Category: Education

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) ACCA (The Association of Chartered Certified Accountants) has teamed up with Carnegie Council for Ethics in International Affairs and CFA Institute to celebrate this year’s Global Ethics Day .

The three organisations are also producing a film interview series called ‘Ethics in business: in their own words’ which will feature a number of global CEOs, including: Helen Brand OBE, chief executive of ACCA, Paul Smith, president and CEO of CFA Institute and David MacLennan, chairman and CEO of Cargill discussing the greatest ethical challenge facing their respective organisations.

ACCA Pakistan held an event in Islamabad which was attended by Rahat Kaunain Hassan, Partner Hassan Kaunain Nafees Legal Practitioners and Advisers, Chaudhry Faisal Mushtaq, Founder and CEO Roots Millennium Schools, Faisal Rehman Malik, Senior Anchor. All these keynote speakers stressed on the value and importance of instilling the right mind-set and culture to drive businesses forward, ethically and sustainably.

Sajjeed Aslam, Head of ACCA Pakistan highlighted, “It is not our opinions but our actions which are going to drive change. Ethics or lack of is going to be the key disruption alongside technology advancements.”

The keynote speeches were followed by a panel discussion moderated by Aamir Ghauri, Senior Journalist, Broadcaster and Author. The panelists included Abid Qaiyum Suleri, Executive Director SDPI, Dr. Tariq Hassan, Chairman Audit Oversight Board, Rahat Kaunain Hassan, Partner Hassan Kaunain Nafees Legal Practitioners & Advisers, Zouhair Khaliq, Co-Founder Team up & Advisor and Syed Asmatullah, Executive Director Deloitte Yousuf Adil, Chartered Accountants.

Our Panellist, Rahat Kunain spoke on the subject and said, ‘Improving work ethics of the nation in general is imperative to drive the productivity of our workforce else competing with global workforce will an upcoming challenge for our youth.’

Aamir Ghauri who was moderating the panel discussed that, ‘The kind of role models we are sharing on television and films should promote and show case good moral and ethical examples.’

Zouhair Khaliq, Co-Founder Teamup and Advisor commented, “The young generation of the entrepreneurs is building up their businesses on strong moral and ethical values, leaders of today should inculcate and nourish such behaviours.”  

Helen Brand OBE, ACCA’s chief executive, says: ‘This is the fifth anniversary of Global Ethics Day, and an opportunity for us all to stop and think ahead to the ethical challenges we face and how we can all work together to tackle them. This day is to remind individuals and businesses of their ethical responsibilities and highlight why doing the right thing is so important. And this is why ACCA is supporting Global Ethics Day 2018, working with Carnegie and CFA Institute to shine a spotlight on all things ethical’.

 

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) After the market launch of Ultramid^® Advanced N, BASF is now introducing another polyphthalamide (PPA) at the Fakuma trade fair in Germany: Ultramid® Advanced T1000 – a new group of compounds based on polyamide 6T/6I. Within the Ultramid® family, Ultramid® Advanced T1000 is the product group with the highest strength and stiffness and with stable mechanical properties at temperatures of up to 120°C (dry) and up to 80°C (conditioned). Due to its partially aromatic chemical structure, it offers high resistance to humidity and to aggressive media – outperforming conventional polyamides and many other PPA materials on the market. This outstanding property profile combined with BASF’s many years of application experience and established technical expertise makes Ultramid® Advanced T1000 a strong and stable material that is suitable for use in a wide range of challenging environments across all industries. Such applications can be found for example in the automotive industry, especially in areas where materials have to remain strong, no matter what temperatures or climates they are exposed to, and in all other industries where resistance to humidity or chemicals is required.

“New materials for metal replacement are the key to developing the next generation of lightweight, high-performance components,” says Abdullah Shaikh, head of the global PPA team. “The demands on the materials have increased drastically in recent years, mostly because of trends such as ongoing miniaturization, higher efficiency targets, and functional integration. BASF is now expanding its PPA portfolio in order to provide customers with the right plastics in order to enable them to meet these technical challenges.”

 

For sophisticated technical parts in many industries

With these properties, Ultramid® Advanced T1000 can be applied in many technical parts with a challenging requirement profile: in thermostat housings and water pumps, in fuel circuits and selective catalytic reduction systems, for actuators and clutch parts in cars as well as in coffee machines, as furniture fittings, and in construction applications such as water distributors, heating systems and pumps – in other words, anywhere where high, constant stiffness and strength across a broad temperature range from -40°C to over 80°C (conditioned) are necessary. The new PPA also shows higher resistance to chemicals than conventional aliphatic polyamides in contact with many demanding media, including hot coolants, oils, aggressive fuels, and solutions of road salts containing calcium or zinc salts. It is characterized by a lower water uptake than many aliphatic polyamides: this results in high dimensional stability and to stable physical and mechanical properties of the components – also in the presence of humidity. Ultramid® Advanced T1000 is suitable for processing by injection molding. There are different possibilities for post-processing such as laser marking or welding with Ultramid® Advanced T1000 grades, other polyamides or polyphthalamides.

 

Versatile portfolio

For a broad application range, BASF offers a versatile range of T1000 compounds. The initial portfolio consists of heat-stabilized, glass fiber-reinforced standard grades with reinforcement levels ranging from 30 to 60% for  different stiffness, strength and toughness values; glass fiber-reinforced special grades with improved hydrolysis resistance with 35 or 45% glass fiber reinforcement, and a special long glass fiber-reinforced, highly heat-stabilized compound for outstanding mechanical performance, especially at higher temperatures. Depending on the requirements of individual applications, grades with different heat stabilizers are also available.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir)  The Provincial Advisory Committee of the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) for the Sindh province, (PAC – Sindh), held its first meeting on Tuesday, October 9 in Karachi, introducing committee members from the provincial government, PPAF Board and experts from relevant sectors and academia. The first meeting laid the scope of engagement for the PAC – Sindh in relation to development needs of the province and PPAF’s priority thematic and geographic areas. This includes a focus on health and nutrition; water; education; and livelihoods and financial inclusion.

The PAC – Sindh, chaired by Director PPAF, Dr. Aijaz Ahmed Qureshi, includes Dr. Suleman Shaikh – Director PPAF and Secretary Board of Trustees, SZABIST, Karachi, Ms. Sadiqa Salahuddin – Member General Body PPAF and Executive Director – Indus Resource Center, as well as representatives from Planning & Development, Health and Social Welfare Departments, Govt. of Sindh. Civil society/private sector representatives include Mr. Fawad Soomro – Head, Engro Foundation, and Ms. Kausar S Khan – Head, Behavioral and Research Sciences, Aga Khan University Karachi, and PPAF’s Provincial Coordinator Ms. Samia Liaquat Ali Khan – Sr. Group Head, Quality Assurance & Research Design. .

In his welcome note Chairman PAC-Sindh, Dr. Aijaz Ahmed Qureshi stressed on the dire need of poverty alleviation and explained that PPAF has undertaken the new PAC initiative to involve provincial government and civil society in the work in the province and to seek inputs from experts to create more meaningful impact in Sindh through direct programmes, collaborations and linkages. The initiative aims at enhancing coordination with the governments at the provincial level in the light of 18^th amendment in the Constitution of Pakistan.

The main session focused on the development context of the province. Ms. Samia Liaquat underscored PPAF’s role in countering development challenges in the past and highlighted the opportunities available to bridge the existing gaps for future policies. With a presence in 24 districts through 25 partner organizations, PPAF has a grassroots network of 31,033 community organizations, 3,495 village organizations and 111 local support organizations.

A consultative workshop was held on the second day, comprising PPAF’s partner organizations and Karachi-based SUN-CSA members. With four thematic areas, the workshop called for developing sector strategies and priorities in health and nutrition, livelihoods and financial inclusion, education, and water.

Members of PAC-Sindh are seen in the photograph taken during the inaugural meeting of The Provincial Advisory Committee of the Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF) for the Sindh province.

The campuses will be built at a cost of PKR 50.5 million and will provide quality education opportunities to the less privileged communities of GhaggarPhattak villages and adjoining areas

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir) –  Engro Polymer & Chemicals Limited (EPCL) as part of its CSR initiative, signed an agreement with The Citizens Foundation (TCF) to setup two new purpose-built school campuses in Ghaggar Phattak, Bin Qasim Town, Karachi. These two new facilities will serve as a primary school for girls and boys in the vicinity which lacks quality education infrastructure. The agreement was signed by Mr. Imran Anwer, CEO & President – Engro Polymer & Chemicals Limited and Syed Asaad Ayub Ahmad, CEO & President, TCF.

With the construction of these two new purpose built schools, EPCL will be providing quality education through TCF to more than 1200 under served children. This agreement is aimed to further increase the outreach and spread literacy in different areas of Gaghar Phattak, said Rao Mubeen Ahmed Head of Public Affairs & CSR of Engro Polymer. He further added, “we are committed to pay a handsome contribution towards the betterment of the less privileged communities in various fields like education, health, safe drinking, skill development and environment to bring the positive change within these neglected areas of our country.”

Speaking at the occasion, Imran Anwar, CEO, Engro Polymer & Chemicals said: “We believe Pakistan’s solution going forward lies in quality education. It is only by educating these young minds today that we can move forward. We at Engro, feel it is also our responsibility to provide our adjoining communities related opportunities in this regard.

TCF CEO, Asaad Ayub Ahmad added: “More than 22 million children in Pakistan have never seen the inside of a classroom. This leaves them destined to a cycle of illiteracy, poverty and street life. To change this bleak situation, all stakeholders need to come together to take education to the most underserved areas of our country. The problem is so huge that a small step is like a drop in the ocean but we have to do whatever we can collectively to make a difference. TCF is committed to remove barriers of class and privilege to make the citizens of Pakistan agents of positive change. We believe quality education can lead to a better future and the Engro Polymer – TCF Ghaghar Phattak campuses is just another step in that direction. We are grateful to Engro Polymer for their generous support.”

EPCL also established a primary school with TCF back in 2015 in Haji Jangi Khan Gotth, Gaghar Phattak where approximately 350 students are on the path of success in getting quality education in two shifts (morning and evening). In April 2018 EPCL took another step to benefit more deserving children by starting a second (evening) shift accommodating around 180 students.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir)  Driving lasting impact through education and building colourful communities, AkzoNobel, a leading global paints and coatings company, has partnered with SOS Children’s Village in Pakistan to empower vulnerable youth for better chances of employment through various colour training programs.

AkzoNobel partners globally with SOS Children’s Villages under its widely implemented ‘Let’s Colour’ initiative. Driven by hands-on employees of AkzoNobel Pakistan, the program aspires to help children, families and communities in need, by creating energized living spaces and colorful communities.

30 young participants from SOS Children Village were educated on colour theory and techniques for application of colour by experts from AkzoNobel Pakistan. The program graduates, along with the AkzoNobel volunteers set about revamping the living spaces at SOS Children’s Village in a brilliant display of their newly acquired skills, tinted notably with their personal creativity and flair.

Her Excellency, Mrs. Ardi Stoios-Braken, The Dutch Ambassador to Pakistan was the Chief Guest at the occasion. She commented “I appreciate AkzoNobel’s efforts in contributing towards a brighter future for these children. This collaboration will add more colour to the lives of these young people and help them lead independent lives.”

AkzoNobel Pakistan hopes to equip the participants with a useful and empowering skill to builds their self-confidence and bring them one step closer to leading productive lives, personally and professionally.

 

Saad Mahmood Rashid, Chief Executive, AkzoNobel Pakistan said, “Connecting with communities close to AkzoNobel and playing our part in their development, has always been essential to our identity. Our initiative under AkzoNobel’s Community Program is an enduring example of how AkzoNobel delivers shared value, combining our people, products and expertise for the benefit of society.

 

 

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir) The second graduation ceremony of Depilex College of Cosmetology was held on 1st October, 2018 under the patronage of Punjab Skills Development Fund.

The spectacular event was attended by PSDF representatives Ummara Zeeshan (Associate),

Hira Mansoor (Management Associate) and Faiza Akram (Management Associate). On this event, 190 beauticians were awarded with their certificates under the scholarship program in collaboration with Punjab Skills Development Fund. The program aims to provide free of cost beautician courses to the low-income women of Pakistan, focused on self-grooming, make-up, hair styling, skin aesthetics, etc.

One of the pioneers in makeup industry, Depilex is a renowned beauty salon and training institute. Depilex has been trailblazing the beauty industry in Pakistan from past four decades due to their expertise in hair, make-up and other aspects of grooming and beauty therapy. Not only Depilex salon, but their institute is one of the Pakistan’s largest internationally affiliated beauty institutes, having trained some of the best makeup artists, hairdressers and beauty therapists in Pakistan.

Masarrat Misbah, the founder of Depilex Group of Companies stated, “I feel honored to see the second batch of Depilex College of Cosmetology graduating. It gives immense pleasure to empower women by providing free beautician courses to underprivileged women and helping them to shine and pave their path to better opportunities. It could not have been possible without my team and we look forward to training and empowering many other women in future.”

Redah Misbah, Director of Depilex Group, added “Our goal for this year is to train 600 women free of cost and we plan on scaling up this count by January 2019. We believe through education we can achieve to empower the next generation of women entering the industry, as empowerment is one of the pillars of Depilex group.”

 

Quetta (Muhammad Yasir) Commitment from media is critical for mobilizing and garnering affirmative action to defeat malnutrition menace in Pakistan. This was discussed in a meeting organized by Scaling Up Civil Society Alliance Pakistan (SUNCSA, Pak) in collaboration with Nutrition International and Pakistan Poverty Alleviation Fund (PPAF), member and Chair of the SUNCSA Executive Council. The participants from media pledged to actively play their role for prioritizing nutrition agenda at the policy and programme levels in Balochistan as well as raise public awareness on the adverse effect of malnutrition to bring about behavior change.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr. Ali Nasir Bugti; Provincial Coordinator and Head of Nutrition Cell; Government of Balochistan highlighted the initiatives taken by provincial government to address the malnutrition situation in the province on priority basis. He shared with the audience various initiatives taken by the Nutrition Cell to address the issue in various districts of Balochistan He said, “Lack of human resource is one of the biggest hurdles in reaching out to local communities suffering from malnourishment. The issue of malnutrition cannot be tackled individually; concerted efforts are required from all stakeholders including the government, civil society, private sectors and media for improving the situation of malnutrition in Balochistan”. He elaborated the role of the Balochistan Nutrition Program for Mothers and Children and the support extended by the donor agencies, in this context he gave reference of different strategies that have been developed at the provincial level. He said more than half of children under five in Balochistan are stunted which means that they are short for their age due to chronic malnutrition, a condition that has lifelong consequences on physical and mental development. He also added that Balochistan’s government is committed to eliminate the malnutrition crises from the province and has been taken various steps to address the menace of malnutrition. Dr. Ali Nasir Bugti appreciated the meaningful presence of print and electronic media and said that they can play a powerful and active role through sustained focus on nutrition reporting using their platform. He urged them to highlight the malnutrition issue using their platform, he added.

Ms. Aliya Habib, Project Manager, SUNCSA, Pak/ Nutrition International presented the overall context of malnutrition and status at national and Balochistan level. She highlighted that malnutrition not only effects individuals but has dire economic and developmental impacts for the community and nation as well. She added that Balochistan has particularly high rate of stunting, where more than half of children under-5 (52%) are stunted while the prevalence of Wasting is 16 percent in the province as compared to 44 percent and 15 percent respectively of the national average. The current malnutrition had been estimated to cost the Pakistan’s economy $7.6 billion (3% of GDP) annually. She emphasized that a multi-sectoral and holistic approach including short term and long term evidence based approaches are the need of the hour to address the current malnutrition emergencies.

Pakistan joined the Global SUN (Scaling up Nutrition) Movement in 2013 committing to end malnutrition in the country. SUN Civil Society Alliance Pak is a coalition of over 150 civil society organizations from all federating units, working for the promotion of nutrition agenda and improving the nutrition indicators of the country. The alliance has an active role in mobilizing political commitment for addressing malnutrition at federal and provincial policy level.

Dr. Seema Raza, Senior Manager, PPAF thanked the participants for their valuable inputs and joining hands for working together to eliminate malnutrition from Balochistan. She informed the participants that PPAF through its partner organizations has trained more than 450 men and women as community resource persons who have proved instrumental in disseminating nutrition sensitive messages to local community in districts Qilla Abdullah, Qilla Saifullah, Zhob, Pishin, Awaran and Panjgoor. She further said that Media has an extremely powerful and challenging role to play when it comes to disseminating information to the vulnerable sections and catalyzing political ownership to highlight the issue of malnutrition for guiding public opinion and actions for prioritizing the issue at policy level. She said, “We are looking forward to a dedicated collaboration with media, government, SUN secretariat and other stakeholders to end malnutrition crisis in Balochistan”.

In the open discussion session, the media participants expressed their resolve for tackling the malnutrition challenge head on. They suggested writing news articles, blogs, and case studies, media feeds on nutrition and food security issues. They said that emphasizing the human side of malnutrition through focused case studies is the way to attract and sustain attention of public and policy makers.

A nutrition core group of media persons was formed at the end of the session to develop a single platform for prioritizing nutrition from policy and program levels to community levels. The media persons pledged to use their technical expertise and influence for making nutrition a priority for political commitment, government action and public behavior change.

The meeting was attended by journalists from print and electronic media, representatives from Nutrition Cell, P&DD and Health department Balochistan, and civil society organizations.

Lahore (Muhammad Yasir)  Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL) has welcomed the 4^th batch of its Summit Programme 2018 acquiring 100 top talented young engineers and business graduates from various institutions at a special ceremony organized in their honour at the PTCL Headquarters in Islamabad.

This year over 50,000 applications were registered online. The candidates went through a digital assessment center, followed by competency-based interviews. Finally, 100 most talented youngsters have been selected.

The 4^th Batch of PTCL Summit Programme 2018 will attend a four-week long rigorous classroom training and development programme at Telecom Staff College in Haripur. After this training, the summiteers will be placed in their respective functions for on-job training program, the duration of which will be four and a half months. During this time, PTCL senior management will be an integral part of their grooming, coaching and mentoring process for their professional guidance and motivation.

On this occasion, Syed Mazhar Hussain, Chief Human Resource Officer, PTCL, said “With 64% of youth in Pakistan being under the age of 30 years, we have a great potential and responsibility to harness this youth and new talent for preparing them to be future leaders based on their competence. We take a lot of pride in our PTCL Summit Programme, which is a testimony to our commitment and high standards to recruit top talent across Pakistan through a transparent and open process. We hope that these young management trainees will bring new ideas, energy and passion, which will contribute towards innovation and transformation within PTCL.”

PTCL Summit Programme aims at building sustainable leadership to fulfill its future HR requirements by recruiting top talent from engineering and business institutes across Pakistan and abroad. The company endeavors to bring the best young talent through various induction programs as part of its cultural transformation to make PTCL more progressive and agile organization with special focus on service excellence.

Every year this youth development initiative of PTCL receives overwhelming response from fresh graduates nationwide. PTCL on boarded around 350 summiteers last year from high ranking universities of Pakistan. This year, PTCL Human Resource department has shortlisted 100 candidates out of more than 50,000 applications through a rigorous process. These candidates will be deployed in various departments as Assistant Managers (AMs) at PTCL offices and regions across Pakistan.

PTCL hopes to develop and nurture this fresh talent as part of its progressive culture enabling them to take on future leadership roles.

 

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir)  PTCL, in collaboration with WWF-Pakistan, conducted a Spellathon for 1,000 primary school students from Mashal Model School and Pehli Kiran School, located on the outskirts of Islamabad. A total of 50 students were selected from the spelling competition and were awarded with High Achievers awards.

The prize distribution ceremony was attended by Imran Sardar, GM Organizational Development PTCL and Raza Sarwar, GM Talent Acquisition PTCL, along with Rab Nawaz, Senior Director Programmes, WWF-Pakistan.

The students were recognized at school-level ceremonies, whereby gifts and certificates were distributed for their encouragement and confidence-building. They appreciated the activity and participated enthusiastically. Teachers were also present to support their students and considered this event valuable in terms of confidence building and making young minds aware of environmental conservation challenges.

Speaking on the occasion, Imran Sardar, GM Organizational Development PTCL, said, “We are proud to create learning opportunities for children from displaced communities studying at these schools. The potential and promise in these young minds is remarkable and we will continue to invest in causes that will help such children to be a part of the mainstream society.”

Expressing his views, Rab Nawaz, Senior Director Programmes, WWF-Pakistan, said, “It’s a privilege to see a Spellathon generation in Pakistan; students who participated and got to know about the environment through this campaign. With the support of PTCL, we have been able to spread the message of nature conservation amongst the students at primary level.  We hope that this knowledge will be carried forward into action once they become adults and start contributing to the society.”

Over 45 teachers were also recognized for their contribution in preparing students on the school-wide Spellathon and the chief guests commended their efforts on playing an integral part in educating young minds from less-affluent communities. Spellathon is now a nationwide spelling competition for schools, through which a series of written quizzes, promotes contemporary knowledge of the environment, amongst the youth, in a fun and exciting way.

WWF-Pakistan launched the Spellathon campaign in 1997, which is an environmentally driven educational initiative, targeting the youth of Pakistan. The objective of the campaign is to raise awareness and understanding for the need to conserve, protect and manage Pakistan’s natural resources and also improve their comprehension skills through competition. PTCL is a socially responsible organization that strives to contribute to the field of education as a primary focus area of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.

Karachi (Muhammad Yasir)  Pakistan is ranked second in terms of children that are currently out of school with an estimated 23 million children out of 51 million currently out of school. In addition, it stands at an abysmally low global rank of 168 out of 188 countries in low primary and secondary school enrolment. The wrong with the present schooling system is that the system is centralized and bureaucratic burdened with extremely low quality teachers, use of the teachers for political purpose, nepotism, and no monitoring or accountability. Out of 150,000 government schools in the country, 45% lack basic facilities such as electricity, boundary wall, clean drinking water, toilet, and safe buildings. This was revealed at a press briefing jointly held by Thar Foundation, and The Education Committee of C100 Think Tank on the occasion of launching of ‘Strategy to Transform Basic Education System in Pakistan’.

The strategy paper distributed to the media recommends that firstly Charter of education to build consensus and support amongst all political parties to support education. Secondly to increase spending from 2% to 5% of GDP in five years. Thirdly Federal Ministries and Provincial Departments be converted into autonomous statutory Federal and Provincial Basic Education Organizations (BEOs). These BEOs are governed and managed by a board of directors comprising of educationist, professionals and bureaucrats, while the majority belongs the private sector. The BEOs will report administratively to the Prime Minister and the Chief Ministers, respectively. These BEOs will develop education vision, five year targets, strategies, action plans, monitoring and accountability. High emphasis is placed on recruitment and retention of best quality teachers and administrators through training and monitoring. The salaries, promotions and rewards of the teachers should be linked directly to the performance of their schools.

And fourthly to make comprehensive plans with timeline to conform to the constitutional requirements and public reporting on the outcomes on quarterly basis.

The secret of the success behind the delivery of good quality education to all our students lies in the establishment of effective School Management Committees (SMCs), comprising of parents, community members with good reputation and the head teacher. The parents will be in the majority on the SMCs.

Additionally noteworthy is the MOU signed between the Education Committee and the Thar Foundation for Mutual Corporation to achieve SDG Goals in Islamkot district by 2030.

Former Captain of the Pakistan National Team, Shahid Afridi graced the event as the Chief Guest and pledged his support to the cause as the brand ambassador for the program.