Shehzad
Roy, a famous singer of Pakistan, also runs a non-government educational
organization, ‘Zindagi’ (meaning 'life'). Trust, that took over the management
of a government school, Fatima Jinnah Girls School, in 2007.Shahzad Roy said ‘I
have a remarkable team of people who have transformed a once-dilapidated
government school into a model that the government can replicate in other schools.’ He visualizes
‘Chal Parha’ as an opportunity to spread his message to Pakistan everywhere as
he traveled across 80 cities in Pakistan and visited 200 government schools.
The promotional song (Chal Parha) of the program defines the digression of the
society, in general, for not giving due attention to ’education’. In a light
yet piercing manner, the lyrics serve as a stringer for the listeners. In each
episode of ‘Chal Parha’, the issues from public schools for example, corporal
punishment, medium of instruction, population, textbooks, curriculum, teachers
etc have been highlighted. Awareness has been created for the basic right to
quality education, moreover steps have been taken to bring some improvement I
these schools. 20 thumb-printing attendance machines in government schools in all 5
provinces have been installed to bring transparency to the teacher absenteeism
issue. It has been reported that attendance data since installation has been
collected and improvement is been viewed as the teacher attendance has
increased considerably in these schools.
Moreover
in the episode on corporal punishment, a law banning physical abuse in schools was
proposed. The National Assembly
of Pakistan after it approved a bill prohibiting corporal punishment of
children in educational institutions. The bill has declared any form of
corporal punishment of children in academic institutions illegal. Individuals
involved in the acts will be sentenced to one year in prison, Rs 50,000 fine or
both. Chal Parha is another
call to declare ‘education emergency’ in Pakistan – not just by adding Article
25-A in the Constitution, but to ensure its fair and proper implementation.
Many
in Pakistan are supporting Shehzad Roy’s cause, as Fakiha Hassan Rizvi writes
“Roy is both a motivation and a lesson for any young adult living in this
country. Unlike many, he isn’t chasing projection in the neighboring media
outlets, allured by ‘piles of money’ or the lust for fame. If he continues with
his efforts, there are good enough chances for him to introduce a new ‘genre’
in Pakistani music industry- something like ‘social responsibility’.” Similarly Ghazi
Salahuddin writes on Chal Parha, "The real challenge is to explore the roots of
what is happening to us. When ‘Chal Parha’ dealt with the problem of corporal
punishment in schools it judiciously linked it with the prevalence of violence
at all levels of our society. This linkage
has considerable significance and it underlines the fact that we need the right
kind of education and parenting to counter the evils that have seeped into our
collective psyche."
There
may be various controversial aspects of ‘Chal Parha’ but the positives should
always be highlighted and appreciated. Motivational projects can inspire
youngsters to come forward to bring a change in society.
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