Pakistan

• Instructions

1. Find BTU Value and Convert
   • 1

     Find the BTU value of the gas. This is determined periodically during the refining process by the manufacturer. Natural gas is 70 to 90% methane and up to 20% ethane, with smaller quantities of other gases such as propane and butane. Variations in the composition determine the BTU value.

   • 2

     Convert cubic feet to cubic meters. If your supplier gave you the BTU value of the gas per cubic foot, convert the value to cubic meters as follows:

     1 cubic meter = 35.3146667 cubic feet. Multiply this by the BTU value of your gas. If your gas has a value of 1,000 BTU/cubic foot, then one cubic meter will contain 35,314.6667 BTUs.

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   • 3

     Calculate the total BTUs in the total number of cubic meters. Multiply the number of cubic meters of gas by the BTUs per cubic meter (from Step 2). For instance, if you have 1,000 cubic meters:

     35,314.6667 BTU / cubic meter x 1,000 cubic meters = 35,314,666.7 BTUs.

   • 4

     Convert BTUs to MMBTUs. Since there are 1,000,000 BTUs in an MMBTU, divide the total BTUs by 1,000,000:

     35,314,666.7 BTUs / 1,000,000 = 35.314.6667 MMBTUs

     Note that your significant figures will depend on how many significant figures are given by the refiner for the BTU value of the gas.

THE CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT PROCESS IN PAKISTAN AT ALL LEVELS

REFORM

It may be noted that the process of curriculum reform in Pakistan has been introduced as part of the successive series of national education policies.

Education policy and curriculum reform cycle The following six-phase strategy has been adopted for implementing curriculum change:

1. Evolution of curriculum objectives (by level);

2. Development of scheme of studies (by level);

3. Development of syllabus of each subjects;

4. Development of textbooks/instructional materials;

5. Review/approval of textual material;

6. Teacher training.

DEVELOPING OBJECTIVES

Curriculum objectives are basically derived from the recommendations of National Education Policy, national level seminars and other forums (e.g. forums of the Inter-Board Committee of Chairmen (IBCC) and research studies conducted at provincial curriculum centres). The NBCT prepares the draft of objectives; which are widely circulated among the provincial institutions responsible for curriculum development, teacher training and examination. Based on their views/comments, these objectives are finalized. They are subsequently translated into the specific teaching objectives for various subjects. Several factors are considered in finalizing curriculum objectives; including the requirements that objectives should:

(a) be precise

(b) assist in the selection of teaching strategy

(c) produce (or contribute to) a designated behaviour pattern;

(d) enable the teachers to measure or evaluate the quality and effectiveness of learning.

THE STUDIES SCHEME

The scheme of studies is based on three key factors:

1. the national education policy

2. market demand

3. global issues that relate to new or contemporary education dimensions.

Task work in this area is undertaken with active participation of the provincial government, research organizations and experts; as well as feedback from the IBCC.

DEVELOPMENT OF SYLLABI

Based on the objectives and scheme of studies, subject specific syllabi are prepared in consultation with: provincial curriculum centres; subject experts; and psychologists and serving teachers. Collectively, they ensure that the syllabi, in all respects, satisfy the following conditions:

1. They are based on the needs of the learner/child;

2. They take into account the existing knowledge and environmental experience of the learner;

3. The developmental level of the learner is considered in the cognitive, effectiveness and psycho-motor domains;

4. The contents should be focused on attaining the objective(s).

TEXTBOOK DEVELOPMENT

Provincial Textbook Boards (PTBB) are responsible for development of text-books according to the approved syllabi. Established lists of textbook writers in various subjects are kept. From these lists, invitations are issued to writers to submit draft materials within the prescribed syllabus parameters. Selections are made on the basis of the quality and relevance of materials submitted to local situations. Finally, the selected materials are transformed into textbooks; the final versions of which are sent to the NBCT for approval.

REVIEW AND APPROVAL

A National Review Committee, comprising five or six members includes:

1. at least one expert from the Syllabus Formulation Committee; two subject experts

2. two schoolteachers (one teaching the relevant material and one from a teacher-training institute). On receipt of textual materials from PTBB, this committee conducts textbook reviews based on the following parameters:

(a) the book truly reflects the curriculum

(b) it meets the objectives stated in the curriculum

(c) the book does not contain any material repugnant to Islamic and Pakistani ideology.

In the case of approval, the textbook is sent back for publishing and distribution. In case of objection, the specific complaints are relayed along with revision recommendations.

NATIONAL EDUCATION POLICY CURRICULUM REFORM CYCLE

1972 1st Cycle, 1973-76

1979 2nd Cycle, 1982-85

1992 3rd Cycle, 1992-95

1998 4th Cycle, 1998-01

TEACHER TRAINING

Teacher training for curriculum implementation is the exclusive responsibility of the provincial government. However, it is now being stressed that each textbook must have a teacher's guide-also approved by the NBCT. In some cases, assistance in the training of master trainers is provided to provincial governments.

CURRICULUM DEVELOPMENT PITFALLS

Several major obstacles affecting the quality and effectiveness of the curriculum development process in Pakistan are summarized below.

EXPERTISE

Some serving teachers are, of course, involved in curriculum development. But notwithstanding their outstanding subject area expertise, their contribution to the curriculum development is, for all practical purposes, nominal. The main reason for this is that they lack the requisite expertise. The existing training programmes provide little exposure in this area, and the teachers' academic qualifications do not necessarily contribute to curricular creativity. Therefore, at best, the teachers are able to provide opinions about the compatibility between specific concepts or content and the intellectual development level of the children in a specific age group or grade. However, this guidance often reflects, in part, a particular situation with which the teachers have been dealing (e.g. children from a rural background) and, in part, their own capability to render a specific concept comprehensible.

TEXTBOOK QUALITY

Textbooks often do not reflect the curriculum. Of course, it requires considerable experience and skill to:

1. translate the curriculum in a style that covers the objectives

2. simultaneously take into consideration the children's language proficiency and background knowledge and

3. concurrently arrange the content in a logical sequence in a stimulating manner.

But the all-important self-assessment questions or activities (especially questions focused on higher order skills) are invariably missing.

IMPLEMENTATION AND FOLLOW-UP

The third problem is that there is lack of follow-up of actual curriculum implementation in classroom practice. The curriculum actually implemented is generally different from the official curriculum document. The classroom teacher, who primarily focuses on the textbooks and assessment, does not take into account the educational objectives. No evaluation of the implemented curriculum is carried out; hence no feedback is received to revise the curriculum. In short, each of the steps in the curriculum development process, as outlined above, tends to occur in isolation from the others and there is no visible coherent curriculum development activity.

Answer 1

Not only Muslim Shiites are killed in Pakistan but also Muslim Sunnis. However, outsiders try to deepen the disputes among Sunnis and Shiites to weaken both of them and to get control over Islamic countries. All differences among different Islamic schools are minors and not critical. All Muslims believe in same God, same holy book, and same prophet. They all pray the same, fast same month, go for pilgrimage (or Hajj) to same places, and give charities (or Zakat). Refer to question below for more information.

Answer 2

Unfortunately, while there are certainly deaths on both sides of the Islamic spectrum due to ancillary activities of the US-led Afghanistan War, the inordinate number of Shiite deaths in the recent period has little to do with foreign intervention as most of these deaths are caused by Muslims or Muslim extremists indigenous to the region.

One of the major groups of Shiites persecuted in Pakistan are the Hazara who have been targeted by Sunni groups in the region since the 1500s. Most recently, the Taliban and Al-Qaeda have violently targeted them since they believe that Shiite Islam is a heresy and that therefore the Hazara deserve to die. Additionally, the Hazara are not ethnically "Pakistani" which makes them targets from the perception of a foreign influence, regardless of the fact that the Hazara have been a part of Pakistan since the colonial period.

There have been mosque bombing of Shiite mosques and there have also been targeted assassinations of Shiite professionals. These are also motivated by sectarian views of the terror organizations: Lashkar-e-Jhangvi and Sipah-e-Sahaba. Additionally, these organizations are buttressed by Al-Qaeda and the Taliban.