Gwadar Youth Forum Conducted the First Ever “Educational Jirga”

By: Mariyam Suleman

Gwadar: Gwadar Youth Forum (GYF) conducted the first ever “Educational Jirga” in the history of the coastal city this Saturday in Syed Zahoor Shah Hashmi Auditorium.

A large number of youth, specially high school and college students and teachers attended the event where as the Chief guests were the Chairman of Gwadar Port Authority Dostain Khan Jamaldini, the District Education Officer Khan Mohammed, the Chairman of Gwadar Municipal Committee Abid Sohrabi, the District organizer of UNICEF Faiz Ahmed Baloch and Social Activist Ain Qadir.

The goal behind this one day extensive event was to arouse interest in youth for knowledge acquiring opportunities, to motivate and encourage the young boys and girls to develop skills that can be productive for their region and for the nation as a whole in near future.

Addressing the attendees, Waja Dostain Jamaldini said, “Jirga, is a significant part of Baloch society and it is conducted during alarming situations. The startling state of education in the region needs attention and indeed GYF organized the event considering the educational issues of Gwadar.” He further said that every yearChinese Government Scholarships will be provided to the students of Gwadar to peruse higher education and further apply their acquired skills for the welfare of their region.

“Instead of fearing development, we will have to get prepared to be able to compete. However identifying our responsibilities and accepting them is essential,” Chairman Municipal Committee Abid Soharabi said.

Being concerned with the state of education in the district, the District Education OfficerKhan Mohammed said that for the educational progress, every one of us will have to stop thinking in terms of an individual only then can we think to own our resources.

Sharing thoughts, the District Coordinator of UNICEF Faiz Ahmed Baloch said,“Education does not only progress with buildings but it develops when the hidden talents of individuals are enhanced hence we will have to work on to develop innovation in our students and bring the out of school kids back to schools.”

“We will individually have to play our role to develop multiple skills in our youth for the educational development in our region but it is only possible when we stop the exertion to drag others down. We don’t need to grow a fear of transforming into minority, instead, we will have to face the upcoming challenges and it is only possible with education and awareness,”Social activist Ain Qadir said during his address.

Before the question answer session, Barkatullah Baloch the president of Gwadar Youth Forum addressed the attendees saying, “Every conscious nation identifies her barriers and then develops dialogue about them involving the intellectuals and the youth. With adequate resources, GYF has prioritized its efforts for the rights of education and employment, career counseling, awareness about foreign scholarships and getting the youth of Gwadar prepared for competitive exam of NTS. The presence of youth in large numbers in the events of GYF encourages us to set even larger goals for the promising future of Gwadar’s youth.”

Published in The Balochistan Point on October 24, 2016