Making educated housewives online teachers

Karachi

Abdullah Butt, CEO of the Saudi-Arabia–based initiative, Educast, comprising Pakistani residents, is to enlist the services of educated housewives to teach children online, children who have not been able to go to school for one reason or another.

He was talking to the media at the Karachi Press Club on Monday afternoon. Educast is a non-profit body aiming to provide education and skills via modern technology.

Butt said Educast was Pakistan’s largest online teaching agency and, in collaboration with the Memon Federation, was working in 40 districts of Pakistan, including Zhob, Loralai and Dera Bugti in Balochistan. 

He said his organisation had substantially invested in enabling a technology-enabled platform and setting up Pakistan’s largest virtual teaching and training. He was sure that Pakistan’s getting 3G and 4G technology would revolutionise the teaching scenario in the country. 

Butt said that India was earning over $5million annually through women tutors. Fortunately, he said, the accent and internet connectivity were far better in Pakistan and Pakistan had a potential for earning all the way up to $500 million.

Academic and media specialist Azaadi Fateh Muhammad said that all that massive amount was spent both by the girls’ parents and the government on their education. Unfortunately, in most cases after marriage, women stopped working owing to social insecurity and other reasons, and they gave up working to meet the responsibilities of household and raising a family. It was to realise the massive potential of these women that Educast was planning to involve them in distance teaching of schoolchildren whereby they could operate from their homes. 

This, she said, would enable them to augment the family income and contribute to the national economy.

A video was screened depicting the online teaching of schoolchildren.

Ghazala Sial, PPP MPA, said: “We are concerned over women’s literacy in Pakistan and their access to education and career, for a workable environment to earning and empowerment. This platform will enable them to connect with the world and make a contribution to the welfare of society.”

Shaikh Israr Ahmed, vice-chairman of Educast, said: “Today we are living at the knowledge and technology edge. It is essential for us to utilise our human capital that lies in the shape of our educated women who are home-based and using social media as their hobby. This initiative is based on a win-win situation On the one hand, the women will be contributing to where there is need for quality teachers. On the other, the Pakistani diaspora will also benefit from such a programme.” He said the women would become breadwinners too.