Category: Education

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir)  In response to the disruption caused by the coronavirus pandemic, the IBA Karachi has revamped the admission process for its flagship MBA program for the upcoming admission cycle.

Since administering the entrance test is not possible in existing circumstances, an alternate objective criterion for the assessment of admission applications has been introduced. The revised process includes shortlisting of candidates based on prior academic qualification, length and quality of work experience / internships, co-curricular activities / achievements and the personal statement by the candidate. Based on this criterion, the candidates will be shortlisted for the final interviews.

While announcing these policy changes, IBA Executive Director Dr. S Akbar Zaidi said that these changes have been made to adhere to the public health and safety guidelines issued by the government and for the wellbeing of all prospective candidates. Therefore, revising the admission process by substituting the admission test with an alternate objective assessment criterion to evaluate candidates’ profiles and shortlist them for the final interviews saves the students from being at risk.

He further said that the IBA is cognizant of the enormous difficulties and challenges faced by the students whose academic careers have been jeopardized by this pandemic and promised that the IBA will continue to facilitate the students as much as it can, without comprising on the merit and quality of the intake. “We are continuously monitoring the situation and will continue to create flexibility in the admission process, as and when required”, he added.

The 3As – Act, Analyse, Anticipate

The COVID-19 crisis has caused a systemic shock to the global economy.

There is even talk of a ‘Pre-COVID-19’ and ‘Post-COVID-19’ world.

ACCA’s global research Covid-19 global survey: inside business, impacts and responses data looks at the impact of COVID-19 so far on organisations and the global business community and it’s clear from the findings that this is only the start of the story. Over the coming weeks and months different regions of the world, countries, businesses and organisations in all sectors will seek to navigate a way through the crisis, using different strategies and interventions to respond to the crisis in what will be a continuously and fast-changing situation.  ACCA’s report provides advice for organisations in how to respond based on the ‘3As’.

Act and respond in a sustainable manner

4. Think ‘people first’. Pay attention to the physical and mental health of employees and develop appropriate plans for the resumption of work. Put in place a communications plan that will engage and update employees regularly and human resources policies that address crisis measures.
5. Accept the short-term focus and demonstrate true leadership. Timelines and targets will need to be refocused on near and mid-term horizons. Senior leaders in organisations need to accept a change of focus from strategic to tactical.
6. Recognise the needs of your customers and other stakeholders. Make sure you do not miss the opportunity to respond to those changing needs. Understand the impact on your supply chains, and wider relationships with stakeholders and partners.
7. Use a crisis-management team with communications skills and establish a resilience plan. Oversee major issues, formulate business contingency plans, coordinate and align implementation across different departments, and ensure speedy responses and decision-making. Initiate resilience planning to ensure activities across the organisation are connected in response to an event and broader business integrity is protected.

 Analyse the different information sources to secure your organisation

7. AYUR
8. Model scenarios and plan for resumption. In a crisis such as COVID-19, organisational scenarios are not constant and require regular review. It is important to understand how using analytical capabilities to assess both external and internal data can put the organisation in a stronger position and help it understand the operational and financial impact of different scenarios that may arise. Information insight is also critically important for business resumption planning, which aims to get the organisation back up and running properly, planned in manageable phases. This requires analysis of the resources and assets that the organisation needs to safeguard in order to be able to resume.
9. Review government and fiscal policies that may be of benefit. Monitor the relief measures and policies introduced by the government and seek to use the benefits fully. Take a lead role and communicate the needs of your industry (leveraging on data insights) to relevant government agencies for appropriate policy formulation, refinement or implementation.
10. Remember: ‘Liquidity is the lifeblood’. Organisations should review their lines of credit and renegotiate their debt financing obligations. Payment periods, for example, may well be extended in the immediate term as businesses recover. Strong focus on cash management and liquidity should be in place to bridge different business scenarios, accepting that recovery to full liquidity is likely to be a long process.

Anticipate the business impacts and future trends

Look for opportunities to innovate. Organisations should consider opportunities for short or medium-term innovation. This could involve product and service development or thinking innovatively about partnerships. It could mean ensuring that employees have new opportunities for producing innovative ideas or looking again at how the organisation is deploying digital and technological innovations.

10. Review company strategies. Re-examine business models. Explore new channels to market, supply-chain diversification, new approaches to customer services, and opportunities to grow.
11. Don’t forget: fundamental business risks remain. Don’t lose sight of the fundamentals. Even in the face of COVID-19, the organisation will still face not only existing risks (e.g. cybersecurity), but also different ways of working, and strategic reactions to COVID-19 could change these risks or introduce new ones.

ACCA’s global research with over 10,000 finance professionals identifies a wide range of financial challenges facing organisations of all sizes and across all sectors. 

To read the report in full:

Covid-19 global survey: inside business, impacts and responses

LUMS issues a statement, says the 41% increase grossly

misstates the fees that all students pay

This note further clarifies a memo sent recently about fees. There has unfortunately been significant misinformation on social media, and it is important to clarify that students at LUMS will not pay any more than what they had committed to pay. In fact, some will actually end up paying less in certain cases explained below. The information below confirms that the 41% increase is a misunderstanding of the new payment structure and unnecessarily feeds into social media sensationalism.

• As a not-for-profit institution that takes pride in the diversity of our student body, LUMS disburses approximately Rs 1 billion in financial aid every year.
• 1 out of 3 students at LUMS receive significant financial aid ranging from 30% to 135% of student tuition.
• We also have about 160 PhD students whose tuition fee is completely waived. They also receive generous monthly stipends.
• Additionally, all women graduate students at the School of Business receive a 50% tuition scholarship.
• All graduate students at the School of Education receive need-based, as well as merit scholarships.

Summer 2020 Fees

The Summer semester course fees are in fact lower by 18%,  since the new system charges Rs. 21,300 per credit hour instead of Rs. 26,000. Since students will not be staying in hostels, they will save more. Moreover, while in previous summer semesters, students were not eligible for financial aid, they are eligible now. This will allow them to spread their courses over the year giving them more flexibility. These reductions benefit all students.

Fall 2020 Fees

The 13% inflationary increase that was tentatively scheduled to come into effect in the Fall was based on the pre-COVID circumstances reflecting the State Bank of Pakistan reported inflation numbers. In normal circumstances, we have to make inflation adjustments to ensure we maintain the highest standard of education at par with premier universities across the globe. However, given the COVID-19 crisis, we are already preparing contingency plans in case the campus remains closed, or is partially reopened, and will pass on any savings such as lower utilities bills to our students.  In other words, the Fall semester fees will be reassessed in July/August.

New Fee Structure

Like the vast majority of internationally established universities, we are implementing a system that replaces a flat fee each semester with a per-unit charge. This ensures that student fees are proportionate to the number of courses into which they enroll.  As mentioned, on average, LUMS students require 130 credit hours (CH) to graduate. Across the 3 major schools (Business, Science & Engineering, and Humanities/Social Science), only 7.8% of students take and successfully complete more than 135 credit hours. The burden of the extra courses taken by these students is paid for by the overwhelming majority who do not take course overloads. The new system extinguishes this cross-subsidy so the majority of students are not penalised. 

We have gone further:  Students presently at LUMS in their final years of study and who may exceed the average credit hours (130 CH) will not pay more than they would have under the new system. They will be accommodated and grandfathered into the new system. In other words, every student is better off. LUMS is committed to its not-for-profit mission; our financial planning is aimed at remaining sustainable, not earning profits.

We hope this note will remove the misunderstanding and misinformation about the university. Our fees are a fraction of many comparable international institutions. Our mission continues to advance educational opportunities in Pakistan and the broader region educationally, economically and socially while remaining globally visible and competitive. 

 

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) As the threat of Coronavirus looms over the academic future of students, the IBA Karachi has taken a major step to facilitate its prospective students in these challenging times. In a major policy revision, the IBA Karachi has added flexibility to its admission process to cater to the needs of prospective candidates.

IBA Karachi will accept A Levels grades awarded to students based on final exams and/or through guidance grading by the Cambridge Board. Additionally, for all those candidates whose Intermediate and A Levels results are pending, the IBA is working to accommodate them by granting them a provisional conditional admission offer. Such candidates will be permitted to give A Levels exams by the year end and submit their results by early 2021 to secure their admissions. The IBA further plans to facilitate such students who are giving their A Levels exams in October 2020, by offering a reduced course load, so that they can remain focused without compromising on their A Levels exams happening alongside their studies at IBA.

Furthermore, the IBA Karachi has also devised a mechanism where in case IBA admission tests do not take place due to the prevailing Covid-19 lockdown. In this case, the admissions would be offered through interviews of shortlisted candidates. Shortlisting criteria would be devised by the IBA Admissions Committee once all the applications have been submitted by the applicants by the deadline for each prospective program. Therefore, all prospective candidates are encouraged to visit the IBA’s website for more information and fill in the application with as much information as possible.

Announcing these policy changes, IBA Executive Director Dr. S Akbar Zaidi said that these changes have been made out of concern for our prospective students, whose academic future is of paramount importance to the Institute. He said that the IBA Karachi plans to begin the next academic year on time and will leave no stone unturned for timely graduation of upcoming intake. “We will try our best to make our admission process as flexible as we can, while upholding merit and ensuring quality, to cater to the needs of these students effected by extraordinary circumstances”, Dr. Zaidi added. IBA Admission Office is also working tirelessly, answering all queries of the prospective candidates to minimize the prevailing uncertainty.

 

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) It’s the time to utilize the quarantine time productively, as enrollments for batch 7 of Digiskills.pk opens on 24^th April 2020! This is the best time to seize this opportunity to pick up new skills, and simply expand your knowledge from the comfort of your home.  The courses are scheduled to commence from 27^th May 2020 and training would be given for 3 months.

DigiSkills.pk is Pakistan’s largest online training program, developed and run through Ignite, under the ambit of Ministry of Information Technology & Telecom. Up till now more than 1 million training have been given already, with people starting to earn a decent living for themselves. The skills imparted by this program are the essential requirements to thrive in the digital world.

According to a survey conducted by DigiSkills Team, it is estimated that the projected annual earning of all batches (1 to 7) by end of 2020 is going to be approximately $158 million. This not only benefits the individuals but also tremendously strengthens the foreign exchange reserve of Pakistan.

The online courses offered under this program include Freelancing, E-Commerce Management, Digital Literacy, Digital Marketing, AutoCAD, WordPress, Creative Writing, QuickBooks, Graphic Design and Search Engine Optimization; all of which are completely free, and can be availed by anyone from anywhere. And the best part about this is that all courses are government certified and verifiable by issuing authority.

Enrolling at Digiskills.pk is the most productive utilization of your time this year. So make the most of this opportunity to turn your life around. Go now at www.digiskills.pk and signup now!

Pakistani is moving towards digitization and is all set to introduce digital financial services given the increasing telecom connectivity and penetration of smartphone. The digital Pakistan initiative also aims at equipping different sectors of Pakistan with e-services, and promoting digital skills, entrepreneurship and connectivity, helping county grow. Despite working on these reforms, Pakistan has still the lowest financial inclusion ratio in South Asia. The growth in financial inclusion is just satisfactory, with a slight increase from 7.7 percent in 2013 to 14 percent in 2017. State Bank of Pakistan in its Financial Inclusion Strategy announced 50% target set for 2020, but it seems that will not be achieved anytime soon due to increasing gender gap in our society.

Global Gender Index Report 2020, ranked Pakistan on 151 position out of 153, which means Pakistan has the third-worst gender gap in the world. The scorecard for Pakistan placed the country at 150 in financial participation and opportunity, 143 in educational attainment, 149 in health and survival and 93 in political empowerment. All these factors are interrelated to each other, giving rise to gender disparity even when we have Aurat March asking for equal rights in Pakistan. Well, this gender gap is more than just marching on streets and asking for equal rights to wear, eat and education. It’s about closing the gender gap in financial inclusion which matters the most these days.

The Consultative Group to Assist the Poor’s (CGAP) analysis of the 2017 FINDEX report reveals that after a decade of investment in low-income segments, only 37 million mobile accounts have been created in Pakistan out of which only 22 percent belong to women. The gender gap in phone ownership in Pakistan is 37 percent. In most countries, unequal access to things like education, mobile phones, and work open up financial inclusion gaps. Of course, we know that much of that denial of access can come from social norms or legal discrimination against women.

With this meagre use of fintech, it’s nearly impossible to bridge the gender gap in financial inclusion which leads to economic growth in the country. These financial inclusion gaps are not just large; they should profoundly concern policymakers and motivate us to understand what other barriers are being erected around access to finance. 

Some Recommendations

In Pakistan, many organization, including Jazz Cash, Karandaaz, FINCA and Telenor, are working to bridge this gap. However, these companies and policymakers collectively should design services that convince low-income users having minimal adjacent to their existing behaviour to sing up for mobile money services.

If Pakistan needs to achieve meaningful and sustainable economic growth, the most important aspect is empowering women as they represent half of Pakistan’s population. It can only be done through increasing education, improving technological capabilities and enhancing phone access, especially for women.

 

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) On the footprints of Tele School Channel, Alight Pakistan and National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) in collaboration with Education Department of Gilgit-Baltistan have launched an online distance learning educational program on Radio Pakistan and FM channels for children in Gilgit-Baltistan districts.  

Named as “Muallim,” the radio program would be aired on FM-93 Radio Pakistan and FM-91 Gilgit and Skardu at 2:00 pm and at Radio Pakistan’s Medium Waves 1512 kilohertz at 7:00 pm and daily, which would benefit hundreds of children who are unable to attend regular school classes due to lockdown in the wake of global coronavirus pandemic. Besides, it will be livestreamed on the facebook pages of FM-93 and FM-91 channels respectively for the benefit of children. Recordings of these educational programs would be available to download from facebook page and Youtube Channel of “Alight Pakistan”.

This online distance learning initiative by Alight Pakistan, NCHD and Gilgit-Baltistan Education Department would cater to educational needs of children in Grade-I, II and III as they would be taught subjects of Urdu, English, Mathematics and General Science with special focus on health and hygiene in unique story-telling and easy-to-understand style by qualified and trained teachers even in hard-to-reach remote areas to ensure equity in teaching.

“Schools and colleges have been closed down and children are forced to stay at home due to coronavirus, this online distance learning initiative through Radio Pakistan and FM channels will help children keep themselves engaged with their studies,” says Dr. Tariq Cheema, Country Head, Alight Pakistan.

“As the uncertainty about containment of pandemic and resultant lockdown prolongs, this distance learning initiative will mitigate the educational loss of children due to the closure of institutions and provide them learning opportunity at the doorstep,” said Chairman NCHD Col (Retd) Dr. Ameerullah Marwat, adding that the whole world is heading towards distant learning because nobody knows as to when the life would return to normalcy.

Alight Pakistan and Government of Pakistan through Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training have already launched a countrywide initiative in collaboration with Educate A Child (EAC) programme, a global programme of the Education Above All Foundation (EAA), to enrol one million Out-Of-School Children (OOSC) in Pakistan. Through its strategic partners including provincial education departments, NCHD, BISP and other civil society organizations, Alight Pakistan is implementing this three years program in 56 districts of Pakistan where over 850,000 OOSC have been enrolled so far.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) Karachi Urban Lab Director and IBA, Karachi Department of Social Sciences & Liberal Arts Professor Dr. Nausheen H Anwar has been chosen as the Pakistan lead of one of 20 international networks launched by the UK Research and Innovation (UKRI) to tackle challenges in the developing world.

Dr. Anwar is working with world-leading collaborators investigating the links between violence and climate change in marginalised city communities. The Global Challenges Research Fund (GCRF) Urban Violence and Climate Change Network is being led by Dr. Anwar in collaboration with the UK lead Dr. Arabella Fraser from School of Geography, Nottingham University. The networks, supported by the UK’s GCRF, bring together UK researchers with collaborators from across the developing world to share expertise and find solutions.

The GCRF award will allow Dr. Fraser, Dr. Anwar and their colleagues to build a network of critical researchers from multiple disciplines. The network will create a platform for debate as well as sponsoring new research projects to take off in ways that can inform current day policy needs.

The project is bringing together two research communities – those working on violence reduction and those on adapting to climate change, to understand these links in greater depth, and work with practitioners to find solutions to improve urban environments to be safer and more sustainable.

Dr. Anwar’s research looks at the power-laden forms of climate adaptation, planning and sustainability practices and policies in Pakistan, with a focus on the dynamics of water security and gender, and the violent logics of urban planning that exacerbate inequality and deepen vulnerability. “We are living in exceptional times today as we witness the Covid-19 pandemic unfold amidst the crises of planetary, ecological, and social health. This, combined with the ongoing austerity measures, suggests that for ordinary citizens the new normal is a permanent state of crisis. In urban Pakistan, the temporariness of work and housing, decaying infrastructures and exposure to institutional and political violence, have altogether made people’s lives extraordinarily difficult. With more and more people heading for cities in search of a better life, we need to urgently address the question of how to plan inclusive cities and build healthier and happy communities.”

Dr. Fraser’s research looks at how to build social resilience to climate change in the most marginalised urban communities. “Climate change and violence are growing development challenges, both in regions that are rapidly urbanising and those that have predominantly urbanised. Both negatively affect lives, livelihoods, health, and productivity. We hope that by exploring innovations to reduce the multiple risks that people are facing (and which will include COVID risks and associated responses), we can support efforts towards safer and more secure cities for the most marginalised.”

Dr. Fraser said, “This is an outstanding opportunity to build relationships with stellar urban researchers and policy communities across the world to develop a new research agenda, including my incredible and passionate colleagues at the Karachi Urban Lab, who direct the network”.

The network currently has 15 partners in South America, the Middle East and North Africa, sub-Saharan Africa, South Asia and the UK. Further details can be found on https://www.ukri.org/news/networks-launched-to-identify-solutions-to-global-challenges/.

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) The Citizens Foundation (TCF) has joined hands with the Institute of Business Administration (IBA), Karachi in easing out the financial burden of TCF graduates studying at the IBA by setting up the IBA-TCF Alumni Scholarship Fund. All donations including zakat collected for this fund will cover the educational expenses of TCF graduates studying at the IBA. 20% of the proceeds will go towards TCF’s COVID-19 Response Appeal.

Last year, the IBA provided financial assistance to around 1,000 students amounting to Rs. 300 million.

The IBA, Karachi and TCF would really appreciate donations for this fund: https://support.tcf.org.pk/fundraisers/tcf-alumni-at-ibakarachi