Daily Times

Sir: For the past few weeks I have received multiple spam text messages from the SICAS school chain every day. Perhaps this aggressive marketing campaign was successful, because after I had been distracted from my work with the latest text from these respectable educationists, I was compelled to visit their website.

Here I came upon the SICAS ethos, which reads “SICAS aims to develop in its students a strong intellectual and moral foundation, and leadership skills that enable them to act as responsible citizens. We allow young men and women to develop a responsibility for their own learning, a concern for others, and the resources to pursue fulfillment in their lives.”

I would like to ask whoever came up with this empty statement how this institution can instill a sense of morality, civic responsibility or concern for others in its students if it relies on cheap and unethical marketing tactics like spamming text messages. 2015’s Prevention of Electronic Crimes Bill has prohibited such marketing campaigns and I assure the authorities at SICAS that next time I receive these annoying text messages that clog up my inbox, I will be complaining to the PTA.

As an educational institution, SICAS should know better. Please acquire a more dignified approach to marketing. You cannot claim to be able to instill civic sense in your students if you are breaking the law.

Murtaza Hassan

Lahore

Published in Daily Times, March 5^th 2018.