Press play on nostalgia

By Syed Tahir Rashdi A long time ago, before the first computer, the first library or even the first book, people thought memory was the most important thing for knowledge. Whole societies relied on it. People remembered laws and stories by heart. Passed them down to their children. To remember something was not just to recall facts it was to keep your identity, culture and history alive. A long time ago in ancient Greece, people started to worry about memory. In a book called *Phaedrus* a man named Socrates tells a story about a god named Theuth. Theuth invented writing. Thought it would make people wiser and help them remember more.. The king of Egypt, Thamus did not agree. He said that writing would actually make peoples memories weaker. People would start to rely on written words of trying to remember things themselves. They would think they know something just because they can read it. They would not really understand it. Course that is not what happened. Writing did not hurt society it changed it. Books became a way to store knowledge and share ideas with people all over the world. Socrates was worried about something that is still important today. The question now is not whether we remember things because of books. It is whether we remember anything all. Today we have information stored somewhere than ever before. Our phones remember our conversations. Computers store our photos forever. We can find answers to questions in seconds. Machines can summarise books. Help us find information fast. Never before has much information existed outside of our own minds. This is a change in how people relate to knowledge. A man named Marshall McLuhan said that every new technology is like an extension of our abilities. The wheel is like an extension of our feet. The telescope is like an extension of our eyes. By that logic our phones are like an extension of our memories. They help us remember things. The problem is obvious. As we get better at storing information outside of our minds we get worse at remembering things ourselves. We do not remember phone numbers because our phones do. We do not remember birthdays because our computers do. We do not remember how to get places because our phones tell us. We are not trying to remember things much as we used to. We are just looking them up. That small change might be one of the most important things that has happened to our minds in the past century. It is easy to see why we like to store information outside of our minds. Who would want to go to using paper maps or big books to find answers? Digital technology has made it easy for everyone to get information. We can find things out in seconds that used to take days. The question is not whether this is useful. It is whether it is changing our minds in some way. Some psychologists did a study in 2011. Found out something interesting. They found out that when people know they can find information easily they do not try to remember it much. They just remember where to find it. This is a deal. Our minds are changing from storing information to finding it. We are getting better at finding the path. Not the destination. This is not a habit it is how we think. Remembering things is not about storing facts it is about using them to make decisions to imagine things and to be creative. When we remember things we can connect them in ways and have new ideas. When we store information outside of our minds that changes. A man named Nicholas Carr said that digital technology is not just changing how we get information it is changing how we think. The internet is great at giving us answers. It is not so good at helping us really understand things. If we get used to getting answers we might not be as good at thinking deeply about things. This does not mean that technology is making us less smart. It means that our intelligence is changing. The problem is not that we do not know things. It is that we are too dependent on technology to remember them for us. A student might think that they can just look up answers and not really learn anything. A professional might rely much on reminders that they do not even try to remember things. Machines are getting better at remembering things for us. That might mean we do not have to try as hard. Slowly remembering things is becoming more like looking them up. Knowledge is becoming about getting access to information. Thinking is becoming more about getting things done. Technology has definitely helped us store information than ever before. The question is whether it is also making us less likely to try to remember things ourselves. Memory is not just about storing information. It is about how we experience life. A computer can store every document ever written. A machine can look up every photo ever taken.. They cannot turn experience into wisdom. Our memories are not just storage they are how we interpret things. We forget some things we remember others. We use them to understand ourselves. A writer named Jorge Luis Borges wrote a story about a man who could remember everything.. This gift was actually a curse. The man could not forget anything so he could not think about things in a way. He was trapped by his memory. Borges was saying that forgetting is not a thing it is actually necessary for thought. This is not about how we think as individuals. It is about how we learn and how we understand ourselves as a society. Education used to be about more than learning facts. It was about learning how to think. If we just store information outside of our minds education might just become about looking things up. The same

The introduction of FRAMES marks an important milestone in Sindh’s journey towards digital governance. Rather than relying on conventional attendance registers that have long served as the primary means of recording staff attendance, the School Education & Literacy Department (SE&LD) has embraced facial recognition technology to create a more transparent, secure and efficient monitoring system. The initiative reflects a broader vision of leveraging technology to improve governance, enhance institutional performance and ultimately create a better learning environment for students. For decades, education departments across Pakistan have struggled with administrative challenges that extend beyond teaching and learning. Manual attendance systems, paper-based reporting, delayed verification processes and fragmented administrative records have often limited the ability of education authorities to monitor schools effectively. In a province with thousands of public schools and a large teaching workforce, ensuring regular attendance and maintaining accurate records through traditional methods has remained a formidable challenge. Recognising these issues, the Government of Sindh has sought to replace outdated administrative practices with a technology-driven solution. FRAMES enables teaching and non-teaching staff to verify their attendance using facial recognition technology. Once authenticated, attendance records are securely captured and transmitted to a central monitoring platform, allowing authorised education officials to access real-time information regarding staff attendance across schools. Unlike conventional attendance registers that require manual compilation and verification, FRAMES introduces automation into one of the most fundamental administrative functions within the education sector. The result is not merely a change in attendance recording but a transformation in how educational institutions are monitored and managed. One of the distinguishing features of FRAMES is its ability to function both online and offline. This capability addresses one of the most practical challenges facing digital governance in developing regions. Internet connectivity remains inconsistent in several rural and remote areas of Sindh, making continuous online operation difficult for many schools. Recognising this reality, FRAMES has been designed using an offline-first architecture. Even when internet connectivity is unavailable, teachers and school staff can authenticate their attendance through facial recognition. The application securely stores attendance records on the device and automatically synchronises the data with the central server as soon as internet connectivity is restored. This intelligent synchronisation mechanism ensures that schools continue to operate without disruption while maintaining the integrity and reliability of attendance records. By eliminating dependence on uninterrupted internet access, FRAMES becomes a practical solution for schools across diverse geographical regions of the province. The importance of this feature cannot be overstated. Many digital initiatives fail because they assume ideal technological conditions that do not always exist in the field. By accommodating connectivity limitations, FRAMES demonstrates a realistic understanding of the operational environment within Sindh’s public education system. Beyond attendance verification, FRAMES represents a broader shift towards data-driven governance. Modern public administration increasingly depends on accurate, timely and reliable data to formulate effective policies. Every authenticated attendance record contributes to a growing repository of administrative information that can assist education managers in analysing attendance trends, identifying operational challenges and making informed policy decisions. Real-time monitoring significantly enhances administrative responsiveness. Instead of waiting for monthly reports or manual inspections, district and provincial authorities can obtain immediate insights into attendance patterns. Persistent absenteeism, staffing shortages or unusual attendance trends can be identified promptly, enabling faster interventions and more efficient resource allocation. The implementation of FRAMES also strengthens institutional accountability. Public institutions derive credibility from transparency, consistency and fairness. Digital attendance verification substantially reduces opportunities for manipulation associated with manual record keeping while creating an auditable electronic record of attendance. Such transparency not only improves administrative efficiency but also reinforces public confidence in government institutions. Across the world, education systems are increasingly adopting digital governance solutions to improve institutional performance. Countries in Asia, Europe and Africa have introduced biometric attendance systems, electronic education management platforms and digital monitoring tools to strengthen accountability within public education. International organisations, including UNESCO and the World Bank, have repeatedly emphasised that effective education governance depends upon reliable information systems capable of supporting evidence-based policymaking. Sindh’s adoption of FRAMES therefore aligns with broader international trends in educational management. While technology alone cannot resolve every challenge confronting the education sector, it provides administrators with the tools necessary to monitor institutional performance more effectively and allocate resources more strategically. The implementation of FRAMES also complements the Sindh Government’s wider digital transformation agenda within the School Education & Literacy Department. In recent years, the department has introduced several technology-based initiatives aimed at improving governance, financial transparency, administrative efficiency and public service delivery. Collectively, these reforms signal a transition from conventional bureaucratic practices towards modern digital administration. However, technological innovation alone is not sufficient to guarantee institutional success. The effectiveness of FRAMES will depend upon careful implementation, continuous evaluation and sustained capacity building. Teachers, head teachers and district administrators must receive comprehensive training to ensure that the system is used correctly and consistently. Technical support mechanisms must remain readily available to resolve operational issues quickly and minimise disruptions. Equally important is the need to strengthen digital infrastructure. Reliable electricity, functional devices and stable internet connectivity remain essential components of successful digital governance. Although the application’s offline functionality addresses connectivity constraints, long-term sustainability will require continued investment in technological infrastructure across public schools. Another important consideration relates to data privacy and cybersecurity. Because FRAMES utilises facial recognition technology, the protection of biometric information must remain a top priority. Clear policies governing data collection, storage, encryption and authorised access will be essential to maintaining public trust. International experience demonstrates that digital governance initiatives are most successful when supported by robust legal safeguards and transparent data protection frameworks. Some observers have expressed concerns regarding the growing use of artificial intelligence and biometric technologies within public institutions. These concerns deserve thoughtful consideration. Technology should always serve the interests of citizens rather than replace human judgement. Accordingly, FRAMES should be viewed as an administrative support system that strengthens institutional accountability without diminishing the role of educational leadership or professional responsibility. Indeed, educational quality ultimately depends upon far more than attendance alone.

By Dr. Naveeda Katper Human beings live in a world of countless needs and wants, but the resources available to meet those needs are limited. Food, shelter, education, health and a sense of belonging are among the basic requirements of life. Because resources are scarce, individuals, organizations and governments have to set priorities, make choices and use available resources wisely. Resources can broadly be divided into natural and human-made resources. Natural resources such as land, water, forests, minerals and energy come from nature. Human-made resources, including machines, buildings, technology and infrastructure, are developed by people using natural resources. Natural resources can be depleted, while human-made resources can depreciate through use and time. Human beings, however, are different from other resources. A person is not simply a consumer of resources. With education, training, health and appropriate opportunities, a person can develop knowledge and skills and become an important form of human capital. This is why human capital is often considered more valuable than other resources. Human beings discover, develop and manage resources. They create technology, improve production, solve problems and generate new ideas. Among the traditional factors of production—land, labour, capital and entrepreneurship—human effort remains central because it activates and combines the others. Education and skills are therefore essential for economic and social development. A person without education or employable skills may have limited opportunities to earn a stable income. A skilled person, on the other hand, can use available resources productively and create value for both themselves and society. Skills can take different forms. Hard skills include technical and professional abilities. Soft skills include communication, teamwork, discipline and problem-solving. Transferable skills can be applied across different occupations and workplaces. All of these can improve a person’s ability to participate productively in the economy. Developed economies provide useful examples of how investment in people can contribute to national development. Countries such as Finland, Norway, Singapore, Switzerland, Japan and South Korea have invested substantially in education, vocational training, technology and workforce development. Their experience shows that economic progress is not based only on natural resources or physical infrastructure. The knowledge, skills and productivity of people are equally important. Skills development should begin early in life. Children should not be taught only to memorise information. They should also be encouraged to ask questions, solve problems, make things, experiment and learn from mistakes. An education system that allows children to try, fail and try again can help develop confidence, creativity and practical thinking. Schools, vocational institutions and workplaces all have a role in this process. Young people need opportunities to connect education with practical skills. They should be able to understand how knowledge can be applied to real problems and employment opportunities. The challenge is particularly serious in developing and least-developed countries, where many people have limited access to quality education, technical training and decent employment. Weak educational systems, inadequate infrastructure and limited opportunities for formal employment can prevent large sections of the population from developing their full potential. The problem is not simply unemployment. It is also the gap between what people know and what the economy needs. Many young people complete some level of education but do not acquire the practical or technical skills required by employers. At the same time, businesses often struggle to find workers with the right skills. Pakistan faces a similar challenge. The country has a large and relatively young population, which can become an important economic advantage if the right investments are made. But population size alone does not create economic growth. A large population becomes an asset when people are healthy, educated, skilled and productively employed. The World Bank’s Human Capital Index has repeatedly highlighted the importance of investments in education, health and skills for Pakistan’s long-term economic prospects. Pakistan’s human-capital performance remains below that of many countries that have made stronger and more sustained investments in these areas. Improving the quality of education, expanding vocational training and increasing opportunities for productive employment should therefore be treated as national priorities. Formal education, however, should not be considered the only route to developing human capital. Many adults who did not receive adequate schooling can still acquire useful skills through vocational and technical training. Short courses in areas such as construction, agriculture, livestock, tailoring, information technology, electrical work, plumbing, mechanics, hospitality and other trades can provide people with opportunities to earn a livelihood. Such training should not remain concentrated in major cities. Local training centres and mobile skill programmes can take practical education to towns and villages. Community-level training can help women, young people and adults who cannot easily access conventional educational institutions. Pakistan can also benefit from stronger links between education and the labour market. Training programmes should be designed after identifying the skills actually demanded by local and national economies. Employers, educational institutions and government departments should work together to ensure that training leads to real opportunities rather than certificates alone. The private sector also has an important role. Businesses can provide apprenticeships, internships and on-the-job training. Young people can gain valuable experience when they are given opportunities to learn directly in workplaces. Human capital development should also include lifelong learning. Technology and the nature of work are changing rapidly. Skills that are valuable today may become less relevant tomorrow. Workers therefore need opportunities to update their knowledge and acquire new skills throughout their careers. The central lesson is simple: people should not be viewed merely as consumers of a country’s resources. With proper investment, they become producers, innovators, entrepreneurs, teachers, technicians, researchers and problem-solvers. They create value from resources that might otherwise remain underused. For Pakistan, this is both a challenge and an opportunity. The country’s young population can become a powerful economic resource if it receives quality education, healthcare, practical skills and meaningful employment opportunities. But if these needs are ignored, population growth can increase pressure on already limited resources. Human capital is therefore not a secondary concern. It is one of the foundations of sustainable development. Roads, buildings, machines, technology and natural