By:Zakir Hussain
(Additional Secretary Education Gilgit Baltistan, Pakistan,a delegate from Pakistan)
I was part of the delegation to south Korea under sponsorship of UNESCO in partnership with APCEIU at Seoul for one week.
Although it is not easy to understand such an amazing advancement made by great nation of South Korea which has gone through thick and thin.
It dawned upon me that this country has achieved the respectable status in the comity of nations through exercise of exemplary resilience against foreign interferences and neo- colonial powers.
From extension lectures during exposure visit to various educational and industrial installations ,it revealed that the Korean nation has achieved its targets by following inreamental model adopting evolutionary policies and gradually making progress.
In industry they started with simple machines ;and now an established county in advanced technology and Hi-Tech.
Same goes true for education sector.
They focussed on ECD and early education giving priority to creativity in acquisition of knowledge and skills by the students.They offered higher salaries and an established social status to teachers second to none.The only top candidates would be able to get teachers job which was a great surprise for me because on our side teaching professional is not much enjoying the ideal financial and social status which a Korean teacher enjoys.
Thus ,the backbone of development of Korean peninsula , as i understand,is the policy of granting no 1 priority to Education sector. Their university Education system has sound economic and academic base.
My interactions with students as well as teachers in korea l was equally impressed by their dedication to perform as Global citizenship ambassadors for marching towards global Peace.
Finally my concept of SDGS became crystal clear how they were conceived and what modus operandi was devised to achieve them as it is practised since their inception.
Last but not the least,the warmth, affection and care l received from my hosts was unsurpasssing and their human image imprinted indelibly in my sub -conscious.
l found great attachments of Korean people with their culture, language,mores and customs,and they’re rightly proud of their cultural heritage boasting a rich cultural heritage.
All this exposure for our delegation was not possible without constructive engagement of UNESCO OFFICE ISLAMABAD particularly Madam Alima and Mr.Imtiaz, my gratitude to both of them for all care about me during the entire visit.
Looking forward to more positive interaction in future with our Korean friends and UNESCO and APCEIU.
LONG LIVE PAKISTAN, LONG LIVE KOREA