A Gigantic Step in dying bed. Letter II

Dear Editor,

It is with reference to Mr. Bashir Hussain�s letter, �A gigantic step in dying bed�. The learned writer has come hard upon the educationists of Chitral discarding them as �teachers with exhausted energies� and has suggested � professional administrators� for the Education Department. His own words are reproduced for perusal of saner people, �Another suggestion about education department is that for the administration in education there must be professional administrator, these administrator of high cadre must be commissioned officers where as in our education department the senior teachers are being posted as the administrators. Such govt. officers have already exhausted their energies in teaching and also their subordinates are actually their colleagues in past, so they can�t take a solid step towards them. Teachings and administration both are the different profession so there must be different professional of each department�.

The writer is unaware that more than 75% of the present strength of the officers of Edu: Department are commissioned officers and have been selected as education managers/administrators (not teachers) through NWFP Service Commission except for those who have been selected as subject specialists to teach in higher secondary schools. Majority of these officers enjoy good reputation as education managers/administrators and their performances are on record.

What the writer has to say about Mr. Bulbul Wali Khan, Mr.Samad Gul, Mr. Sher Wali Khan Aseer, Mr. Gul Murad Khan, Mr Ali Akbar Khan, Mr.Gul Nawaz Khan, Ms. Gulsambar Begum and many more, who have been selected through NWFP Public Service Commission, have worked as District and Sub divisional education officers and have proved their competence and efficiency. They have major contribution in improving the educational status of Chitral.

Apart from that, in all fields of business experience is considered as an important component of qualification but the writer has refuted it by terming it as �exhausted in teaching�. It is regretted to note that our writer is completely ignorant about the services of late Janab Shah and Waqar Ahmad (may their soul rest in peace), both were the best teachers and education administrators of Chitral, and headed the District Education Department with full success on the basis of their seniority and experience.

I think we should forward our valuable suggestions and ideas but we don�t have any right to criticize any department and the concerned officers without having enough knowledge.

ZUBEDA SIRANG
AKU, Karachi.

 

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The Municipal Library Chitral. (MLC)

Happy is the man who acquires the habit of reading when he is young. He was secured a life long source of pleasure, instruction and inspiration. So long as he has his beloved books, he need never feels lonely. He always has a pleasant occupation of leisure moments, so that he needs never feel bored. He is the professor of wealth more precious than gold. Ruskin calls books � King�s treasures�__ filled, not with gold and silver and precious stones, but with riches much more
valuable knowledge, noble thoughts and high ideals.
Poor indeed is the man who does not read and empty is his life. So according to the Ruskin the most valuable treasure
we have in Chitral is by the name of Municipal Library Chitral (MLC) this is the only place in Chitral to inspire the youth toward he habit of reading and making them as practical human being as Bacon Said, that reading maketh a full man:
The credit of establishment of this library is also goes to the past PPP govt. like some of the mega projects especially related to the local Chitral, like Chitral Hydrel Power station, Boys Degree College and of course the supply of electricity from the national grid. MLC was lunched with the purchasing of some 4000 books in Oct, 1995, by asking about the number of books in the library in my last week�s visit, I got the answer that the books are now still less then 4000
in number after so many years. While inquiring about the some old books in the next shelves the assistant told me these books are not to be issued because, we have to rebind them, they are repairable and we don�t have a single penny to rebind them.
Our most valuable treasure is passing through the period of stagnation; we didn�t even add a single book for the last so many years. If shows that really we are going toward worst intellectually poverty, this is the only place, which provides intellectual food to our youth, and this youth has to control the bridle of future govt.
With the help of these lines we really appreciate the project of AKRSP, which has been inaugurated to equipped MLC with Internet facility and we also hope the AKRSP would also divert the attention of some donor agencies to get some funds for purchasing books.. We need to enlighten and up to date the minds of our youth through modern valuable books and literature because the world is so rapidly changing. Our district govt. should also allocate specific amount of fund per annum to the MLC for the provisionof new book.
So we should have to divert the attention of our youth towards the healthy activities like reading and study, because books are the most faithful friends, our friends may change or die: but our books are always patiently waiting to talk to us.
Another suggestion, which I want to make in the last, is that, as we know half of our population consist of females, and with the emergence of private colleges hundreds of female students are being graduated from different colleges. So our MLC should spare at least one day in a week for female students to visit and to borrow books because they have the same rights as we have.

Bashir Hussain Azad
Chitral.