Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi ‘s Partnership with IBA to Organize IBA Conference on Social Responsibility – 2017

The IBA Social Sciences Club, in collaboration with the School Education Department, Government of Sindh, hosted the first IBA Conference on Social Responsibility (ICSR) from March 30 – April 02, 2017. It was a conference on education that aimed to address the issues of education in Sindh. The object of the conference was to create awareness about the current dynamics of education among the youth, and secondly, to move the discussion towards a solution-oriented approach instead of blind criticism.

The agenda for the conference was split over the four days. The first day focused on introduction and awareness. After a brief overview of the education department, Dr. Naveen Minai deconstructed the need for education. She engaged the participants regarding their understanding of education and how they assessed the prerequisites of success. This was followed by a talk by Dr. Gulnaz Anjum, who spoke about education from a psychologist’s perspective. She highlighted how the needs of the students vary and related it to the methodology used for teaching.

The third speaker of the day was Ms. Maria Hasan, who talked about the policy-making in education and the discourse surrounding it. Following a short break, the participants reconvened for the session with Ms. Sadiqa Salahuddin. Having worked in the field herself, her presentation was rich with facts and provided the participants with a nice overview of the current scenario of education in the province.

After Ms. Salahuddin, Mr. Faisal Uqaili, the Chief Program Manager of the Reform Support Unit took the stage. His presentation was focused on the reform policies and gave a very detailed account of the advancements being pursued by the department, in particular, the Ilmi forum that serves to monitor and regulate the entire system of education in the province. The last presentation of the day was delivered by Mr. Mumtaz Pirzada, the Provincial Coordinator of Idara-e-Taleem-o-Agahi. He spoke about the need for the involvement of the youth and shared the details of the Education Youth Ambassador Program.

The second day of the conference began with a field visit to President High School in the Governor House. The participants toured the school and engaged with the students, parents, as well as the administration. The second half of the day was devoted to delving into the issues more and attempting to understand the nuances so the root causes could be identified.

The third day was dedicated to policy recommendations. The day started with a panel discussion on policy making in education with Dr. Baela Jamil, the CEO of Idara-e-Taleem-o-Agahi and Mr. Imtiaz Bhatti, Special Secretary, School Education Department. The panel was moderated by Dr. Tiago Lopes. The panellists asked for the participant observations from the field visit and the discussion was focused on the issues that they identified, focusing on the work being done to resolve them and what are the other measures that need to be taken.

Following the panel discussion, the participants worked on separate issues to understand the complexities and come up with plausible solutions. The final policy recommendations were submitted the next day; on the last day of the conference. A short closing ceremony was held to appreciate the efforts of the organising team and to thank the School Education Department for their contribution. The participants were also presented with certificates and awards in three separate categories: Best Overall Team, Best Policy Recommendation, and Best Presentation Award.