KARACHI, Jan 30: A large number of people, accompanied by their children, participated in the fun-filled events of the 'Ilmathon 2005' mela organized by the Supporters of The Citizens Foundation (STCF) here on Sunday morning.
The half-day mela kicked off with a six-kilometre walk by a large number of people. Besides numerous game stalls, a music show attracted crowds as popular stage and TV artistes presented their performance and enthralled the audience with their national, folk and popular songs. The stalls offering face painting also lured a good number of children.
Ilmathon 2005 is part of the STCF's fund-raising events. The collection is added to the funds meant for providing quality education to more than 22,000 under-privileged children through a network of around 180 primary and secondary schools in 22 districts of the country. The foundation plans to establish another 50 schools this year.
Established in 1995, the STCF is, at present, spending about Rs110 million annually on education. It has set a target of establishing 1,000 schools to accommodate as many as 300,000 underprivileged children.
It has undertaken to ensure quality education by its specially trained teachers at all the schools forming the network. Offering co-education, all the schools are located only in urban slums or remote rural areas, and have women teaching staff.
STCF coordinator Sarah Karim said that the mela held last year had generated Rs9 million, and the current one was expected to raise a fund of over Rs10 million. Other sources of funds included local and overseas donors.
A purpose-built primary school costs STFC around Rs4 million and a secondary school around Rs8 million. The education cost is somewhere between Rs800 and Rs1,000 per child per month but the maximum fee charged from a child is Rs125 at primary and Rs175 at secondary level.
However, quite a few families would pay the full fee and most of them could afford as little as Rs10 per month. The students are also provided with uniforms and all other education-essentials, including books, copies, etc.
The foundation's curriculum puts special emphasis on art and one of its students has won an international arts competition organized by the Tate Modern in London. The environment and curricula of the foundation's schools are in sharp contrast to other schools for poor children.