Founder’s day: ‘Parveen Kassim always said it’s okay to be different’

Students, faculty come together to pay tributes to the late principal of Karachi High School.

KARACHI: Less than a year of her passing, Parveen Kassim was honoured as an educationist who bridged distances and left an impact on thousands of lives at the Karachi High School’s founder’s day organised on Monday.

Kassim, who passed away on June 7, 2012 was the principal of the Karachi High School which she started on January 14, 1985.

The event was marked by touching recollections of her life as an educationist who welcomed diversity and urged students to embrace their individuality. Kassim’s motto “It is okay to be different” was prominently displayed at the stage along with her picture.

Students, teachers and educationists expressed their love by sharing heartfelt memories of the late chairperson of the International Schools’ Educational Olympiad.

“I am trying to make sure that I do not cry today so I will try to keep my speech as short as possible,” said Imran Vohra, an alumnus of the school, while holding his 17-year-old green graduation shirt in his hands. Vohra recalled that he used to share all his achievements over the years with Kassim.

“An outstanding administrator, educationist, and a motherly figure of our country entered eternity, leaving a huge void that may never be filled,” said Muhammad Tahir, former headmaster of Aitchison College Lahore. “She loved life and lived it to the fullest.”

While talking to The Express Tribune, O’ level student Aisha Arif recalled that the combination of fear and charisma associated with Kassim’s personality was such that that upon her arrival at the school, everything came to a standstill and in order. “For us, she was a legend who will always be remembered,” said Arif. “She never let on that she was struggling with the disease.”

One of a kind

Another student, Muhammad Ismail, believed there he would never come across anyone like Kassim again. He said that the principal never displayed her name at the office door but only the quote ‘It is okay to be different’.

“It requires a great deal of strength to fight and defeat a disease like cancer continuously for 17 years but Kassim did,” said Ismail. “She was larger than life - words cannot describe how she was in person.”

According to Shaheena Wilson, a faculty member for the last 22 years, Kassim took care of even the smallest needs and achievements of those around her. “Filled with a deep desire to help everyone who sought her guidance, she would spend hours coaching them at her residence as she addressed their weak areas and developed their key strengths,” said Wilson. “She was an impassioned educationalist with an inherent desire to mould her pupils into confident individuals.”

The day when Wilson completed her 20 years of service with the school, Kassim was unable to come to the school due to her health but she managed to make an unexpected call to congratulate Wilson through the school’s intercommunication system across the campus. “I was teaching inside a classroom and all of a sudden the whole campus echoed with a roar of cheers and claps of students and faculty,” recalled Wilson. “I will never forget that moment and how I was overwhelmed with emotions and sense of gratification.”

Recognised globally for her lifelong efforts to extend learning beyond the confines of classroom, Kassim was the recipient of the 2012 United Nation’s Global Educator’s Award.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 11^th, 2013.