Daily Times

LAHORE: Speakers at an education conference titled ‘World of Tomorrow: Seeking Inspiration and Equilibrium in a New Age’ stressed reassessment of conventional beliefs of what constitutes progressive teaching and learning while helping to change the learning experiences of children studying not only in private schools, but also in public schools.

The three-day conference, organised by Beaconhouse School System (BSS), kicked off on Friday at a local country club. Punjab Governor Rafiq Rajwana was the chief guest of the opening ceremony whereas BSS Chief Executive Kasim Kasuri, Chairperson Nasreen Mahmud Kasuri and Bank Alfalah CEO Atif Bajwa along with guests and teachers were also present on the occasion.

More than 160 speakers from the around 13 countries, including United States, United Kingdom, Malaysia, India, and Pakistan, are participating in the conference. Around 1,000 teachers participated on the first day of conference, which brought together leaders, visionaries, and educational experts not only from the national level, but also from around the world.

Punjab Governor Rafique Rajwana lauded the efforts of BSS and emphasised the importance of taking a proactive role in the improvement of education. He said that it is the duty of private and state-owned educational institutions to play their role in developing a system where education would be provided to every citizen of Pakistan without any discrimination. “It is duty of all of us to fulfill the rights of poor and special children of our society,” he added. He also emphasised on Islamic education along with technology education.

Nasreen Kasuri on the occasion stressed to take advantage of the past experiences for moving forward in future, saying, “We need trained teachers right now. We have turned a bored conference into a festival so that individuals of the society could be attracted.”

She added that this festival would be discussing digital balance and save future so that teachers, students and parents should be aware about this.

Renowned legal activist Kimberley Motley, Punjab IT Board Chairman Umar Saif, artist Rashid Rana, and Beaconhouse Director Education Dr Lawrence Burke were speakers in the session, which was moderated by BSS Chief Executive Kasim Kasuri.

The afternoon session had panel discussions, presentations and workshops that were specific to educators and practitioners in the field of education. Dr Lawrence Burke moderated a panel discussion with students on ‘The Future of Learning’ while Andleeb Abbas moderated another panel discussion on ‘Rethinking Educational Leadership in a New Age’. Ayesha Kasuri led a presentation on ‘The Power of Project-based Learning’ while robotics expert Sibel Ahmad Mufti led a workshop on ‘How to Build a Robot’.

Discussions, interactive exhibitions and performances would continue as part of ‘A World of Tomorrow’ till tomorrow (Sunday).