THE EDHI FOUNDATION - SWOT ANALYSIS

SWOT ANALYSIS is used to assess the internal and external factors, as well as the current and future potential of any organization. It helps the organization in keeping an accurate analysis which can be used as a guide. 

In this blog, I’ll be doing SWOT Analysis of the famous philanthropic organization ‘EDHI FOUNDATION’. 

STRENGTHS: 

• Self-less philanthropist  

Edhi Foundation was started by Abdul Sattar Edhi whose sole purpose was to help the people of his country. His efforts were self-less and he only wanted the best for his country and its people. 

• Determination  

There is no doubt in saying that this organization was made successful only because of his strong will and determination. 

• Humanity at first  

Serving humanity is the main objective of this organization. The first priority has always been to help the needy. 

• No religion and political partnerships  

The services of this organization are for everyone regardless of what religion they profess or what political party do they support. 

• Nonpartisan approach  

The approach of this organization is non-biased. It does not favor or dis-favor anyone based on any political affiliation.  

• Centralized management 

The management style of this organization is very centralized. Abdul Sattar Edhi was the founder, Bilquees Edhi was the Director Head Office and now Faisal Edhi and Kubra Edhi are the Chairman Head Office and Director Head Office respectively. 

WEAKNESSES: 

• No Proper Strategic Planning  

Unfortunately, there has been no strategic planning to manage and run the affairs of this organization. 

• No financial report  

It doesn’t give a financial report at the end of a year or month which would tell the exact facts and figures about how well the organization is doing. 

• Conventional Services 

The services provided by the organization are old and conventional now. There is no innovation in them. 

• Lack of digitalization/ Old technology 

The working of the organization and the services it provides are not digitalized. Same old methods are used, and technology is not used.  

OPPORTUNITIES:  

• Digitalization  

It can digitalize its system and make things easier for everyone. 

• Neo public management  

It is an anti-hierarchal management style based on the idea that the leader should take the role of general public which would help to solve the issues public in a better way. 

• Human resources  

It can improve its human resources which includes the manpower, labor, personnel associated with the organization. 

• Collaboration with international organizations 

It should collaborate with international organizations and bring in their ideas and the services they provide, to improve the working of the organization. 

THREATS: 

• Abdul Sattar Edhi and Bilquees Edhi’s death  

The two most trusted persons of this organization have unfortunately passed away which can result in decreased credibility of the organization.  

• Turning from personality driven to institutional management  

Institutional management is the management of different activities simultaneously. Previously, the organization was driven by only Abdul Sattar Edhi, but now different bodies have taken over the management which can result in inefficiency. 

• Misuse of resources 

People trust this organization blindly. Their donations can be misused if the system of accountability is not strong. 

• Trust issues 

People can have trust issues regarding the organization because of the death of Founder and his wife and because most of the working of this organization is not transparent.  

 

CONCLUSION 

Despite of these weaknesses and threats, the organization has been working successfully for so many years and we hope that it keeps on running at the same pace (InshaAllah). 

Webinar: A comparative analysis of Pakistani education system with global Education system

 An exclusive webinar session in the context of Public sector reforms and social change supervised by Dr. Athar Rashid was organised by a group of students of Governance and Public Policy Department on the topic "A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PAKISTANI EDUCATION SYSTEM WITH GLOBAL EDUCATION" on 23 April 2022 in its endeavours to empower the students knowledge and learning about Educational sector issues.

The session was presided over by respected Mr. Arfat Jamil, Managing Director JnS Education. It was more of interactive session than a formal webinar.This crucial session was attended by fifty plus participants from different departments (IR, GPP, Economics, English, Maths).He gave a vivid out look and talked about the quality of education in Pakistan and compared with other countries.It is reality that overall Pakistan is far away from developed countries in this comparison. Pakistan has a lot of educational institutes. All are considered to provide quality education. But still, Pakistan stands no where in even top 500 universities in the world. While world and neighboring countries are moving forward in field of education, we Pakistani’s have taken the back gear. Foreign universities struggle with one ambition of quality education and take as much part as possible in the latest going on discoveries and inventions.

In Pakistan, our administration is not giving value to education. For them, Schools, Colleges, Universities are just easy business. They are selling very costly yet cheap quality education. On the other hand, Top universities in world provide the highest of scholarships to students, they even pay their living expenses because their goal is education not business.

Pakistan educational system is lacking to provide learning freedom for students where they can utilize their maximum capacity. It is the research that makes an educational institute compete with world’s top universities. You won’t see, "GPA”, you will see their quality research, innovations, inventions and discoveries. That is what they are proud of. While world is racing to prove themselves, here we are just acknowledging them. We need more research, we need to prove to world that we are made of sterling material. But since, research requires some funding, that is where we step back.We don’t need a lot of universities. We need few big awesome university, we can invest in and make university them one of the world’s top. A university of such scope that foreign students would apply to study there.It’s not that we don’t have qualified scholars. It’s that we don’t hire them. We don’t make use of them. All top universities claim they have the best of the Scholars from around the world. That is their proud. And we, we just see this university is more expensive this one must be better, no offense though.You don’t just need knowledge but exceptional communication and presentation skills to be a teacher. Most qualified Pakistani’s don’t even consider teaching as Career. Institutions are not willing to pay right, so all they get are unskilled degree holders who just destroy deserved students future. After all, how are they supposed to teach if they themselves don’t know what they are doing?

The curriculum of education in Pakistan does not meet the demands of the current times. It is an old and traditional curriculum which compels the learners to memorize certain facts and figures without taking into consideration the reality that education is the holistic development of an individual. These teachers and institutions get students’ all attention on grades. Students just put all their effort on memorizing books and keep fighting for grades. What exactly are you going to do with your grades? No one cares about grades. It’s the skills you require.

However, in Pakistan, the situation is worst. Rote learning, low enrollment rates at the primary level, a dearth of trained teachers, outdated syllabus, outdated assessment criteria, lack of knowledge in students, poor career planning are the order of the day.

 

The speaker elated with the innovative suggestions and ideas during the question answer session. The session went on to be more informative as he continued to talk about the need to transform the classrooms to a more teachnology based education and also incorporate ‘Art Education’ as a part of the curriculum. His focus was on an ‘Integrated Education’ that would not only facilitate academic progress of the students but help them build a happy, healthy and positive approach to life. Overall, it was great learning experience.

Organizers: 

Ayesha Abbasi(host), Arbaz Khan(co-host), Bilal Akram , Barkha Khan

GPP Department

Numl Islamabad

BENEFITS OF ML1 RAILWAY PROJECT TO PAKISTAN

 

This Blog is covering the following topics

·         THE THREE PHASES OF KARACHI-PESHAWAR RAILWAY

 

 

Phase-1 of ML-1 railway project

Phase-2 of ML-1 railway project

Phase-3 of ML-1 railway project

 

·         BENEFITS OF UPGRADING KARACHI-PESHAWAR RAILWAY LINE

Mainline-1 (ML-1) is an important project of the China Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC). It entails a complete infrastructure overhaul of the 1,680 km railway tracks from Karachi to Peshawar.

THE THREE PHASES OF KARACHI-PESHAWAR RAILWAY

As mentioned, earlier this year, the government of Pakistan had set up an Implementation Committee for the ML-1 railway project to review the cost of the existing $8.2 billion and make it more financially viable. According to the original plan, the project was divided into two phases, but it will now be split into more than two phases. Some other parts of the original plan, e.g. the construction of a 1,872 km long line of Pakistan Railways, have also been dropped.

The project faced over three years of delay. Therefore, the scope of the project was reduced to cut down the project costs. The phase-I of the ML-1 railway project will cost around $2 billion, while the initial estimate hovered around $3.4 billion. In addition, some parts of the ML-1 will be funded by the Public Sector Development Programme to avoid reliance on China.

As per the framework agreement for the ML-1, China – Pakistan’s all-weather friend – was supposed to provide 85% of the project cost as a concessionary loan.

Phase-1 of ML-1 railway project

Under Phase-1 of the project, four sections will be completed in a period of three to four years. Most of these sections will be built from Rawalpindi to Lahore. As per a report published in an English daily, “A 52-km-long second line for running 120 km per hour high-speed train will be constructed from Kaluwai to Pindora. The other sections include upgrading of Nawabshah-Rohri section of 183km, Lalamusa-Rawalpindi section of 118km, and Lahore-Lalamusa section of 132km. The upgrading of Walton Railway Academy with a reduced scope is also part of phase one.”

Phase-2 of ML-1 railway project

It is expected that the second phase would require a period of three years to complete in which the Multan-Lahore section and Kimari-Hyderabad section will be developed. The second phase of ML-1 railway project mainly includes the construction of the dry port at Havelian but its scope has been reduced to cut down project costs.

Phase-3 of ML-1 railway project

As part of the third phase of the railway line’s refurbishment and upgradation, the two neighbouring countries have agreed to construct a Rawalpindi-Peshawar section and Hyderabad-Multan section.

BENEFITS OF UPGRADING KARACHI-PESHAWAR RAILWAY LINE

When the project was announced, the ML-1 comprised mostly a dual-track railway line between Karachi and Shahdara, a suburb in Lahore. From Shahdara to Peshawar, the road mainly consisted of a single track. The construction work to dualize the entire track between Karachi to Shahdara was completed and inaugurated in January 2016. As part of the first phase of the CPEC’s ML-1 railway project, the other stretch of the track between Shahdara and Peshawar will be upgraded to a dual-track railway as well.

The upgradation of ML-1 railway will benefit in the following way:

·         The railway track between Lalamusa, lying north of Lahore and Peshawar will require the project’s complete reconstruction. 

·         Tunnels, culverts, and bridges will be added

·         The ML-1 railway track lying 900 km south of Lalamusa towards Karachi will also be upgraded so that cars having a 25-ton axle load capacity can also go through it. 

·         A spur from Taxila to Havelian will also be constructed, with a dry port to be established near the city of Havelian. 

·         The entire length of the ML-1 railway track will have computerized signal systems

·         The railway track touching the urban areas will also have a fence that can prevent pedestrians and vehicles from crossing the tracks in unauthorized areas.

·         The second phase of CPEC’s ML-1 railway track is expected to be completed in 2021, where it is expected that a total cost of $8.2 billion for both phases will be incurred.

·         Upgrading of the railway line will permit train travel at speeds of 160 km per hour which otherwise used to take 60 km per hour

·         It is expected that Pakistan Railways’ annual revenues will be increased by approximately $480 million. 

·         The upgradation of ML-1 railway track will also cut transit times from Karachi to Peshawar by half. 

·         Pakistani Railways currently transports around 4% of freight traffic in the country. Once the CPEC’s project is completed, Pakistan Railways is expected to transport 20% of the country’s freight traffic by 2025.

The Karachi-Peshawar Railway line is part of a broader plan that comprises the development of modern infrastructure in Pakistan along with energy plants and special economic zones.

WRITTEN BY = YASIR HASSAN || BS 6TH || G&PP

 

Peace and Social Cohesion essential for combating social discord in Pakistan

syeda mahnoor ali (BS6th, GPP)

Peace and social cohesion are the two forces that hold societies together. The United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals also aim towards making cities inclusive, safe, resilient and sustainable. The 17-point agenda for Sustainable Development adopted by all United Nation Member States in 2015 is an urgent call for all the developed as well as the developing countries to ensure peace and prosperity of their nations. They are a blueprint to achieve a better and sustainable future for all. Peace and social cohesion are the fundamental predictors to achieve this goal. All around the world, it has been observed that cohesive societies are politically stable and have relatively better economic growth and business development.

Now what does social cohesion mean? Social cohesion can be characterized as how connected and united the members of society are. It refers to the situation when people work together and cooperate despite the existing differences. Battaini-Dragoni and Dominioni (2003, part of Council of Europe's Strategy for Social Cohesion) presented a paper at the conference on social cohesion held at the University of Hong Kong and described social cohesion as an indicator of a society that can ensure the well-being of its members who form a mutually supportive community of free individuals. Social cohesion is not gained within a day, rather it takes years to build.

The main factor in building social cohesion are the policies – policies that allow people in the society to share its prosperity. For a peaceful and fruitful society, it is the key determinant. It helps to create strong bonds across different groups and encourage trust in governmental institutions.

Pakistan is among the countries that have the least percentage of social cohesion and higher conflict. Moreover, several economic, political, and social factors have an impact on the cohesion of any country. The reason why Pakistan has the least social cohesion is that Pakistan is extremely biased in terms of class, ethnic, sectarian, and religious differences. In addition to that, lack of law and order and a weak judicial system play a vital role in this as well. These social indicators evaluate the attitude of authorities and extremist groups with respect to certain religious, class, and ethnic groups. The key indicators can be broken down as class differences, interfaith differences, religious conflicts, and cultural conflicts. Every day, we see a number of cases on social media sites and news channels that clearly depict why Pakistan has the least percentage of peace and social cohesion.

Dr. Qaisar Rashid in his OP-ED, “Ethno-sectarian conflict in Pakistan” highlighted the case of the Hazara community: on 10th January, at Alamdar Road, Quetta, 80 people belonging to the Hazara community were killed by two bomb blasts. On the other hand, on January 17, an MQM MPA, Manzar Imam was gunned down in Karachi on sectarian grounds. These examples show the extremism and sectarian conflict in Pakistan that threatens the peace and social cohesion of our country.

To all this violence, peace is the only answer. Peace here refers to the absence of conflict and only through peace, we can maintain a good democratic nation. Peace and social cohesion go hand in hand. For a society to be peaceful, it is important to have close and understanding relations with its government. One way to do this is by sharing the information with the public, as every citizen has the right to information. Transparency and the right to information are very important for the sustainable development of society. There is a dire need to empower the ordinary citizen. Article 19A gives every citizen the right to take information from any organization. Furthermore, the Federal Right of Access to Information Act 2017 seconds this.

The executive director of SSDO, Syed Kausar Abbas, while narrating his stance on Peace and Social Cohesion at a webinar said that, “Peace and Social Cohesion are important needs of Pakistan. The situation that Pakistan has faced over the past few years such as sectarian and ethnic conflicts should be countered. It needs a platform to enlighten people to go towards social cohesion and harmony. In addition to this, peace and social cohesion should also be included in the syllabus to make a perfectly harmonious society. Pakistan needs to start working on these issues to combat the consequences of terrorism and extremism it has faced. We should inculcate humanity and especially Pakistaniyat in the citizens and discourage extremist concepts.”

Peace and social cohesion contribute to economic growth, good governance, health, and social security. By improving the social factors, we can make a huge difference. People should be taught tolerance and respect for all religions and cultures. This will serve as the basis for the peace and progress of our society. We, as true Pakistanis, should work hard to make Pakistan a country free of violent and extremist groups so that the minorities can feel secure. Moreover, all the differences must be eliminated for a successful and just society. We all should play our part to represent Pakistan as a peaceful and cohesive society globally.

 

Why students prefer to study abroad?

 

Earning an international degree is not only about expanding your career and personal horizons but also about having an experience of a lifetime. 

Studying abroad is a global phenomenon, with students crossing countries, continents and oceans to get the best education possible.

But why has it become so trendy to attend a university in another country?

The reality is that studying abroad has several advantages, ranging from assisting you in finding a suitable profession to increasing your social life. Still undecided?

There are many reasons due to which students prefer to study abroad,  and also find better opportunities there after completing their education. One of the major reasons is that they feel that Pakistan has less opportunities as compared to the other countries.

The following are some of the reasons to study abroad:

 

It’s a challenge:

It may seem weird to begin with this, but studying abroad isn't always simple. Going abroad to study presents its own set of problems, but that's all part of the joy and adventure. You may have some concerns before leaving your home country, but don’t worry: that’s completely natural. One of the things that makes the experience so useful and meaningful is stepping outside of your comfort zone. After all, if you can study abroad, you can do anything.

 

It look good on your CV:

Experience of living internationally goes down well with employers, showing you have experience dealing with people from different cultures, plus a higher level of adaptability. If you can explore a new country at the same time as picking up skills to gain a decent graduate job, then that’s pretty good going.

 

Experience a different culture:

One of the biggest advantages of studying abroad for many international students is the chance to become immersed in a totally different environment. This enriching experience will enable you to see and do things you wouldn’t expect, and meet people who have grown up in a different culture. For instance, while living abroad you’ll be able to try new foods, hear traditional music, have a go at local activities and explore everything else your host country has to offer. It’s also fascinating to see your own culture through the eyes of somebody else’s – you can learn a lot about yourself and your home country this way.

 

Top quality education:

Of course, no matter where you study, your goal is always going to be to get the highest possible quality of education. Becoming an international student can greatly broaden your study options. After all, why be limited to choosing a university in your home country?

Often, the best choice for you may be to study at a foreign university. For example, the USA, UK and Australia all have extremely highly regarded higher education systems, and a huge percentage of the world’s highest ranking universities are in these few countries.

 

Learn a new language:

One huge benefit of studying abroad is the chance to learn a new language. Learning a language can be a real challenge, but there is nothing quite like living somewhere where that language is spoken natively. It really helps. Since English is such a universally used language, it can be quite advantageous to study in a country such as the USA or the UK. You’ll be able to study in English, speak to locals and really develop your language skills.

 

Carrier opportunities:

Of course, the main reason for getting a degree in the first place is to improve your career prospects. In a globalized, well-connected world, employers increasingly value graduates with international experience and education. Studying abroad helps you to learn new languages, appreciate other cultures, overcome challenges of living in another country and gain a greater understanding of the world. These are all things that modern businesses look for when hiring, and such traits will only become more important in the future.

 

Make new friends:

No matter where you go to university, you’re sure to meet lots of new people and make new friends who are all in the same position as you. When you study abroad, you have a unique opportunity to make friends with people from all kinds of different cultures, and learn about other countries and customs. Many lifelong friendships start at university, and you’ll be able to live, learn and travel together during your studies. It can also be hugely beneficial to know people in different countries around the world – especially after you graduate.

 

International travel:

As well as experiencing the culture of your study destination, you will also be able to travel to other nearby countries. For example, if you go to a UK university, you can easily catch a flight to continental Europe to see Paris, Rome, Barcelona and many more fascinating places. Studying abroad is therefore a unique opportunity to see more of the world, which is itself a hugely rewarding and educational experience. There is no doubt that seeing other parts of the world will greatly affect your character and worldview, and help you prepare for life in a global society.

 

Become independent:

It’s often said that going to university is when you become truly independent from your parents and family. This is especially true when you go to university in another country. Bringing us full circle, becoming independent is itself a challenge. But living and studying in another country will help shape you into an independent and adventurous adult, ready to succeed in your future career.

 

Conclusion:

The countries like USA, UK, CANADA, AUSTRALIA provides a lot of opportunity to international students as well as chance to get PR for that country. The native companies of these country doesn't discriminate between migrant and native peoples. If you have the skill sets required by their vacancy they give you as importance as their native people. If you're good at interpersonal skills your chances are very high of getting a good job at very high package.

While pursuing an education overseas can be both exciting and nerve-wracking, it's hard to argue against the physical, intellectual, emotional benefits one could potentially acquire should they decide to do so.

Bilal Akram.

BS G&PP 6TH MORNING.