An Introduction to Islamic Modes of Financing for Elimination of Interest Based Transactions in Banking Sector of Pakistan

The Economic system ofIslam is very balanced one. Islam does not deprive a person to take benefit of all halal (permissible) things, while it has banned all illegal means of earning like deceit, corruption, gambling, etc. Among all evils, interest/usury is the worst form of earning and those who are involved in transactions based on it, they have been threatened with hell. While on the other hand, in most banks and other financial institutions, transactions are carried out on the basis ofinterest. This is why Muslim scholars worked out alternative modes based on Islamic financing to replace interest-based transactions. In this article six modes of financing i. e. Musharakah. , Mudharabah, Murabahah, Ijarah, Salam and Istisnah have been discussed. If these Islamic inodes of financing are adopted in banking sector and in otherfinancial institutions, then it is hoped that in a very short span of time elimination ofriba would be possible.

Teachers Strategies of Giving Feedback in a Lower Secondary Mathematics Classroom A Case Study

Formative assessment is an important part of the teaching learning process, aimed to improve teaching and learning. According to Lange (1999) and Taras (2005), for an assessment to be formative, it must be followed by feedback. This study was conducted, keeping in mind the importance of feedback in the process of formative assessment was conducted. This study was conducted in a private school in Karachi, Pakistan to find out how teachers use feedback in mathematics classrooms. It was an interpretive study, carried out through using interview, classroom observation and document review as data collection methods in the qualitative paradigm. The study reveals that the teachers perceived feedback, a process to give information to students as well as to get information about their own teaching. They perceived it as part of formative assessment. They used students' classroom performance, observation, written work and the tests as sources of formative assessment, to get information about the performance of students. The study also shows that teachers communicate feedback verbally as well as in written form. Teachers as well as the students found sharing of verbal feedback useful for student learning. Both of them liked written feedback with notebook work and tests, because it remained in record. However, students preferred verbal sharing of feedback in the classroom, because they found an opportunity to clarify their concepts by asking questions repeatedly and discussing them with each other. Furthermore, the study reveals that overcrowded classes, time, and mark and grade-oriented belief of students' and students' behavior in the classroom are some of the challenging factors that influence the feedback process. The study suggest to schools to increase the period duration and maintain the number of students in a classroom not more than thirty, manage programs for parents and student to change their grade- oriented belief, and conduct workshops for teachers. It also suggests that teachers bring a change in themselves in accordance with their changed role.