Category: Education

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) The Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi and the Lady Viqarun Nisa Noon and Feroze Khan Noon Trust for Education have signed an agreement today in Islamabad to support deserving students of the institute who are unable to bear the cost of higher education.

The endowment scholarship, worth PKR 10 million and established in the name of Lady Viqarun Nisa Noon, will help deserving students overcome their financial constraints for times to come.

A Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed by Director Alumni and Corporate Relations, Ms. Malahat Awan, and the Chairperson and signatory of the Lady Viqarun Nisa Noon Trust, Ms. Syeda Abida Hussain.

Ms. Abida emphasized that support for education has always remained as a cornerstone for the community welfare services of the Trust, and together with this initiative, they hope to transform the lives of many families from all over Pakistan.

TCF releases its first research report on Mother Tongue based Multilingual Education (MTB-MLE) in collaboration with the Thar Foundation

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) In a kindergarten classroom in Islamkot, a tehsil (township) in the Tharparkar Desert in Sindh, a child named Mehtab eagerly writes his name in English on the blackboard. He does a perfect job – carefully forming each letter of his name and then reading it loudly. However, it is not until the research team rubs off the last two letters of his name and asks him to read, that he gives them a blank stare.

Mehtab has rote learned his name, just as he is expected to rote memorize his textbooks.

This meaningless memorization of information happens in classrooms across Pakistan, where children’s language and cultural context is not taken into consideration. It has led to a crisis – one where children who regularly attend school can’t read or write a simple sentence in any language albeit being in school for several years.

In an attempt to address this issue, The Citizens Foundation (TCF) and the Thar Foundation have published a research report called “Finding Identity, Equity, and Economic Strength by Teaching in Languages Children Understand.”

This research report proposes how Pakistan, which has over 70 native languages, and countries with similar challenges across the world can incorporate ‘mother tongue based multilingual education’ into their education systems.  The term “Mother tongue” refers to the language that children first learn at home and have a good understanding of when they first come to school. “Multilingual” refers to the expectation that children will learn several languages during their education – in Pakistan, these are regional languages like Sindhi and Pashto as well as Urdu and English.

The report reflects three years of work in Tharparkar, Pakistan, interviews with over 130 practitioners, policymakers, and academics worldwide, and cataloguing of language policies in similarly diverse countries. It adds to the literature on MTB MLE by solving for contexts where there are many mother tongue languages and where children are expected to learn up to four languages, including English, by the end of secondary school.

Mr. Ateed Riaz, Chairman and Co-Founder of TCF shared, “If you walk into a TCF school, you’ll notice that children are confident – they are bright-eyed, engaged with teachers and the lessons in their textbooks. They will tell you what they think, even before you ask. This is because TCF has encouraged the use of Urdu and familiar languages in its schools since inception. Children express themselves well if they are allowed to use a familiar language. Conversely, they face difficulties when forced to use a foreign language, like English – a language they hardly hear or use outside of school. We are grateful to the Thar Foundation for supporting us in this significant research project.”

Testing a tailored MTB-MLE Programme in Tharparkar Desert, Sindh 

In early 2020, both TCF and Thar Foundation schools implemented this research-based MTB MLE model in 21+ classrooms in Tharparkar, starting with pre-kindergarten and kindergarten. Students in these classrooms will transition through fluency in three or four languages over the course of their education: from diverse mother tongue languages (Dhatki and Sindhi) to the regional language (Sindhi), then the national language (Urdu), and then to an international language (English). All higher education in Pakistan is in English, making English a necessity.

Syed Abul Fazal Rizvi, CEO of the Thar Foundation shared, “Thar Foundation is striving to impart quality education in Tharparkar through our 27 school units since past 3 years now. It was the community feedback that motivated us to initiate three-languages learning model in our schools. Thar Foundation and TCF jointly took this initiative, wherein the Thar Foundation funded the 3-year project. We are extremely delighted that students of Thar will now learn in Sindhi/Dhatki at early grades, subsequently adding Urdu and English. TCF has plans to extend this model to all its schools in Sindh which will be a shared pride for us.”

Unlike a lot of research that precedes this study, TCF does not just insist on mother tongue based approach to education. Instead, it provides pragmatic recommendations for how Pakistan, and countries like it, can provide mother tongue based education in contexts where there are many languages and where children are expected to learn up to four languages, including English, by the end of secondary school.

 

 

 

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) ACCA (the Association of Chartered Accountants) has joined forces with Kamayi to support small businesses and microentrepreneurs with their current cashflow management challenges and help them with their future-readiness by offering free-of-cost professional expertise. Limited resources and financial muscle restrict SMEs from allocating funds towards long-term planning and professional development of their workforce. To help small businesses overcome this limitation, ACCA has joined Kamayi to offer free-of-cost professional help to SMEs and microentrepreneurs across Pakistan. ‘It’s clear that many small businesses in Pakistan have been in survival mode but working alongside experienced accountants will allow SMEs to find some support and advice on finding innovative solutions, which may remove some of that pressure, as we all look to help the economy grow again in 2021.’ – Sajjeed Aslam, head of ACCA Pakistan ‘ACCA and its members are fully committed to supporting the country’s businesses.

Through this initiative, SMEs that are in desperate need for professional support will get exclusive access to world-class training and capacity building programmes offered by experts at ACCA.’ This is one of the numerous recent initiatives by ACCA that aim to ensure SMEs get access to professional advice and can strategise for a sustainable growth by positioning their businesses as per the changing dynamics and future needs of the economy and pave a road to a swift recovery through the crisis.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Buckle and Seam, Germany-based company manufacturing premium leather goods in Pakistan, has joined hands with The Citizens Foundation, one of the largest privately-owned networks of low-cost formal schools in Pakistan, to provide education to the less privileged children. Under the partnership, Buckle and Seamwill be supporting the cost of four TCF schools located in the most poverty-stricken neighborhoods of Pakistan.

Earlier in October, the team from Buckle and Seam visited one of the TCF schools being supported by the company in Taiser Town, where they met with TCF students and staff and learned more about TCF’s mission to create agents of positive change through quality education.

On the occasion, representative of Buckle and Seam, Linus Keiler, shared, “Through this initiative, Buckle and Seam aims to serve communities where we operate. We believe education is the solution of many problems in society and we chose to work with TCF because of their accountability, transparency and openness to new ideas.”

Isfandyar Inayat, General Manager at TCF said, “We’d like to thank Buckle and Seam from the bottom of our hearts for their generous support for the children of Pakistan. We look forward to nurture this relationship and create greater impact through education.”

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) The Institute of Chartered Accountants of Pakistan (ICAP), in collaboration with Unilever Pakistan, organized National Finance Olympiad 2020, the Grand Finale of which was held on December 20, 2020 at a local hotel in Karachi.

Mr. Iftikhar Taj, President, ICAP congratulated ICAP and Unilever Pakistan team for conducting NFO for the 6^th consecutive year. He stated, “The competition benchmark is increasing every year and it is a proud moment for ICAP. Chartered Accountants play an important role in the economy and finance of the country, and ICAP as a national institute should facilitate the professional development of its Members through such programs and initiatives.” He further added, “Chartered Accountants are not limited to accounting and finance but also require other competencies to function effectively in an organization. ICAP has developed a new education scheme aimed to improve the technical knowledge as well as competencies of chartered accountants in Technology, Finance, Economy. Chartered Accountants are no longer only accountants, they are the value creators who can play an important role in the development of Pakistan”.

The National Finance Olympiad 2020 started with registrations of 36 teams from renowned organizations across Pakistan. After a 2-hour intense MCQ-based examination held online on December 15, top 18 teams qualified for the Assessment & Simulation Round. The Qualifying teams then went through online case study simulation and a role play activity held in collaboration with Learning Partner, Karachi School of Business and Leadership (KSBL).  Top 6 finalist teams from this Round advanced to compete in the Grand Finale.

The event, organized by the ICAP’s Professional Accountants in Business (PAIB) Committee, was attended by top management of renowned national and multinational organizations. The day commenced with recitation of a few verses from the Holy Quran followed by opening remarks by Mr. Khalilullah Shaikh, FCA, Chairman PAIB Committee ICAP. He welcomed the participants and said “Standing here today, I feel another milestone is achieved as we have successfully organized and conducted a 3-day finance competition in these uncertain times. The idea of National Finance Olympiad was turned into reality 6 years ago and today the competition is one of the most sought after programs that the finance fraternity looks forward to participating. Under the PAIB Committee a number of projects have turned to reality including the Mentorship Program, CFO Conference, ICAP Webinar series, Ethics Dilemma App and CA Toastmasters activities. I am proud of the PAIB Committee as it continues to add value in the lives of Chartered Accountants and Finance professionals”.

Mr. Aly Yusuf, CFO, Unilever Pakistan then welcomed the audience. He said that “I am grateful to ICAP to organize a successful program in these uncertain times, a lot of planning and contingency planning goes into it and hats off to the ICAP team for that. I congratulate all the finalist teams who have shown tremendous hard work and competence to reach this Finale today, it is great responsibility and challenge to be one of the finalists in one of the most coveted finance competition in the Accounting world. I want to share three messages with the finalists today; take this as a learning experience that will go a long way, give your best today, be graceful if you lose and be humble if you win, , best of luck to all the teams! ”

The competition kicked off with a quick introduction of the teams followed by the exciting Buzzer Round, the second session was of Champions Debate which was judged by a panel of three distinguished judges; Mr Asad Ali Shah, Chief Executive Asad Ali Shah Associate, Mr Veqar-ul-Islam, Director and Chief Executive, Jaffer Business Systems and Ms Asma Sheikh, CHRO National Bank of Pakistan. The teams presented their stance on the following topics, Board of directors or management – who has a greater role in success of a company? Democracy or dictatorship – which is more feasible for developing countries?, Censorship or freedom of speech – what should be the government’s take on mass media?, Pakistan’s readiness and response to COVID-19 challenges are commendable or not?, Academics – A strong factor for corporate success or not?, Communication skills or technical skills – which is more important in today’s corporate world?

The last round of the competition was the 100-Seconds, which was all about the agility and knowledge of the teams. While the teams made efforts to make the best of this bonus round, the audience remained captivated and supported all the teams wholeheartedly.

Once the judges evaluated the Debate and the results of the other rounds were compiled, the winners and runner ups were announced; Unilever Pakistan Foods Limited claimed victory while AlKaram Studios and Account Ants became the 1st and 2nd Runner Ups respectively. The winning team was awarded a majestic Champions Trophy, Microsoft Surface Pro and shields for each of the three team members. The 1st Runner Up received HP Pavilion Laptop and shields for all team members and the 2nd Runner Up received iPad and shields for all team members. Certificates were also given to all finalist teams: K-Electric, Akzo Nobel and Midas Safety. The Institute presented a gift for Best Individual Performance to Syed Yousuf Ali from team Unilever.

The jury members; technical partners, BDO and KPMG ; Learning Partner, Karachi School of Business and Leadership (KSBL); ICAP NFO Organizing Committee and the Master of Ceremony; Mr Usama Rashid were recognized.

The entire testing material was developed by the technical partners; BDO and KPMG.  

Nationalism, History, and Culture Take Centre Stage at the Young Leaders Conference- YLC Dedicates Second day to Pakistan!

The 19th Young Leaders Conference running in full swing at the Dreamworld resort in Karachi had Special take away for the youngsters from its second day. Shireen Naqvi, Founder of SoL& YLC was the day champ for this day. The day’s theme, revolving around History, Culture, and Narratives shed light on what is the ideology behind Jinnah’s Pakistan.

The day began with the mandatory SOPs check that has been significant at this year’s YLC. The second day was dedicated to taking a stroll down the memory lane of Pakistan, for in order to appreciate the present it is important to have an understanding of the past. Various activities, lectures, and workshops were arranged on the importance of arts, culture, and literature, and to allow a deeper understanding of Pakistan’s 73 years and evolution in the past.

Due to the current situation, few speakers were not able to come to the conference physically but that didn’t stop them from joining YLC. This year,YLC had 3 zoom sessions with MR. Javed Jabbar, MR. Raza Rumi, and Dr.ArfaSyedaZehra. The participants were equally involved these sessions same as they were in the physical sessions. The spirit, the energy and the madness of YLC can never die, no matter what the circumstances are.

Aamina Sayyid conducted a beautiful session on the importance of Literature to interpret the power and impact of word, art and culture.

The day also had an alluring theatre play by Sheema Kirmani and group, the theatre was based on a short love story “Love, longing and Death” The performance was a combination of live music, dance, poetry and dialogue. Furthermore, Dr.Adil Omer had a conversation with the Participants on Stigmatization and Stereotyping that is associated with artists from all walks of life, how in the masses they are treated and called out as “Miraasi” hence the youth today needs to be told that beauty of this word and how this word shouldn’t be used as a stigma.

Waqar Ali, Master Trainer and CEO at SoL conducted a session on self-love, and how do we really know ourselves? The session helped the participants to get to know themselves better. Along the way, the session also helped the participants to discover why getting to know each aspect of yourself inside out is important.

This day also included cultural night, all the participants dressed up and got to represent their cultures at YLC, and it was a beautiful buffet of cultures, languages, and colours. The day ended with powerful performances by the participants on Sufism and mysticism in Sindh.

This year’s conference is being held under strict conditions – with careful observations of the venue, participants, as well as the SOPs. The event has been organized with thorough preparations on the part of the organizing committee, in light of the safety and health concerns of all present.

The event has been sponsored and partnered by YLC’s Founding Partner English Biscuit Manufacturers, and Cause Partners FNF, as well as KIA Motors, British Council, Marie Stopes Society, KFC, Viper, Hubco, IBEX. The Jang Group is the official media partner, Suno FM 89.4 as the Official Radio Partner for the conference while Double Click Pvt Ltd. is serving as the PR partner.

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) The 19th Youth Leaders Conference to empower and train the youth, under the theme of ‘Breakthrough’, started on Saturday with great enthusiasm and zeal in Karachi. The event commenced with social distancing and all SOPs were strictly observed, as 200 students from around the country began the six-day journey of discovery.

The first day was kicked off by the School of Leadership and YLC founding member Kamran Rizvi, with the theme “Personal Development” (Asrar-e-Khudi). The mentoring sessions, team building activities, and lectures were arranged to help participants in attaining self-belief, to find their genius, and elevate their impact on the world. Kamran Rizvi welcomed the partners and participants to the event and maintained great energy throughout the day!

Speaking at the inauguration of the event, Aaminah Saeed – GM Marketing at EBM talked about the Beautiful and Strong relationship between the two Organizations; EBM & SoL. She also engaged the Participants in a very Motivational Leadership talk where she encouraged the participants to achieve their goals and how they can become a better version of themselves. She also shared some great stories about EBM and how it has become a Leader for many today!

The first day followed certain innovative activities and sessions including a talk on Asrar-e-Khudi by Walid Iqbal and was also followed by a ‘BREAKTHROUGH’ story by Samina Baig that marks change and transformation, a story that was aligned with YLC’s vision this year, then there was a Capacity Building by the SoL Founder, Shireen Naqvi, and there was a very exciting scavenger hunt activity moderated by Waqar Ali, where he made the participants realized how we all should always work on your actions and how we should be the best version of ourselves.

This year’s conference is being held under strict conditions – with careful observations of the venue, participants, as well as the SOPs. The event has been organized with thorough preparations on the part of the organizing committee, in light of the safety and health concerns of all present.

The event has been sponsored and partnered by YLC’s Founding Partner English Biscuit Manufacturers and Cause Partners FNF, as well as KIA Motors, British Council, Marie Stopes Society, KFC, Viper, Hubco, IBEX. The Jang Group is the official media partner, Suno FM 89.4 as the Official Radio Partner for the conference while Double Click Pvt Ltd. is serving as the PR partner.