It was a moment of pride for The Citizens Foundation (TCF) as 6 TCF alumni were awarded degrees at the 26th Convocation of The Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology (GIKI), a renowned university in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan earlier this month.
TCF is a non-profit that has been working for the last 27 years to make education accessible in rural areas and slums for less privileged children in Pakistan. The Economist calls TCF ‘perhaps the largest network of independently-run schools in the world.’ To date, 53,000 students have matriculated from TCF, many of whom have gone ahead to study in top universities within and outside of Pakistan.
Asad Raza, a TCF School and College Alumni from Surjani Town, who was recently awarded a BS degree in Electrical Engineering at GIKI said, “My father is a fruit-seller. It would have been very difficult for me to study at a good school and college if it wasn’t for TCF. I am grateful for the academic and financial support I have received from TCF throughout my journey that has made this triumph possible.”
On this remarkable achievement, Syed Asaad Ayub Ahmad, the CEO of TCF remarked,” We are filled with joy and gratitude on yet another remarkable achievement by our alumni – most of whom are first-generation learners in their families.” He added: “Each one of these graduates carries a unique story of struggle, perseverance and overcoming extraordinary odds to get to this point. It reminds us that every child holds the potential for greatness if given the right opportunity. We wish our children the best of luck for this next chapter in their lives.”
