Career path: Students glimpse into what lies ahead

The City School PAF Chapter held its first ever education expo on Tuesday.

KARACHI: For high school students, the last year of school is especially nerve-racking as they are preparing for board exams and deciding where to apply.

The City School PAF Chapter tried to ease some of the tension for students by organising an education expo, titled Pafex 2013, on Tuesday and giving them a glimpse of what lies ahead in their chosen careers.

At the school’s courtyard, hundreds of O’ and A’ levels students from various institutions of the city gathered at over 30 stalls set up by national and international universities, as well as, educational advisers, available for one-on-one counselling.

It was the first time that the school had organised such an expo in its 35-year history. “The aim of the event was to bring the best educational institutions under one roof and provide an opportunity to students to obtain knowledge about different educational and career options at a single platform,” said Shireen Karamally, the headmistress for the A’ levels section.

Apart from 14 O’ and A’ level campuses of the school chain, students from around 13 other schools, which she said, did not get the opportunity to benefit from such events, were also invited to soak as much information as they could.

The lively headmistress, herself, was there to help students think of the best among diversified choices for a career. She, for one, has the reputation of a principal who encourages her students to strike a balance between arts and science subjects when they opt for A’ levels at The City School.

Even those students, who become victims of parent- and peer-pressure in setting aside their natural inclinations, were later given opportunities to participate in a number of student-based societies. Kiran Bhimani wishes to pursue a degree in mathematics from Columbia but her love for literature promoted her as the president of the school’s journalism and literary society.

Aijaz Hussain, a general studies teacher at the school, recalled that when he was about to begin his university education there were no such things as education fairs and expos. “Counselling was restricted to mentors commenting on a student’s good performance in a particular subject,” he recalled. “Biology mein ache number aye hain, medical college mein chale jao.” [You have performed well in Biology, you should get into a medical college].

Published in The Express Tribune, September 25^th, 2013.