By Hira Nafees Shah
It was a hot day in February in Karachi, but the playground of the public high school in Liaquatabad was packed with female students, despite the fact that the exams had recently concluded. Giggles broke out from time to time as two audacious students made their way to the stage and performed a skit in front of the audience. One of them impersonated a maid and the other portrayed the maid’s employer.
The catalyst behind the project was Seema Zahid, an alumna of the Pakistani Educational Leadership Institute (PELI).
“I decided to pursue this project because I saw that government schools do not have drama competitions and there is a lack of emphasis on the arts in the curriculum,” she said. “I want the arts to enliven the educational environment for students and keep them in school.”
The organizers held five workshops in four different government schools in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Nazimabad, Jamshaid Town and Liaquatabad. The total reach for the program was 1,800 students.
Workshops a Breath of Fresh Air:
“The show today was very nice, we enjoyed it. The theater team helped us to perform well,” said Bisma Abdur Waheed, a seventh-grade student who attended the performance at the school in Liaquatabad.
The activities were interactive to bolster the students’ confidence, including improvising in front of a live audience, positioning oneself on stage, body movements, and carrying out vocal exercises.
On by one, the pupils from across grades lined up and came forward to take part in the acts, as the host called out their names. One of these situations, stressed the importance of education especially for girls in rural areas.
“I was a village woman in the act. I learned that spacing between actors on stage can affect the audience’s experience,” gushed Fabiha Abdul Aziz, a student.
The participants also highlighted the significance of holding such extracurricular events in government schools in Sindh.
“These activities should take place so that students feel motivated,” said Umm-e-Shaista, a tenth grade student. “The government students also have energy and skills to put to use in this positive way.”
The teachers also stressed that public school students often come from impoverished backgrounds and need extracurricular activities even more to provide creative outlets for self-expression.
“When the students take part in these extracurricular activities, they also excel in the classroom,” said Rubina Rafiq, a high school teacher in Liaquatabad.
Benefit of Arts Integration in Studies:
As for Seema Zahid, she says she learned the value of arts integration during visits to different schools in the United States and then applied it to her home community in Pakistan.
“My PELI exchange experience was the beginning and this workshop is the next step,” said Zahid. “Without the Alumni Small Grant program, we could not have engaged so many children to create this kind of artistic environment.”
As a result of the success of the project, the four schools each formed drama clubs and produced a mega performance of their own at the closing ceremony of the program.
Zahid also said she would visit the schools every two months to measure the progress of the theater groups.
The students are also excited about the new opportunity that is now available to them. “The organizers taught us how to act,” said Iqra Mustaqeen, a sixth grade student. “Now, I would like to be a part of the theater team at our school.”
The teachers at the government schools have already noticed a positive change in their students. Their attendance has not only improved, but they are also more eager to come to study every day.
These developments left Zahid with a great sense of achievement.
“I feel very satisfied when I see the happiness and motivation in students to act in plays,” she said. “It also gives me encouragement to develop bigger projects in the future.”
To find out more about this ASG project, check out this link:
https://www.facebook.com/theateredu?fref=ts
