June 13, 2012: This column was originally published in Dawn.
The finance minister, Dr Hafeez Shaikh, had barely completed his truncated budget speech that word spread around Islamabad about an imminent approach to the International Monetary Fund for more financing.
In fact, Dr Shaikh hinted as much soon after. Of course, this has not come as a surprise to regular observers of Pakistan.
June 9, 2012: This column was published in Dawn.
There has been some debate in these pages recently about the ideal language of educational instruction.
One side argues that English is the lingua franca of the world. Never before has a language been as widely used as the common language of business, government and science. Increasingly, it is the language of higher and technical learning.
May 8, 2011: This column was originally published in Dawn on the 8th of May, 2011.
I never read Three Cups of Tea. Something about its ‘white man stumbles upon brown misery, then sets about correcting it using his all-American heartland gusto’ narrative did not sit well with me.
I also found that the optimism generated by the fawning over Mr Mortenson, the author, grated with my pessimism about our education system. Continue reading Op-ed: Storm in a teacup
March 11, 2011: This column was originally published in Dawn.
THE legal drama of the ‘Raymond Davis killings’ was brought to an end under the Sharia mechanism of Diyat. Funds, from unknown sources, were allegedly transferred to the heirs of the two victims, as remuneration in exchange for discontinuing their noble quest for justice. Or was the money transferred to them as justice? Not sure on that. Continue reading Op-ed: And justice for all
February 7, 2011: This column was originally published in Dawn.
In introductory economics courses, economic systems are explained by using the two extreme (and mostly theoretical) examples of the ‘command economy’ and the ‘laissez-faire economy’. The former is fully controlled by the state and the latter has no state interference at all. Most economies in the world today (except, perhaps, for North Korea) exist somewhere between these two extremes: the mixed economy. Continue reading Op-ed: The market and state
January 11, 2011: This column was originally published in Dawn on the 21st of January, 2011.
THE country’s financial squeeze continues unabated after recent attempts by the PPP-led administration to alleviate pressure on public coffers came to naught. The ruling party was left isolated by opposition parties as well as its own coalition partners as one after another proposed tax reform and increases in power tariffs and oil prices were withdrawn in the face of intense political opposition. In effect, political realities defeated economic realities. Continue reading Op-ed: Reform or bust
November 2, 2010: This column was originally published in Dawn on the 2nd of November, 2010 under the title: “An ill-judged move”.
PRIME Minister Yousuf Raza Gilani, in an address over the weekend, referred to the nationalisation of educational institutions in 1972 by then president Zulfikar Ali Bhutto as a “blunder”. Interestingly it appears that this was not a controversial statement.
Other than a rebuke from the Workers’ Party Pakistan, so far few appear to have stepped up to defend the deceased founder of the PPP. Even former prime minister Benazir Bhutto, when she reversed her party’s previous position by embarking on a privatisation drive in the late 1980s, described it as appropriate to the era just as nationalisation had been appropriate (not a blunder) to her father’s era. Continue reading Op-ed: On nationalizing schools
May 4, 2010: This column was originally published in Dawn.
Things are about to get very rocky for the PPP-led governing coalition. That is remarkable considering the last two years have not exactly been smooth sailing.
Forget the judiciary, the media and the opposition. This summer the administration will face what may prove to be its nemesis the rolling power outrage. Continue reading Op-ed: Summer of discontent
April 22, 2010: This column was originally published in Dawn.
A FEW days ago, President Asif Ali Zardari affixed his signature to the 18th Amendment bill. Now that the political class of 2008 has successfully exorcised the ghosts of generals past from the constitution, perhaps the administration can focus on the two existential threats facing Pakistan jihadist militancy and economic malaise. Continue reading Op-ed: Economy, a top priority
Feb 2010: I presented a paper at the 7th annual Educational Symposium for Research and Innovation (ESRI) 2010 hosted by the Graduate School of Education and Human Development (GSEHD) of the George Washington University.
The paper reviewed private-public school comparisons in low-income countries in an attempt to analyze the methodological issues that limit the research and therefore limit the inferences that can be made. Based on 18 studies conducted in 13 countries in Africa, Asia and Latin America, the paper explored the methodologies used in these private-public comparisons based on a five-aspect analytical framework, which covered: study design, choice of treatment variable, dependent variable(s), control variable(s) and statistical methods.
Continue reading Presentation: Methodological issues in comparisons of private and public schools
Asif Saeed Memon 