Why Social Protection is Not Enough to Effectively Address Poverty Reduction in Pakistan

Pakistan is behind many other countries in the Asia region in reducing poverty. Dedicated poverty reduction Programmes so far were mainly done by NGOs using livelihood and microfinance approaches and since 2008 through the Benazir Income Support Programme’s cash transfer scheme. Recently, the office of the Prime Minister established Ehsaas Strategy which combines the various poverty reduction and social protection approaches in the country under one Programme. This paper argues that a stronger focus on effective income generating poverty reduction Programmes would be needed to make poverty reduction more successful.

The Role of School Leadership in Facilitating Students in the Integration of Thier Learning from Various Learning Spaces in a Private Higher Secondary School in Karachi, Pakistan

This study aims to explore the role of school leadership in facilitating students in integrating their learning from various learning spaces in a private higher secondary school in Karachi, Pakistan. Traditionally, it is believed that learning takes place only in schools and particularly in classrooms. Educationists and researchers highlight that learning is a social phenomenon and a continuous process which can take place any time at any place and can be integrated in any setting. The study argues that learning can be integrated in school and the result of integration is more powerful. Within the qualitative research paradigm, the case study research methodology was employed as a feasible research method. Data collection was done over a period of eight weeks through conduction of in-depth semi structured interviews with school leadership and discussion with selected focused group of students. Data were also generated through observations, informal discussions and document analysis. The findings of the study suggest that school leadership's role has been momentous in providing opportunities to integrate learning from various learning spaces in a formal setting through various ways. Leadership has been successful in creating learning spaces beyond routine classrooms for students. These learning spaces help students in the learning process. The study is unique in its nature because this area has been less explored in Pakistan and other developing countries. Moreover, it is the first study of its nature at AKU-IED. The conclusion of the study informs that school leadership can employ diverse activities in classrooms, schools and out of schools to further integrate students' experiential learning. In the case explored in this study, opportunities of learning from various sources were provided. School leadership encouraged students to learn from different learning spaces and resources. School leadership developed a policy to engage students through various activities and for that purpose, a yearly calendar was developed with mentioning events and tentative dates. Various curricular and co-curricular activities have been introduced in three different levels such as classrooms, school and out of school in order to integrate learning in a formal setting. These activities helped students to explore their hidden potentials and enhance leadership skills.