Media Tracking Report 25 February - 6 March, 2020

Education in

Vocation and education: Umair Javed - DAWN Despite the fact that there are a large number of universities in Pakistan offering HSS courses, with over 200,000 students enrolled in these programmes, and over 10,000 members of faculty, the social science contributions from Pakistan, in the form of research publication or otherwise are negligible. These disciplines are still viewed from the lens of consumerism, as being less valuable, unable to provide a vocation that ensures a lucrative career. This has left a large number of young people feeling alienated and disillusioned as they enter the workforce and grapple with the disparity between the aspiration of their academic careers and the real world dynamics.

Fawad confirms uniform education in Pakistan: - APP Federal Minister for Science and Technology, Fawad Chaudhry, on Wednesday confirmed that the Federal government and ministry of education would jointly introduce uniform curriculum from grade 1 to metric for all public schools across the country by the year 2021. The same curriculum will be taught in all english and urdu medium schools even in seminaries which would inculcate basic uniform knowledge of all subjects.

HEC taking steps to improve education quality: report - Pakistan Today The Higher Education Commission (HEC) has undertaken a number of initiatives for continuous improvement of quality of higher education in accordance with the global standards, a report said on Sunday. This includes revamping post-secondary education, establishing National Academy for Higher Education, revamping Education Testing Council (ETC), as well as revamping the National Research Framework for the promotion of academic as well as applied research culture in higher education institutions.

Coronavirus Shuts Down Schools, But Not Learning in Pakistan - Business Recorder WHO representative in Pakistan Dr. Palitha Mahipala told reporters he was “impressed by the swift and diligent way the government has handled the crisis so far and WHO is committed to support them every step of the way." In parallel, educators in Pakistan have found alternate methods to making sure the learning does not stop amid Coronavirus fears. One such platform has been developed by Mera Sabaq, a multi-award winning EdTech company, and another is Muse, SABAQ's flagship product, is a K-5, digital learning application that improves student engagement and learning outcomes.

CPEC in Pakistan

Work on second phase of CPEC in full swing: Asim Bajwa - Pakistan Today CPEC Authority Chairman Lt Gen (r) Asim Saleem Bajwa said on Monday that work on the second phase of the project is currently underway, while addressing an energy seminar. Bajwa said coronavirus has not halted progress on the CPEC. He referred to a statement last month by the Chinese foreign ministry said that since the launch of the CPEC, significant positive progress has been made, with at least 32 projects yielding early harvests, playing an important role in promoting Pakistan’s economic and social development and improving people’s well-being.

One of China’s Most Ambitious Projects Becomes a Corridor to Nowhere: Sheridan Prasso - Bloomberg Almost seven years after CPEC was established, it appears that the reality has failed to meet the vision so far. Plans originally called for a seaport, roads, railways, pipelines, dozens of factories and the largest airport in Pakistan. Less than one-third of announced CPEC projects have been completed, totaling about $19 billion, according to government statements. Pakistan bears much of the blame. It has repeatedly missed construction targets as it ran out of money; it got a $6 billion bailout from the IMF. But setbacks in Gwadar also point to larger problems related to China’s internal economic setbacks and as a result scaling back its global ambitions.

IMF and Pakistan

Current agreement with IMF to be last one: - Pakistan Today Federal Minister for Planning, Development and Special Initiatives Asad Umar on Thursday said that the current arrangement under the Extended Fund Facility (EFF) between the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and the Pakistani government would be the last one. He said that indicators were showing green signals as various sectors of the economy had shown progress and industrial activities had also increased.

Increase in price of essential commodities temporary’: , SBP Governor - DAWN (SBP) Governor Reza Baqir on Tuesday briefed the Public Accounts Committee (PAC) on the recent increase in the price of essential commodities, which he stated was temporary being a result of disruption in the supply chain and devolution of rupee, which would be resolved with the IMF facilitating Pakistan in economic reforms.

Pakistan could get $450 million in IMF funds if staff-level deal approved - Reuters IMF staff and Pakistani authorities have reached an agreement that could pave the way for a disbursement of $450 million in IMF funds, if approved by the IMF’s executive board in a final review in early April, an IMF spokesman said on Thursday. “Completion of this means that the disbursement, when approved by the executive board, would be around $450 mln to Pakistan, Gerry Rice told a regular IMF briefing.

Happy IMF news but only just: Abbas Nasir - DAWN This week’s ‘staff level’ agreement announced by the IMF with the government of Pakistan may have surprised many economic experts with the persisting gulf between the country’s targeted and realised tax collection. The resulting budget deficit stands at 7.4 percent of GDP and the country’s debt is projected at just under 79pc of the GDP. Hence, the continued IMF support must be seen against the backdrop of regional political developments rather than economic benchmarks. The freefall of the rupee, initiated under IMF pressure, has tragically had little or no impact on exports. As a result, we have 14pc inflation, nearly one million more joining the ranks of the unemployed and a dramatic growth slowdown.

Civil Services Reform Provincial officers’ body rejects civil service reforms - The News A convention of the All Pakistan Provincial Management Services Association (APPMSA) Sunday rejected reforms proposed by the Dr Ishrat Hussain-led Task Force on Civil Services Reforms claiming they were in violation of the constitution, and only meant to protect PAS and keep its supremacy over provincial services. It was stressed that only the provincial cabinet and provincial assembly of a province were authorised to introduce reforms to the provincial services.

Climate Change in Pakistan

Pakistan likely to become water scarce in five years - Express Tribune Pakistan will have absolute water scarcity by 2025, which will hit women and other marginalised groups disproportionately hard, Senator Sherry Rehman stated at the Jinnah Institute’s event on Democracy and Inclusion. From being the seventh most vulnerable country to climate change, Pakistan has climbed the ranks to the fifth most vulnerable. At least 60 percent of Pakistanis suffer from food insecurity and if the dangerous nexus of poverty, climate stress, and the demographic boom is not addressed Pakistan will surely fall into a prolonged destitution trap, Senator Rehman emphasised.