wfn.org | Pakistan Government Returns 10 Nationalized Schools

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12-August-1998 
98263 
 
    Pakistan Government Returns 10 Nationalized Schools 
    to The Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) 
 
    by Jerry L. Van Marter 
 
LAHORE, Pakistan-The Government of Pakistan announced July 30 that it is 
returning to the Presbyterian Church (U.S.A.) the management of 10 schools 
in the Punjab that were taken from the denomination in 1972. 
 
    The Presbyterian Church of Pakistan is celebrating the event with joy - 
but tempered by the reality that both the buildings and the quality of 
education have deteriorated due to 26 years of underfunding and neglect by 
the Pakistan government. 
 
    Pakistan church leaders and American missionaries have tried for many 
years to regain possession of these schools.  The efforts gained momentum 
in 1987 when the Supreme Court of Pakistan ruled that the land and 
buildings belonged to the church, though the government was allowed to 
continue to manage the schools. 
 
    During the last three years, intensive negotiations between the PC(USA) 
and Pakistan government officials have concentrated not only on the claim 
to property ownership but also on the exclusive right to management, 
curriculum design, selection of principals, hiring of teachers and 
determination of enrolment policy and fees for the schools. 
 
    Dave Stoner, former General Assembly Council executive director who was 
appointed the PCUSA's sole negotiator, was able to solicit the support and 
assistance of a wide circle of the church's friends, including the U.S. 
diplomatic community as well as key federal and provincial Pakistan 
officials. 
 
    Stoner said the negotiations involved far more than just property 
rights.  "The issue was also one of justice for the Pakistan Christian 
community," he told the Presbyterian News Service, "which feels that its 
very identity is related to the history and witness of these institutions 
which, for a quarter century, had been taken over by an Islamic 
government." 
 
    Under an agreement with the PC(USA), the Presbyterian Church of 
Pakistan is now planning the smooth transition of the school management to 
the control of the Presbyterian Education Board. 
 
    Considerable funds will be required to refurbish the buildings.  Many 
classes are currently held under trees since many of the buildings are 
either inadequate or too dangerous to occupy. Classroom amenities such as 
desks, chairs, tables, and chalk boards are often non-existent.  Simple 
supplies and resources are lacking - in most of the schools there are no 
writing tablets, books, laboratory equipment, maps or pictures. 
 
    Stoner said the "restoration of an environment conducive to quality 
education is a huge undertaking for this poor community."  However, he 
added, "the church members feel blessed by the return of the schools. They 
are encouraged by the many leaders of the country who have acknowledged the 
role of the Christian community in general and the Presbyterian Church in 
particular for 150 years of educating generations of leaders in Pakistan 
society." 
 
    Veeda Javaid, the newly appointed executive secretary of the 
Presbyterian Education Board, said, "Education for the Christian community 
can once again be assured and Christian values will be effectively 
reintroduced to the majority community of a society noted for its 
corruption and inefficiency." 
 
    Zeb Zaman, chair of the education board, concurred.  "We are united in 
the belief that quality education that testifies to our faith in the value 
of each child of God must be the number one objective of the Christian 
community," she said.   "After decades marked by a bankrupt educational 
system based on rote instruction of outdated learning in classes or 60-100 
children, we now have the opportunity to teach children to develop their 
abilities and skills to prepare them for the global world of the 21st 
century." 
 
    Javaid, Zaman and the Presbyterian Education Board are frantically 
trying to ready the schools as much as possible in anticipation of the 
early September start of the new school year. 
 
    The early estimate is that $2 million will be required in the near term 
to hire the necessary Christian teachers and restore the schools. The plan 
is to create self-financing learning centers with generous scholarships to 
guarantee the education of the Christian poor. 
 
    An Extra Commitment Opportunity Account has been established to support 
the educational rebuilding effort in Pakistan. Contributions can be made 
through local church channels or sent to the Central Receiving Agency, 100 
Witherspoon Street, Louisville, KY, 40202-1396.  Checks should be 
designated for United Presbyterian Education Board ECO #862370 and marked 
for Pakistan Denationalized Schools. 
 
(Information for this story furnished by S. David Stoner.) 

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