Spreading the education net
By Shano

With more and more people turning to the Internet for information in every sphere of activity, there are a mind-boggling variety of websites now available for the computer literate. Whether it is music that you are looking for, or a specific information, or an exchange of views, the entire wortd is now available at your fingertips. Not to be left behind, many Pakistanis have also initiated interesting sites that receive a large number of hits daily- Perhaps, the most unique and service-oriented of these, is eTaleem.com, a user-friendly website that is geared towards solving problems related to education and health in our society, although it also offers all other kinds of information
Education pertaining to the Pakistani consumer. It is, in fact, the only portal in Pakistan with more than 800 pages of information.
Launched in October last year, this portal is a godsent opportunity for students looking for prospective educational institutions as it provides a comprehensive list of educational facilities available, categorised according to their locations as well as their area of specialty. Thus, a student moving to Nazimabad, and looking for A-levels' schools, would have to just connect to eTaIeem.com to find out the options available to him near his residential area.
Similarly, the portal provides invaluable help to teachers looking" for jobs, or alternately to institutions, as it puts up CVs of potential employees as well as lists institutions and their requirements. It also helps students intending to proceed abroad for higher studies by guiding them about foreign exams such as TOEFL, GMAT, SAT, etc. and also providing them information about available boarding and lodging. It also provides tips on how to prepare for a job interview and write effective resumes, and proffers assistance on how to apply for working visas and look for jobs, both locally and abroad.
Another very important facility that the site offers is that it has developed a platform from which needy and capable students can apply for financial assistance for their education. All that is required is that the potential sponsors and the students enrol as members of the portal - there is no catch, as the membership is free - so that the necessary data is available to the site for the convenience of both parties. Once both sides are introduced to each other on the Internet, they can meet and remain in touch by themselves, without the site acting as an intermediary. Many educational institutions are listed with the portal, such as Greenwich University and Habib Public School, which have offered scholarships and financial assistance to deserving candidates. Already the portal has about 7,000 members who are availing of its facilities. The portal has also designed a programme for the board office so that its workload can be reduced by 20 per cent and the admission process can become hassle-free- It aims to make the forms for private students available on-line, so that Ihey can be downloaded in the comfort of one's home, instead of having to stand long hours in a queue to receive the form, and then having to come back to return it.
The latest facilities that eTaleem.com is offering its users are eMessenger and eBriefcase. The former is a service similar to msn or icq in that it enables the user to immediately communicate with his on-line registered friends. The latter is a free on-line storage facility that allows the user to save up to 10mb work in his or her briefcase, which can be available to the user anywhere in the world.
While facilitating education is the raison d'etre of the site, etaleem.com is also concentrating on providing health services, www.health.etaleem.com has developed a comprehensive database of doctors, hospitals, clinics, diagnostic centres, medical stores and other health-related institutions, providing the user with invaluable information such as their location, timings and field of specialisation. Thus, if you are looking for a specific doctor, their widespread search engine will enable you to locate him either by his name, location, speciality, qualification or his affiliation with different hospitals. Consultation days and timings at various hospitals are also provided and doctors with Internet facilities can be contacted for appointment through e-mail. Similarly, available services and charges at various clinics and laboratories are also provided so one can do a comparative study, before availing of any facility. There are already about 8,500 health care facilities and 3,500 doctors listed with this portal. It also has an extensive emergency ambulance service listing.
The portal also has ambitious plans for the future. It aims to facilitate Pakistanis based here and abroad to have their medical history posted on line, It is also trying to get some doctors to proffer free medical advice on the Internet.
While this portal also provides tips on child health and first aid treatments for emergencies, it is perhaps, its pioneering initiative in setting up an on-line Blood Donor Service, providing a link between volunteer donors and those in need of blood, that is most commendable. Thanks to this site, it is possible to locate blood donors any time of the day or night both by their blood grouping and location. And the facility is not limited to Pakistan alone , it can even help you locate donors abroad.
Launched recently, an inauguration ceremony for the 'On-line Blood Donor Service' was held at a local five-star hotel, where Interior Minister, Lt. Gen (retd) Moinuddin Raider was the chief guest. Arriving two hours late, without so much as a word of apology, he kept the entire audience waiting in anticipation. It was heartening to see that instead of twiddling their toes or becoming impatient, though, the august gathering, prodded by the compere, managed to keep themselves entertained with comments, advice and queries related to the site.
It is a pleasure though, to see that our enterprising people are not only keeping abreast with the times and making the most of the technology that is readily available today, it is in some cases, moving ahead of the other countries in introducing web-based facilities.