Exploring leadership practices in rural context of a developing country

The success or failure of any institution has closely been linked with the leadership practices exercised in the institution. Whereas the number of private schools is rapidly increasing in the rural context of Pakistan, the leadership practices of these institutions are interesting and timely questions to ponder upon. Drawing upon the data of a qualitative case study, this paper discusses the leadership practices in a private school in rural Pakistan. It is found that the school leaders in this context have still traditional approach to leadership with little possibilities of shared or distributed leadership. Since the private schools are owned by the individuals and the teachers are hardly involved in decision making processes, they show less motivation towards school activities and thus, there remains a gap between the expectations of the principal and the performance of the teachers. It is suggested that the leadership of these private institutions should have maximum exposure to updated management and leadership theories and practices if they have to successfully run their schools in this challenging and competitive era

Is it the way to teach language the way we teach language? English language teaching in rural Pakistan

With the growing importance and need of English language in the global context, efforts are being made in the developing context to improve the quality of teaching English with the assumption that teaching of English facilitates the acquisition of English Language. What is Pakistani teachers approach to the teaching of English language and does the way they teach English facilitate the language acquisition? The current study explores this question at secondary level in the context of Chitral, a remote district of Khyber Pukhtunkhwa province Pakistan. The researcher visited the randomly selected secondary schools and consulted English teachers interviewing them and observing the teaching and learning processes. The study reveals that in the context of Chitral, teaching of English is not different from teaching of other subjects such as social studies, history etc. Translation method is the dominant way to teach English and learners hardly get any opportunity to practice language skills in the classrooms. The reasons behind this approach to the teaching of English are; lack of purposefully trained teachers, non-availability of in-service courses for secondary level English teachers, memory driven exam system, overcrowded classrooms, teachers’ work load, shortage of resources and lack of ongoing support system. The study suggests that English teachers should be trained separately focusing teaching English as a language unlike other subjects

The informal learning approaches of teachers in a secondary school in Pakistan

The advocates of informal learning believe that learning is not always necessarily planned rather it could also happen informally in the workplace. Does informal learning equally happen in every context and setting? Using a qualitative approach, this study explores the nature of teachers’ informal learning in a secondary school in rural Pakistan. Data were generated through interviews and observations. The study finds that though limited in nature, there are some informal learning activities which the teachers are engaged in. Most of the informal learning happens through observations of the practices of senior colleagues. Moreover, the teachers also learn from the experimentation through implementing externally acquired ideas and strategies in their classroom. Similarly, media has also been a source of informal learning for teachers in this context. The study concludes that the school has to enhance its links with external sources to create internal informal learning opportunities for teachers

Effect of Irrigation on Chickpea Varieties Sown on Different Dates on Irrigated Fields of Lakki Marwat, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

In the study area (Lakki Marwat) there is a lot of scope of growing irrigated chickpea because the farming community is growing this crop for centuries due to very huge demand in the region. This study was conducted to examine the impact of irrigation on chickpea yield, to select a variety/ varieties best suited for irrigated farming in irrigated region and to standardize the production technology package of irrigated chickpea. The experiment was conducted at ARS, Serai Nauarang, Lakki Marwat, in Randomized Complete Block Design with split plot arrangement having three replications. Irrigations (No irrigation, pre-sowing irrigation and irrigation at flowering stage) were allotted to the main plots while varieties (Karak-1, Karak-2, Sheenghar and KC-98) and sowing dates (Oct. 1st, Oct. 15, Nov, 1, and Nov, 15) were kept in the sub plots. The sub plot size was 4 m by 1.8 m with row to row distance of 30 cm and plant to plant distance of 10 cm. Plant height and pods plant-1, biological and grain yields were significantly affected by different varieties and sowing dates at Lakki Marwat. The effect of irrigation was significant on plant height and branches plant-1 at Lakki. Pre-sowing irrigation resulted in taller plants as compared to no irrigation and irrigation at flowering at Lakki. Delay in plating consistently decreased plant height at Lakki. Chickpea variety Karak-I attained long stature plants at Lakki, while short stature plants were noted for KC-98 variety. Delay in planting resulted decline in number of pods plant-1. Karak-I produced higher number of pods plant-1, whereas variety KC-98 resulted in lower number of pods plant-1 at Lakki. Similarly delaying plating from 1st October to 15th November, biological yield of chickpea also decreased at Lakki. Variety Karak-I was higher in biological yield at Lakki.  Grain yield considerably decreased with delay in planting Lakki. At Lakki, chickpea variety Karak-I resulted in higher yield, followed by Karak-II while, KC-98 produced lower grain yield. It is concluded from the above experiments that planting dates significantly affected grain yield and its components and higher grain yield was produced in early planting (1st October) and decline with delay in planting at Lakki. Chickpea cultivar Karak-I produced higher grain yield followed by Karak-II and proved to be higher yielding cultivars than Sheenghar and KC-98. Keywords: Irrigation regimes, Chickpea, Varieties, Irrigated field

Effect of Irrigation on Chickpea Varieties Sown on Different Dates on Irrigated Fields of Bannu, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan

This study was conducted to examine the impact of irrigation on chickpea yield, to select a variety/ varieties best suited for irrigated farming in irrigated region and to standardize the production technology package of irrigated chickpea. The experiment was conducted at ARS Bannu, in Randomized Complete Block Design with split plot arrangement having three replications. Irrigations (No irrigation, pre-sowing irrigation and irrigation at flowering stage) were allotted to the main plots while varieties (Karak-1, Karak-2, Sheenghar and KC-98) and sowing dates (Oct. 1st, Oct. 15, Nov, 1, and Nov, 15) were kept in the sub plots. The sub plot size was 4 m by 1.8 m with row to row distance of 30 cm and plant to plant distance of 10 cm. It was found from the results of the above experiment that planting dates significantly affected grain yield and its components. Grain yield significantly decreased with delay in planting beyond Ist November at Bannu. Irrigation did not influence grain yield of chickpea at Bannu as well. Chickpea cultivar Karak-I produced significantly higher grain yield followed by Karak-II at Bannu. It is therefore recommended that chickpea crop may be planted in the month of October or with a maximum delay till early November at Bannu. Chickpea variety Karak-I is recommend for planting at Bannu for obtaining higher grain yield. It is concluded from the above experiment that planting dates at Bannu significantly affected grain yield and its components and higher grain yield was produced in early planting (1st October) and decline with delay in planting at Bannu. Irrigation did not influence grain yield of chickpea. Keywords: Irrigation regimes, Chickpea, Varieties, Irrigated fields

Investigation into Effectiveness of the Farmer Field School in Tomato Production in District Swat

The present study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of the farmer field school (FFS) in tomato production in district swat of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province. The study was carried out in four purposively selected villages of swat namely; Kotlai, Parrai, Rangilla and Qabershah. For primary data collection 80 respondents were selected for the study, 20 farmers were selected purposively from each village FFSS for the study. Data were collected through a well-structured and pretesting interview schedule. It was found that majority 36.25% of the respondents of the study area belonged to age group of 41-50 years. In terms of educational level, majority 45% were illiterate. Major problems faced by the sample respondents were insect/pest attacks which were stated by 35% and the second was non-availability of seed reported by 28.75% of the total sampled respondents. The average seed rate of tomato was 290.50 gram per acre before FFS and cost was Rs. 5835.0 per acre while, after FFS it was decreased to Rs. 160.11gram per acre while average seed cost was decreased to Rs. 1518.2 per acre. Farmers of the study area were using plant to plant space before FFS 24.43cm but after FFS they are using an average plant to plant space of 30cm in their farms. The cost of fertilizer before FFS was reported to be Rs. 13948 per acre after FFS it was decreased to Rs. 5080.0. Before FFS the cost of crop protection was much higher i.e Rs. 6462.50 per acre which reduced to Rs. 829.25 per acre after FFS. The cost of farm yard manure was stated to be Rs. 7918.60 per acre which after FFS increased to Rs. 8398.80 per acre. The average yield of tomato before FFS was  recorded as 9508.8 kg per acre which increased to 12735 kg per acre after FFS through the adoption of modern techniques of tomato production recommended at FFS to the farmers that resulted in higher income of Rs. 288880.00 after FFS as compared to income before FFS i.e. Rs. 201750.00. Majority 92.5% of the respondents of the study were satisfied of the FFS services and were willing to adopt that approach in future as well. Keywords: Investigation, Effectiveness, Farmer Field School, Tomato Production, District Swat