Inquiry-based science education (IBSE) is imperative for boosting students’ learning process and developing a bond with them, said Pakistan Science Foundation (PSF) Chairman Dr Manzoor Soomro on Monday.
He was addressing the inaugural ceremony of a one-day teachers’ training workshop on “Collection, Preservation and Identification of Plant Diversity” at the Pakistan Museum of Natural History (PMNH) Shakarparian, Islamabad.
Dr Soomro said PSF was actively engaged in promotion of science and technology in the country through a number of programmes including funding for scientific research, industry research and development and science caravans.
The chairman said the PSF organises training workshop to train teachers to arouse students’ interest in science through interesting experiments under the IBSE programme.
He advised teachers to set up herbariums in their institutions so that students could identify plant species, on which depends the survival of all living beings. Dr Soomro said PSF and PMNH would extend all possible assistance for the venture.
PMNH Director General Dr Hasan highlighted the museum’s role in conservation of biodiversity. “Many species of plants and animals are threatened with extinction and the museum is working to mitigate this danger to biodiversity in collaboration with other stakeholders.
He said the workshop was part of a series of programmes undertaken by PMNH in connection with the Decade of Biodiversity (2010-2020) celebrations declared by the United Nations to highlight the importance of biodiversity and educate people on their conservation and sustainable use.
“Teachers can play an important role in motivating students to conserve biodiversity at the grassroots level”. He said plants were an important source of food and water and issues of food and water scarcity could be addressed through their conservation.
Science teachers were awarded certificates at the workshop organised by the PSF and PMNH.
Published in The Express Tribune, May 22nd, 2012.
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A hope of light after a long time! An excellent programe for the future of food sustenance of our people. After all if we got our self accustomed to healthy foods like Potatoes, Tomatoes, Corn, Peanuts, Soybean, Mushrooms, Asparagus, Seaweeds, Tea leaves, White Poultry Chickens only when it was introduced by English Traders from America. I wonder why we can't discover few by our own ingenuity.It's surprising we don't even remember when we switched to Sunflower, Corn, Peanut, Soybean and Canola based Vegetable Oils & Margarine_ it's like we have been using it from thousands of years. Milk based Ghee(high Cholesterol), costly Mustard & Coconut Oil_ is now a rarely used commodity.