur Mathelo is to ensure that every student achieves academic success in the most modern education, develops a lifelong love of learning and becomes a responsible citizen of Pakistan through an enriched curriculum of Pakistan taught by a qualified and experienced faculty committed to provide the best possible all-round education and training to the students in partnership with parents for comprehensive development of their personalities in an Islamic environment and setting”.

  

The Objectives

General Objective

The Sona Public School Mirpur Mathelo provides for a complete state of education in itself as it is intended to prepare the students physically, intellectually, morally, socially and vocationally for a full life as citizens of Pakistan and as competent, responsible and exemplary members of Muslim Society and of world community at large.

Specific Objectives

The specific objectives of our School are conceived as outcomes of the process of education in behavioral terms. It is, therefore, envisaged that on completion of Class 10  in general and Class 12 in particular, a student will be able to:

1.        Academic Objectives 

            Students are encouraged to:

·         Demonstrate excellence in the knowledge and understanding of the subjects of study, as well as proficiency in the use and application of that knowledge to practical and real life situations.

·         Exhibit imagination, develop and demonstrate habits of inquiry creativity and ability to think logically and critically.

·         Develop problem-solving strategies and distinguish between relevant and irrelevant information.

·         Acquire literacy, numeracy and technology skills that will enable them to meet demands of every day life.

·         Determine their future occupations and prepare for those accordingly.

2.        Social Objectives

Students are encouraged to: 

·         Form a healthy self-image and emotional maturity.

·         Demonstrate confidence in their ability to achieve positive results.

·         Make informed decisions and accept responsibility for the consequences.

·         Demonstrate co-operation with school, civil authorities and obey parents as per our beliefs and laws of the land.

·         Interact confidently and appropriately with others, acknowledging their rights, opinions and successes.

·         Respect people of different cultures and those who are physically or mentally challenged.

·         Recognize the elements of fair play and the importance of positive attitudes toward justice.

·         Exhibit good work habits such as diligence, initiative, hard work, integrity, honesty and dignity of labor.

·         Display leadership, sense of social responsibility and effective participation in socially useful tasks.

       3.    Spiritual Objectives

             

                   Students are encouraged to:

                  

·         Learn and act upon Islamic knowledge, beliefs, principles and practices as contained in the Holy Quran and as exemplified in the Sunnah of the Holy Prophet Mukhammad (SAW)

·         Respect people of other religions and their persuasions.

4.       Physical Objectives

            Students are encouraged to:

·         Demonstrate liking and skill for physical activity and sports in order to remain physically fit and active.

·         Practise the principles of healthful living and recognize their importance in all aspects of practical life.

·         Follow a healthy diet, participate in healthy physical activities and abstain from harmful substances.

·         Develop skills that help them perform useful work and utilize profitable leisure time.

Grammar School MM

Subject Area Standards for Mathematics

Students will be able to:

v  Compute accurately with and without a calculator.

v  Appreciate and understand number systems.

v  Manipulate numbers, equations and formulas.

v  Communicate mathematics concepts accurately in verbal and written forms.

v  Use technology appropriately to aid understanding.

v  Analyze statistical data.

v  Solve practical problems involving probability.

v  Apply the principles of geometry.

v  Apply inductive and deductive reasoning.

v  Work individually and cooperatively to solve problems.

v  Understand and appreciate the relationship of mathematics to other disciplines.

v  Display confidence in accepting and pursuing mathematical challenges.

v  Understand and use systems of measurement.

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Universal Mercy and Education

Universal Mercy and Education

The adage nowadays is that we all need love. So many people are talking about this. Islam teaches us that God's act of creating humanity was an act of mercy and compassion. Compassion represents the love between parents and children as well as that between children and parents. However, universal love can best be seen through all elements of the universe working together with each other for the benefit of all life.

Humanists proclaim that their philosophy is founded upon love. However, humanism does not encompass specific ethical values, is based upon personal interest or bias, and is far down the continuum toward insincerity. Humanism is abstract, out of balance, and sometimes appears to be working on the behalf of particular nations, languages, and belief systems. In reality, Prophets were ideal examples of love and mercy, for their approach to love and mercy was based on being balanced in this life and the Hereafter. Muhammad, the final Prophet, was sent by God's Mercy and, metaphorically, is like a spring of pure water in a hot desert. This spring, infused with the limitless resource of love, can quench any degree of thirst and purify and enlighten any drinker who pauses to drink from it.

The Prophet's compassion

Mercy and compassion is like a magic key that opens the hearts that were so hard that no one thought they would ever be opened. But the Prophet did even more than this: He lit the torch of belief in God within them. Believers, hypocrites, unbelievers, and all beings and creatures benefited from His mercy. Believers were rewarded because the Qur'an states: For the believers full of pity, compassionate (9/128) and: The Prophet has a greater claim on the believers than they have on their own selves (33:6).

This is true, because the Prophet, the representative of Divine compassion, is definitely nearer to us than we are to ourselves. Although the desires of the flesh may lead us astray, the Prophet always responds with mercy, kindness, and sympathy. For example, he said: "Whoever leaves an inheritance, it belongs to his relations. Whoever dies with debt, it belongs to me" (Muslim, "Fara'id," 14). Can one imagine greater sympathy?

His compassion embraced hypocrites so that they would be shielded from worldly torment. He knew who the hypocrites were but never exposed them, for this would have deprived them of the full citizenship rights that their outward profession of faith and practice allowed them to enjoy. Living among Muslims, their rights to belong and believe differently were held in compassionate regard. This greatly reduced their anxieties about their assertions of unbelief in the Afterlife.

Even the unbelievers benefited from his compassion. God did not destroy the unbelievers, although He had done so in the past, for: God would never chastise them while you were among them (8:33). This verse refers to unbelievers of all times. God will not destroy people as long as believers are alive. In a related statement, he proclaimed: "I was sent to people as a mercy, not to curse them." (Muslim, "Birr," 87). In other words, he came with mercy, not with condemnation and a desire to invoke calamity upon them.

The Prophet was particularly compassionate toward children. He played with them, would sit beside them when they were crying, and listened to them. He empathized with a mother's pain, saying: "One without pity for others is not pitied" (Bukhari, "Adab," 18). Once he told a man who boasted that he had never played with his children or showed them his love: "What can I do for you if God has removed compassion from your heart?" (Muslim, "Fara'id," 64). His compassion even extended to animals. While in Mina, some Companions tried to kill a snake. Watching the activity from afar, the Prophet stated: "It was saved from your evil, and you were saved from its evil." (Nasa'i, "Hajj," 114). Even though the snake is a lowly reptile, it plays a vital role in the environmental balance. The Prophet further stated: " A prostitute was guided by God's truth and ultimately went to paradise because she gave water to a dog dying of thirst in the desert" (Bukhari, "Anbiya'," 54; Muslim, "Salam," 153).

Educating others is active compassion

The Prophet, fully aware that moving his people away from their idolatry and barbarism and toward Islam and success in both this life and the eternal afterlife, emphasized education and literacy. He understood what his contemporaries did not: The main duty and purpose of human life is to seek understanding. The effort of doing so, known as education, is a perfecting process through which we earn, in the spiritual, intellectual, and physical dimensions of our beings, the rank appointed for us as the perfect pattern of creation. Education through learning and a commendable way of life is a sublime duty that manifests the Divine Name Rabb (Upbringer and Sustainer). By fulfilling it, we attain the rank of true humanity and become a beneficial element of society.

Right decisions depend on having a sound mind and being capable of sound thought. Science and knowledge illuminate and develop the mind. For this reason, a mind deprived of science and knowledge cannot reach right decisions, is always exposed to deception, and is subject to being mislead.

We are only truly human if we learn, teach, and inspire others. It is difficult to regard those who are ignorant and without the desire to learn as truly human. It is also questionable whether learned people who do not renew and reform themselves in order to set an example for others are truly human. Status and merit acquired through knowledge and science are higher and more lasting than those obtained through other means.

Given the great importance of learning and teaching, we must determine what is to be learned and taught, and when and how to do so. Although knowledge is a value in itself, the purpose of learning is to make knowledge a guide in life and illuminate the road to human betterment. Thus, any knowledge not appropriated for the self is a burden to the learner, and a science that does not direct one toward sublime goals is a deception.

Essentials of a good education

A real educator must have several virtues, among them the following:

First: He or she must give due importance to all aspects of a person's mind, spirit, and self, and then raise each to its proper perfection. The Qur'an mentions the evil-commanding self that drags people, like beasts with ropes around their necks, wherever it wants to go and encourages them to obey their bodily desires. In effect, it wants people to ignore their God-given ability to elevate their feelings, thoughts, and spirits.

The Qur'an quotes Prophet Joseph: Surely the self commands evil, unless my Master has mercy (12:53). Commanding evil is inherent in the self's nature. However, through worship and discipline, the self can be raised to higher ranks, to a position where it accuses itself for its evils and shortcomings (75:2), and then still higher where God says to it: O self at peace! Return unto your Master, well-pleased, well-pleasing (89:27-28).Higher than the self at peace (at rest and contented) is the self perfectly purified. Those who rise to this degree are the nearest to God. You remember God when you see them, for they are like polished mirrors in which all of His attributes are reflected. The Companions' desire to follow the education system provided by Prophet Muhammad enabled almost all of them to reach this degree of moral and spiritual perfection. Millions of people have followed and continue to follow their example.

Second: An education system is judged by its universality, comprehensiveness, and the quality of its students. The Prophet's students carried Islam throughout the world. As Islam is universal in nature and valid for all times and places, it found a ready acceptance among people of different races, religious backgrounds, intellectual levels, and age differences - from modern-day Morocco and Spain to the Philippines, from the Russian steppes to the heart of Africa. Its principles remain valid today. Despite numerous upheavals and changes, as well as social, economic, intellectual, scientific, and technological revolutions, his system remains the most unique and original. In short, it represents humanity's best hope for the future.

Third: An education system is judged by its ability to change its students. What the Prophet accomplished during his Prophethood speaks for itself. To those who deny or question his Prophethood, we challenge them to go anywhere in the world and accomplish, within 100 years, even one-hundredth of what he accomplished in the deserts of Arabia 1,400 years ago. Let them take all of the experts they can gather, and then we will wait to see their results.

Education and young people

A nation's future depends on its youth. Any people who want to secure their future should apply as much energy to raising their children as they devote to other issues. A nation that fails its youth and abandons them to foreign cultural influences jeopardizes their identity and is subject to cultural and political weakness.

The reasons for the vices observed in today's generation, as well as the incompetence of some administrators and other nation-wide troubles, lie in the prevailing conditions and ruling elite of recent generations. Likewise, those who are charged with educating today's young people will be responsible for the vices and virtues that will appear in the next generation. Those who wish to predict a nation's future can do so correctly by taking a full account of the education and upbringing given to its young people. "Real" life is possible only through knowledge. Thus, those who neglect learning and teaching should be counted as "dead" even though they are living, for we were created to learn and communicate to others what we have learned.

Conclusion

The Prophet's compassion encircled all creatures. Education was one of the most important components of his compassion, for only by educating them could he lead his people out of ignorance and into the status of being true human beings who understood the reasons for their creation, their responsibilities to God, and their duties toward humanity and all of creation.

In this time of rapidly increasing information, as distinct from knowledge, we need to instill in ourselves and our children the desire to acquire useful knowledge and then use it to benefit ourselves and humanity at large. Knowledge acquired for a right purpose is an inexhaustible source of blessings for the learner. Those who posses such a source are always sought by people, like a source of fresh water, and lead people to the good. Knowledge limited to empty theories and unabsorbed pieces of learning, which arouses suspicions in minds and darkens hearts, is a "heap of garbage" around which desperate and confused souls flounder. Therefore, science and knowledge should seek to uncover humanity's nature and creation's mysteries. Any knowledge, even "scientific," is true only if it sheds light on the mysteries of human nature and the dark areas of existence.

UNIVERSAL ACADEMY

Universal Academy

These are Educomp's budget schools targeted at semi-urban towns. Schools in Bajpur, Kashipur, and Gadarpur have been functional since 2009. New schools are being launched at Dehradun, Bhubaneswar, Nuh, Nai Nengla and Ferozepur Jhirka for session 2010-2011.

Universal Academy brings with it the result of 5000 man days of research about the needs of students, their aspirations, expectations and limitations, their environment and backgrounds. This Universal Academy learning system focuses specifically to students’ individual needs and aspirations while at the same time propelling them into the mainstream. It brings about a systematic change in the classroom scenario from earlier patterns of rote learning to one where learning is directed through fun-filled activities and exercises.

Universal Academy vision is "To provide a stimulating environment that maximises individual potential and ensures that students are well equipped to meet the challenges of education, work and life."

Universal Academy Learning System

Universal Academy is the brainchild of a dedicated team that has spent a lot of time understanding the 'Developmental Milestones for a Child' and mapping 'Minimum Learning Levels (MLLs)' according to age levels. This team is also credited with developing the much appreciated learning systems such as Roots to Wings^TM and the Millennium Learning System.

Theme-based Approach

Universal Academy uses a theme based approach in curriculum that takes students beyond books and classrooms, making the learning process a joyful and meaningful one. Each stage in learning is systematically planned, keeping the student in mind. Woven around the NCERT syllabus, the UA curriculum is enhanced with skill-based collaborative Games and activities that enable the student to understand and engage with the world around him/her and not merely rote learn. Creativity dwells on each page of the beautifully illustrated workbooks. They create a wonderful world with interactive friendly characters that take the students through their journey in a fun-filled and entertaining yet informative manner. Each subject follows a clearly defined sequence of learning, beginning from the pre primary level and moving to the primary level. Based on defined age- and grade-appropriate learning levels, this method enables every student to learn concepts in an organised step-by step manner.

Teaching Strategies

Universal Academy integrates innovative teaching strategies into classroom teaching to make concepts come alive. These interesting interactive strategies not only engage the student's attention and build concept learning and accompanying skills in a fun way; they also boost every student's confidence and interpersonal skills.

Values through Comics

All workbooks boast of a comic strip that introduces students to long lasting moral values without being overtly moralistic, in a subtle and interesting manner that evokes laughter while the students connect with the characters. Enriched with values and life skills, the curriculum prepares the student for future success.

Universal Academy is full of many such wonders.

Teacher/Leadership Training Programmes

Universal Academy organises regular workshops and training programmes for its teachers and school leaders. The training sessions are conducted by in-house trainers from Educomp as well as renowned Child Development experts to ensure overall development of teachers as educators.

Classroom Management

Regular guidelines and valuable tips on classroom management ensure holistic learning takes place in the Universal Academy classrooms.

Tools

Use of technological tools such as computers, multimedia content and e-books adds a new dimension to the Universal Academy classroom.

Reading Programme

A reading programme is being initiated to develop the language as well as communication skills of the students.

Global Connect

This is an Internet learning platform that connects students to various resources such as encyclopaedias, current events, news and libraries across the globe.

Continuous and Comprehensive Assessment

Continuous assessment and evaluation of learners throughout the year liberates the student from the burden of examination. Teachers evaluate each student's performance on a regular basis and recommend measures for improvement or enhancement accordingly.

Career Guidance

At the Universal Academy, at an early age children are guided towards future orientation by ensuring

·         Vocational mapping

·         Counselling students and parents on career options in different fields

Potential Actualisation

Universal Academy thus identifies the inherent talent in each student and helps actualise it by providing an atmosphere conducive to (that helps in) the development of academic, intellectual, imaginative, creative, physical and social faculties.