Why take extra tuition?

Why do we need extra tuition? Our ancestors say they never had to take any tuition or coaching apart from that given in school. In fact, there were no tuition centers back in 1970's. Just, some private teachers who only used to help the really weak students. This tuition fever, the race to waste more and more time, has just caught fire in the late 90's.

So what caused this tuition-ism to grow so enormous? And why, when every morning the shop shutters are lifted up, every tenth of them turn out to be a coaching center instead! Are the young ones today less sharp and brilliant then their mamas and papas? Or is the curriculum of today so advance that it belongs to another world? Is it the schools, or teachers, or the students themselves?

The Teachers

Rather 'trickers', except a few good ones. Teachers have the mainstream role in driving this tuition-ism. Most of the secondary school teachers today are just paid by schools for the advertisement of their own tuition centers, the 'shops'. Good schools try and get the best teachers in their faculty, but sadly these so called best teachers only show their best at their own places. At schools they are the best not at teaching but at making their market.

Here is how a sample class of one of my O'levels teacher used to go:
He comes to the class room, warmly welcomed by the students who are already hoping to have a fun class. To their utter disappointment, he asks them to open up the book, exercise 4a, and writes down a formula on the board for them to solve the questions. Fifteen minutes later, and students having no clue what to do, he begins to tell an interesting story and all the bewildered faces light up again. What follows is a twenty minutes long story. This makes some fan following for him .Towards the end of the class he says "who ever did not understand properly is free to come around at any time at my place" and thus pay for it. Students, mesmerized by the tale, readily accept what he says.

Now this is just a single trick. They keep on inventing the new ones every now and then. Just not to blame every teacher it is important to mention that there are a lot of good ones I know who do justice to their profession. But sadly for others, students are nothing but a source of money!

The Schools

The schools know it. They even have certain policies in place which do not allow the teachers to privately teach their schools students. But who follow the rules, and disappointingly the school heads and principals never take an action against such violations.

Governments schools are even worse in this matter. Many government schools don't even have a complete faculty. They just get the students registered to their name, but the classrooms remain empty. And why wouldn't they be, when there are no teachers to teach. Students of such schools are bound to take tuitions and spend their days just wandering around from one center to another.

The Students

Least to be blamed are we, the students. For many of us, it has just become a trend not to study at school and to waste our useful time in tuition. But we don't care, as we don't know. We don't know how important is our time spent at home and we don't realize how our very favorite teachers are pulling the money out of our parent's pockets, keeping us oblivious of the fact that we are rather their customers.

Read more »

Dirty words banned in Pakistan

Bad news guys, Pakistan Telecommunication Authority (PTA), on 14 November, gave a list of dirty words and phrases to be completly banned from texting, giving a notice period of seven days. The amount of dirty words to be banned are 1695 and about more than 900 words are English are the rest are of Urdu and Punjabi. Surprisingly, the words aren't banned as yet, and who know when this notice is gonna have an implementation? Its our beloved country afterall!

An official from one of the carriers in question told the media:

"There are more than 1,600 words in the list including indecent language, expletives, swear words, slang etc, which have to be filtered. The filtering is not good for the system and may degrade the quality of network services -- plus it would be a great inconvenience to our subscribers if their SMS was not delivered due to the wrong choice of words,"

This step, taken by the government, has already been criticized alot, both nationally and internationally. For banning words like Tongue, Headlights and Jesus Christ, it just seems idiotic. Rachel Maddow on Msnbc, couldn't stop bursting into laugh, discussing the banned words in Pakistan...

Read more »

Will Hardees beat the rest?

All the mango people must have visited KFC, Mcdonald, Hardees. But if you havn't, screw you. The fight to be the top fast food restaurant started between KFC and Mcdonalds, but in the mid 2011, new contender in Pakistan showed up called "Hardees".

KFC became Pakistan's most leading and earning fast food restaurant early as it meals and deals were totally amazing. Mcdonalds had all kinds of burger types and qualities where as this was the only disadvantage KFC had was that it only had chicken items. Mcdonalds relied on different types of stuffs such as chicken, fish, meat and some other types too but KFC only relied totally on chicken. Mcdonalds deals and meals are always different because they introduced new item such as apple pie etc. KFC had different deals but the meals were same like introducing a new burger called Panini, it is same as it's zinger, no change. The ingredient of every burger is same but new name and a new shape makes it new. At the beginning the prices between the two restaurants were same but today there is a huge difference. Mcdonalds being at the upper hand from the starting has increased it's prices and KFC being on the lower hand has not increased much.

In my point of view, Mcdonalds is still much stronger in it's postition and reputation, it's a tough contender to beat. Hardees which has just recently opened in Pakistan is currently known for it's high prices. Although many people have commented that it is better than Mcdonalds. The fight is mainly between Hardees and Mcdonalds. The way Hardees is gaining attention and good reputation can bring up a good fight which could result overthrow Mcdonalds in the conclusion like Mcdonalds had overthrew KFC.

Currently the competition is increasing because the prices of these fast food restaurant are almost equal. Believe me, if you don't know what to choose between them, leave everything and go to your local broast shop because they are cheaper and can fill your stomach in just RS.120.

Read more »

Situation of Power Resources in Pakistan

The energy consumed by Pakistan as compared to most countries of the world is low. Pakistan consumes 10 times less energy than the world's average. Our country is not sufficient in power resources. The main sources of energy in Pakistan are oil, gas, coal and hydroelectricity.

Pakistan's coal reserve are of poor quality and the seams are lean. 90% of Pakistan's coal is used for burning, especially in brick kilns. Because of poor quality of coal, they are not exported where as they are all used for burning for domestic purposes. The reserves would last no more than 200 years. Pakistan also faces lots of problems in petroleum matters. Our country is still deficient in oil, with petroleum and it's products at the top of the import list. Due to importing 70% oil from other countries, the increase of cost in local market is at it's peak. Natural gas is the second largest energy source in Pakistan. This energy sector is the largest consumer of gas. Gas fields are expected to last for another 20 years.

Pakistan cannot afford heavy and costly machines. There is less development in industrial sector. Due to government policies, investors do not get encouraged. Our resources are being exploited and extracted by international / multi-national agencies such as Pak Arab oil refinery in which 51% oil is given to Saudi Arab because of their machinery. New rumor is that gas in Pakistan will not last long. Off course it won't, who told the government to introduce CNG or LPG to the public. This gas is now being used for the local transport. Load shedding in some areas have been started. This hence proves that there is a scarcity of gas, corruption aside.

When I was young, my cousins who lived in the United Kingdom used to taunt me that there is no load shedding of electricity here. Now I feel proud to say "Beta hamaray mulk main to light bhi jati hai!". God has blessed us with many resources such as a huge coast, 5 big rivers etc which are more than enough for electrical power but we are (in my words) "be-gherat" that we are not using them to fulfill our requirements.


It is not that we cannot overcome our requirements , in my knowledge there is a word called "corruption" which is spreaded over our country like a blanket. It has reached it's peek. In other countries, the electric supply company does not even think about load shedding because in such cases they have to pay big fines to the government but in our case public pay the fines because their businesses are at stake.

Gas load shedding is also increasing day by day but what difficulties it brings to people is not well known yet, but when will be, Aspiring Pakistan will get you updated .

Read more »

Imran Khan: How was he different?

This article contains non-political views only.

Imran Khan, a rapidly popularizing political leader of Pakistan, had a memorable first jalsa in Lahore. The rally was held at Minar-e-Pakistan, a patriotic venue.

There are loads of different views on the success level of his rally, but we are not politicizing the discussion here. No doubt, his rally was very inspiring and different. So what differences did Imran Khan come up with in his rally, compared to others?

The prearrangement

Public security was an important aspect which was given attention. Magnetic metal detectors were used to scan any arms and weapons possessed by anyone. Police were seen riding on horses maintaining a sense of security. Senior police official Ghulam Mahmood Dogar told reporters that all steps had been taken to provide "fool-proof" security at the public meeting.

Seats were arranged for the gathering. Of course, not everyone got a seat to sit but 40,000 seats should have been enough to accommodate the elders. Where else do we see so many seats arranged?

The risk of dengue was immense those days. Accordingly, anti-dengue chemicals were sprayed all over the area before anyone showed up. 

Another thing that inspired me personally was the camera work. Movable towers were fixed into the land and cameramen from various channels were able to capture some awesome views from the midst of the crowd.

During Jalsa

Soon after the rally begun, there was a pause. Imran Khan gave respect to azaan. But what made him different from others was his decision to offer the Maghrib prayer there and then, in front of thousands of people who must have taken home something inspirational from the footsteps of their leader.

I remember reading somewhere in the newspaper, a reporter expressed her views about the gentry present there, "there were less tooti chappals (broken shoes) to be seen". Does this mean that the middle class people who normally prefer to stay home were in for some support? In general there were not only die hard party fans but also the common people who just came there for some hope for the future of Pakistan. Youth of Lahore were also present at the venue in large numbers, as expected.

Imran Khan attracted and engaged more and more youth not only by his speech but also by inviting some of the popular singers and stars to perform live. Yes it seemed all in one package. Strings and Shehzad Roy performed live from between the audience. Apart from other songs, Shehzad Roy sung 'Laga reh' and Strings sung 'Main tou dekhoon ga', both rapidly popularizing patriotic songs. According to The Express Tribune, singers like Ali Zafar have also previously performed at PTI gatherings.

The Closing Note

The end was as influential as is the ending note of a singer's song! The most forgotten part of a true Pakistani gathering, 'paak sar zameen' the national anthem was played at the end of the ceremony. After keeping me excited throughout the rally, this last sent shiver through my spine, made me stand up in front of the TV and the sing the anthem along (yes I did remember).

Read more »

Ijaz Butt's era finally over

His era is finally over! Ijaz Butt made us weep throughout his tenure. Bad news followed by another, followed by another. It was only the last few days when the International Cricket Council tightened the reins on Ijaz Butt that he took a few steps for the sake of Pakistan cricket. Rest was all rubbish. Have a look at a brief rundown of his tenure.

2008

Ijaz Butt

Ijaz Butt was appointed the chairman of Pakistan Cricket Board on 7th of October, 2008 and the bad days begun. Ten days into his tenure, we had our first selection committee and management change. Saleem Jaffer replaced Salahuddin Ayubi as chairman of the committee and Talat Ali stepped down from being the team manager. A month later, the interim committee was dismissed, and the new committee was headed by Abdul Qadir.

Too much of a hassle to start with? Not, for Butt. Next, our coach was changed. Butt addressed the media on 20th October that Geoff Lawson’s contract will not be renewed. No one told Lawson, not even Butt. Lawson learned of the latest untold through the media. Butt then tracked back slightly, and on 23rd October, said that he “fully backs” Geoff Lawson. Lawson was sacked on 24th October and Intikhab Alam was appointed as the new coach, who had his own sorry tale.

Shoaib Malik was then accused of being a 'grouper' in the team and was removed from the captaincy. Younis Khan took over in all formats. Remember this was only the first captaincy change by Ijaz Butt, dated 27th January, 2008.

2009

Butt’s upsetting relationship with Miandad was referred by the parliament in February, 2009. Miandad had a complain that as a Director General of PCB, he was not given his precise duties and responsibilities. Absurdly, Butt claimed to the Senate that Miandad was not under a formal PCB contract. Butt said, “I admit it was our mistake as we didn’t sign a contract with Miandad when he was appointed as Director General in December”. Parliament, thus, asked Butt to step down from the chairmanship but he said he has got the support of the President Pakistan and will not resign. This was the first time when Butt was asked to leave.

March 2009 was undoubtedly one of the saddest month in the cricketing history of the world. It was the terrorist attack on the Sri Lankan team! Straight away, Butt pointed his finger towards the government. “Nowhere in the world does the cricket board interfere in the security matters – it’s the sole responsibility of the government,” he said. This event caused the Champions Trophy 2009 to be moved from Pakistan. He tried to calm down the situation, a week later, by stating that he expects cricket to be back in Pakistan in 6 to 9 months. It isn't back yet. Butt then accused match official Chris Broad that he lied about the lack of security given to the umpires and match officials in Pakistan.

In the following month the World Cup 2011 venue was also taken away from Pakistan considering the security threats. Butt in turn took the legal case to the court and in return got a compensation in form of money provided by the ICC. That money was supposed to benefit Pakistan Cricket in some way or the other, but it was Butt.

Differences with Butt made Abdul Qadir resign as chief selector on 8th June 2009, less than 6 months after taking the seat. Wasim Bari got the temporary position. Iqbal Qasim was made the chief selector three weeks later, in July.

Differences with the senior players caused Younis Khan to resign as a captain in October, 2009. Butt met Younis in an attemp to change his mind but Younis refused. Younis was not called back on a tough tour in Australia, despite being fit and willing to play, and despite the Pakistan team in desperate need of middle order support. Mohammad Yousuf was made the interim captain.

2010

Butt was again asked to resign by a parliamentarian, Jamshed Dasti, on 9th January 2010. "He (Butt) has gone too old," said Jamshed, which was true. According to Cricinfo.com, Butt ages about 74 years old.

Iqbal Qasim resigned on 31st January, after the fail Australian tour. Mohsin Hasan Khan took over the place of Iqbal Qasim as a chief selector, in March, 2010. Mohsin Khan still holds his position though some differences arose between Butt and him- they were settled soon.

It was the third time parliament asked Butt to resign, when it did, in February 2010. Javed Miandad also expressed his feelings that Butt is "too old" to have the seat.

On 10th February 2010, Butt got a legal notice for calling the United States Cricket Association an "illegal institution".

A match fixing controversy arose in March, not for the last time. There were allegations that at least one Pakistani player was involved in the match fixing on the tour to Australia. Butt ignored the allegations, saying that the case was "ten or twelve years" old. Butt, in the same month, banned and fined the senior players due to the fail tour in Australia and all the controversies. All the punishments were taken back a couple of months later.

Waqar Younis took the coaching seat when Intikhab Alam resigned, in the same month. Captaincy was once again taken away, this time from Mohammad Yousuf. Shahid Afridi was persuaded to return to test cricket and to take the responsibilities. Afridi resigned again from test cricket after one game as captain. And Salman Butt was next.

Iqbal Mohammad Ali, another parliamentarian, raised his voice for the change of chairmanship, on 11th August 2010. This was the fourth time he was asked to step down.

One and a half years after the attack on the Sri Lankan team, PCB sent a report to ICC regarding the incident, dated 17th August 2010.

It was long(weeks) since Butt was out of the news. So it was now time for the the big hit spot-fixing issues, in the English series, September 2010. In response to the accusations on Salman Butt and others, Ijaz Butt accused England of also being a bunch of fixers. England in reply held strong and asked for an apology from Ijaz Butt.

Butt first said he won't apologize, and then he did. In his formal apology, Butt stated that "I would like to make it quite clear that in the statements which I made that I never intended to question the behaviour and integrity of the England players nor the ECB nor to suggest that any of them were involved in any corrupt practices or in a conspiracy against Pakistan cricket."

ICC just being a spectator of all the issues relating PCB, now threatened to expel it if it does not sort out its issues soon. For the first time, there was a sense of surety around that Ijaz Butt is going to be sacked.

In October 2010, we saw another change in the captaincy, following Salman Butt’s legal issues. It was Misbah-ul-haq for the tests, the ninth change in captaincy in Ijaz Butt’s tenure.

Our performance in the World Cup was unexpectedly good. Pakistan got into the semi finals of a tournament. But then, Afridi was absurdly dismissed as ODI captain, no one knows why. He was confirmed only a few weeks before the tournament, in first place. Misbah took over as ODI and T20 captain. Butt stated that there are "solid reasons" for dropping Afridi but refused to elaborate.

Pakistan Cricket was able to breath a little when Ijaz Butt took a month off from his duties. Finally in October 2011, having his extension under consideration, Ijaz Butt’s contract was not renewed.


*sigh of relief*


Zaka Ashraf, a banker and industrialist now holds the chairmanship (to the date). Lets hope the history doesn't repeat itself, but the state Mr. Butt has left Pakistan Cricket in, it will surely take a lot to recover.

Read more »

Happy Eid!

Eid Mubarak to all the viewers and followers of Aspiring Pakistan!

Hope you have enjoyed feeding your animals and I hope that Allah accepts all your 'qubaanis', for this is what really matters. Enjoy all the slaughterings, running after cows, unpleasant odours, flowing blood and the meaty parties. Keep visiting Aspiring Pakistan :-)

F466HW798QAV

Read more »

Only in Pakistan

Our country is full of depression. Continuous terrorist attacts, blast, racism and raging makes us think that our country is nill in everything and most of us try to abandon Pakistan just to get secure life and have fun in other countries. But trust me guys it doesn't work that way. We people never think about the bright sides of living in our country. When people move to other country they feel like they have a good living standard, which is true. They may get inspired by the modern lifestyle and facilities, but, they'll surely miss many things found only in Pakistan.

Living in Pakistan make you have your own living style. Although may find it illiterate but there are many things that will make you laugh. There are many thing that you only get to see in Pakistan. Life in Pakistan is as easy as you want it to be. Everything is attainable. It is fun. For instance see the image on your right. "Chick Point" are you joking? Its these stupid yet funny things why we like living in Pakistan in spite of all the difficulties we face daily. Many of these things can't be described so I'll just let the pictures do the talking :-) Unjoy!



Click on a picture to expand.. and then scroll through.

     

Read more »

Bluffers at petrol pumps

My car was running really low on fuel so I headed to the nearest petrol pump I could find. It was a Shell pump located on Dalmia Road, Karachi. As I entered, I noticed that all the staff was free and there was no other car although it was rush time of Saturday night. Odd it was. As i entered I was greeted and directed warmly by the staff. When I stopped, one of them rushed his head through the window into my car. Having just Rs.900 in my pocket, I told him to fill so much. With no delay, he extended his arm towards me to grab the money. Feeling awkward a bit, I handed it over to him. The other guy showed me the meter as they usually do, and then the petrol started to pump in.

Read more »

Pakistani Players to be taken in IPL?

As we all know that Pakistani players did not played Indian Premier League held by the govt. of Indian Cricket Board. But as a matter of fact, discussions have now been put forward by Rajiv Shukla, the league's chairmen to let Pakistani players participate in the coming up IPL in 2012. Pakistani Cricketers have not participated in IPL since  2008 after the terrorist attack in Mumbai but Shukla said it does not mean that players from across the border won't be allowed at all.

"This decision has to be taken by the Governing Council and Governing Council will have to take a view on it. It is not that Pakistan as a country has been banned in IPL," Shakla told PTI. He also said that, "We have worked together. The question is about the circumstances and certain issues... in terms of security.". The discussion for the next IPL governing council will  meet on October 14.

Read more »