Satudents

Societal Pressure & Students

In our Asian society parents have the last say in deciding the professional career of a child much of the time if not in the all cases. Observing the regular working class in Pakistan, parents try to persuade kids to get admission in private schools or government universities to become specialist, engineer or a business person in accordance with the desires of their folks. Guardians set objectives for their youngsters to accomplish. If the child fails to meet their parents’ expectation or societal criteria of success, the child is not only scolded by everyone every time and whole year but also left alone to face disappointment of not accomplishing achievements. This overwhelming pressure of continuous grades attainment controls his sentiments and lastly makes its cost for his life.
In Pakistan, the top scholastic reason for undergraduate suicidal thoughts and actions is disappointments in accomplishing.
Parents need their kids to be first, teachers need them to win trophies, name and competition for the school, and society continues to advise them that success and assurance for a protected future relies upon the evaluations they accomplish in the tests.
Suicide rate in undergrads has increased in Pakistan during recent years and notwithstanding the reality, official insights are as yet unclear. Self-destruction is the regular unnatural reason for death and the cases are frequently not detailed subject to social disgrace. In this way, diagnosing and covering such cases is normally difficult.

About 68 cases were reported by 11 prestigious e-papers over the period of eight years (i-e 2010-2017). Suicide rate was reported higher in male (76.5%) than females (23.5%). Of them 42.6% were from schools, 23.5% universities and 22.1% from colleges.
Adopted methods for suicides were hanging (33.8%), gunfire (27.9%), poison (13.2%), jumping from height (5.9%), drink (4.4%), and wrist cutting (1.5%). Revealed cases were from Punjab (52.9%), Sindh (23.6%) and Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (8.9%).
Common reasons were disappointment in tests (23.6%), scolded by guardians (11.8%), disappointment in love (8.8%), home-based issues (5.9%), cruel behavior of educationalists (5.9%), life disappointment (4.4%), ragging (2.9%) and poverty (1.9%).
In 2018, Suicides among Pakistani college students were on the rise, 4 students committed suicides inside a range of Chitral a far off area of KPK soon after the declaration of the middle (higher secondary school) results. As per the reports every one of the four pupils committed suicide for not accomplishing the result they or their parents were expecting.
According to Global Statistics, almost 800,000 individuals bite the dust by suicide every year. Self-destruction is the second driving reason for death for those matured 15-24 years. The commonness of suicide considerations, arranging and actions is fundamentally higher among growing 18-29 age than among grown-ups matured 30+.
Examinations are very significant for testing students’ abilities in Pakistan. Students, especially high school, undergraduate and graduate students, perceive that their success in future depends mainly on their high grades. However, testing can produce anxiety in students and can lower students’ self-esteem, and increases their fear of failure. The situation becomes more difficult for students when their families pressurise them to attain higher grades in their exams.

A student works hard, devotes a tremendous amount of his or her youthful energy and time for a target and when he falls short of his expectations he can’t accept this reality, he is unable to analyse what has happened, is overtaken by shock and disbelief and puts all the blame on himself. This false sense of an irreversible and irreparable loss pushes him to the point of snuffing out the candle of his own life.
No proper research has been done by any organisation in Pakistan regarding issue of suicide in students due to parents and failure in exams pressure. However, the Higher Education Commission is regulating the syllabus and the rules and regulations regarding course books, teachers teaching style and the burden of completion of course. Still it is not close to address the increase of suicide in students and need further interest of government and different organisations.

SAVE was one of the nation’s first organisations of US and UN dedicated to the prevention of suicide. Our work is based on the foundation and belief that suicide is preventable and everyone has a role to play in preventing suicide. Through raising public awareness, educating communities, and equipping every person with the right tools, we know we can SAVE lives.

To work on the issue is important because the parents and failure in exams pressure cause serious life threatening consequences. Therefore exceptional consideration needs to be given to the students’ mindfulness and pressure they are facing, in regards to the significance of their future and success and survival in society, not at the cost of giving life.

ایچ ای سی کی دو سالہ ڈگری ختم کرنے کا فیصلہ ، طلباءکشمکش کا شکار

ایچ ای سی کی دو سالہ ڈگری ختم کرنے کا فیصلہ ، طلباءکشمکش کا شکار

مصنف: لبنٰی آفتاب

دو سالہ ڈگری کی درجہ بندی کو تبدیل کرنے پر آخرکار غور و فکر کیا گیا ، اور ایچ ای سی نے گریجویشن کے بین الاقوامی معیارات کو پورا کرنے کے لئے مثبت قدم بڑھایا۔ اعلی تعلیمی اداروں سمیت سرکاری و نجی یونیورسٹیوں اور کالجوں کو نومبر 2020 میں ہائیر ایجوکیشن کمیشن آف پاکستان کی طرف سے ایک ہدایت نامہ موصول ہوا جس میں 31 دسمبر 2020 تک دو سالہ ڈگری پروگرام کو ختم کیا جانے کا فیصلہ تحریر کیا گیا۔ ہدایات میں واضح کیا گیا کہ 2021 اور آنے والے سالوں میں کوئی بھی بی ایس سی ، بی اے ، ایم اے ، ایم ایس سی کی ڈگری کا داخلہ حاصل نہیں کر سکے گا۔ اب اس صورتحال میں طلبہ ایسوسی ایٹ ڈگری پروگرام سسٹم متعارف کرانے کے عصری اطلاع کے متبادل نقطہ نظر کی تاثیر کے بارے میں جاننا چاہتے ہیں۔
۱۸جنوری 2021 کو مزید تازہ ترین نوٹیفکیشن جاری کرنے پر بی اے اور بی ایس سی پروگرام کو ختم کرنے کے مسئلہ کو بڑھا دیا ہے ۔ یونیورسٹیوں کو ہدایات دی گئی کہ آخری بار ایم اے اور ایم ایس سی میں طالب علموں کو 16 سال کی تعلیم کو مکمل کرنے کے لئے متعلقہ پروگرام میں داخلے جاری کریں۔ مزید یہ کہ اس عمل کی تکمیل کے لئے آخری تاریخ ۳۰ مارچ ہی رکھی گئی ۔
محکمہ ہائیر ایجوکیشن (ایچ ای ڈی) کے تحت خیبر پختونخوا میں سرکاری شعبے میں 120 سے زیادہ کالج تھے ، جہاں بی اے / بی ایس سی پروگرام قابل رسائی تھے۔ مگر بالترتیب 2017 اور 2019 میں ایچ ای سی کے نوٹیفکیشن کے مطابق یہ واضح طور پر کہا گیا تھا کہ طلبہ جنھوں نے دو سال پروگرام کے متعلقہ مضمون میں دسمبر 2018 کے بعد اندراج کروایا ہے یا وہ طلبہ جو ڈگری مقررہ تاریخ میں مکمل کرنے میں ناکام ہوئے ہیں وہ خود بخود درخواست دے کر ایسوسی ایٹ ڈگری پروگرام میں داخل ہوجائیں گے۔
بی اے / بی ایس سی کی ڈگری کے خاتمے سے طلبا کو یونیورسٹیوں اور اس سے منسلک کالجوں میں بی ایس کےچار سالہ کے ڈگری پروگرام میں رجسٹریشن کے لیے ایک پلیٹ فارم مہیا ہوگا ، جس سے دو سال کی ڈگری والے افراد اہل قرار پائیں گے ۔ایچ اس سی کی یہ اہم ترین پالیسی انھیں بین الاقوامی اور قومی پوسٹ گریجویٹ وظائف کے اہل بننے میں معاون ثابت ہوگی جو ڈگری کے ساتھ تعلیم کے معیارات میں بھی اضافہ ہے۔ تاہم ، بی اے / بی ایس سی کی ڈگری حاصل کرنے والوں کو گریجویٹ ڈگری حاصل کرنے کے لیےچار سمسٹرز کی تعلیم مکمل کرنے کے لیے یونیورسٹی کے کسی پروگرام میں داخلہ لینے کی ضرورت ہے۔
ایسوسی ایٹ ڈگری پروگرام بھی بی اے / بی ایس سی پروگرام کی طرح ہے کیونکہ اس ڈگری کا دورانیہ بھی دو سال ہے تاہم بنیادی فرق ر جسٹرڈ طلبہ کو پڑھائے جانے والے مادے میں ہے۔ ایسوسی ایٹ ڈگری پروگرام میں کلیدی تصور یہ ہے کہ عمومی تعلیم کے ساتھ ساتھ وسیع البنیاد تعلیم کا آغاز کیا جائے گا جس میں مختلف شعبوں میں ہنر، صلاحیت اور مہارت دلائی جائے گی جس سے طلبہ مستعفید ہوں گے۔ ڈگری کی بی اے سے ایسوسی ایٹ پروگرام کے کورس میں منتقلی کے دوران معمولی سی تبدیلیاں متوقع ہیں پھر وقت کے ساتھ ساتھ بہتر اور کارآمد اسباب کو روشناس کروایا جائے گا جس کے ڈگری کے ساتھ بہتر روابط ہوں گے۔
ایسوسی ایٹ ڈگری کورس میں تعلیم کا ایک ایسا نظام شامل ہو گا جس میں طالبات کو تجارت، صنعت، ملکی، غیر ملکی اور علاقائی زبانوں، ریاضی، سائنس، تاریخ، اسلامیات، اخلاقیات اور معاشیات جیسے اہم مضامین میں ابتدائی مہارت اور آگاہی فراہم کی جائے گی۔اس سے طالبات کے ہنر، معلومات، عدادوشمار اور صلاحیتوں کی ضمانتوں میں اضافہ ہوگا۔

ایچ ای سی کے ہدایات کے مطابق ایسوسی ایٹ ڈگری حاصل کرنے والے ہر طلبہ کو ہنر کے بنا پر ملازمت حاصل ہوسکےیا منافع بخش اور اہمیت کے حامل چھوٹا سا کاروبار کسی زون میں شروع کر سکے۔ اس میں کمپیوٹر لرننگ ، کام کی جگہ انتظامیہ کی مہارتیں ، فارم کی نگرانی ، زرعی صنعت ، مارکیٹنگ میں معاونت ، سیاہت کی صنعت ، ٹیکنالوجی سے وابستہ ، سیکریٹری یا کاروبار سے وابستہ خدمات شامل ہیں۔
ایچ ای سی کی نوٹیفیکشن2020 میں پہلی بار نہیں جاری کی گئی بلکہ 2017 میں ،پہلی بار تعلیمی یونیورسٹیوں نے بی ایس سی کے خاتمے کے بارے میں مطلع کیا۔ 2019 میں ، دوسری بار ، یاد دہانی کا نوٹیفکیشن جاری کیا گیا۔ اگر کچھ یونیورسٹیاں اب بھی ڈگری پروگرام پیش کررہی ہیں تو ، یہ کیمپس کی ذمہ داری ہے۔
ایچ ای سی کے ذریعہ تیار کردہ قومی قابلیت کے فریم ورک کے مطابق ، ایسوسی ایٹ ڈگری پروگرام 14 سال کی تعلیم کے برابر ہیں۔ اس کو مکمل کرنے سے پہلے ، طلبہ یونیورسٹی کی جانچ کے بعد اپنی پسند کے بیچلر پروگراموں کے پانچویں سمسٹر میں داخلہ لے سکتے ہیں۔
ایچ ای سی کے اس نوٹیفکیشن کے نتیجے میں طلبا سوشل میڈیا کا سہارا لے رہے ہیں تاکہ وہ اپنے مستقبل سے متعلق اپنے تحفظات اور سوالات کا اظہار کر سکیں۔ ایچ ای سی کی ہدایات پر عمل کرنے والی یونیورسٹیوں کو نمائندہ مقرر کرنے کا حکم ، جو نصاب اور ڈگری کی تبدیلی کو بی ایس پروگرام میں منتقلی کے ساتھ کنٹرول اور ہم آہنگی کریں گے اور مطلع شدہ تعلیم کے طرز پر عمل کریں گے۔
تمام مثبت نتائج کے علاوہ ، پالیسی پر روشنی ڈالنے والی تنقید میں بھی واضح کیا گیا ہے کہ یونیورسٹیوں میں 14 سال سے لے کر 16 سال تک کے پروگرام میں منتقلی کا کوئی مناسب نظام موجود نہیں ہے۔ مختلف شعبوں میں متعلقہ عملہ کی عدم دستیابی ، توسیع کے لئے کم سے کم وسائل اور متعین نصاب کا فقدان ایک نئی ڈگری کے حامی کو متعارف کرانے میں بڑی رکاوٹیں ہیں۔
لاکھوں نجی طلباء جن کو تنقید کا نشانہ بنایا جاتا ہے وہ داخلے اور باقاعدگی سے اپنی تعلیم جاری رکھنے سے قاصر ہیں ،اور صرف بی ایس سی / بی اے پروگرام میں سالانہ داخلہ لے سکتے ہیں ۔ طالباء کا سمجھنا ہے کہ ایچ ای سی نے نجی امتحانات میں داخلے کے متبادل کے بارے میں کسی حاتمی فیصلہ لینے کو نظرانداز کیا ہے جس کا سامنا طلبہ کو کرنا پڑ رہا ہے اور ابھی تک وہ یونیورسٹیوں میں داخلہ لینے کے معاملے پر کشمکش میں ہیں۔
مزید یہ کہ ، نجی اور سرکاری یونیورسٹیوں اور اس سے وابستہ کالجوں کو ایسوسی ایٹ ڈگری پروگرام اور بی ایس آنرز پروگرام 16 سال کے بیک وقت شعبوں کے نصاب کی حتمی شکل ابھی تک نہیں دی گئی۔ اور ماہر تعلیم پینل سے یونیورسٹی محروم ہے۔بی ایس اور ایسوسی ایٹ پروگرام دونوں جاری رکھنے کے لئے دشواری کا سامنا کرنا پڑتا ہے۔
مستقبل میں امیدہے کی کہ ایچ ای سی ڈگری کے خاتمے کی وجہ سے پیش آنے والی پریشانیوں پر قابو پانے اور پاکستان کے تعلیمی معیار کو مزید بہتر بنانے کے لئے ایک فارمولہ لے کر آئے گی تاکہ طلباء کو خام مال کی بجائے مہارت اور قابلیت کی پیداوار بنائے جاسکیں۔
یونیورسٹیوں نے فروری اور مارچ میں موسم بہار کے سمسٹر داخلے کا اعلان کیا ہے۔ یہ دیکھنا دلچسپ ہوگا کہ اکیڈمیا کی نشستیں کس طرح دہلیز کے اندر ہموار تعلیمی نظام چلانے کے لئے معدوم شدہ ڈگری ہولڈرز اور آنے والے امیدواروں کو شامل کرتی ہیں۔

سوشل میڈیا کے نوجوانوں پر منفی اثرات

سوشل میڈیا کے نوجوانوں پر منفی اثرات

مصنف: لبنٰی آفتاب

موجودہ دور میں سوشل میڈیا ایک اہم انسٹرومینٹ کے طور پر سامنے آیا ہے۔ یہ انسٹرومینٹ نہ صرف سوشلیزیشن میں کام آتا ہےبلکہ ذاتی معیشت کوبہتر کرنے میں بھی اہم کردار ادا کرتا ہے اور اس میں سب سے اہم چیز ہے کلکس۔ کلکس کی گیم سے آپ ہزاروں نہیں بلکہ لاکھوں کھما سکتے ہیں۔

سوشل میڈیا پر شائع ہونے والا مواد پہلے لوگوں کی توجہ حاصل کرتا ہے۔ پھر انہی معلومات کولائک، شئیر اور کمنٹ کرنے پر آمادہ کرتا ہے۔ اس طرح ایک پوسٹ کئی ہزاروں کلکس لینے میں کامیاب ہوجاتا ہے۔ ایشیاں ممالک ایک ڈالر اور یورپیں ممالک تین سے پانچ ڈالرہزار فالورز پرکماتے ہیں۔ لیکن یہ ایڈوٹیزر اور کنٹریکٹر کی مرضی سے زیادہ بھی ہوسکتےہیں۔

گیم اف کلکس یا مینٹائزیشن ایک ایساعمل ہے جس میں طےشدہ معیار کوپہنچنے کے بعد کوئی بھی اپنے پیچ اور چینل کو مینٹائز کروا سکتا ہے۔

تحقیقات کےمطابق ۴۴ ملین پاکستانی، سوشل میڈیا استعمال کرتے ہیں اور صارفین کی تعداد روز بروز بڑھ رہی ہے۔ اکتوبر ۲۰۲۰ میں جاری کیے گئے اعدادوشمار کےمطابق اس وقت نوجوان ۹۰فیصد فیس بک، 6 فیصد ٹیوٹر، 1 فیصد یوٹیوب اور انسٹراگرام استعمال کرتے ہیں۔

انسٹراگرام بزنس کے مطابق،  66فیصد لوگ انسٹراگرام کا استعمال نئی مصنوعات کی دریافت کے لیے کرتے ہیں اور ۸۰ فیصد ایک برنڈ کوفالو کرتے ہیں۔حرت انگیز بات یہ ہے کہ پوری دنیا میں، ہر روز پانچ ارب یوٹیوب ویڈیوز دیکھے جاتے ہیں اور صارفین تقریبا ۴۰ منٹ یوٹیوب سیشن میں گزارتے ہیں۔

سوشل میڈیا منیٹائزیشن کے اعداد و شمار ڈھکے چھپے نہیں بلکہ وقت کے ساتھ ساتھ ان میں اضافہ ہورہاہے۔ جب سوشل میڈیا کمانے کا زریعہ بن گیا تو اس پر شئیر ہونے والی معلومات کی کریڈیبلٹی گرتی گئی اور یوں ہم معلوماتی اور معاشی آلودگی کے دور میں آگئے۔ بشتر لوگ  اس بارے میں  سوچنے میں ناکام ہیں کہ کون سی معلومات قابل اعتماد ہیں۔ بس کلک کر جاتے ہیں

سوشل میڈیا جدید دور کی جدید ایجاد ہےجو کمیونٹیز کے ذریعے نظریات ، خیالات اور معلومات کو شیئر کرنے میں سہولت فراہم کرتی ہے ۔پاکستان میں ترقی پزیر ڈیجیٹل میڈیا اہم حصہ ہے کیونکہ بڑے سوشل میڈیا پلیٹ فارمز نے اپنے صارفین کی تعداد میں نمایاں اضافہ کیا ہے۔ انٹرنیٹ اور موبائل فون استعمال کرنے والوں کی تعداد  میں تیزی سے اضافے کے ساتھ ، ڈیجیٹل میڈیا پاکستان میں معلومات کی فراہمی کے کلیدی پلیٹ فارم کے طور پر ابھرا ہے۔ یہاں تک کہ وہ لوگ جو کم تعلیم یافتہ ہیں اور انٹرنیٹ استعمال نہیں کرتے ہیں وہ بھی بالواسطہ طور پر ڈیجیٹل میڈیا سے متاثر ہوتے ہیں کیونکہ صارفین کے ذریعہ ان کو فوری طور پر معلومات پہنچائی جاتی ہے۔ اس کا مطلب یہ ہے کہ ہم براہ راست یا بالواسطہ ڈیجیٹل میڈیا کے زیر اثر ہیں اور بنیادی طور پر اس پر یقین کرنے پر مجبور ہیں۔ ایک کلک یا ایک سوائپ حیرت انگیز کام کرتا ہے اور ہمارے لئے معلومات کی خفیہ ڈیجیٹل دنیا کو کھول دیتا ہے

سب سے اہم مسئلہ یہ ہے کہ ہم معلومات کے دور میں نہیں بلکہ معلوماتی آلودگی میں تبدیل ہونے والے معلوماتی عارضے کی دور میں رہتے ہیں۔ جو ماحولیاتی آلودگی سے زیادہ خطرناک ہے۔ پچھلے دو دہائیوں کے دوران ، نئے میڈیا نے نوجوانوں کی زندگیوں میں ایک بڑھتی ہوئی مرکزی موجودگی قائم کی ہے ، جس نے نئے چیلنجوں کو جنم دیا ہے۔

۴۴ ملین پاکستانی، آبادی کا قل ایک چوتھائی حصہ سوشل میڈیا استعمال کرتا ہے،جس میں 50 سے زیادہ فیس بک صفحات کی نشاندہی کی گئی جو سیاست سے متعلق ہیں اور جن کے کل مداح 30 ملین افراد سے بھی زیادہ ہیں۔جب 1،600 سے زائد افراد میں سروے کیا گیا کہ وہ کوئی بھی خبر بغیر تصدیق کے کیوں آگے پہنچاتے ہیں، اس مطالعے سے معلوم ہوا ہے کہ لوگ اس بارے میں سوچنے میں ناکام ہیں کہ آیا مواد سچ ہے یا جھوٹ یا قابل اعتماد ہے یا نہیں بس جو بھی اچھا لگے کلک، لائک اور شیئر کر دیتے ہیں۔

اس ڈیجیٹل میڈیا کی ایجاد نے یقین دہانی کرائی تھی کہ معلومات انسان کی صرف ایک کلک کے فاصلے پر موجود ھون گی جو کہ ایک حقیقت ہے مگر اس نے ساتھ ہی گیم اف کلکس کو جنم دیا ۔ یہ ایک ایسا کھیل ہے جس نے انسان کے دماغ کو لائیک، سبسکرائیب اور دئے گئے لنک کے زریعے سارہ دن سوشل میڈیا پر گھومنے پر اور بغیرسوچے سمجھے ضروری اور غیر ضروری خبروں اور  تفریح میں الجھایا ہوا ہے۔اس لیے نوجوان  نامعلوم اور غلط معلومات استعمال کرنے کو بھی ترجیح دیتے ہیں۔ اجتماعی طور پر ، ہم اس کو انفارمیشن ڈس آرڈر کہتے ہیں۔

ہم سب معاشرتی رسموں کا شکار ہیں ، ہمیں واقعی پرواہ ہے کہ دوسرے لوگ ہمارے بارے میں کیا سوچتے ہیں۔ جب ہم فیس بک پر اپنی نئی تصویر اپ لوڈ کرتے ہیں تو ، یہ وہ لمحہ ہوتا ہے جب ہمارے ذہن کو یہ جاننے کا  اشتراک ہوتا ہے کہ دوسرے لوگ میری نئی پروفائل فوٹو کے بارے میں کیا سوچتے ہیں اور اسی طرح جب ہمیں اپنی پروفائل فوٹو پر نئی لائکس کی فکر ہو جاتی ہیں۔

میڈیکل کے مطابق سوشل میڈیا اور سیل فون کے ساتھ مصروفیت میں دماغ ڈوپامائن نامی کیمیکل جاری کرتی ہے۔ ڈوپامائن عین وہی کیمیکل ہے جو سگریٹ نوشی ، شراب پینے اور جوئے بازی کرتے وقت اچھا محسوس کراتی ہے۔ پوری  نوجوان نسل کو سوشل میڈیا اور سیل فون تک رسائی حاصل ہے اس لیے وہ زیادہ تناؤ سے گذر رہے ہیں ان کے پاس تناؤ سے مقابلہ کرنے کا طریقہ کار موجود نہیں ہے۔ لہذا ، جب ان کی زندگی میں  تناؤ ظاہر ہونا شروع ہوجاتا ہے ، تو وہ کسی شخص کی طرف نہیں بلکہ سوشل میڈیا کا رخ کرلیتےہیں۔ جاکر انسٹاگرام پر دیکھیں تو آپ کو کوئی اشارہ نہیں ہوگاکہ  یہ بچے خودکشی کر رہے ہیں

 نشہ آور سنٹر کے مطابق ، نوعمر افراد سوشل نیٹ ورکنگ سائٹوں کے عادی ہوکر ضرورت سے زیادہ استعمال میں مبتلا ہوجاتے ہیں ،جس سے وہ نشہ کے عادی لوگوں کی طرح علامات ظاہر کرتے ہیں جیسے موڈ میں ترمیم ، وہم، دلائل سے دستبرداری ، اور گھبرا کر پریشان ہوجانا ۔ اگر انہیں سوشل میڈیا تک مستقل رسائی سے روکا جائے تو وہ ان میں تناؤ ، افسردگی ، اسکول میں کم کامیابی ، کم تجسس اور نیند کی کمی سمیت دیگر مسائل کو جنم دیتی ہے۔

بچوں اور نوجوانوں کو یہ سمجھنے کی ضرورت ہے کہ ان کی حاصل کردہ معلومات کا معیار اہم ہے کیونکہ یہ ان کے فیصلہ سازی کو متاثر کرسکتا ہے ، ان کی معاشرتی زندگی کو متاثر کرسکتا ہے ، اور ان کے رویوں کی تشکیل کرسکتا ہے۔ انفارمیشن ڈس آرڈر کو ختم کرنے میں ان کی مدد کے لئے ضروری ہے کہ ان میں سوچنے کی ضروری صلاحیتیں ہوں۔ اس وقت یہ سمجھنے کی ضرورت ہے کہ بڑھتی ہوئی سوشل میڈیا یوزر کی تعداد کلک گیم میں بڑاچلینچ اور حاصل کردہ معلومات کے معیار کے لیے خطرہ ہے۔

COVID lockdown helps online startups by women in KP

Like other parts of the world Covid pandemic has led to lockdown in Pakistan as well resulting in closure of many business and limiting earning sources of hundreds of people.

Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is one of the most hit in terms of business and economy due to corona pandemic.

Amid scarce revenue sources, women in KP decided to become a helping hand by joining their male counterparts in creating platforms to earn and run house affairs.

Shaista graduated in Economics from a government college for girls 6 years back was unable to get any job as she was married off.

After marriage she has to face strict family norms from her in-laws when it came to her desire of doing a job.

“I wanted to join a government job, but my family wanted me to get married instead. After marriage my in-laws were opposed to the idea of working women,” Shaista tells Voice of KP.

Shaista says she was interested in joining business and marketing but being from a Pashtun family, her elders were strongly against the job option, and besides local culture was a hindrance in joining a public sector field outside four walls of the house.

“I know the province is short of females in practical fields though salaries and other benefits for people in the marketing profession are lucrative, but social taboos have hampered women’s desire to find jobs in this field, she said.”

Entrepreneurship is often considered a male dominated field, however, the importance of women entrepreneurs and their contribution to the economy has recently been acknowledged widely.

Shaista’s husband owned a cloth shop adjacent to her father’s shop in the same bazaar in Peshawar cantonment. His clothing business was hit hard during lockdown and the couple was running out of their savings with no other income support system.

In such a situation Shaista came up with idea of an online startup for her husband’s clothing business.

“As I was pretty familiar with use of computer and social media, so I created a business page on Facebook, uploaded the designs of stitched and unhitched clothes, and started selling online”, Shaista told VoKP.

Describing her struggle with the idea she said that at first she was skeptical about the online business as she was a housewife with two kids which makes it difficult to manage time. Therefore, she first started online delivery service for sale of cloths to nearby areas of Peshawar, slowly expanding the business to other areas eventually all over the country.

Though the difficult pandemic period has added to hardship of poor, middle as well as business class, the lockdown has forced many specially women in KP to look for other means of earning within the cultural norms.

KP is a multi-lingual province with rich diverse culture adopted flexibility amid Coronavirus emergency by creating spaces for women empowerment.

The KP government has launched an interest-free microcredit program for women to enable them to start their businesses. The program started in December 2013, seeks to reduce poverty through self-employment and job opportunities for women. It continued for five years to bring women into the economic mainstream.

Under the scheme, the Economic Coordination Committee approved an 81 billion package in which the Rs50.7 billion support would benefit 3.5 million small businesses. Those women who want to start embroidery, sewing, online selling, and other home-based businesses can also be benefitted۔

Price hike and woes of Landa Bazaar customers

As the mercury takes a dip the month of November brings some wintery vibes to different areas of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa

The demand for warm clothes & shoes has increased with a rush of people at secondhand cloth markets, locally known as Landa Bazaar in Peshawar, Risalpur, Mardan, Dir, Bajuar and other cities.  Landa bazaars have always been a place to look for some nice affordable winter clothes for poor and rich alike but due to Covid outbreak and subsequent lockdowns, the prices at secondhand cloth markets have also gone sky-high.

Ibrarullah, a daily-wager from Peshawar said “I came to Landa market to purchase shoes for my kids but the price is thrice high as compared to previous year.”

Despite setting ambitious target of 2.1% GDP growth, a 7% fiscal deficit اround 2.4% of the annual GDP has been lost to COVID-19۔

Jobs losses are in millions, particularly for semi-skilled and daily-wage earners. The inflation rate in Pakistan has gone up to 12.93 indicating that price-hike will continue.

Secondhand garments are imported from Belgium, Spain, France, Japan and China, but Pakistanis prefer imports from the United Kingdom because as these garments fit the kind of physique our people have.

These imported second-hand garments that are shipped and unloaded at Karachi Port include gloves, knitted caps, scarves, snowmobile suits, snowsuits, sweaters, pashminas, knitted berets, ski trousers, woolen socks and warm long boots. The lunda bazaars also offer curtains, quilts, blankets, rugs, trousers, shirts, woollies, children wear and jackets.

The low income class had been visiting Landa Bazaar for buying winter cloths since decades but this year the prices are touching sky as the item that was available at Rs500 last year now costs Rs1500.

“Winter is an earning season for us but this time pandemic has hit everyone whereas lockdown has affected the availability of winter items which has added to the prices of these items but customers are not willing to pay extra price.

So we either have to cut-down the prices or stop selling at low price.” said, Amanullah vendor at Filee market, Peshawar.

Lockdown due to coronavirus at national and international level greatly affected the transportation charges for many goods which is affecting business further adding to price-hike

“Our salaried class’s purchasing power is decreasing as winter garments we bought last year from main shops are no more affordable this year. Since secondhand imported garments are supposed to be cheap therefore I came here for shopping but prices have gone considerably high at this market too” Malik Sharjeel a customer lament.

The business of second hand winter clothes is dying due to inflation and price hike, economic collapse due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

Famous Kohati Guava production on the decline

District Kohat of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa is known for quality guava fruit production in abundance. Guava of this region is famous for its delicious taste and fragrance. But Kohat is not the only district of KP where it is major fruit crop as it is cultivated in Haripur and Bannu districts as well. Kohat provides 33% of total Guava production of the country. Major Guava farms are located on Jarwanda Road, Rawalpindi Road, Bannu Bypass, Mohammadzai and Kaghazai on Hangu road.

The fact that this Guava fruit basket of the country is now shrinking due to various factors is a rising concern among exporters and farmers alike!

It is encouraging news that due to various initiatives from the provincial and federal governments, the overall fruit exports are on the rise but declining portion of Guava in those exports, is concerning if not alarming. Despite the outbreak of the coronavirus pandemic, Pakistan’s exports of fruits and vegetables witnessed a modest jump of 12.5% during fiscal year 2019-20, which fetched total $730 million but foreign exchange has a highest share of mangoes and oranges as compared to guavas of Kohat.

Total 780394kgs of guava were exported to Afghanistan, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Canada, Qatar, UAE in 2015-2016. In 2020, exports of fruit brought $431.27 million but regrettably not even half from guava. Markets of Iran and Afghanistan were given special attention and the government tried to resolve the issues faced by the businessmen in exporting fruits to the bordering nations. Following the initial outbreak of the virus, countries around the world were in desperate need of fruits and vegetables to boost immunity and minimizing the ill effects of the pandemic.

In Kohat total Guava cultivated area was 65.6 thousand hectares and production 489.1 thousand tons during the year 2014-15. In 2016, guava orchards spread to 2800 acre and by last year it shrunk to 2300 acres of land, witnessing gradual decline in orchard area. Water shortage and insufficient use of fertilizers are among top reasons behind this decline. Poor marketing globally, lack of branding, lack of modern techniques etc. are contributing factors and most recent catalyst was lockdown due to COVID-19.

Farmers have been discouraged by all these developments. Nasir, a farmer belonging to Kohat district of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, has been growing guava, orange for the last several years has been affected by lock down.

“I have no fruits to sell and the fruit plants also deteriorated,” Nasir said, adding “Last year, I earned approximately Rs500,000 from selling fruits, but this year I managed to earn only Rs40,000”.

Lack of cooperation from the government is also an important reason for decline in Guava harvest. Research institutes are not working on new plants or innovative seed varieties which can yield in better fruit produce. On the other end, there is no initiative taken for value addition to this fruit. The orchard owners are mainly poor local who cannot afford buying expensive machinery to preserve guava for longer hours to be used in by-products. Pakistan imports guava juices from abroad, especially from Malaysia by spending millions of rupees whereas these could easily be manufactured within the country.

Cutting of guava trees and conversion of orchards into real estate is a growing trend as it offers multifold profits. A framer by converting his orchard to a small township, in Kohat distric can earn up to Rs600,000 per marla while in the shape of orchards the market value of the same land is about Rs10,000 per marla.

Also, the locals have turned to alternative farming, primarily of oranges on a large scale which resulted in comparatively good returns for them, but in this process Kohat started losing its identity as the best guava-producing district of the country.

A guava tree takes five to six years to bear fruit due to which farmers lost interest in growing this fruit as a result the price of guava fruit records a decline as well as constant price hike.

There is a dire need for coordinated efforts to facilitate growers and revive the production of Kohati Guava.

Breast Cancer

Breast Cancer: KP needs comprehensive health service programme

October is a month of breast cancer awareness month around the world equally observed in Pakistan.

After skin, breast cancer is the most common cancer diagnosed in women characterized by the growth of malignant cells in the mammary glands and spread of tumor is known as metastasis.

According to the World Health Organisation, one in eight women developed breast cancer across the globe. Whereas, Pakistan is on top in Asian countries in breast cancer.

In every nine women one woman is diagnosed for cancer which is an alarming situation. Breast Cancer threatens over 0.8 million female lives in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa alone causing a number of cancer-related deaths in the province. Around 10 million women in Pakistan are facing the threat and annually around 40,000 women lose their lives as 25% women below 40 suffer from breast cancer.

So far, the only data available for the disease is generic information acquired through hospitals providing medical assistance to women with breast cancer, including Shaukat Khanum Memorial Cancer Hospital, Institute of Radiotherapy and Nuclear Medicine, Hayatabad Medical Complex Peshawar, INOR hospital Abbottabad, SINOR hospital Saidu, besides medical centers in different district headquarters across KP.

The common fact is that 50 percent of patients are diagnosed with breast cancer without treatment. Ms. Saima Abid Majeed, the president of Public Health Association KP, shared “every year Khyber Pakhtunkhwa register approximately 15,000 new cases of breast cancer.

The challenges to prevention of breast cancer include illiteracy, lack of awareness, information, taboos, social stigma, affordability and accessibility.

“The inadequate medical facilities and infrastructure, absence of a national cancer registry, lack of national cancer prevention program and dearth of specialized human resource, add to hurdles in timely treatment for the breast cancer, she adds.

Saira, a girl of 30, belonging to Peshawar KP, diagnosed with Breast cancer a year ago after observing unusual growth of cells in the chest area. She said, “Initially few months I did not consult doctors because my family deny medical checkups, due to cultural stigma, lack of female doctors and the fear of isolation which follows diagnosis”. She exclaimed.

Although female medial staff is available in the province still lack of woman surgeons compounds the problem since majority of local women are still not open to the idea of being operated by a male surgeon.

Women feel reluctant to seek expert opinion especially in case of chest pain. In many cases patients often tend to go for temporary relief through consumption of antibiotics but that doesn’t work for every chest pain.

Special Assistant to Chief Minister Khyber Pakhtunkhwa for Information and Public Relations Kamran Bangash in July made an announcement that the provincial assembly had passed a resolution on breast cancer unanimously and the provincial government would soon launch the first-ever breast cancer control programme in the province.

He added that the government would provide full support to the Public Health Association for spreading awareness related to breast cancer.

In 2011 Begum Nusrat Bhutto Oncology Services project was launched by provincial government currently renamed ‘Poor Blood Cancer Patients Project’. Presently, around 5,000 cancer patients are getting free treatment under the program.

Since 2011, MOU was signed between the government and Pharmaceutical company Novartis in which the KP government has paid Rs2 billion for free treatment while Novartis contributed Rs22 billion to the project. Patients suffering from blood and breast cancer were entitled to get free treatment. However, owing to an unprecedented rise in other types of cancer patients in the province, the KP government has allocated Rs500 million for free treatment of the patients suffering from cancer other than blood and breast cancer.

Also, recently, Khyber teaching hospital and Khyber medical college in coordination with surgery, radiology, community medicine department and IRNUM hospital Peshawar arranged a breast cancer awareness camp for the month of October.

The survival rate for stage 0 and stage 1 breast cancer is 100% with full treatment but as the disease spreads and increases in stages the survival rate faces decrease. Stage 2 has 93%, stage 3 has 72% and stage 4 has the least to none survival rate of 22% and is also considered as the last stage.

Breast Cancer

Despite such grim situation the absence of national registry for breast cancer patients, has made it impossible to formulate comprehensive health policy.

There is need for activating Breast Cancer Control Programme on war footing with induction of more technical experts, increase in number of treatment centers, diagnostic services and specialists to bridge the gap.

Broghal Festival3

BROGHAL FESTIVAL

The Broghal valley, 250km from Chitral city is one of the wonders of the nature, Pakistan has been blessed with.

Bordering Wakhan Corridor of Afghanistan, It’s extended glaciers, incredible wildlife, scattered wetlands, rich wilderness, green meadows and mighty mountains are the main tourism potential of the area.

Broghal Festival3Broghal Festival2

To facilitated the tourists, the provincial Tourism Department has established Broghal National Park in Upper Chitral District in 2010, housed by wild indigenous & migratory fauna especially of Pamirian and Siberian bird species.

The valley has about 30 freshwater lakes of various sizes, which present breathtaking sights.

Broghil is the scenic homeland of Chiantar ice glacier surrounded by many other series of glaciers, which nourish the Chitral River. Karambar Lake, which is among the 31 highest lakes in the world, is not very far from Karambar which connects Broghal valley and Ghizer district.

In the wake of Covid 19 outbreak, cultural festivals were postponed which had affected the tourism in northern areas. Broghal festival is the first event held during the calendar year. The two-day event held on September 12-13 highlighted different aspects of the ancient and unique Wakhi culture.

Organised by the Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa (K-P) Tourism Department and the administration of Upper Chitral district, the festival showcased various traditional games, including horse and yak polo, cricket, football, Buzkashi, marathon race, tug-of-war, wrestling, music etc.

Buzkashi as well as Yak polio was the unique feature of Broghal festival.

The festivals like Borghal not only bring pleasure to the lives of people but also flourish tourism and the local economy.

There is need to take measures for facilitating such events more often facilities at tourist points, proper affordable traveling and accommodation as well as the cleanliness and disposal of the garbage.

Broghal Festival4 Broghal Festival3

Online payment and digital currency future in Pakistan

Every now and then, a technological revolution approaches that provides almost every country in the world an equal playing field. No matter how big or small a country is, it always has the opportunity to leap ahead. Of late, the unique opportunity available to every country is jumping on the bandwagon known as cryptocurrencies. Pakistan has opted to miss the train as the State Bank of Pakistan has officially put a prohibition on dealing in virtual currencies/tokens in 2018.

Exchange of valuables in the form of money and funds has been an essential process since time immemorial. It only makes a difference in how the ways have changed through human history. A new method of exchange has taken shape as technology boomed its way over time. Cryptocurrency is a digital medium of exchange that is used for financial transactions in business, and drives blockchain technology to achieve transparency, immutability, and decentralization.

Converting conventional funding systems to Bitcoins is basically a sort of currency created in the year 2009 that includes all functions such as transaction processing and verification that needs to be enabled by the network. These Bitcoins are digitally created through the process of mining and also need very efficient and powerful computers to unravel crunch numbers and algorithms. Huge companies such as Expedia, eBay, and Microsoft use cryptocurrency as they will certainly become the future in the next ten years.

The corona virus epidemic has accelerated digital currency as the economy needs a payment instrument with which we can make payments quickly, inexpensively and without unnecessary intermediaries such as Visa or Mastercard. Virtual forms of currency are regularly used by people because of faster transfers and ways of work. Therefore, credit and debit transfers are necessary to make payments.

China is already testing its “digital yuan” with the USA, Great Britain, France, South Korea and other countries working on similar steps too. Already 20% of 66 central banks reported that they are likely to issue a CBDC within the next six years. With all of this action behind the scenes, earlier this year, a Pakistan bank announced the utilization of blockchain for international remittances from Malaysia.

The State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) is considering the launch of a digital currency and make its services “fully digitized and technology equipped” by the year 2025- 2030. The former finance minister Asad Umer said, “It is our government’s policy to encourage the use of e-commerce amongst public through awareness campaigns to promote a culture of e-commerce, which supports electronic business transactions at national, regional and international levels.”

Financial innovation has led to the development of innovative payment systems and digital currencies. Easypaisa launched in 2009 has become Pakistan’s largest mobile banking service with a vast network of more than 70,000 merchants located across the country. Besides this, mobile-wallets e.g. JazzCash, Zong Pay Max, Keenu wallet, UPaisa, UBL Omni, etc. options have popped up during the past few years. These services offer anything from online transactions to quick and easy transfers using NFC to online bill payments and much more.

The National Highway Authority has made M-Tag registration compulsory for all vehicles. This is being done for motorists’ convenience and a free flow of traffic through the entrance and exit points by paying the toll plaza through online payment and scanning of tokens. The government has gone for a uniform policy where all motorists on motorways, irrespective of their vehicle type are required to have an M-Tag.

Pakistan plans to implement a licensing system for electronic money institutions as a way to regulate digital currencies. These regulations will help combating money laundering and terrorism financing and help in the management of digital currency throughout the country. Governor of SBP, Reza Baqir said, “this strategy lays out a road map and action plan for Pakistan to have a modern and robust digital payments network.” Moving to online or electronic payments will stimulate trade and provide a welcome boost to the nation’s economy by creating new jobs and an increase to Pakistan’s GDP.

At present, Pakistan has online banking and payment system but lacks an official stance on digital cryptocurrency because when it comes to developing countries, a lot of people do not have access to banks especially in remote areas and rely mostly on wire money and bank transfers. Bitcoins are digital currencies that are not printed, are increasingly being used by businessmen, and are decentralized, which means that no institution controls it.

Monsoon arrival and floods

Pakistan covers an area of 796,096 km2 which stretches from Himalayan Mountains in the north to the Arabian Sea in the south. Pakistan’s climate is predominantly semi-arid to arid and is typically depending on geographical location, it possesses four seasons: a cool and dry winter period (December to February), hot and dry spring (March to May), rainy summer or monsoon period (June to September) and a retreating monsoon period (October and November).

In recent two decades, climate change is altering the pattern and duration of seasons. It has led to rising temperatures in the region which as a consequence has resulted in increased melting of glaciers. Winter has also seen heavy snowing, increasing further danger of flooding as the snow melts and water in addition to the one coming down from the glaciers make the rivers and canals overflow. In addition to this, hasty air currents from the Bay of Bengal and subsequent depressions result in heavy rainfall in the Himalayan regions of northern Pakistan causing the rivers to swell leading to regular flooding.

Riverine floods are a common phenomenon and are predominantly caused by concentrated rainfall in river catchments areas during the monsoon season; that are sometimes compounded by increased glacier melt. This leads to human fatalities and damage or destruction of houses and public buildings.

Extreme flooding and drought in recent years has sparked repeated national emergencies. Recalling July 2010, Pakistan suffered nationwide floods after unprecedented monsoon rains. Areas badly affected in KP included District Swat, Shangla, Upper and Lower Dir, Malakand, Mansehra, Charsadda, Mardan, Peshawar, Nowshera, Kohat, Karak, Bannu, Lakki Marwat, D.I. Khan and Tank. Disastrous flooding in 544 villages of 24 districts in KP severely damaged 257,294 houses, 1,790 watercourses, 121,500 hectares of cropped area and affected a population of 3.8 million resulting in life loss of 1,156 persons with 1,198 injured. Power and communication lines were also badly damaged.

The National Disaster Management Ordinance (NDMO) 2006 was introduced by the Government of Pakistan to provide legal framework for disaster risk reduction at a federal, provincial and district level. In 2010, the framework was enacted under National Disaster Management Act. NDMA was made responsible for devising guidelines and implementing programs on disaster risk reduction, preparedness, capacity building, response and recovery. The initial response to the floods will be coordinated by NDMA and carried out by PDMAs, DDMAs, local population, philanthropists and Army. It follows the Hyogo Framework for Action (HFA) and describes strategies aimed to reduce losses caused by disasters (e.g. lives, social, economic and environmental).

Unfortunately, flooding not only disrupts many people’s lives each year, but it frequently creates personal tragedies when people in large numbers dies in these floods. Massive efforts to mitigate and redirect inevitable floods are needed. Addressing the problem through well-crafted and thought out strategies can reduce vulnerability and increase capacity of the communities to cope with floods in future. Additionally, the government and disaster management agencies can play a significant role in minimizing the vulnerability to floods by strengthening physical and socio-economic capacities through education, training and awareness about precautionary and mitigation measures. Therefore, there is a need to invest more in disaster management and climate change in order to avoid its adverse impact on the lives and economy of the country.