Empower Girls with College Education in Pakistan

The academic year 2020-21 for the Colleges in Karachi was cut short due to lockdowns and COVID SOPs restrictions. Keeping this in mind, Karachi intermediate board issued a condensed syllabus and new MCQs based examination guidelines for the academic year 2020-21. Khadija Girls College quickly modified its teaching plans and time schedules in light of these new changes. Subjects with lengthy syllabi were prioritized and assigned more classes in the timetable. Extra classes were conducted on Saturdays for the students struggling and lagging in their lessons.

However, our biggest challenge was to keep our students engaged and concentrated on their studies during the month-long lockdowns. Unfortunately, remote teaching strategies like Zoom classes were not an option for the college, a majority of our students belongs to underprivileged backgrounds. Most of them can’t afford to own laptops, tablets or even internet services. Therefore, we decided to give students comprehensive writing assignments along with reading materials, to be completed during the lockdowns. Teachers were always available on calls, messages and WhatsApp groups for the guidance of their students. Students were assessed and provided one-on-one feedback on these assignments after lockdowns.

The new paper pattern was issued by the intermediate board for the academic year 2020-21. KGC immediately designed their own mock papers under new guidelines. This year we used both Oral and written assessment methods to gauge the progress of the students. Oral assessments emphasised Class presentations and group discussions. While written assessment includes weekly written and MCQs based tests. Khadija College did its best to meet its learning goals during this short but stressful academic year. 96 girls in the first-year intermediate and 123 in second-year intermediate are enrolled to sit in the board examination We are hopeful that these girls will become agents of change not only for their families but also for their communities.

Other COVID SOPs:

Khadija Girls College designed and implemented its COVID SOPs in line with the guidelines issued by the Ministry of Education and Intermediate board to ensure the safety of its students and staff. Our COVID safety plan focused on three major areas

• Availability of facilities and infrastructure

1. Proper washing areas
2.  Availability of Mask and sanitisers on campus
3. Adequate ventilation in classes
4. De-Densification i.e. reduction of classroom size and arrangement of alternate rooms for conducting classes
5. Post signs in visible locations (e.g., school entrances, restrooms) that promote everyday protective measures
6. Restrictions on using Communal Spaces like School Canteens especially during break times

• General SOPs.

1. Daily screening of student’s temperature
2. No entry without a mask
3. Suspension of major student activities including sports to avoid congestion and overcrowding 
4. A regular schedule for increased routine cleaning and disinfection of classrooms

• Students and staff training with the aim to:

1. Teaching basic principle of social distancing
2. Explaining Hand Hygiene and Respiratory Etiquettes.

We will continue to send you more updates from our college in the coming days.

Till then, take care and keep supporting the women around you.