Mind Over Matter

21st Century Skills  The 21st century is a time of rapid change and innovation, and teachers need to equip their students with the skills and competencies to thrive in a complex and uncertain world. Teaching and pedagogical skills are the abilities and strategies that teachers use to facilitate learning and foster student engagement, motivation, creativity, and critical thinking.  Pakistan's population is approximately 230 million people. According to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics, about 64% of the population is under 30, and about 29% is between 15 and 29 years old. This means that Pakistan has a vast potential to harness its youth's talent and creativity and transform its economy and society through innovation and entrepreneurship. However, to realise this potential, Pakistan must invest in its higher education system and equip its graduates with relevant skills and competencies for the 21st century. The World Bank reports that Pakistan's gross enrolment ratio (GER)...

Finland is home to around 5.5 million inhabitants; it is well-known for the breathtaking natural scenery that surrounds it, as well as its excellent quality of life and culture that looks to the future. The outstanding quality of Finland's educational system, which has been consistently ranked among the best in the world for many decades, is, nevertheless, what differentiates Finland from other nations on the globe. Finland's educational system is founded on fairness, autonomy, trust, and adaptability among its students. Its goal is to ensure that every student, regardless of their background, talents, or hobbies, has an equal opportunity to study and grow to the fullest extent of their ability. In addition, it helps cultivate a culture of trust among educators, students, parents, and policymakers by providing them with more leeway and responsibility in developing and implementing their pedagogies and curriculum. In addition, it is flexible enough to adjust to the shifting requ...

English is one of the most valuable skills you can acquire in today’s globalized world. Whether you want to travel, study, work, or communicate with people from different cultures, English can open many doors for you. But how can you learn English effectively and conveniently? One of the best ways is to learn English online. Here are some of the benefits of online English language learning: Flexibility:  Online English courses allow you to learn at your own pace and schedule. You can choose when and where to study according to your preferences and availability. You don’t have to worry about commuting, traffic, or weather. You can also adjust the level and intensity of your learning according to your goals and needs. Variety:  Online English classes provide a wide range of themes, resources, and activities to accommodate a variety of learning styles and interests. You can access videos, podcasts, articles, games, quizzes, and more to practice your listening, reading, writing, a...

In Pakistan, acquiring proficiency in English is often considered a means of gaining access to better employment opportunities and achieving upward social mobility. In a society characterised by acute class division and intense class consciousness, parents from the lower, lower middle or working strata aspire to enrol their children in English-medium schools. Public demand for English medium schooling has led to an exponential growth of varied types of schools over the last three decades. The education system in Pakistan is divided into three main categories: state-influenced elitist public schools or cadet colleges, private elitist schools, and non-elitist schools. The private sector has an increasingly large share in education, with solid public-private partnership models to enhance access to quality education for those in need. Private English medium schools emerged as a dependable alternative in Pakistan without a viable public sector education. The deplorable conditions of public ...

  The Sindh government’s decision to outsource matriculation and intermediate examination clearly shows that decision-makers are completely removed from reality and have no understanding of the problem. It is common knowledge that examination boards in Sindh are the epitome of graft and malpractice. Cheating and impersonation are socially accepted and widely held practices during the board examinations in Sindh. The government in Sindh claims to curb these practices by outsourcing board examinations.  According to newspaper reports, the government may assign this task to institutions such as IBA Karachi, IBA Sakhar University, Aga Khan University, Red Marker, or any other organization. It is alleged that Red Marker is owned by an influential person close to the Sindh government and this entire exercise is less about curbing academic cheating and more about financial cheating. The government claims that the outsourcing process will be done through open bidding and relevant boa...