Education Without Borders - Peace building through Education

Peace building takes many forms but the most sustainable one is the medium of healing through education exchanges and learning solutions to common challenges from basic to most complex forms of knowledge generation, management and its dissemination.

Since 2006 many of us education walas have been engaged in an exciting initiative that began in Lahore at a conference on February 1-2 , 2006 titled "Local Governance ,Texts and Contexts Perspectives from South Asia". The conference concluded with the formation of the South Asia Forum for Education Development (SAFED). SAFED in Urdu is 'white' or the color of PEACE. Professor Ayesha Jalal and Professor Krishna Kumar, in their key note addresses compelled South Asians to rise to the challenge of 'education beyond borders', seeking answers to education relevance, how children learn, what for, so that we can together undertake fundamental education reforms.

Mian Imran Masud Minister Education Punjab, endorsed SAFED in 2006 for its work in the core areas of: Quality and learning; promoting girls education; cross cultural research; education in emergencies, human rights and sustainable development; ensuring linkages of higher with basic education Since 2008 SAFED has teamed up with Indian institutions, viz., Pratham, Jamia Millia Univeristy.

WISCOMP, National Council of Education Research & Training (NCERT) and Ankur Society to find common ground for problems in education. In each endeavour the focus has been to engage in meaningful programs of learning and becoming, beyond an event mentality as a long term enterprise.

Professor Radha Kumar, Professor Janaki Rajan and Professor Veena Sikri at Jamia have spear headed the South Asian Women Network (SAWN) working across 8 sectors including education, peace, health and micro credit with women and men of South Asia Ms. Sharmila Bhagat and her team from Ankur was invited from the SAWN and SAFED platform to a weeklong workshop at Kinnaird College Lahore in August 2009 for a publication on documenting narratives of young women living in disadvantaged conditions, capable of sharing narratives that were empowering and liberating. A freirian methodology of sub-altern writing from below was adopted. This initiative will be completed in 2010 for publication of young women from Pakistan and India.

Dr. Rukmini Banerji, Dr. William Wadhva , Madhav Chavan Dr. Shahid Mehdi (former VC Jamia) and their volunteers from Pratham and ASER India have supported an amazing initiative for border crossings through a citizen led household based assessment of children' s learning levels 3-16 years. This effort in sharing skills for a citizens' led survey on similar lines as India called the Annual Status of Education Review (ASER) or Impact in Urdu.. The collaboration has been absolutely amazing in terms of its humanity in extending gratis technical support. In 2008/9 the rural survey was completed in Pakistan covering 17 373 children in 6520 households across 326 villages in 11 districts.

ASER Pakistan 2008 was launched in Islamabad and Lahore recently. It has been well received by government as a timely supplementary diagnostic tool to inform all citizens and government to take appropriate actions. ASER is poised for a five year replication in Pakistan in close collaboration with ASER Centre India and East Africa - a South South initiative that will keep us on track with respect to our national and international goals of EFA and MDGs This endeavour needs support of the media, corporate sector and concerned citizens alike. In 2010 ASER Pakistan will reach 35 districts and 2011 in all districts across the country.

Cross cultural collaborations have been supported by the US government for a South Asian educators' group in heritage, environment and peace. On March 21st 2010 a week long conference was held funded by the US Dept of State on education leadership in Delhi and Karachi simultaneously with over 60 educators from Pakistan, India and the USA. Some well known educators included : Dr. Usha Nayar' Dr. Anil Sethi, Ms. Yasmin Lari, Romana Hussain, Baela R Jamil, Prof. Radha Kumar , Navina Jafa, Ms. Blake Allen, Dr. Mary Ann, Dr. Anita Rampal, Mc Garry, Ms. Simi Kamal , Prof. Vikram Soni, Ranjana Sakhia and Prof. Anita Rampal. Our High Commissioner and Deputy High Commissioner Shahid Malik and Riffat Masood in Delhi played a stellar role in this conference recognizing that borders create too many hurdles in finding long lasting solutions. Major collaborations were proposed of saving Ravi and Chenab much like Yamuna; preserving Heritage and Environment in our daily classrooms encounters, both within and without walls. We need to not just talk but practice Peace from primary to tertiary education through an absolutely impregnable inclusive medium suggested by Professor Usha Nayar, of Education without Frontiers, echoing Ayesha Jalal.

Professor Vikram Soni is in Lahore as I write this piece calling for public interest science, speaking to researchers, activists, teachers and students to demystify science with mutli-disciplinary crossovers for our sustainability. Simi Kamal from Hissar, Yaseen Lari and Ruman Hussain have volunteered for action.

Under the banner of Aman ki Asah we urge hosting of a unique two day conference of 16 eminent educators from Pakistan, India, Bangladesh and Afghanistan, our icons of education and thinking who will hold conversations with 2000 youth on the substance of Education for Tomorrow, Yesterday and Today . These include the likes of: Professor Anita Ghulam Ali, Raza Kazim, Yaspal ji, Ayesha Jalal, Krishna Kumar, Madhav Chavan, Amartya Sen, Manzoor Ahmed, Abid Hussain, Anita Rampal, Dr.Ashraf Ghani from Afghanistan. Aman ki Aasha could do this both face to face and virtually in four locations simultaneously. Some of us can volunteer to organize this.

Yashpal ji, Vice Chancellor Jawahar Lal Nehru University is pining to visit Lahore one more time." Baela a visit to Lahore, and I shall be at peace with my maker ". Can we deny this honor to our eternally young and Grand Educator, who does not go to bed until he is intellectually provoked by 100 questions from children: " why is the color of the sky blue', 'what makes sea water salty' 'how do puris puff'?. Each day is a multiple disciplinary journey. Our youth across borders needs to be in the company of inspiring regenerating icons and thinkers? This would be a moment to seize passing on an invaluable, diverse and rich mosaic of living intellectual heritage of South Asia. It needs to urgently find spaces amongst our youth, valid as narrations and constructions of history, shared today and working as the masala for a resilient future so that South Asian societies will live in peace, diversity and dignity through contemporary powerful knowledge and experience avatars both virtual and actual.

Baela Raza Jamil
Director Programs Idara-e-Taleem-oAaghi (ITA) and Coordinator SAFED ;
itacec@gmail.com