سکون کی لحد میں اب اتر ہی جائیں گے
یہ قلزم ِ خوں پار اب تو کر ہی جائیں گے
اس آس پر ہی کاٹ دی ہے غم زدوں نے عمر
دن اپنے ہیں برے تو کیا گزر ہی جائیں گے
Dr Ghulam Mustafa Khan [d. 2005] can truly be said to be a teacher of teachers [ustadh al-asatadha]. In his long and distinguished academic career spanning over six decades, he brought into existence literally hundreds of teachers in his subject Urdu and also created in many of them a taste for critical research that resulted in the existence of a whole corpus of standard critical material. This will endure in academic circles for a long time. It was his common habit to encourage his students, especially those of an academic bent of mind, to enrol for a Ph.D. In the course of which he would proffer them all kinds of assistance even if he were not their research supervisor. As such, the names of Dr Najmul Islam, who succeeded him as Chairman, Department of Urdu, University of Sindh, stands out. Dr Najmul Islam was the editor of a scholarly research journal, Tehqiq, which appeared in over 20 volumes in his own lifetime. Each issue contained scores of critical essays of a very high academic standard including his own [Dr N. Islam’s]. There is also the name of Dr Hasrat Kasganjvi, who emerged as a creative artist and critic of merit later on authoring dozens of books of high academic standard. The list is long and distinguished and contains the names of the major teachers of Urdu language and literature at the main Pakistani universities. Apart from Urdu teachers, the thousands of persons who had the benefit of attending his lectures and courses are also evidence of his intellectual wide-ranging scholarship. Then there is the select circle of his murids who formed his circle of spiritual knowledge and who had proffered their religious devotion at his hands. To these he gave the benefit of his spiritual counsel and advice as well as the vast knowledge he possessed of the Islamic sciences in his table-talk. Among these persons, the name of ex-President Ziaul Haq is most prominent.
The purpose of this study was to explore the challenges and possibilities in introducing, implementing and sustaining School Based Teacher Development (SBTD). It was a qualitative case study carried out in a private school in Karachi, which has already initiated, implemented and continued SBTD for the last eight years. Data were collected through interviews and observations, complemented by other relevant documentations. The participants were the principal of the school, who supervised the whole process, the headteachers for the secondary and primary section, who previously worked as PDTs, two pool heads and four teachers. The findings reveal that a school is a complex social setting and, therefore, initiating SBTD needs a thorough study of the school, so that the individuals involved in SBTD can prioritize the needs of the school and initiate change with a focus. For successful initiation of SBTD, a school requires to have skilled and knowledgeable human resources to facilitate the process. It is apparent from the data that an effective planning process involves the stakeholders, because when a plan is developed with shared goals and objectives then it facilitates the implementation and continuation process. Teacher empowerment is crucial in implementing SBTD, and the best way is creating opportunities in the school, which can encourage teachers to share their ideas and learn from each other. The model that the case study school used to establish SBTD is an evolving model, which started with the mentoring of two teachers by a PDT, but gradually, expanded as more PDTs and VTs joined the school after the completion of their courses. The findings show that to sustain SBTD the school provides a platform to the individuals involved in SBTD, with time allocation and necessary resources, both human and material. The study shows that possibility of introducing, implementing' and sustaining SBTD greatly depends on the leadership styles practiced in the school and the school's culture, i.e. how supportive they are with regard to SBTD activities. This study explores some challenges in the process of SBTD, such as lack of time, heavy workload, lack of adequate facilitation for all the teachers in the school and so on. Therefore, it suggests development of a long-term plan for SBTD and then short term plans with specific objectives, so that the process can start at a small level, moving systematically towards the attainment of the long-term objectives.