Interview with Mr Adnan Ghaffar – Principal, The Aura School
PAGE: Tell me something about yourself and your school, please:
Adnan Ghaffar: I am working as a principal in “The Aura School“. I have more than 15 years of teaching experience at the matric, intermediate, and undergrad level. I completed my degree of Master’s from the University of Karachi in 2003 and then MS from FAST and a Double MA in Economics from the University of Karachi in 2008 and 2009 respectively.
The Aura School provides education from pre-school to matric. The vision of the school is to provide quality education with “tarbiah” at a minimum cost. Here “tarbiah” means the real etiquette of living as per Islam described.
PAGE: How do you celebrate Independence Day at your school?
Adnan Ghaffar: Well, we celebrate Independence Day in our school conventionally in the same ways as in other schools like hanging the Pakistani pennant inside the school and the big flag on the top roof of the school. Students come in white and green dresses. Teachers and students give speeches related to Independence Day. Furthermore, students perform some tableaus but the different thing is we try to inculcate the real concept of Independence and Shahadat (martyrdom) as described in Islam.
PAGE: Is Pakistan of today different from Pakistan of 1947?
Adnan Ghaffar: Yes, it’s really different. In 1947 the objectives were to live in a country where Muslim families are safe and secure and follow their religion without any interruption. But nowadays the objective has changed. Now the life of people has become commercial. People are just living for their survival in-fact majority specially the mediocre and elite class want the better survival if it’s not found in the country then try to move to other countries and lower class just live for survival nothing more than this.
PAGE: Have we made headway as a nation?
Adnan Ghaffar: Yes, there are so many developments happening in our country, unfortunately, we indulge or lament what we don’t have. Let me share some positive development that happened since 1947. For example, there are quality hospitals developed in which almost all types of medication i.e. from regular medication to surgery can perform. IT industry has developed therefore online services work in Pakistan. We have the greatest army in the world with the latest equipped weapons etc.
PAGE: Where do you see Pakistan ten years down the line?
Adnan Ghaffar: I hope that in the next ten years In-shaAllah Pakistan will improve in all aspects but for this, we have to work on ourselves, we have to be united as one nation (Ummat-e-Muslima) instead of distributing among different political means.