KARACHI: A two-day 3rd Global Conference on Research in Education and Social Sciences (GCoRESS) 2025 that commenced on Friday saw some interesting panel discussions, presentations and talks about education, parenting, language and Artificial Intelligence (AI).

The event was organised by SZABIST University on the theme of ‘Fostering inclusion and enlightenment for a sustainable future’.

During one of the panel discussions of the day about the current challenges of parenting teens in the digital era, Sindh Mental Health Authority chairman Senator Dr Karim Ahmed Khawaja said that first the digital age and now AI are changing the norm.

“Earlier, there used to be addictions of other types but now we have smartphone addiction. On top of that there is cyber bullying, online games, etc,” he said, adding that in order to deal with addictions in the digital era, one needs to spread awareness among parents, children and schoolteachers.

Experts at SZABIST conference discuss challenges of raising teens in digital era

“In many countries, it is the law to not allow kids to get on social media or play online games until they are 16 years of age,” he said.

‘The screen has become a babysitter’

Dr Nargis Asad, the interim chair at the psychiatry department of the AKU Medical College, said that digital technology has become so accessible now that one becomes so engrossed in it that one loses track of time.

“Parents too get their children started on it from the lab. If the child starts crying, the mother will give him her smartphone or a tablet. The screen has become a babysitter as little ones get premature exposure to all that there is on the internet,” she said.

Wondering aloud whatever happened to toys to pacify children, she urged parents not to expose their children to gadgets from the lap.

Dr Washdev Amar, head of the psychiatry department of Dow Medical College and Dr Ruth Pfau Civil Hospital Karachi, lamented that parents are no longer talking to their kids. “They may sit with them but they are busy with their phones. But it is not about just spending time with them, it is about spending quality time with them,” he reminded.

Dr Iffat Sultana, a faculty member of Iqra University who also happens to be a parent of a child with Down syndrome, spoke about her experience with her daughter, who uses the internet a lot.

“I know that her screen time is increasing but she can speak Italian and German thanks to it. She uses it as a learning medium so I cannot stop it,” the mother said, adding: “But I have done one thing which is creating all her social media accounts from my own email.”

Educational psychologist and trainer Dr Nausheen Shahzad was of the view that it takes a village to raise a child. “Only the mother and father are not enough. So I urge families not to keep their values to themselves only,” she said.

A psychiatrist at the Pakistan Institute of Living and Learning, Dr Uroosa Talib, pointed out that it is human nature to be pulled towards places or things that you have been shunned from.

“Odd behaviours on social media can make your posts viral. Negativity here spreads fast while positivity takes time,” she said, adding that open communication and self awareness is key to spreading awareness among kids.

‘Urdu is a confused language’

It being International Mother Language Day, the last panel discussion of the day on the topic of ‘Challenges and Opportunities to Indigenous Languages of Sindh in the AI Era’ was both appropriate and interesting.

Dr Mazhar Ali Dootio, the chairman of the computer science and IT department at Benazir Bhutto Shaheed University, said that having been spoken for thousands of years, Sindhi is the indigenous language of the province.

“It has its own rich culture and identity with lots of literature and books written in Sindhi. Also, Sindhi diaspora is found all over the world,” he said, adding that developed countries speak in their language and now AI can translate languages, which is a great opportunity to learn Sindhi.

Senior NLP scientist at Alexa Translations, Dr Tafseer Ahmed, also said that the AI era is a fine opportunity to use Sindhi on the computer. “Earlier, all knowledge on the internet could be accessed in English. But AI has matured enough now for us to implement language processes while using it. ChatGPT has the language recognition option so it is able to reply in Urdu and Sindhi, too,” he pointed out.

Writer Dr Aftab Abro said that Urdu was more in danger of being lost than Sindhi. “Urdu has no proper grammar. It is based on Arabic, Persian, Hindi and English words. It is a confused language and everyone is speaking their own version of Urdu while no one is monitoring what is happening to the national language or where it is going,” he claimed.

Earlier, another panel discussion about ‘Measuring Inclusion’ saw Idara-i-Taleem-o-Agahi chief executive Baela Raza Jamil, Sindh Education Foundation managing director Shahpara Rizvi, Aaron Awsen of Deaf Reach, Professor of Education and International Development at University of Cambridge Ricardo Sabates discuss the role of assessments in building equitable education systems.

Finally, Dr Anna-Marie Pelser of North West University in South Africa and Dr Colvin Carolyn of the University of Iowa, USA, joined online to speak and give presentations.

Earlier in the day, eminent economist Dr Ishrat Hussain, well-known educationist Dr A.H. Nayyar, Dr Lina Salim from the Atma Jaya Catholic University of Indonesia and Prof Sarah Frances Deborah Ansari, who joined online, delivered keynote addresses.

Dr Altaf Mukati, Dr Victoria Joseph, Dr Khalida Tanweer and Amin Joyo also spoke.

Published in Dawn, February 22nd, 2025