Moalims

KARACHI: Young social agents, from different renowned universities, have embarked on a journey to revolutionise classrooms through the use of technology.

Members of Reto (Reach, engage, transform and outreach) Foundation are on a mission to use scientific progress and educate people living in rural Sindh through e-literacy programmes.

What is e-literacy?

E-literacy relates to the skill set required to make efficient use of materials and resources available online. “The idea is to replace the traditional medium of teaching with computers as it is more effective,” said Kashif Shaikh, project’s co-founder.

Overhaul: ‘District govt will increase literacy’

It is also a great platform for leadership and volunteerism, said Tabesh Rao, Reto member.

Reto Foundation is working on new and improved ways through which the curriculum could be taught to the children. Computers are a rare commodity for these people, said Shaikh. It is only natural that acclimatising students to the medium is the first step towards revamping the teaching methods, he added.

“We hope that students understand the significance of technology,” said Zunera Zahid, Reto Foundation teacher. “Due to technological developments, information is just a click away and we want these children to benefit from it as well.”

Inequality of opportunity

Among the many issues of the education system in Pakistan is inaccessibility to information, claimed Shaikh. “Unequal access to technology and computers is indeed a major impediment in the educational progress in rural areas of Sindh,” he added.

This self-learning initiative of the young change-makers is seemly very futuristic. “Sindh has a high school dropout rate as children barely finish grade five,” said Shaikh. “We believe that children should know the basics of operating a computer.” So even when the children drop out, they are equipped with some sort of a skill set that will help them in future, he added.

Smart study programmes

Reto Foundation aims to begin the smart study programme in rural areas and to empower the people there through training, forming student clubs and holding book drives. The organisation is all set to equip the students to meet the future challenges head on.

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A team of 10 volunteers, who all graduated from renowned universities, have set up two computer labs in Tando Jam. A total of 25 computers have been installed in the two government schools from which around 200 students, of grade three to eight, are benefitting. A standby generator has also been provided to counter load-shedding. Shaikh and his colleagues have identified Tando Allahyar and Shikarpur as their next stop overs for setting up computer labs.

Hurdles in the way

The group is targeting the government schools first, said Shaikh. “The condition in private schools are much better in terms of both curriculum and general infrastructure.” However, the administrative challenges in approaching government schools are monumental due to the political influence, he claimed.

“Our team experienced severe opposition from one of Sindh’s Urdu-speaking party after its officials learnt that some development work is being done in a school existing in their constituency,” said Shaikh, recalling his experience in Tando Jam. The party staged a protest and held a rally against us, he claimed.

There many administrative challenges when you are trying to implement any project in the province, said Shaikh. “Our strategy is aimed at convincing teachers as the teachers are able to convince the parents.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 26th, 2015.