The period immediately after 1857 was probably the most trying one for Muslims of the subcontinent....
COVER STORY
The period immediately after 1857 was probably the most trying one for Muslims of the subcontinent; they were at their darkest and lowest ebb from economical, social, moral and religious points of view. Educationally, they were nowhere. Schools run by nobles were shut down by the British, and Muslims did not want their children to attend government run schools for fear their children would be converted to Christianity.
At this juncture, the great visionary we know as Sir Syed Ahmad Khan stepped in and took matters in his own hand.
His achievements were many, but probably the greatest was the establishment of the Mohammedan Anglo-Oriental School (MAO) at Aligarh, which became a college in 1877 and was granted university status on 9th September 1920. We all know the role of the students of Aligarh Muslim University in the creation of Pakistan.
MAO College, or Aligarh College as it’s popularly known, was established on the principal of self-help. Sir Syed established it with help from enlightened Muslims who made donations. Point here is, Sir Syed didn’t request, wait or ask for government’s help. He knew he had to do something to lift up his fellow Muslims; he went ahead and did it. Taking a leaf out of his book, 70F is doing just that – helping people without criticizing the government.
70F – Friends of Humanity Foundation is a group of ex and retired course mates of the 70th GDP of Pakistan Air Force and 22nd entry of PAF College Sargodha along with numerous civilians who have joined it. The number 70 represents ‘70th GDP’ and ‘F’ represents the civilian members of the group.
It primarily conducts relief and charity campaigns, but has extended its JD to providing quality education to the children from underprivileged backgrounds. To this end, 70F is in the process of adopting a government school.
Adopt-a-School is a programme envisioned and introduced by Late Prof Anita Ghulam Ali. Its aim is to facilitate public private and public community partnerships for improvement of government schools.
Since education is the top priority with us, Team Us visited the school to find out what they are doing with the dilapidated structure they were given by the Sindh Government. We met teachers, volunteers and students, and spoke to Capt (Retd) Syed Shahid Hasan PN of 70F, who put his heart and soul into transforming a decrepit, rundown government school building into a proper school. A soft-spoken, modest gentleman, Capt Shahid spoke about this initiative:
The school as they found it
The process to adopt this school started in October 2016, but the documentation work takes time. We saw the building and realized we had our work cut out for us. For one, the building had been without electricity since 2012. Imagine a school in the middle of the city functioning without electricity for four years! That was not all; we also found out that there was no water connection, and one classroom had a partially caved in roof. Can you imagine how dangerous it was for children?
The desks and chairs were broken and students had to sit on floor to study. Blackboards were in a bad shape, too.
We got an NOC from works department, so we could get on with the renovation work. First Lt (Retd) Shafiq Ahmed, who is the Admin Officer of the project got electricity restored with the help of a worthy Karachi Electric (KE) employee. We then had the roof fixed on priority basis, and also took care of the water problem. Fans and lights were installed and furniture was ordered. The classrooms were also painted. It’s not a big school. There are about six rooms including office, and a hall in the middle which is used for assembly.
Strength of school
When we first started the renovation work, the total strength of the school was 96. Because it was a functioning school, renovation work was done in the evening. The moment we had the electricity restored and fans installed, admissions started pouring in. Within no time, the strength became 136. It’s a government school, so refusing an admission is an issue and local community would take exception to it. We have decided to speak to the government about the capacity in each class.
About 24 children are enrolled in the evening shift. Actually, it’s not a shift but a separate school in the evening. We have two schools working from the same building, with different serial numbers and headmasters and teaching staff.
It’s a primary school, from Class 1 to Class V, and we also have an Early Learning Centre (ELC) for beginners. There is only one section for each class. After graduating from Class V, students are shifted to secondary school.
A co-ed government school
It is supposed to be a boys’ school, but when we came we also saw girls. We questioned the concerned people about it and were told that despite the signboard proclaiming it a boys’ school, girls are given admission here. We are very happy about the fact that the school is open to girls.
Response from the Community
Headmaster, Mr Bhatti: Before the renovation work was done, the condition of the school was so bad that parents were not willing to send their children here. Things are different now. After seeing the development work that has been done, parents have started sending their children; strength in the morning is now 156. In the afternoon school the strength is still less.
Capt Shahid: For young children afternoon is not a good option. I think it can work for children from classes four and five, but younger children find studying in the afternoon difficult.
Problems they face
The foremost problem is the shortage of teachers; we have one teacher per class in the morning, and in the afternoon the situation is even more dismal.
Future plans
There is no space for further improvement, short of having double decker chairs and desks for kids. We have a plan to demolish this building and replace it with a multi-story building with 12 good sized classrooms. For this community, what is needed is a school that can accommodate 400 to 500 children. The main hurdle is where the kids will go if we demolish the building. We will have to rent a building for the duration nearby, which we plan to do in the near future.
Government pays teachers
Government pays the teachers in all adopted schools and provides textbooks. We can send our teachers for further courses and training, but can’t touch the curriculum.
Volunteers
To offset the shortage of teachers, Capt Shahid sought volunteers and Romana Nehal, who used to teach at City School, and Kausar Zaheer, formerly of DHA School, come in to help out.
The problem is that most people are willing to help with money, but we need volunteers to come and teach here.
According to the volunteers, children are very happy and we get very good response from them. They are in no way less than students of big private schools.
It is easy to blame the government and sit tight, right, folks? We thank God that in our country we have philanthropists who are working to provide quality education to people who cannot afford it. If only we would do what we can and forget what government can but won’t do, things would become so much better. The principle of self-help enabled us to get a homeland and would no doubt help us retain it and make it prosperous.
Team inspecting renovation work
This group came into being in May 2009 when it started providing assistance to the IDPs of Swat valley. 70F distributed food hampers containing 10 day dry rations to 85 internally displaced families, and later on helped them relocate when the situation improved in Swat.
Since its inception, the group has been engaged in providing relief because unfortunately, from 2009 to 2013, every year there was a major calamity in our country, compelling the group to conduct major relief operations.
“Since 2014, we are conducting simple charity and welfare activities focusing on families who are victims of extreme poverty, requiring medical assistance or who have become victims of terrorism,” explains Capt Shahid.
Safe educational environment
Our first effort after formal registration of 70F was the Safe Educational Environment Campaign, SEEC. This campaign is an effort to improve the security of all education institutions of Pakistan, to ensure that 16/12 is never repeated.
In Karachi, only Habib University and Aga Khan schools have adopted it so far,” says Capt Shahid ruefully.
