Articles and letters may be edited for the purposes of clarity and space. They are published in good faith with a view to enlightening all the stakeholders. However, the contents of these writings may not necessarily match the views of the newspaper.
Teachers
are golden treasures
It is unquestionable that teachers promote the best habits of independent thought and learning in pursuit of excellence. Teachers work tirelessly within and outside the school boundaries to meet the ever-changing demands of educational landscape. They provide education designed to enable learners to discover their strengths. Teachers are provocative, thorough, knowledgeable, relentless, enthusiastic, stimulating, well-spoken, exciting and flexible. Those who fail to appreciate teachers are dismally failing common sense tests. Teachers prepare learners for a dynamic and unknown future. Those who fail to acknowledge, recognise, respect, honour and celebrate teachers are certainly ungrateful, thoughtless and insensible.
Nothing in this world can ever change such person. Teachers have unique skills that enable them to discover how people learn at the most fundamental levels, how learning differs across individuals, cultures and content areas and the conditions that best foster educational success. Those people who demean, devalue, mock and abuse teachers should be ashamed of themselves. Astronauts, actuaries, doctors, actors, editors, economists, builders and barbers have all passed through the thought-provoking care of teachers who enlightened them to think, count, read, write and use their legs, hands and brains. The unimaginable world will be chaotic, unstructured, dysfunctional, barbaric and unmanageable without teachers.
Teachers also pick up pieces from children with unbecoming behaviours because the parents of these children have failed to discharge their parental roles effectively particularly on areas of discipline and manners. Most people in the world are able to discharge the offices of life with usefulness and reputation because teachers imparted knowledge and understanding to them. If governments have no enough money to adequately remunerate teachers, they should put in place numerous incentives to keep teachers motivated and remaining in professions. Let us clap hands for teachers and salute them for their industrious work!
HANDSEN CHIKOWORE
London
Lessons from pandemic
Although Covid-19 has proved to be one of the worst diseases of 21st century, yet it seems to have taught many lessons to the world. It has taught man that procrastination and mishandling can bring colossal destruction. The countries like the USA, UK and India did not cope the situation timely and the result they are facing is ordeal. Moreover, this pandemic has told us the importance of hygiene.
Cleanliness is of utmost importance and we can only get rid of this virus when we will keep ourselves neat and clean. Another very important lesson given to man is that the material things are not as important as we think of them. Many people survived during the outbreak despite cutting their non-genuine expenditure. They learnt to survive within limited resources. This clarified that our material magnificence has nothing to do with our survival, even they are useless when we are afflicted with natural or manmade disaster. And the most important of all is God.
People, in the craze of luxurious accessibilities, seemed to have neglected Allah Almighty from their lives. Covid-19 taught us that He and only He is the master of this universe and we are destitute to even this contagious virus. How can man live happily without bowing and remembering his God? It seems impossible. Undoubtedly, the disasters and hard times are inevitable to come in order to cement man.
AWAIS GOPANG
Sukkur, Sindh
Still on despite!
Gang rape has been the matter of serious concerns in Pakistan for so many years. The heinous act of raping innocent girls has snatched many lives. It has deep roots in Pakistan since it’s inception. Since 2000, hundreds of women and teenagers have been gang raped. Mukhtara Mai in 2002 was gang-raped by the feudal of her village. She raised the voice and the matter went to the courts as well but she could not get justice.
Kainat Soomro, another 13-year old schoolgirl was kidnapped and gang raped. The process did not stop here but it continued and still is happening across the country. There are so many other cases as well: Shazia Khalid from Balochistan to Zainab from Kasur, all were kidnapped and raped brutally.
Though the culprits had been punished yet the wounds are still fresh in the hearts of parents and people. Recently, a woman with her children who was travelling from Lahore to Gujranwala via Motorway was gang-raped when her car ran out of fuel and waiting for someone to help. But, she never knew that such a tragic incident will happen to her.
Pakistan made certain legislation to stop such brutal acts but they bore no fruit. Section 375 of Pakistan penal code stipulates that girls younger than fourteen years are prohibited from sex. In addition, 2006 women protection bill, criminal law act 2016 and Zainab Alert Bill 2019 were passed by the National Assembly to stop such brutal acts. But it seems that all of them are limited to paper work only. Gang rape is increasing day by day despite the preventive measures. Therefore, government should take timely steps to eradicate this monster from the land of pure people.
SHAHZAD PANHWAR
Sukkur
