In today’s world, one cannot live without taking precautionary measures under any circumstances, whether it’s someone (a new neighbor) who tries to get chummy with you or material things (using an unprotected public Wi-Fi?)
In today’s world, one cannot live without taking precautionary measures under any circumstances, whether it’s someone (a new neighbor) who tries to get chummy with you or material things (using an unprotected public Wi-Fi?); you’ve got to check and re-check for telltale signs. Don’t worry if all this makes you look like a paranoid person; you’re just doing your duty to yourself and to others: fishing for anyone who’s trying to con innocent people is a public service. After all, there’s this belief that fraud exists where you least expect it. Can we help it that we fail despite everything? Because, even a too-good-to-be-true scheme of free education in Pakistan is an idea that tugs at our heart and we, being our emotional selves, want to believe that good still exists in the world.
Shazia* worked closely for some time with Saad Saleem, the owner/CEO of the project, when she joined Galaxy of Leaders (GoL). “GoL was holding an event somewhat akin to an education expo, where the participants were promised on the spot scholarships from some colleges and universities. But, to attend the event, the entrants had to buy passes, as only the pass holders were eligible for the said scholarships. I asked Saad that day at Bahria Auditorium about these scholarships and he confirmed it. From eight in the morning till 11 pm, I sold their passes - they were for Rs. 600 each; the cost of VIP passes was Rs.1500-2000. My job was to brief people about this initiative to arrange these scholarships. I told the inquirers that all they had to do was buy that pass! I sold hundreds of passes for the event (the first and only I attended).
“When I reached home and went online, I saw my e-mail was flooded with messages claiming that the ‘scholarships’ were fake. I was told that some of the institutes mentioned didn’t exist, and the contact numbers given were not accessible. I was shocked, and felt terribly guilty. I replied to each and every email, and assured them that their problems have been forwarded and will be duly addressed. But no action was taken and then even the victims stopped asking and the matter was closed.
“I used to think I was the only one who had a bad experience. After some time, however, other participants aka ambassadors started to post somewhat similar experiences on social media. It may not seem such a big deal, considering that those affected withdrew their posts as instructed by the management GoL. The problem is that all these people were thinking of themselves as individuals - not as a collective group that had been scammed.
According to Shazia, at the event she attended last year, there were around 300 people; and in the one GoL organized last month (May 2017), there were around 5000 people. An estimated amount of Rs32 lacs was collected. The students left the place in tears after they came to know they wouldn’t be getting that scholarship to a medical college, or an engineering college, or the chance to study in the Netherlands. It didn’t take them much time to take to social media but what happened next was a complete surprise, albeit a humorous one. Their comments were removed. A post that showed 107 comments on their page had, in fact, 10-12 comments when you opened it. Needless to say these 10-12 were all complimentary to GoL’s projects.
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Ahmad* shared his experience:
“In 2015, like many others, I decided to attend the “free motivational seminar” by Saad Saleem. But due to some unknown reasons the seminar was postponed and rescheduled several times. After few months, it was announced that there would also be a concert at the seminar, so now the pass for this so-called free seminar would be 1000 rupees. And the people, who had already registered, would have to pay 500 rupees only.
“Saad Saleem’s team approached people who had registered themselves ahead of time to ask if they would like to volunteer as ambassadors in their team. Their job would be to sell passes and as reward they would get a free entry to the seminars/events organized by GoL.
“When finally the seminar “Eidependence” took place, the 600 attendees in the hall were shocked to see that there were no credible motivational speakers and the arrangements, including the snacks, were substandard.
“Terms and conditions should have been clearly stated by GoL; everybody wanted to know what sorts of scholarships were being offered, which institutes were offering them, etc. And most importantly, a public figure doesn’t have to hide anything about himself! Just saying that one has studied from North America and Canada is not enough to prove one’s credibility.”
“This is unfortunate that young people in Pakistan immediately responds to emotional stuff. This way the manipulators get their fan following.”
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Murtaza* also shared his experience:
“What has Galaxy of Leaders done so far? Where is this organization situated? There should be an address!
Are there other expert trainers in the team of GoL? These questions haven’t been answered properly. Whenever people try to post these questions on their Facebook page, they’re immediately blocked from the page. And from here things get suspicious!
“Their target was students from lower-middle class families who desperately wanted a scholarship to get education. At the end of the day, they were either given a photocopy saying that they got a discount at some unrecognized university/school/coaching centre or some useless gifts.”
Final word: everything we do whether it’s in real life or on social media, affects others in our society and what they do in turn affects others. Your action, therefore, is basically starting off a ripple. Keep the consequences in mind.
Additional information by SG
After getting calls from former ambassadors of GoL, Us talked to Saad Saleem to get his side of the story. Before finding more about his initiative “Taleem Ghar”, we asked him for his qualification/education (schooling, degrees, awards, etc.) to which we didn’t get an answer.
He mentioned that some of the institutes which collaborated with Taleem Ghar seasons were MAP collegiate, PIMSAT, APTECH (Season I), Inspiration Academy, Brilliance Schooling System, KITE (Season I), AVIS, AMANTECH, NIST.
While talking about GoL’s vision, Saad said, “Our ambition is to find children who can’t afford education and (to make sure) that the right person gets the scholarship. But yes, students have to first pass the entry test at the respective institute to get the scholarship.
“We collaborated with corporates for vacancies. In Taleem Ghar (Season I) we had IBEX GLOBAL & PAK-QATAR as our corporate partner who offered vacancies.”
Parents and students who are interested in Taleem Ghar would definitely want to know about the whereabouts of the “international standard/free O/A level school”. To this he answered, “We started O/Level education in collaboration with a school and implemented our schooling system, but that school did not follow our policies so we ended the contract legally. Now, we’re planning and working on establishing our own school.”
He refused to disclose the address of GoL due to security reasons.
Fairfield Mount School has openly denounced their association with Saad Saleem and GoL, saying the school was not collecting any funds; that they have no clue who was and who wasn’t given a scholarship at Taleem Ghar. A poster of GoL which was previously hung outside the school building was removed by the school management.
We talked to some of the institutions said to be collaborating with GoL. Two institutes responded, and others chose not to comment on this matter.
“GoL organized two events at our institute, but we have decided not to collaborate with the organization in the future. We realized that the terms and conditions were not clearly discussed; students were told that they would get 100 percent free scholarship, but when they came to the event, they found out it was only 20-30 percent discount on the fees. That led to a lot of confusion.“
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“Saad Saleem contacted us a couple of months ago; we let him organize that game show at our institute and also offered scholarships. Of course, students were first supposed to pass an entry test to get admission. In our December - January session, we expected students who got the scholarship through GoL’s event to come for the admission, but nobody came. Now, our contract with GoL has expired and we don’t wish to have arrangements in the future.”
