Historical Contribution of Islamic Waqf in Human Capital Development Through Funding Education

Islam being a complete code of life encompasses all aspects of a person’s personal and social life. Islam considers those as Muslims who submit to the will of Allah Almighty in all aspects of life. Islam is not merely a matter of private life and its worship system is not restricted only to a set of rituals, but has pervasive social consequences and develops a strong sense of moral society based on system of rules around center of universal concept of justice. Therefore, Islam proposed institutions with relation to justice, governance, cooperation and solidarity for achieving high economic growth and development. Achievement of development and growth of economy is fast in a society or country if it has developed human capital (human resource). Human capital is developed when education is imparted and facilities of health and sound life are provided to human beings. According to Islamic principles, if human beings cannot afford proper education in the society (or other facilities such as health care) then those who are well off endow their properties in Zakat, Awqaf (plural of waqf) and Charities for their better development and nourishment. These properties when endowed as Awqaf are deployed for propagation of education (knowledge, skills, training etc.) by establishing Madrassas (schools, maktabs, colleges, universities etc.) libraries, translating books, and conducting research. In Islamic society there were many Awqaf founded for establishing Madrassas. This paper is dedicated to discuss the development of human capital through education funded by Islamic Awqaf by reviewing literature.

Investigating Competency Level of Field Assistants for Agricultural Development in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa

Effective extension services plays pivotal role in upgrading socio and economic condition of the farmers. In this era of economic and technological advancement, Field Assistants are required to be competent regarding emerging challenges in agriculture because they are the frontline soldiers in assisting farming community. This situation demands to assess the possessed level of competencies and identify new competencies required for them to satisfy the diverse needs of farming community in 21st century. Therefore, this study was conducted to investigate the competency level of Field Assistants of Agriculture Extension Department required for their effective task performance. The objectives of the study were to assess the possessed and required level of competency, areas for training needs and influence of demographic characteristics on their competency development. A total of 234 respondents were selected based on Sekaran sampling technique out of total 543 Field Assistant staff of the department. Furthermore, proportional allocation method was applied to select the respondents from four Agro-ecological zones of the province. Data from the respondents were collected through pre-tested and validated interview schedule. Mean, standard deviation, paired sample t-test and dummy variable regression model were used to accomplish the study objectives. Results showed that top most possessed technical competencies were ability to identify moisture content requirements for seed germination, familiarity with macro nutrient fertilizers and familiarity with primary tillage implements. Moreover, among crops, vegetables and fruits; highly possessed competencies were “understanding the agro-climatic condition requirements of crops”, familiarity with sowing timings of vegetables and understanding fruits plantation techniques respectively. Among plant protection competencies; identifying major insect pests of crops/vegetables/fruits was highly possessed competency regarding insect pests/diseases competency and familiarity with names of commonly occurring weeds in weed competency. Moreover, it was found that Field Assistants possessed low level competency in using Global Positioning System (GPS) device for soil sampling, measurement of soil pH and its reclamation, minimize post-harvest losses, training and propagation of fruit plants and diagnose the causes of low yield in vegetables that were required at high level for their task performance as perceived by them. Highly significant difference (P≤0.01) was reported between the possessed and required level of understanding adverse effect of water pH on crops, understanding nutrient contents of fertilizers, biological and cultural control of pests. Highest training needs in professional competency were reported in use of Information and Communication Technologies, use of audiovisual materials and ability of motivating farmers. vii Regression analysis showed that rural domicile, job experience, and master level education of the Field Assistants have positive and significant effect on the development of their competency. The top ranked constraints which the respondents faced in building the required competency were lack of promotion, training opportunities and incentives or motivation. It was concluded that respondents needed utmost training regarding emerging challenges in the technical competencies while providing advisory services to farming community. Therefore, it is suggested that Human Resource Development section may be established in the department that would perform regular training needs analysis of the Field Assistants so that in-service training should be provided to them regarding identified competencies. Similarly, it is suggested that curriculum of the Field Assistants diploma course should be updated regarding emerging challenges of the province.