The public distribution system, which provides food at low
prices, is a subject of vital concern. There is a growing realization that
though Pakistan has enough food to feed its masses three square meals a day,
the monster of starvation and food insecurity continues to haunt the poor in
our country.
Increasing the purchasing power of the poor through
providing productive employment, leading to rising income, and thus good
standard of living is the ultimate objective of public policy. However, till
then, there is a need to provide assured supply of food through a restructured,
more efficient and decentralized public distribution system (PDS).
Although the PDS is extensive – it is one of the largest
such systems in the world – it has yet to reach the rural poor and the far off
places. It remains an urban phenomenon, with the majority of the rural poor
still out of its reach due to lack of economic and physical access. The poorest
in the cities and the migrants are left out, for they generally don not possess
ration cards. The allocation of PDS supplies in big cities is large than in
rural areas. In view of such deficiencies in the system, the PDS urgently needs
to be streamlined. In addition, considering the large food grains production combined
with food subsidy on one hand and the continuing slow starvation and dismal
poverty of the rural population on the other, there is a strong case for making
PDS target group oriented.
The growing salaried class is provided job security, regular
income, and percent insulation against inflation. These gains of development
have not percolated down to the vast majority of our working population. If one
compares only dearness allowance to the employees in public and private sector
and looks at its growth in the past few years, the rising food subsidy is
insignificant to the point of inequity. The food subsidy is a kind of D.A. to
the poor, the self-employed and those in the unorganized sector of the economy.
However, what is most unfortunate is that out of the large budget of the
so-called food subsidy, the major part of it is administrative cost and
wastages. A small portion of the above budget goes to real consumer and an even
lesser portion to the poor who are in real need.
It is true that subsidies should not become a permanent feature, except for the destitute, disabled, widows and the old. It is also true that subsides often create a psychology of dependence and hence are habit-forming and killing the general initiative of the people. By making PDS target group oriented, not only the poorest and neediest would be reached without additional cost, but it will actually cut overall costs incurred on large cities and for better off localities. When the food and food subsidy are limited, the rural and urban poor should have the priority in the PDS supplies. The PDS should be closely linked with programs of employment generation and nutrition improvement.
Q: Which of the following is the main reason for insufficient supply of enough food to the poorest?
The history of literature can be traced to the earliest forms of the arts. Man danced for joy round his primitive camp fire after the defeat and slaughter of his enemy. He yelled and shouted as he danced and gradually the yells and shouts became coherent and caught the measure of the dance and thus the first war song was sung. As the idea of God developed, prayers were framed. The songs and prayers became traditional and wee repeated from one generation to another, each generation adding something of its own.
As man slowly grew more civilized, he was compelled to invent some method of writing due to three urgent necessities. There were certain things that it was dangerous to forget and which, therefore, had to be recorded. It was often necessary to communicate with persons who were some distance away and it was necessary to safeguard one’s property by making appropriate tools and taking protective measure in a distinctive manner. So man taught himself to write and having learned to write, purely for utilitarian reasons, he used this new method for preserving his was songs and his prayers. Of course, among these ancient peoples, there were only a very few individuals who learned to write, and only few could read what was written.
Q: Man invented writing because he wanted
Educational planning should aim at meeting the educational needs of the entire population of all age groups. While the traditional structure of education as a three layer hierarchy from the primary stage to the university represents the core, we should not overlook the periphery which is equally important. Under modern conditions, workers need to rewind, or renew their professor. The retired and the aged have their needs as well. Educational planning, in their words, should take care of the needs of everyone.
Our structures of education have been built up on the assumption that there is a terminal point to education. This basic defect has become all the more harmful today. A UNESCO report, titled “Learning to be” prepared by Edgar Faure and others in 1973 asserts that the education of children must prepare the future adult for various forms of self-learning. A viable education system of the future should consist of modules with different kinds of functions serving a diversity of constituents. And performance, not the period of study, should be the basis for credentials. The writing is already on the wall.
In view of the fact that the significance of a commitment of lifelong learning and lifetime education is being discussed only in recent years even in educationally advanced countries, the possibility of the idea becoming an integral part of educational thinking seems to be a far cry. For, to move in that direction means much more than some simple rearrangement of the present organization of education. But a good beginning can be made by developing Open University programs for older learners of different categories and introducing extension services in the conventional colleges and schools. Also, these institutions should learn to cooperate with numerous community organizations such as libraries, museums, municipal recreational programs, health services etc.
Q: According to the passage, the present education structures assume which of the following?
The Romans – for centuries is the masters of war and
polities across Europe, Northern Africa and Asia Minor – have often been criticized
for producing few original thinker outside the realm of positive. This
criticism, while in many ways true, is not without its problems. It was, after
all the conquest of Greece that provided Rome with its greatest influx of
educated subjects. Two of the great disasters intellectual history – the murder
of Archimedes and the burning the Alexandria’s library – both occurred under
Rome’s watch. Nevertheless, a city that was able to conquer so much of the
known world could not have been devoid of the creativity that characterizes so
many other ancient emprises.
Engineering is one endeavor in which the Romans showed
themselves capable. Their aqueducts carried water hundreds of miles along the
tops of vast arcades. Roman roads built for the rapid deployment of troops,
criss-cross Europe and still form the basis of numerous modern highways that
provide quick access prominence to Rome’s economic and political influence.
Many of these major cities lie for beyond Rome’s original
province, and Latin-derived languages are spoken in most Southern European
nations. Again a result of military influence the popularity of Latin and its
off spring is difficult to overestimate. During the centuries of ignorance and
violence that followed Rome’s decline, the Latin language was the glue that
held together the identity of an entire continent. While seldom spoken today,
it is still studied widely, if only so that such master or rhetoric as Cicero
can be read in the original.
It is Cicero and his like who are perhaps the most
overlooked legacy of Rome. While far from being a democracy, Rome did leave
behind useful political tool that serve the American republic today. “Republic”
itself is Latin for “the people’s business,” a notion cherished in democracies
worldwide. Senators owe their name to Rome’s class of elders; Representatives
owe theirs to the Tributes who seized popular prerogatives from the Senatorial
class. The veto was a Roman notion adopted by the historically aware framers of
the Constitution, who often assumed pen names from the lexicon of Latin life.
These accomplishments, as monumental as any highway or coliseum, remain
prominent features of the Western landscape.
Which of the following is Not described in the passage as a part of ancient Roman life that left a lasting legacy?
