ISLAMABAD (PRESS RELEASE)
In support of the Government’s Vision 2025, Jazz Foundation is set to use innovation in imparting education to 75 schools in the Federal Capital under its ‘Jazz Smart School’ program. Launched in partnership with the Capital Administration and Development Division (CADD) and the Federal Directorate of Education (FDE), the ‘Jazz Smart School’ program introduces a smart learning solution to the traditional schooling system through a digital learning platform.
To implement this digital learning solution, the Telco has teamed up with Knowledge Platform, a Singapore based learning solutions company. Knowledge Platform provides the program with the digital learning platform, customized educational content, training and support, while Jazz Foundation has set up digital learning centers with hardware kits that include laptops, projectors, clickers, tablets, speakers, UPS and mobile broadband.
Speaking at the program’s launch event, Ali Naseer, Chief Corporate and Regulatory Affairs – Jazz, stated, “35% of Pakistan’s population is under the age of 14, and we realize that if efforts are not made to improve access to quality education, the country will lag behind in an increasingly digital world. The Jazz Smart School program leverages our mobile broadband strength and other resources to give those in need the tools necessary for success.”
“After careful analysis of the program’s success in Islamabad, we will look to expand it nationwide, so more students can reap its benefits,” He further added.
Country Manager, Knowledge Platform, Talhah Munir Khan speaking about Knowledge Platform’s vision for education in Pakistan, said, “Educating our youth is a key responsibility we should all take seriously. Knowledge Platform provides quality learning solutions in a bid to modernize and improve how Pakistani students learn. To be successful in this endeavor, we all need to collaborate across sectors: public, private, non-governmental. It requires a concentrated effort of coming together on all our parts and I’m so pleased that this is beginning to happen.”
Director General of FDE, Hasnat Qureshi, added, “The Federal Directorate of Education is committed to ensuring that innovative learning methods are incorporated in our public schools to ensure that our youth, especially young women, can compete with students globally.”
State Minister of CADD, Dr. Tariq Fazal Chaudhry, talking about public-private partnerships, stated, “The Constitution mandates that the State shall provide education for all Pakistani children between the ages of 5-16 years. The government understands the challenges we face while trying to achieve this goal. However, initiatives such as the Jazz Smart Schools Program, and an increasing future emphasis on public-private partnership will surely propel us toward a brighter future for Pakistan.”
The program’s educational content includes digital textbooks, videos, practice material, interactive games, assessment and classroom activities. For each subject in a curriculum, the program begins by gathering inputs from multiple sources to create a catalog of mastery skills and for each skill, a learning video and an assessment is created.
To enhance teaching skills, the program offers training videos, a customized teacher training program and support of an online community. In-built performance dashboards increase accountability as parents and relevant stakeholders can monitor progress of schools, teachers and students on a daily basis through mobile applications.
The Jazz Foundation embodies Jazz’s core values in ensuring all sustainability initiatives are a practical display of ‘innovation, truthfulness, collaboration, customer obsession and entrepreneurship.’ As part of the company’s sustainability strategy, all ongoing and future initiatives under the Foundation will follow the generic theme of empowering youth through technology – a part of Jazz’s group led (VEON) program, ‘Make your Mark.’