ALIF AILAAN UPDATE December 2013

On December 26, for the first time in the country’s history, nearly 400 teachers from government schools

across Pakistan gathered in Islamabad to talk about education reform.

The Qaumi Asataza Conference 2013 (National Teachers’ Conference) brought together government

teachers, politicians, educationists and religious scholars to discuss new ways to address an old and

intractable problem.

Qaumi Asataza Conference 2013

● More than 700 participants

o 375 government school teachers

from 96 districts across Pakistan

o 25 private school teachers

o 15 politicians

o 4 ministers

o 6 bureaucrats

o 40 media persons

o 100 representatives of partner organisations

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Top: Delegates presenting a signed copy of the Meesaq-e-Ilm to Minister for Planning and

Development Ahsan Iqbal; Above: The Honourable Minister addressing the gathering

Qaumi Asataza Conference 2013

Meesaq-e-Ilm

(Charter of Knowledge)

o A manifesto for

teaching in Pakistan

o Ground-breaking

statement on the part

of teachers in favour of

fundamental and

meaningful reform of

the teaching

profession

o Addresses the needs

of Pakistan’s teachers

o Formalises their

commitment to

motivate and lead

future generations

o Endorsed by delegates

at the conference

o Marks the first time

that teachers have

come forward as

leaders for positive

change in the

education sector

o Co-drafted by

representatives of

teachers’ unions and

senior educationists,

and supported by Alif

Ailaan

Our goal was to begin a process of positive engagement with government

school teachers. In doing so we hoped to encourage teachers to become

champions of reform.

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A number of prominent

politicians attended the

event to show their

support for Pakistan’s

teachers

Qaumi Asataza Conference 2013

Clockwise from top left: Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal; KP Minister for Education Atif Khan; Minister of state for

education Baligh-ur-Rehman; Opposition leader Sindh Faisal Subzwari; JUI-F spokesperson Jan Achakzai; Chief Coordinator CM

Balochistan Ishaq Baloch; Advisor Education to CM Balochistan Sardar Raza Barrech; Senator Farhatullah Babar

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Our friends in the media

helped spread the word

Qaumi Asataza Conference 2013

Clockwise from top left: Qaiser Abbas, motivational speaker and CEO Possibilities Foundation; Saleem Safi, columnist and TV

anchor; Ejaz Haider, columnist and TV anchor; Shahzeb Khanzada, columnist and TV anchor; Mohammed Mallick, journalist and TV

anchor

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Prominent educationists spoke at the conference and our friends

and partners were there to lend their support

Clockwise from top left: Dr Faisal Bari (IDEAS); Ahmed Ali (I-SAPS); Dr Salman Humayun (I-SAPS); Dr Arfa Sayeda Zehra (Forman

Christian College); Dr Baela Raza Jamil (ITA)

o Aga Khan University - Institute for Educational

Development

o CARE Foundation

o Education Fund for Sindh (EFS)

o Gallup

o Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA)

o Institute of Development and Economic Alternatives

(IDEAS)

o ILM Ideas

o Institute for Social and Policy Sciences (I-SAPS)

o LEAD Pakistan

o Pakistan Association for Difficulties in Learning

(PADIL)

o Pakistan Coalition for Education (PCE)

o Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies (PIPS)

o Private School Management Association (PSMA)

o Rural Support Programme Network (RSPN)

o Society for the Advancement of Education (SAHE)

o Sub-National Governance (SNG)

o Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI)

o Teach For Pakistan (TFP)

Qaumi Asataza Conference 2013 6

Qaumi Asataza Conference 2013 7

Clockwise from top left: Delegates enjoy lunch in the sun; Alif Ailaan’s data display; a view of the dining hall; outside the venue; a stall

set up by our partner, ITA

Qaumi Asataza Conference 2013

The conference was covered by all major national and regional newspapers.

Saleem Safi recorded an episode of his popular GEO

TV show, Jirga with Saleem Safi, at the conference.

Watch the episode at http://www.zemtv.com/2013/12/28/jirga-

on-geo-newspakistan-mein-taleem-dene-wale-be-tuqeer-kyun-

28th-december-2013

Media mentions (highlights)

o Associated Press of Pakistan, Dec 26: “Economic stability be achieved through knowledge based society: Ahsan Iqbal”

http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=256774&Itemid=2

o Business Recorder, Dec 26: “Govt committed to take Meesaq-e-Ilm forward: Ahsan Iqbal” http://www.brecorder.com/top-news/108-

pakistan-top-news/150363-govt-committed-to-take-meesaq-e-ilm-forward-ahsan-iqbal.html

o Business Recorder, Dec 26: “Economic stability be achieved through knowledge based society: Ahsan Iqbal”

http://www.brecorder.com/top-news/1-front-top-news/150370-economic-stability-be-achieved-through-knowledge-based-society-ahsan-

iqbal.html

o Dawn, Dec 27: “Using teachers for irrelevant duties affecting education” http://m.dawn.com/news/1076634/using-teachers-for-irrelevant-

duties-affecting-education

o Daily Times, Dec 27: “Economic stability only

through knowledge-based society: Ahsan Iqbal”

http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/business/27-Dec-

2013/economic-stability-only-throughknowledge-

based-society-ahsan

o Express Tribune, Dec 27: “National teachers

moot: Devolving education was a disaster, says

Iqbal”

http://tribune.com.pk/story/651095/national-

teachers-moot-devolving-education-was-a-

disaster-says-iqbal/

o The Nation, Dec 27: “Mooting teachers troubles”

http://www.nation.com.pk/islamabad/27-Dec-

2013/mooting-teachers-troubles

o The News, Dec 28: “National Moot Addresses

Education Issues”

http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-6-

222965-National-moot-addresses-education-

issues

o The Nation, Dec 29: “Frontline Fighters”

http://www.nation.com.pk/editorials/29-Dec-

2013/frontline-fighters

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Qaumi Asataza Conference 2013 The conference was covered live on Twitter with

real-time updates on Facebook throughout the day Our event hashtag #SalamUstad generated a total of 1.17 million

impressions with a reach of 4.46 million.* A total of 922 people

contributed to the hashtag.

Our social media team live-tweeted the event and our

Twitter hashtag #SalamUstad trended for 12 hours and 35

minutes.

* ‘Timeline deliveries’ or

‘impressions’ represent

the total possible

number of times

someone could have

viewed the hashtag.

‘Reach’ is the number of

unique individuals who

received timeline

deliveries of the

hashtag.

#SalamUstad

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Waldain ki Awaz (Voice of Parents) is a new initiative to strengthen

the rallying power of parents and help them find local solutions to

local problems. Parents’ unions will be established across the

country, starting at the union council level. The first phase kicked

off in December

● 79 community sessions covering

o 6 districts

o 30 union councils

Waldain ki Awaz 10

Waldain ki Awaz

What happens in a

community session

o Charter of demands

signed, consisting of a

list of local issues and

solutions proposed by

the community, to serve

as a starting point for

action.

o Union council

representatives

nominated to become

part of the district-level

union

o Education champions

identified from among

parents attending the

session, to become

local advocates for

community needs and

education reform.

A charter of demands signed by parents attending a community session;

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Network Coordinators Our network of education activists continued their

work on the ground, with 45 events reaching:

• 3,421 members of local communities, including

teachers and parents

• 56 CSOs

• 6 politicians

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December highlights

o Teachers Appreciation Awards, Sudhnoti, AJK

(Dec 02)

o Seminar on Teachers’ Problems, Bahawalnagar

(Dec 03)

o Importance of Teachers, Peshawar (Dec 04)

o Teachers’ Union Oath-Taking Ceremony,

Bhimber, AJK (Dec 05)

o Teachers Appreciation Award Ceremony, Mirpur,

AJK (Dec 06)

o Seminar on Problems of Teachers and Their

Solutions, Bahawalnagar (Dec 07)

o Debate Competition, Government Girls Primary

Schools (Dec 10)

o Access to Quality Education for Special

Children, Lahore (Dec 12)

o Alif Ailaan stall at Lok Mela, Layyah (Dec 14)

o Community discussion on Article 25-A, Bannu

(Dec 16, 17)

o Walk for Government Girls Primary School,

Abdul Rehman Goth, Karachi (Dec 16)

o Role of Civil Society Organisations and Media in

Promoting Education, Rajanpur (Dec 17)

o Inter-University Declamation and Videography

Contest, Malakand University, Lower Dir (Dec

18)

o Role of Teachers in Promotion of Education,

Rajanpur (Dec 18)

o Speech Competition, Gwadar, Balochistan (Dec

18)

o Bajaur Cultural Night, Peshawar (Dec 18)

o Why South Punjab is Lagging Behind in

Education, Dera Ghazi Khan (Dec 18)

o Importance of Teachers, Kasur (Dec 19)

o Awareness and Mobilisation Camp on Education

Issues, Larkana (Dec 21)

o Consultation Meeting with Media, Civil Society,

Education Department representatives,

Jacobabad (Dec 22)

o Education Issues of Minorities, Haripur (Dec 24)

o Awareness and Mobilisation Camp on Education

Issues, Garhi Khuda Baksh, Naudero (Dec 27)

o Being Teachers What Do We Get, Karachi (Dec

31)

o Teachers Responsibilities, Issues and Solutions,

Hyderabad (Dec 31)

Network Coordinators 13

Partners Our partner, the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), continued its engagement with religious scholars and

opinion makers.

“

Educational Rights and Obligations: Constitutional and Religious

Perspectives – seminar with editors of religious publications (Dec 10)

Leading scholars, editors and columnists agreed to focus on the importance

of education and the right to education.

o The federal and provincial governments should take immediate steps to

implement Article 25-A of the Constitution.

o Religious scholars will use their influence to create awareness about the

importance of education.

o Khateebs will deliver at least one Friday sermon per month on education.

o Civil society needs to make media effective to address the education

crisis.

o Every literate man should teach at least one illiterate person; this will

generate a wave of ‘educational prosperity’.

o Editors of religious journals and magazines will include at least one article

about education in every edition.

o Educational institutions need to communicate with each other to arrive at

a strategy to tackle the education crisis.

o The budget for education should be increased to at least 5% of GDP.

More than 20 religious scholars from various

schools of thought, and representatives of

madrassa education boards, participated.

o The state of education in Pakistan is miserable

and requires an emergency response.

o Other developing nations are progressing fast

because of their investment in education.

o The Pakistani state and Pakistani society must

realise that prosperity and stability cannot be

achieved without focusing on education.

o Teachers, parents, religious scholars,

politicians, civil society activists, journalists and

citizens, as well as the government, all need to

promote education.

Basic Right to Education, Legislation and

Implementation: National and Religious Obligations

– a dialogue with religious scholars (Dec 18)

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Partners

The Rural Support Program Network (RSPN) expanded its work at

the grassroots to mobilise demand for education ● Local support organisations (LSOs) held meetings with education

department officials, taking up specific issues such as missing facilities and

teacher absenteeism.

● In the run up to the local government elections, LSOs identified local

politicians who are supportive of education reform in their constituencies.

● LSOs continued their work with school management committees (SMC) to

ensure the effective utilisation of school budgets. Some SMCs in South

Punjab reported the problem of unavailability of SMC funds, which will be

taken up by LSOs with education department officials.

A total of 213 meetings with 1,111

participants:

o 56 LSO executive body meetings

o 6 LSO general body meetings

o 73 VO/CO meetings

o 5 meetings with education department

officials

o 63 follow-up meetings with SMCs

o 3 follow-up meetings with political

workers

o 4 parent ittehad (parents’ union) meetings

at the union council level

o 3 bi-monthly meetings of the District

Education Network

Bahawalpur, South Punjab: A walk to promote Article 25-A and the right to education; monthly meeting of an all-women LSO

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Partners

RSPN carries the message of education to

communities

Clockwise from top left: A girls’ school with no building (Bahawalpur); a community session on Article 25-A (Dera Ghazi Khan); a boy

being enrolled in school for the first time (Rajanpur); mothers pledge to send their children to school (Rajanpur)

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Summary – December 2013 Total supporters 388,145

FB likes 311,000

Website visits 27,379

Twitter followers 2,244

Declaration signed 33,500

SMS group members 14,022

Engagement with politicians (includes repeat contacts) 11,324

RSPN 1,060

NC events 268

Political advocacy team 205

I-SAPS 2,110

Contacts with parents and communities 261,124

NC events 45,564

SCF citizen engagement 1,877

RSPN participants 213,683

Contacts with teachers 3,993

RSPN 593

Political advocacy team 400

Civil society activities 3,000

Contacts with media 2,169

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