The education festival, to be held in Mithi, will be organised by Tharparkar’s District Education Department and Tharparkar’s chief monitoring officer in collaboration of the Thar Education Alliance and local NGOs.
The theme of the event is ‘World Science Day for Peace and Development” in order to raise awareness about the importance of STEAM education.
Tharparkar Chief Monitoring Officer Muhammad Ibrahim Kunbhar stated that the education fest would promote a culture of inquiry and hands-on learning in STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, the Arts, and Mathematics) subjects. He added, “We live in a digital age, where there is a need to connect online and offline to bring change in the education discourse.”
District Education Officer (secondary) Dolat Ram said, “With their vibrant scientific models and stimulating explanations, students across Tharparkar will not only display their talent but also fascinate visitors at the Thar Education Festival.”
He added that mathematics and science education was critical in developing the cognitive skills in children as nations have used maths and science to empower their citizens with higher incomes, and to help grow their economies.
Meanwhile, District Education Officer (Primary) Kewal Ram said that more than 15,000 students from primary, middle, secondary, higher-secondary, public and private schools and colleges were likely to participate in the one-day festival to be held at Shaheed Benazir Bhutto Cultural Complex in Mithi on November 9. He added that the event had been focused on rural students so they could participate and could learn scientific approaches.
A large number of teachers, entrepreneurs, science specialists and government officials would be attending the event including Liaquat University of Medical and Health Sciences (LUMHS) Vice Chancellor Dr Bekharam, Tharparkar Deputy Commissioner Shehzad Tahir and Mithi Municipal Committee Chairman Dr Manoj Kumar Malani.
One of the organisers of the event, Thar Education Alliance CEO Partab Shivani stated, “We started this journey of organising science festivals from Tharparkar back in February 2018, and we continued this campaign for quality education in Pakistan in the Laar region and are now again in Tharparkar.”
Regarding the state of research and development in Pakistan, a member of JS Bank, Jameel Memon said that Pakistan was technologically and scientifically underdeveloped.
“There is low investment from the private sector in the field of research and development and the existing philanthropic activities are not focusing on interventions in science and technology. By joining hands together, we all can make better Pakistan,” he added.
The event would include display of science models, speeches, theatre, art, and singing competitions. It would also include career counselling sessions and information workshops on scholarships, entry and aptitude tests, STEAM education, and the importance of small and medium enterprises.