Can Technology Help Pakistan Tackle Its Education Crisis?
TeeSquare presents independent evaluation findings and launches a digitised General Knowledge and Islamiyat curriculum for early-years learners.
TeeSquare brings education and technology leaders together to discuss solutions for Pakistan's foundational learning challenges.
KARACHI: Technology could play a growing role in helping Pakistan address gaps in foundational education, particularly among marginalised and hard-to-reach learners, speakers said at a cross-sector dialogue hosted by TeeSquare.
The organisation held “Scaling Literacy through Technology”, bringing together educationists, government representatives, development organisations and corporate leaders to discuss technology-enabled approaches to literacy and numeracy.
Guests of honour included Ahsan Afzaal, Regional Director South at Beaconhouse; Fatima Dar, Education Consultant; Riaz Ahmed Kamlani, Chief Operating Officer of The Citizens Foundation; and Sabina Khatri, Founder and Chairperson of Kiran Foundation.
Independent Assessment Shows Promising Results
A key part of the event was the presentation of findings from an Impact Assessment by the Teachers’ Resource Centre (TRC) on TeeSquare’s EdTech programme.
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The assessment reported promising learning outcomes, particularly in English and Mathematics. It also recorded reported improvements in learners’ reading, writing, confidence and discipline.
The assessment described the programme as inclusive and accessible for learners from different backgrounds.
A separate independent evaluation by Dr Henry Koge, Assistant Professor of Educational Leadership at the University of Nottingham, was also presented through a video message.
The evaluation found an improved learning trajectory across different cohorts. It highlighted gains in learners’ awareness, attitude, knowledge, confidence, ability and skills.
The findings also pointed to technology’s potential to expand educational access for communities that remain difficult to reach through conventional systems.
TeeSquare Expands Across Pakistan
TeeSquare has expanded its programme to 10 cities and more than 35 learning centres across Pakistan.
The organisation works with partners to provide technology-enabled learning opportunities to underserved communities.
Based on needs identified through the TRC assessment, TeeSquare also launched what it described as Pakistan’s first digitised General Knowledge and Islamiyat curriculum for early-years learners.
The curriculum aims to increase access to locally relevant educational content while helping learners progress towards mainstream education.
Experts Discuss Technology and Foundational Learning
The panel discussion focused on the challenges faced by underserved learners and the practical role technology can play in addressing them.
Participants discussed how organisations can measure meaningful learning rather than simply measuring technology adoption. They also examined the balance between digital and conventional teaching methods.
Connectivity and infrastructure remained key concerns, particularly for communities with limited access to reliable technology.
Panelists also stressed the importance of sustainability, institutional ownership and greater involvement from senior leadership. They called for organisations and institutions to work together rather than operating in separate silos.
The panel featured Kashif Hafeez, CPO at Cybernet; Naureen Irshad, Educationist at The Social Bond; Prem Sagar Lohana, Special Consultant at the Sindh Education Ministry; Shifa Farhan, Campus Head at Beaconhouse School Systems; Tabinda Jabeen, T&D Head at Teachers’ Resource Centre; and Zareen Qureshi, Chief Operating Officer at Charity Right Pakistan.
The session was moderated by Fahad Ahmed, Chief Operating Officer of Optem Consulting.
Call for Cross-Sector Collaboration
In her closing remarks, Zainab Hameed, Co-Founder and CEO of TeeSquare, said scaling literacy through technology would require collective action across different sectors.
She stressed the need for partners to combine their expertise to expand access to quality education.
The event concluded with a call for stronger collaboration between educational institutions, government, technology companies, development organisations and the private sector.
The participants said such partnerships could help develop scalable approaches to foundational learning and give more marginalised learners access to quality education.
