Media Tracking Report 12 - 30 April, 2020 Education in Pakistan Teleschool goes on air today to compensate for academic loss - DAWN Prime Minister Imran Khan on Monday inaugurated a national broadcast education channel to mitigate the loss faced by the students due to the closure of educational institutions till May 31 in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. Teleschool, the dedicated TV channel, will be aired by Pakistan Television (PTV) from Tuesday across the country from 8am to 6pm for online education from class one to 12. The experience so far: Faisal Bari - DAWN Reflecting on the experience of online teaching so far, it seems that learning is not being negatively affected, although this needs to be validated overtime through research. Teaching practices vary with the needs of the course and varying sets of methodologies are applied by different teachers. It can be seen that faculty need some training in utilising such technologies effectively, and tailoring the environment according to their needs. The management of various interfaces has to be done by the teacher, which requires some practice as well as development of standard operating procedures for teachers and students to follow. There is a lot of research that is needed before we will know if quality of education changes as we shift further towards online learning. We need a lot of research on individual instruments and individual technologies in the medium to long term to figure out the impact on learning. IMF and Pakistan IMF disburses $1.4bln to help Pakistan cushion COVID-19 shocks - The News Pakistan on Wednesday received $1.4 billion of loan from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) under a rapid financing instrument to overcome the virus fallout on the country's external account position. State Bank Governor Reza Baqir said RFI has been disbursed because the IMF program is on track. Last year, the IMF agreed to lend $6 billion to help Pakistan put off the balance of payment crisis. Govt, IMF agree to put on hold $6bn programme - DAWN With $1.4 billion upfront breathing space, Pakistan and the Int ernational Monetary Fund (IMF) have agreed to put on hold the existing $6bn Extended Fund Facility (EFF) and revise it after the Covid-19 pandemic is over as the macroeconomic indicators deteriorate. Cumulatively, real GDP growth has been revised down by 5 percentage points over FY 2020-21. Thus the Extended Fund Facility will be revised after Covid-19 is over as macroeconomic indicators deteriorate. The IMF baseline estimate assumes a gradual lifting of containment measures and normalisation of economic activity both domestically and internationally in FY2021, but a deeper slowdown cannot be ruled out if these assumptions do not materialise. The IMF and Pakistan - Business Recorder The Resident Representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) in Pakistan Teresa Daban Sanchez stated during an online policy dialogue organised by the SDPI that the Fund will remain engaged with the Pakistani authorities ‘advising on a good budget'. The budget exercise in Pakistan, as in other democratic countries, requires a majority vote in parliament. So far a virtual linkup has not been initiated by the government unlike other countries. This will nevertheless be necessary since the other option is to pass the budget through an ordinance which can not be sustained past a due time. The range of commitments made to IMF so far were ambitious and consisted of unrealistic measures including a 5.5 trillion rupee revenue for the year leading to suggestions to bring taxes in line with other regional countries to equalize the input costs and subsequent sales price while addressing the rising inflation. Pakistan, already on strict IMF conditions under the EFF before the coronavirus, will no doubt be steered back to implementing the challenging structural reforms and time-bound action plans, this necessitates the country set attainable goals this time. IMF representative terms performance of Pakistan’s economy satisfactory - The News Maria Teresa Daban Sanchez, resident representative of IMF in Pakistan said that the performance of Pakistan’s economy prior to the emergence of Covid-19 and its devastating impacts, had been quite satisfactory. She said that the IMF was quite happy the way Pakistan was implementing different policies to achieve fiscal consolidation and macroeconomic stability and would continue to provide its support to the country to face the socio-economic challenges posed by COVID19. CPEC in Pakistan Financing matters with Chinese govt for CPEC projects reach advanced stage: Chairman CPEC Asim Saleem Bajwa - The Nation Chairman China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) Authority General (retd) Asim Saleem Bajwa has said that the financing matters with the Chinese government for the mega railway project, Main Line (ML-1) were at advanced stage and the project would soon be on ground. Also dispelling rumours and misgivings being spread about ML-1 that the project was halted or slowed down. He said “ML-1 is the largest single CPEC infrastructure to generate huge employment, revolutionise railway and improve logistics,” he said adding focus is on making it the best project for Pakistan to be presented to Central Development Working Party (CDWP), after refining all aspects, soon as per process. US advised to focus on regional stability while responding to CPEC - DAWN The report — ‘How the United States should deal with China in Pakistan’ — also urges Washington to keep an eye on the longer-term geopolitical challenges posed by China’s increased involvement in the region while responding to CPEC. “CPEC cannot fail — that is a political and diplomatic impossibility,” argues author Daniel Markey while advising Washington on how to deal with this project. “For Pakistan, China remains an important partner and lifeline. For China, CPEC remains both a closely watched test case for the export of China’s development model and a prestige project.” Civil Service Reforms PM orders implementation of new retirement rules - DAWN Prime Minister Imran Khan on Wednesday directed the Establishment Division to implement new retirement rules (Directory Retirement from Service Rules 2020) for government employees under which they can be retired even before reaching 60 years of age (superannuation) on the basis of their performance. According to the Prime Minister Office, Mr Khan also directed the Establishment Division to send the new rules to all ministries and divisions so that these could be implemented. And also directed all ministries to compile lists of their employees along with their length of service and performance. These are expected to face opposition from employee’s unions that claim these will wrongfully abolish protection of 60 years in service. A detailed overview of Dr Ishrat’s institutional reforms that face delays due to COVID-19 - Business Recorder Dr. Ishrat Hussain, the current Adviser to the PM on Institutional Reforms, has put together an institutional reform bill that crucially focuses on civil service reforms as well. It would restructure and strengthen key institutions to perform effectively and curb previous archaic practices. Some of these reforms have already been tabled and were in the works but have been kicked back due to the ongoing Pandemic. It includes reformations of the entire human resource value chain, reengineering of business processes, and e-governance to name a few. Climate Change in Pakistan COVID-19: Pakistan's 'green stimulus' scheme is a win-win for the environment and the unemployed - World Economic Forum Pakistan is badly affected by climate change, experiencing more than 150 extreme weather events between 1999 and 2018. Pakistan's government is offering labourers, who are out of work due to the coronavirus lockdown, a chance to earn money by planting trees. The project is part of Pakistan's existing initiative to plant billions of trees to counter the effects of climate change. Such "green stimulus" efforts are an example of how funds that aim to help families and keep the economy running during pandemic shutdowns could also help nations prepare for the next big threat: climate change. Smart Containment The Analytical Angle: How smart containment, along with active learning, can help mitigate the Covid-19 crisis: Maroof Ali Syed, Anum Malkani - DAWN The smart containment approach allows for a locally heterogeneous policy response — each area may have different prevalence, and different needs based on demographic, economic and other characteristics. Policymakers must be empowered down to the district and local levels to respond differentially based on local data and ground realities. These ground realities then translate into differential and graded decisions on smart testing strategies, physical distancing and lockdown measures, relief measures, public messaging, health sector capacity, and so on. The active learning aspect calls for re-evaluating policy measures regularly based on data and evidence. This will help us better understand the benefits and costs of each policy and refine accordingly. This process of continuous re-evaluation can provide a roadmap for the next 18 months that is fully guided by the evidence. Lockdown: ‘Total’ to ‘smart’: Zahid Hussain - DAWN Described as ‘lockdown paradox’, the shutdown to contain the infection has seriously affected the economy and heightened the government’s predicament as it tries to strike a balance between saving lives and saving livelihoods. But the decision to reduce pressure on the economy