British education at Roots opened doors of success for students: Khadija

Rawalpindi
Roots Ivy International Schools, Pakistan, is a project of Khadija Mushtaq, who is a leading educationist and the youngest female in the history of Pakistan to receive the highest civil award ‘Tamgha-e-Imtiaz’ in the field of education by the president of Pakistan for her exceptional service, outstanding commitment and highest merit in the respective field.
‘The News’ met Khadija Mushtaq, international fellow of the Centre for Distance Education (CDE), University of London UK, CEO of the Roots Ivy International Schools, Pakistan, and executive director of the Roots School System/Roots College International, to talk about her dedication to education, her struggle and her mission to revolutionise the lives of her students through quality education and guidance.
She said that she worked extensively and brought a revolution through the British education system. According to her, she pioneered the University of London Programme and reached out to public. Before joining in, she was the counsellor at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for ‘A’ Level students as well as teaching economics at the International School. She said that when she joined in, Roots was operating as a school offering only local qualifications, but she wanted to introduce international education in her school and immediately started off with the GCE ‘O’ & ‘A’ Level with just two students in 1998. She addressed the parental concerns and brought a massive change in the thinking and learning pattern of a conventional mindset.
She introduced the holistic learning as an essential phenomenon and made the masses understand the advantages of pursuing the UK system of education. Thus empowering hundreds of girls and boys, guided and mentored them and brought a change in the acceptability of University of London International Programme and UK qualifications in Pakistan. In fact, the IGCSE system was introduced in Rawalpindi and Islamabad by Khadija Mushtaq and then other schools followed. The Roots Ivy International School has more than 10 campuses nationwide with an incessant increase in student numbers and have achieved academic excellence and all round development of students for over 26 years.
The Roots Ivy International Schools, Pakistan, was formed on August 3, 2011 as part of family succession planning of the Roots School System, which was established on April 10, 1988 at 74-Harley Street, Rawalpindi, by Mrs. Riffat Mushtaq (Aizaz-e-Fazeelat), the mother of Khadija Mushtaq, a dedicated and committed teacher fired with enthusiasm and missionary spirit in the field of education.
Khadija Mushtaq has been actively involved in the development of Roots School System and in introducing innovative curriculum, programmes and international affiliations and awards. Her milestone success is the Roots School System DHA-1 Flagship Campus, Islamabad, that started in 2008 with 2,500 students and since then has been ranked as the top international school of the world.
Talking about international university collaborations, Khadija said that she has more than 180 university collaborations and agreements through which students are offered degrees. Billion of rupees worth of scholarships are offered to students all over the world. They are also offered diplomas, international summer camps and the students also participate in international competitions.
“We provide them the global platform so that they can see that where do they stand internationally. Scores of our students have not only participated in international events but also won laurels for the country. The parent community also supports our international ventures that give tremendous confidence to our students. After the age of 10, we encourage our students to take part in international camps, that includes sports, literature, mathematics, robotic programmes etc that starting from 1 week to 6 weeks. Their participation in international competitions enables them to work on their weaknesses and their strength. This speaks about the volume of the quality education they are getting here at their school. We deliver outstanding academic and training programme on our campuses, enabling those who choose to study at Roots Ivy International to transform their lives and shape their own futures. We prepare our students to be professional, skilled individuals fitted for the modern world, committed to the communities in which they live and work,” she said.
Revealing about the countless success stories of her students, she said that education has transformed the lives of the students, specially the girls, who have changed not only their lives through education but also the lives of their family. There are many students in her college who are the first ones to attend college from their family, but through degree they have managed to transform their family’s lives. One of her student, she particularly remembers, was Saad Shukran who was a Parade Lane blast victim. He saved the lives of others by throwing the hand grenade out of the window of the mosque, got injured and was bed ridden for 8 months. He received ‘Tamgha-e-Shujaat’ by the Government of Pakistan for his tremendous courage. He was denied admission in local universities of Pakistan because of low grades, but was picked up by a US University on 100 per cent scholarship on the basis of tremendous service to humanity. In our schools, a lot of stress is given on nationalism and patriotism. Religious harmony and ethnicity is incorporated in our educational system so that our students become more tolerant towards other religions. While taking pride in their own identity, they learn to respect others ethnicity and religion.
Khadija said that learning languages is an integral part of the educational system and for this reason, we have introduced Chinese and German languages in our education. “Keeping in mind that Higher education in Germany is free if the student knows the German language. A lot of our students are learning these languages with a lot of interest. Our high school students are offered to complete 60 hours of community services/internships in their vacations in various organisations like Al-Shifa Eye Trust, CMH, TCF, Red Crescent Society, SOS etc to contribute their services to the deserving people,” she added.
Khadija said that Education Expo 2015 organised by the Jang Group is an excellent effort by the group where the students can interact with the counsellors, see the options they are offered and set their goals accordingly.
Khadija Mushtaq, an educationist by profession is the CEO of the leading chain of education institutions Roots Ivy International Schools Pakistan. She is the leading student career counsellor in the country and has guided Pakistan towards a prosperous and enlightened future by mentoring and empowering the young generation through her dedication and hard work, commitment to excellence and personal interest in each one of her students. Her compassion and commitment towards the cause of education, has earned her recognition in the field of education as the ‘Most Inspirational Educator’.
In 2010, she became the youngest educationist in the history of Pakistan to receive the highest civil award ‘Tamgha-e-Imtiaz’ in the field of education by the president of Pakistan. She has received multiple awards for being ‘The Most Accomplished Woman Entrepreneur of the year’, ‘Best 100 CEOs & Leaders of Pakistan’ and ‘Best CSR and Global Excellence Award’. She has taken the initiative to promote global peace and harmony.
She is the leading student career counsellor in the country and has enlightened the future generation by mentoring and empowering them through her dedication and hard work, commitment to excellence and personal interest in each one of her students.
Her compassion and commitment towards the cause of education, has earned her recognition in the field of education as the ‘Most Inspirational Educator’.