‘The News Education Expo’ in capital ends on high note

Islamabad: The two-day ‘The News Education Expo 2018’ ended here at the Pakistan-China Friendship Centre on Thursday attracting a good response from both visitors and exhibitors.

The visitors, mostly youths from Islamabad, Rawalpindi and adjoining areas, met the representatives of private and government colleges and universities, and consultants at their respective stalls and got educational and career guidance.

Major area of their interest was the scholarship programmes offered by local and foreign educational institutions. Also in attendance were career counselors, who informed youths about the courses promising good jobs in the country and abroad.

The organisers declared the expo a success and said it attracted the people in large numbers. They said the expo had around 50 stalls put up by universities, colleges, schools and educational consultants, which were visited by around 0.1 million people in two days. The organisers said the next expo would be held in Lahore to be followed by other cities of the country.

The stallholders claimed to have got good response from visitors, who, they said, not only obtained information about educational programmes but also enrolled themselves in them. They said most visitors asked them about overseas opportunities of higher education.

Asadullah Khan of the Smart Schools and Colleges, a City School project, said the people visited his stall in large numbers to know about courses, environment, and fee structure. He claimed that the people preferred the country’s private schools and colleges for quality education, latest facilities, and modern teaching methods.

He appreciated the holding of the expo, saying it not only helped further the cause of education in the country but also promoted his organisation’s corporate interests. Junaid Ali Khan of the Abasin University said his organisation had participated in the expo first to inform the people about its programmes for higher enrollments and second to learn about the market demands and trends through interaction with students to take better decisions, and achieved the target.

“The event has helped us market our services and explore the growth opportunities at the same time,” he said. Information and broadcasting minister Syed Ali Zafar, who was the chief guest at the inaugural session, appreciated the Jang Group for holding the expo and said the exhibition brought both local and foreign educational institutions under one roof to guide visitors on the learning opportunities available to them.

He said he was hopeful that such expos would be held in other cities as well. The minister said though the 18th constitutional amendment had decentralised the subject of education, he would like the next National Assembly to legislate to retain the centre’s role in some core educational affairs to ensure national integration and harmony.

The event also featured painting and cultural dance contests for university students and talent hunt show for young amateur singers, instrumentalists, poets and artists. Prizes and certificates were later given away to the winners.