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Thursday March 28, 2024

Elected representatives go back to school

KarachiAs part of education advocacy group Alif Ailaan’s “Leading Through Teaching” project, MNAs and MPAs of the province participated in a lively storytelling workshop on Monday afternoon.The workshop was aimed at preparing politicians for visits they would be conducting to government schools within their constituencies to interact with students and

By News Desk
February 17, 2015
Karachi
As part of education advocacy group Alif Ailaan’s “Leading Through Teaching” project, MNAs and MPAs of the province participated in a lively storytelling workshop on Monday afternoon.
The workshop was aimed at preparing politicians for visits they would be conducting to government schools within their constituencies to interact with students and teachers.
Author and publisher Musharraf Ali Farooqi of Kitab led the workshop, engaging parliamentarians through Bandar Dhanda, a tale about a scheming monkey.
The politicians were encouraged to think and behave like the 5-year-olds they would be reading the story to later, making the session enjoyable for all involved.
Among the public representatives present at the event were Sindh Assembly Deputy Speaker Shehla Raza, MQM MNA Farooq Sattar, PPA MNA Alizeh Iqbal Haider, PML-F MPA and former education secretary Mahtab Rashdi, MQM MPAs Naila Munir and Naheed Begum and PTI MPA Dr Seema Zia.
The senior party leaders participated with enthusiasm and took turns telling stories they had read in school or heard from elders. Dr Farooq Sattar even shared a story authored by his niece.
Mahtab Rashdi, an able storyteller, questioned whether politicians would have the aptitude or time to visit government schools for storytelling.
However, Alizeh Iqbal Haider, who is also a human rights activist and lawyer, made plans to read stories to children at school in a slum the very next day.
Naila Munir, Naheed Begum also promised to visit government school students within the coming week, as did Dr Farooq Sattar and Shehla Raza.
“When we get politicians into government schools to engage with children through storytelling, it will not only inspire the students and teachers, but also help bridge the disconnect between policymakers and the public,” said an Alif Ailaan representative at the event.