School of Tomorrow: The way forward

The idea behind the two-day conference is to ‘understand how external forces are shaping 21st century schools

KARACHI: Set against the backdrop of the mangrove estuary across the Karachi Port, the Beach Luxury hotel was brimming with excited teenagers, their parents and even grandparents as a variety of stakeholders from diverse backgrounds gathered to discuss the future of education in the country.

The pleasant breeze of what is regarded as winter in Karachi provided the perfect environment for the speakers to present their ideas for a School of Tomorrow, a concept introduced by the Beaconhouse School System.

The idea behind the two-day conference is to ‘understand how external forces, such as geopolitics and global security, media and digital technologies, art and culture and the environment and society are shaping 21st century schools and to propose new directions for the future.’ The event started promptly at 9am on Saturday morning, with the discussions divided into different sessions conducted throughout the day.





Mirror mirror on the wall, who is the best educator of all?

Are private schools enablers or dividers? Some would consider it ironic that a question of this nature be discussed at an event organised by the Beaconhouse School System - a well-established private school system. And that too by a panel that comprises the likes of educationist Baela Raza Jamil, Sindh education minister Nisar Khuhro, The City School CEO Dr Farzana Firoz and Dr Pervez Ahmed Hoodbhoy. They sat in a packed Jasmine Hall at the Beach Luxury Hotel on the first day of the School of Tomorrow conference.

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‘Restricted’ parents struggle with Facebook

Saturday afternoon at the Tulip hall in the Beach Luxury hotel saw a large number of frazzled parents, many of whom had been put on Facebook’s ‘restricted’ list by their children.

They wanted to know the extent to which they can monitor their children’s activities on social media, particularly Facebook, where they cannot view entirely what their children are up to. Will we have to give up our entire lives to set a watch on what the children are up to? What about social networks, such as Snapchat, in which the content self-destructs in 10 seconds! How does one keep a check on that?

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Educationists ask govt to collaborate fairly with private institutions 

Educationists from the public and private sector discussed whether or not partnerships between the government and private educational institutions can help raise the standard of education in the country.

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Twisting history has twisted our minds

The history we are told is not the history that happened.

A typical Pakistani's version of history is full of national triumphs and religious bigotry. The glory is all ours, the shame is all theirs. We did no wrong while our enemies did no right.

These skewed versions of history are widely prevalent in our society despite a lack of any substantial evidence. To solve this puzzle, a panel discussion was held on day one of the School of Tomorrow conference.

Redefining the learning space

In the contemporary digital era, the learning environment is not merely restricted to the classroom setting. The myriads of resources available on the internet allow students to access a vast domain of knowledge, which, if used properly can turn them into creative thinkers.

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Pakistan’s fear of expressing itself

Articles 19 and 19A of the Constitution of Pakistan guarantee citizens’ freedom of speech and expression but why is it that, in 2015, we are not free to express ourselves without fear, asked actress Nadia Jamil while moderating a session on ‘Freedom of Expression. What Sets the Boundaries?’ on day one of the School of Tomorrow conference.

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In search of an identity

What does being Pakistani stand for? A male, Sunni Muslim, who is being increasingly Arabised, says Zohra Yusuf, the chairperson of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. She was describing the identity of a Pakistani at a session, titled ‘Nationalism and identity in tomorrow's schools’ on the first day of the School of Tomorrow conference being held at the Beach Luxury hotel on Saturday.

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Speakers tell audience to start battling climate change now 

The lack of environmental awareness in our country is so extreme, it is heart rending. I have heard children say oh, I didn’t know monkeys could exist outside cages or that huge mountains are present around us, said Sabrina Dawood, CEO of the Dawood Foundation at a session on climate change and children’s future on Day one of the School of Tomorrow.

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Education as a tool for peace building

We live in an age of intolerance and conflict. The constant attacks against minorities and ethnic groups bear testament to this reality. Amidst the chaos, education may prove to be tool to promote harmony in the society.

Speakers on the day one of the Beaconhouse School System’s School of Tomorrow conference session titled ‘Educating for peace: Schooling in an age of conflict’ discussed the ways education can play a significant role in the creation and maintenance of peaceful societies.

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DAY 2

Lucky Star sells life and death

Half of the shops in the Lucky Star area of Karachi sell life while the other half sell death.

Social activist Naeem Sadiq said this on the second day of the School of Tomorrow conference during the session, titled ‘Is De-weaponisation Essential’. He was referring to the famous Lucky Star area where shops selling surgical equipment and arms and ammunition are located adjacent to each other.

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Containing the cultural clash in universities

Culture is a highly problematic word, which inhibits us from thinking about things, claimed Dr Nauman Naqvi, dean of the school of arts, humanities and social sciences at Habib University on the second day of the School of Tomorrow Conference, held at the Beach Luxury hotel.

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Be yourself, just not on social media

It was terribly dangerous to let your thoughts wander when you were in any public place or within range of a telescreen. A nervous tic, an unconscious look of anxiety, a habit of muttering to yourself– anything that carried with it the suggestion of abnormality, of having something to hide. In any case, to wear an improper expression on your face…was itself a punishable offense.

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Reinventing schools, reforming teachers

Education is not an ideological problem but more of developmental problem, said the moderator Muaz Ahsan.

He was addressing a session, titled, ‘Government Schools: Unlocking the Potential’ on the second day of the School of Tomorrow conference. The session discussed the policies and measures that can be adopted to make government schools more effective and efficient.

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One step forward, several steps back

At a time when Pakistan embraces next-generation mobile broadband technology, announcing its intent to invite global e-commerce players, a discussion on the cybercrime bill would remind citizens that there is still a long way to go before the word “progressive” could be used for the country’s information technology space.

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Can't live with them, can't live without them

Driving through the chaos that Karachi’s roads are – dodging unruly motorcyclists, unaware pedestrians and slow-moving donkey carts – the last distraction a driver needs is a life-sized chocolate bar hanging from the sky above. “I already have to keep an eye on five to six obstacles on the road and the last thing I want to look at is a billboard,” says architect Zain Mustafa as he moderates a session about the impact of economic progress on environment on the second day of School of Tomorrow conference.

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Speakers reveal what your child is not telling you

The session ‘What your child is not telling you’ at the second day of the School of Tomorrow conference drew a huge crowd of parents, in which speakers discussed the important issue of child sexual abuse.

Supreme Court of Pakistan advocate and founding member of the Society for the Protection of the Rights of the Child (SPARC) Anees Jillani spoke about the ever-prevalent issue of child abuse and sought answers to what can be done to improve matters at home and in school.

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How to protect yourself digitally

Addressind the audience on the question of how to keep their children safe in the digital world, physical security disaster management expert Norbert Almeida pointed out that anything uploaded on the internet cannot be deleted.

Conducting an interactive session with more than 100 participants, including parents, teachers and college students, on the second day of the School of Tomorrow conference, he shared three case studies from Karachi, in which social media and parenting styles were connected.

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