On December 26, for the first time in the country’s history, nearly 400 teachers from government schools across Pakistan gathered in Islamabad to talk about education reform. The Qaumi Asataza Conference 2013 (National Teachers’ Conference) brought together government teachers, politicians, educationists and religious scholars to discuss new ways to address an old and intractable problem. Qaumi Asataza Conference 2013's more than 700 participants included : o 375 government school teachers from 96 districts across Pakistan o 25 private school teachers o 15 politicians o 4 ministers o 6 bureaucrats o 40 media persons o 100 representatives of partner organisations

1. ALIF AILAAN UPDATE
December 2013

2. 2
Qaumi Asataza Conference 2013
On December 26, for the first time in the country’s history, nearly 400 teachers from government schools
across Pakistan gathered in Islamabad to talk about education reform.
The Qaumi Asataza Conference 2013 (National Teachers’ Conference) brought together government
teachers, politicians, educationists and religious scholars to discuss new ways to address an old and
intractable problem.
● More than 700 participants
o 375 government school teachers
from 96 districts across Pakistan
o 25 private school teachers
o 15 politicians
o 4 ministers
o 6 bureaucrats
o 40 media persons
o 100 representatives of partner organisations

3. 3
Qaumi Asataza Conference 2013
Our goal was to begin a process of positive engagement with government
school teachers. In doing so we hoped to encourage teachers to become
champions of reform.
Meesaq-e-Ilm
(Charter of Knowledge)
o A manifesto for
teaching in Pakistan
o Ground-breaking
statement on the part
of teachers in favour of
fundamental and
meaningful reform of
the teaching
profession
o Addresses the needs
of Pakistan’s teachers
o Formalises their
commitment to
motivate and lead
future generations
o Endorsed by delegates
at the conference
o Marks the first time
that teachers have
come forward as
leaders for positive
change in the
education sector
o Co-drafted by
representatives of
teachers’ unions and
senior educationists,
and supported by Alif
Ailaan
Top: Delegates presenting a signed copy of the Meesaq-e-Ilm to Minister for Planning and
Development Ahsan Iqbal; Above: The Honourable Minister addressing the gathering

4. 4
Qaumi Asataza Conference 2013
A number of prominent
politicians attended the
event to show their
support for Pakistan’s
teachers
Clockwise from top left: Minister for Planning and Development Ahsan Iqbal; KP Minister for Education Atif Khan; Minister of state for
education Baligh-ur-Rehman; Opposition leader Sindh Faisal Subzwari; JUI-F spokesperson Jan Achakzai; Chief Coordinator CM
Balochistan Ishaq Baloch; Advisor Education to CM Balochistan Sardar Raza Barrech; Senator Farhatullah Babar

5. 5
Qaumi Asataza Conference 2013
Our friends in the media
helped spread the word
Clockwise from top left: Qaiser Abbas, motivational speaker and CEO Possibilities Foundation; Saleem Safi, columnist and TV
anchor; Ejaz Haider, columnist and TV anchor; Shahzeb Khanzada, columnist and TV anchor; Mohammed Mallick, journalist and TV
anchor

6. 6
Prominent educationists spoke at the conference and our friends
and partners were there to lend their support
Qaumi Asataza Conference 2013
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Aga Khan University - Institute for Educational
Development
CARE Foundation
Education Fund for Sindh (EFS)
Gallup
Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA)
Institute of Development and Economic Alternatives
(IDEAS)
ILM Ideas
Institute for Social and Policy Sciences (I-SAPS)
LEAD Pakistan
Pakistan Association for Difficulties in Learning
(PADIL)
Pakistan Coalition for Education (PCE)
Pakistan Institute of Peace Studies (PIPS)
Private School Management Association (PSMA)
Rural Support Programme Network (RSPN)
Society for the Advancement of Education (SAHE)
Sub-National Governance (SNG)
Sustainable Development Policy Institute (SDPI)
Teach For Pakistan (TFP)
Clockwise from top left: Dr Faisal Bari (IDEAS); Ahmed Ali (I-SAPS); Dr Salman Humayun (I-SAPS); Dr Arfa Sayeda Zehra (Forman
Christian College); Dr Baela Raza Jamil (ITA)

7. 7
Qaumi Asataza Conference 2013
Clockwise from top left: Delegates enjoy lunch in the sun; Alif Ailaan’s data display; a view of the dining hall; outside the venue; a stall
set up by our partner, ITA

8. 8
Qaumi Asataza Conference 2013
The conference was covered by all major national and regional newspapers.
Media mentions (highlights)
o Associated Press of Pakistan, Dec 26: “Economic stability be achieved through knowledge based society: Ahsan Iqbal”
http://www.app.com.pk/en_/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=256774&Itemid=2
o Business Recorder, Dec 26: “Govt committed to take Meesaq-e-Ilm forward: Ahsan Iqbal” http://www.brecorder.com/top-news/108pakistan-top-news/150363-govt-committed-to-take-meesaq-e-ilm-forward-ahsan-iqbal.html
o Business Recorder, Dec 26: “Economic stability be achieved through knowledge based society: Ahsan Iqbal”
http://www.brecorder.com/top-news/1-front-top-news/150370-economic-stability-be-achieved-through-knowledge-based-society-ahsaniqbal.html
o Dawn, Dec 27: “Using teachers for irrelevant duties affecting education” http://m.dawn.com/news/1076634/using-teachers-for-irrelevantduties-affecting-education
o Daily Times, Dec 27: “Economic stability only
through knowledge-based society: Ahsan Iqbal”
Saleem Safi recorded an episode of his popular GEO
http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/business/27-DecTV show, Jirga with Saleem Safi, at the conference.
2013/economic-stability-only-throughknowledgebased-society-ahsan
o Express Tribune, Dec 27: “National teachers
moot: Devolving education was a disaster, says
Iqbal”
http://tribune.com.pk/story/651095/nationalteachers-moot-devolving-education-was-adisaster-says-iqbal/
o The Nation, Dec 27: “Mooting teachers troubles”
http://www.nation.com.pk/islamabad/27-Dec2013/mooting-teachers-troubles
o The News, Dec 28: “National Moot Addresses
Education Issues”
http://www.thenews.com.pk/Todays-News-6222965-National-moot-addresses-educationissues
Watch the episode at http://www.zemtv.com/2013/12/28/jirgao The Nation, Dec 29: “Frontline Fighters”
on-geo-newspakistan-mein-taleem-dene-wale-be-tuqeer-kyunhttp://www.nation.com.pk/editorials/29-Dec28th-december-2013
2013/frontline-fighters

9. Qaumi Asataza Conference 2013
9
The conference was covered live on Twitter with
real-time updates on Facebook throughout the day
Our social media team live-tweeted the event and our
Twitter hashtag #SalamUstad trended for 12 hours and 35
minutes.
Our event hashtag #SalamUstad generated a total of 1.17 million
impressions with a reach of 4.46 million.* A total of 922 people
contributed to the hashtag.
* ‘Timeline deliveries’ or
‘impressions’ represent
the total possible
number of times
someone could have
viewed the hashtag.
‘Reach’ is the number of
unique individuals who
received timeline
deliveries of the
hashtag.

10. 10
Waldain ki Awaz (Voice of Parents) is a new initiative to strengthen
the rallying power of parents and help them find local solutions to
local problems. Parents’ unions will be established across the
country, starting at the union council level. The first phase kicked
off in December
● 79 community sessions covering
o 6 districts
o 30 union councils
Waldain ki Awaz

11. 11
Waldain ki Awaz
What happens in a
community session
o Charter of demands
signed, consisting of a
list of local issues and
solutions proposed by
the community, to serve
as a starting point for
action.
o Union council
representatives
nominated to become
part of the district-level
union
o Education champions
identified from among
parents attending the
session, to become
local advocates for
community needs and
education reform.
A charter of demands signed by parents attending a community session;

12. 12
Network Coordinators
Our network of education activists continued their
work on the ground, with 45 events reaching:
• 3,421 members of local communities, including
teachers and parents
• 56 CSOs
• 6 politicians

13. 13
Network Coordinators
December highlights
o
Teachers Appreciation Awards, Sudhnoti, AJK
(Dec 02)
o
Seminar on Teachers’ Problems, Bahawalnagar
(Dec 03)
o
Importance of Teachers, Peshawar (Dec 04)
o
Teachers’ Union Oath-Taking Ceremony,
Bhimber, AJK (Dec 05)
o
Teachers Appreciation Award Ceremony, Mirpur,
AJK (Dec 06)
o
Seminar on Problems of Teachers and Their
Solutions, Bahawalnagar (Dec 07)
o
Debate Competition, Government Girls Primary
Schools (Dec 10)
o
Access to Quality Education for Special
Children, Lahore (Dec 12)
o
Alif Ailaan stall at Lok Mela, Layyah (Dec 14)
o
Community discussion on Article 25-A, Bannu
(Dec 16, 17)
o
Walk for Government Girls Primary School,
Abdul Rehman Goth, Karachi (Dec 16)
o
Role of Civil Society Organisations and Media in
Promoting Education, Rajanpur (Dec 17)
o
Inter-University Declamation and Videography
Contest, Malakand University, Lower Dir (Dec
18)
o
Role of Teachers in Promotion of Education,
Rajanpur (Dec 18)
o
Speech Competition, Gwadar, Balochistan (Dec
18)
o
Bajaur Cultural Night, Peshawar (Dec 18)
o
Why South Punjab is Lagging Behind in
Education, Dera Ghazi Khan (Dec 18)
o
Importance of Teachers, Kasur (Dec 19)
o
Awareness and Mobilisation Camp on Education
Issues, Larkana (Dec 21)
o
Consultation Meeting with Media, Civil Society,
Education Department representatives,
Jacobabad (Dec 22)
o
Education Issues of Minorities, Haripur (Dec 24)
o
Awareness and Mobilisation Camp on Education
Issues, Garhi Khuda Baksh, Naudero (Dec 27)
o
Being Teachers What Do We Get, Karachi (Dec
31)
o
Teachers Responsibilities, Issues and Solutions,
Hyderabad (Dec 31)

14. 14
Partners
Our partner, the Pak Institute for Peace Studies (PIPS), continued its engagement with religious scholars and
opinion makers.
Educational Rights and Obligations: Constitutional and Religious
Perspectives – seminar with editors of religious publications (Dec 10)
Basic Right to Education, Legislation and
Implementation: National and Religious Obligations
– a dialogue with religious scholars (Dec 18)
More than 20 religious scholars from various
schools of thought, and representatives of
madrassa education boards, participated.
o The state of education in Pakistan is miserable
and requires an emergency response.
o Other developing nations are progressing fast
because of their investment in education.
o
“ The Pakistani state and Pakistani society must
realise that prosperity and stability cannot be
achieved without focusing on education.
o Teachers, parents, religious scholars,
politicians, civil society activists, journalists and
citizens, as well as the government, all need to
promote education.
Leading scholars, editors and columnists agreed to focus on the importance
of education and the right to education.
o The federal and provincial governments should take immediate steps to
implement Article 25-A of the Constitution.
o Religious scholars will use their influence to create awareness about the
importance of education.
o Khateebs will deliver at least one Friday sermon per month on education.
o Civil society needs to make media effective to address the education
crisis.
o Every literate man should teach at least one illiterate person; this will
generate a wave of ‘educational prosperity’.
o Editors of religious journals and magazines will include at least one article
about education in every edition.
o Educational institutions need to communicate with each other to arrive at
a strategy to tackle the education crisis.
o The budget for education should be increased to at least 5% of GDP.

15. Partners
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The Rural Support Program Network (RSPN) expanded its work at
the grassroots to mobilise demand for education
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Local support organisations (LSOs) held meetings with education
department officials, taking up specific issues such as missing facilities and
teacher absenteeism.
In the run up to the local government elections, LSOs identified local
politicians who are supportive of education reform in their constituencies.
LSOs continued their work with school management committees (SMC) to
ensure the effective utilisation of school budgets. Some SMCs in South
Punjab reported the problem of unavailability of SMC funds, which will be
taken up by LSOs with education department officials.
A total of 213 meetings with 1,111
participants:
o 56 LSO executive body meetings
o 6 LSO general body meetings
o 73 VO/CO meetings
o 5 meetings with education department
officials
o 63 follow-up meetings with SMCs
o 3 follow-up meetings with political
workers
o 4 parent ittehad (parents’ union) meetings
at the union council level
o 3 bi-monthly meetings of the District
Education Network
Bahawalpur, South Punjab: A walk to promote Article 25-A and the right to education; monthly meeting of an all-women LSO

16. 16
Partners
RSPN carries the message of education to
communities
Clockwise from top left: A girls’ school with no building (Bahawalpur); a community session on Article 25-A (Dera Ghazi Khan); a boy
being enrolled in school for the first time (Rajanpur); mothers pledge to send their children to school (Rajanpur)

17. Summary – December 2013
17
Total supporters
388,145
FB likes
311,000
Website visits
27,379
Twitter followers
2,244
Declaration signed
33,500
SMS group members
14,022
Engagement with politicians (includes repeat contacts)
11,324
RSPN
1,060
NC events
268
Political advocacy team
205
I-SAPS
2,110
Contacts with parents and communities
261,124
NC events
45,564
SCF citizen engagement
1,877
RSPN participants
213,683
Contacts with teachers
3,993
RSPN
593
Political advocacy team
400
Civil society activities
3,000
Contacts with media
2,169