Pakistan halts funding to hundreds of 'ghost schools'

About 450 absentee teachers fired in Balochistan, where many had been drawing salaries from already abandoned schools.

Shereena Qazi | 11 Nov 2015 19:38 GMT | Asia, Poverty & Development,Education, Pakistan

About 40 percent of the population aged 10 and above is illiterate [File pic - Mohammad Sajjad/AP]

Pakistan authorities have stopped funding hundreds of educational institutions that existed only on paper and have fired 450 absentee teachers in a mission to close down the so-called ghost schools.

Baloch officials vowed to launch a crackdown on the common practice in the southwestern province of Balochistan late on Tuesday.

Raza Muhammed Khan Barrech, education adviser to the chief minister in Balochistan, told Al Jazeera that many teachers who were drawing salaries without doing the job had been fired in the process.

"We have been investigating and closing down such schools for the past year," he said. "The only way to completely shut them down is to not provide funds to those schools."

"There were about 400 to 500 ghost schools in the region that existed only on paper. And about 450 teachers who were drawing salaries. Half of the schools were abandoned as students never showed up."

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Related: Teachers absent from Pakistan's 'ghost schools'

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Barrech said the provincial government is in the process of implementing article 25-a of the constitution, which says the state "shall provide free and compulsory education to all children of the age of five to 16 years in such manner as may be determined by law".

He also revealed that the 'ghost students' had been 'enrolled' by education officials in the region and teachers in the past to show a maximum number of schools to get monetary benefits.

Late last year, a website was launched to identify ghost schools called the Education Management Information System (EMIS), which helps to ensure the presence of teachers in schools and improve the quality of education in the province.

Improvements in education sector 

According to Roshan Bharucha, a former senator and a social worker in Balochistan, plans to improve education in the region were under way.

"Many children drop out of schools because of lack of facilities and checks and balances in the education system. However, this seems to be changing," she said. 

"The 'ghost school' phenomenon is not just here in Balochistan but also in many other rural areas of Pakistan. This has to be eradicated because those funds can be utilised on improving education."

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Related: In Pictures: Pakistan education woes

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Pakistan's education rate is still relatively low. As per the Education for All 2015 report, about one-third of primary school age children are out of school, while 42 percent of the population aged 10 and above is illiterate.

At the national level, about two-thirds of women aged 15 and over cannot read and write, and 35 percent of girls remain out of school.

"It is estimated that more than 6.7 million children are out of school, and the majority of them [62 percent] are girls," the report says.

UNESCO and Pakistan recently launched the Girls' Right to Education programme for Pakistan worth $7m.

The programme aims to enrol 50,000 more girls in primary schools in remote areas over the next three years.

Citation:

Qazi, Shereena. "Pakistan Halts Funding to Hundreds of 'ghost Schools'" Al Jazeera. Al Jazeera Media Network, 11 Nov. 2015. Web. 17 Nov. 2015. <http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2015/11/pakistan-halts-funding-hundreds-ghost-schools-151111134222577.html>.

Response: 

Pakistan has the second largest amount of children out of school in the world. Lack of education is a serious problem in the developing world and is obviously a  problem in Pakistan. The government of Pakistan is tackling the issue of corruption in school systems as teachers receive salaries for achieving nothing and running "ghost schools". Shereena Qazi is highlighting the positive efforts of Pakistan's  government and the logical steps that they are being taking towards giving all children an education. Qazi commends Pakistan for it efforts to combat corruption in the school system.  Also, Qazi writes that Pakistan has launched accountability programs for the schools to ensure that this problem does not happen again. The "ghost school" phenomenon is not just an issue in the Southern Pakistan but all over and could be the case for many other countries throughout the world. Qazi's article encourages others to take related measures to ensure the proper education of children throughout the world.

Sierra Leone is Ebola free but a legacy of fear remains

The deadly virus crippled the country's healthcare system, with grave consequences for maternal and infant health.

Jo Lehmann | 09 Nov 2015 12:58 GMT | Health, Environment, Poverty & Development, Humanitarian crises, Africa

Seventeen-year-old Musu Monsoray gave birth to a stillborn child during the Ebola outbreak [Jo Lehmann/WaterAid]

Twenty-nine-year-old Song strolls through the streets of Sierra Leone's capital, Freetown, as loud music blares out from the stalls of street vendors.

"The war is over," he says. "We've been liberated."

After 42 days with no new cases, the World Health Organization on Saturday officially declared Sierra Leone free from Ebola.

"This time last year we were putting thousands of people in body bags, people were scared, unable to go out. Today we are free," he explains.

I'm in Freetown this week with WaterAid , which has been working in hygiene promotion and assisting on crucial water and sanitation projects in Liberia and Sierra Leone as these countries try to rebuild their health systems after the Ebola crisis.

Ebola's Ground Zero

Here in chaotic Freetown, reminders of this deadly virus linger everywhere. Roadside billboards remind residents to stay vigilant, and guards at security checkpoints are armed with thermometers and bottles of hand sanitiser. 

Just outside of Freetown, in the suburb of Waterloo, lies Ebola's Ground Zero - a cemetery filled with those who have died from the virus. The grave of a 99-year-old woman sits beside that of a three-year-old boy - a stark reminder that this deadly virus did not discriminate.

In the distance, another burial team makes its way down the bumpy dirt track. A man wearing protective gear jumps out. "We have four bodies in here, two of them children," he shouts.

Waterloo Cemetery where hundreds of children under 5 are buried [ Jo Lehmann/WaterAid ]

But these are not bodies destined for the Ebola cemetery; the cemetery guard directs them to another one, a few hundred metres away, reserved for those who have died from other causes.

A young mother arrives for the burial service, tears streaming down her face. She explains that her two-year-old daughter Nancy contracted an infection and passed away a few days ago. Nancy is to be buried in the children's cemetery, next to hundreds of other tiny graves on the rain-soaked hillside.

These children did not die from Ebola but from other, mainly preventable, causes; causes which Sierra Leone has been fighting since long before the outbreak of Ebola. More than 4,500 children under age five in Sierra Leone, are estimated to have died in 2013 of diarrhoeal illnesses, which are common in a country where nearly 87 percent of the population do not have access to a safe, private toilet and more than 37 percent do not have access to clean water.

What is most shocking is the number of graves of babies under a month old.

Maternal and infant health 

Even before the Ebola outbreak, Sierra Leone was one of the most dangerous places in the world for a mother to give birth. On average, one woman in every 21 here will lose a child to infection in its first month of life. The equivalent risk in the UK, for example, is one woman in 7,518.

The Ebola outbreak has only made this alarming statistic worse. New research by VSO and WaterAid found that during the crisis there was a 30 percent increase in maternal deaths and a 24 percent increase in newborn deaths. With the healthcare system crippled by Ebola, many mothers were too afraid to go to hospital to give birth.

Seventeen-year-old Musu Monsoray was one of them.

A candlelit vigil was held by healthcare workers to remember those who died in the outbreak [ Jo Lehmann/WaterAid ]

"I didn't go to hospital for any checkups when I was pregnant, as I was too scared of catching Ebola," she explains. "I only managed to see the midwife twice, and was planning on giving birth at home."

Musu lives in a tiny hut in Freetown's New England Ville neighbourhood. As in many homes here, there is no access to safe water and the toilet is in the same place as the kitchen, making good hygiene difficult. When she went into labour, she explains, she waited until the last minute before being rushed to hospital by a neighbour. Her baby was stillborn.

It is impossible to say for sure what caused Musu's baby to die. But we know that women whose growth and development in childhood were stunted by chronic diarrhoea, caused by dirty water and poor sanitation and hygiene, are more likely to have complications in pregnancy, including obstructed labour. Women who are ill during their pregnancies are also more susceptible to complications, and infections can set in during long labours if women are giving birth in unhygienic conditions, assisted by midwives who are unable to properly wash their hands.

"If Ebola was not here maybe things would have been different," Musu says. "I would have gone for regular checkups. Instead my baby died."

'A place for the dead' 

There is still a huge legacy of fear surrounding the healthcare system in Sierra Leone, with many mothers reluctant to go to hospital.

"At the height of the Ebola outbreak hospitals were seen as a place for the dead," says Dr Amadu Sesay, the medical superintendent at Kingharman Road Government hospital.

"Going forward we have to rebuild confidence in the healthcare system in Sierra Leone, especially with regards to maternal health."

Baby Sarah with her mother [Jo Lehmann/WaterAid]

"Having access to clean water, good sanitation and hygiene practices is pivotal in bringing mothers back [to our hospitals]. You cannot have infection prevention where you lack water supply. Ebola taught us that, and the government must recognise that too."

Next door, a woman in labour lets out a scream. Sesay goes to tend to her. Minutes later, a baby girl is born. Both mother and baby are in good health. But for baby Sarah the next 28 days of her life will be her most vulnerable.

For Sierra Leone to move past the Ebola outbreak and give newborn children a fighting chance at life, 'clean' must be put at the heart of healthcare. Hospitals must have access to water, sanitation, and everything they need to maintain high levels of hygiene. The lives of Sarah and so many others depend upon it.

Response:

This article reminded me that at the height of a crisis such a story like the Ebola crisis is all over the news then the crisis appears to end and at least I have forgotten that many West African countries have  a long way to go before they can repair their healthcare system. I think that the author, Jo Lehmann, reminds us that the Ebola hit nations were crippled by this outbreak and have a long road to recovery. This article also highlight the necessity of clean water and proper sanitation in healthcare which Sierra Leone hospitals really learned through the Ebola outbreak. This article offered me a different perspective on the outbreak concerning the pregnant mothers and people with disease unrelated to Ebola who  were too afraid to go to the hospitals. Ultimately, this article reminded me that a crisis is not really over the moment the news stops reporting it as frequently and offered me a different perspective on the outbreak itself.

Citation:

Lehmann, Jo. "Sierra Leone Is Ebola Free but a Legacy of Fear Remains." - Al Jazeera English. Al Jazeera Media Network, 09 Nov. 2015. Web. 10 Nov. 2015. <http://www.aljazeera.com/indepth/features/2015/11/sierra-leone-ebola-free-legacy-fear-remains-151109075827170.html>.

Shafana: The journalist who believed in Somalia - Response

Shafana: The journalist who believed in Somalia

Al Jazeera contributor, Mustaf Abdi Noor, has been killed in an al-Shabab attack on a hotel in Mogadishu. He was 23.

01 Nov 2015 14:48 GMT | War & Conflict, Media, Africa, Somalia

Shafana was driven to show another side of Somalia to the world: the pristine white beaches, the exotic fresh fruits, the new villas going up in the capital [Mustaf Abdi Noor / Facebook]    

Hamza Mohamed is a producer for Doha, Qatar-based Al Jazeera English, covering Sub-Saharan Africa.

He was sharp and always smiling. A notebook, a pen, a camera and a phone - the things he carried. Harmless tools for what is a deadly trade in Mogadishu.

Mustaf Abdi Noor was a rising star in a profession that continues to claim the lives of many in Somalia’s capital - including some of his close friends.

Shafana, as he was widely known, was a multi-talented journalist, adept at both taking photographs and reporting. A different breed.

He believed in his country and profession. Many of his close colleagues left journalism because it was too dangerous. Some even took the perilous Mediterranean route out of the country because they believed that was safer.

But not Shafana.

Somalia was too deep a part of him and he said he would never leave.

He was learning English so he could better tell the world about his country, a job he loved. Shafana worked for Radio Shabelle and was also a regular contributor to international media organisations, including Al Jazeera.

We first met two years ago while I was on assignment in Mogadishu. I needed someone with intimate knowledge of the city, someone who saw the danger coming before everyone else, someone who could guide me through the many treacherous fault lines without the need for an armed escort.

He knew the city and its ways – including its dark ways – like the back of his hand. He could lead you through the place with his eyes shut.

But, early this morning, the city he loved claimed him.

At exactly 6am, he phoned to tell me of the latest bloody incident, in which gunmen from al-Shabab had bombed and stormed a downtown hotel.

He was there and, ever cautious, taking cover behind a car.

That was Shafana, always first on the scene. Today, he was doing what he had done on so many occasions. A born storyteller, he was there to tell the world what was happening in his city. He was careful. But it wasn’t enough.

The car he was hiding behind had been rigged with explosives by al-Shabab and positioned outside the hotel to act as a second bomb.

From a distance, an al-Shabab member detonated it, and Shafana’s life was cut short. Too short - he was just 23.

A new dawn

He was driven to show another side of Somalia to the world: the pristine white beaches, the exotic fresh fruits, the new villas going up in the capital. We started a social media hashtag, #My252, (252 is Somalia’s dialing code), to highlight this side of the country - a more positive side, a changing side.

We last met in June and, while we walked on Maka al-Mukarama Street under newly installed solar lights, Shafana told me that Mogadishu was safe and on the move. We joked about how it was now lit at night by solar lights and not tracer bullets. We saw young men and women driving fast cars, racing to the sound of the latest Somali songs. They were not speeding to get the wounded to hospital. Things were changing. We both felt it was a new dawn.

Shafana had no enemies. He was everyone’s friend, a truly neutral figure in a city of shifting loyalties. Always upbeat, even when the chips were down, one of his favourite things to say after covering one of the many violent incidents was “tanna wa laga bixi” - “this too shall pass”.

But, as we say in Somalia, war is blind.

Today it took the life of someone who, through his work, helped us to see.

Response: Hamza Mohamed wrote this article a a tribute to a Somali journalist, Shafana, who was killed in the recent al-Shabab attacks in Somalia. It is not often that I find an article written as a tribute to one person and what they believed in. The author writes this to change the view point each reader has on what is Somalia today, even those living in Somalia.  He is trying to continue that message that Shafana was spreading that Somalia is not all violence. Even though there has been recent violence, Somalia is changing for the better. He also highlights the danger associated with Shafana's occupation in Somalia but he stayed in Mogadishu. This article is trying to promote what Shafana believed before he died and that Somalia is changing for the better.

Mohamed, Hamza. "Shafana: The Journalist Who Believed in Somalia." - Al Jazeera English. Al Jazeera Media Network, 1 Nov. 2015. Web. 02 Nov. 2015.

http://www.aljazeera.com/blogs/africa/2015/11/shafana-journalist-believed-somalia-151101142919042.html