Capacity building: Reporting on education workshop held

More than 30 education reporters from FATA working for leading media entities were selected for the workshop.

A one-day workshop titled ‘Ilm-o-Aghai’ was organised by Mishal Pakistan in collaboration with Ilm Ideas (a three-year UKaid funded programme) in University Town on Tuesday.

More than 30 education reporters from the Federally Administratered Tribal Areas (Fata) working for leading media entities including print, television, radio and online journalism, were selected for the workshop. Addressing the audience, National University of Science and Technology Media Sciences department Chairman Professor Dr Zafar Iqbal said the education beat should be top priority of reporting.

“It is important to report on terrorism and insurgency in Fata, but to fight it off, promotion of education is of great significance,” he added.

Ilm-o-Aghai Programme Manager Asif Farooqui, while discussing the salient features of the initiative, said a learning platform on education would be developed as a ready reference for journalists working on education-related issues. Through the initiative, 18 education workshops will be held across Pakistan for reporters to improve their coverage.

Published in The Express Tribune, March 27^th, 2014.