Pakistan Telecommunication Company Limited (PTCL), in collaboration with the World Wildlife Fund (WWF)-Pakistan, on Monday, organized a spelling competition for 1,000 primary school students from Mashal Model School and Pehli Kiran School, located on the outskirts of Islamabad. The competition was named as ‘Spellathon’.
A total of 50 students were selected from the spelling competition and were awarded with the ‘High Achievers’ award. The prize distribution ceremony was attended by Imran Sardar, General Manager (GM) Organizational Development PTCL, Raza Sarwar, GM Talent Acquisition PTCL and Rab Nawaz, Senior Director Programmes WWF-Pakistan.
The students enthusiastically participated in the competition and were given gifts and certificates for their encouragement and confidence-building. The teachers were also present at the competition to support the students.
Speaking on the occasion, Imran Sardar said, “We are proud to create learning opportunities for children from displaced communities studying at these schools. The potential of these young minds is remarkable and we will continue to invest in such causes”. Expressing his views, Rab Nawaz said, “It is a privilege to see a Spellathon generation in Pakistan; students who participated and got to know about the environment through this campaign. With the support of PTCL, we have been able to spread the message of nature conservation amongst the students at the primary level. We hope that this knowledge will be carried forward into action once they become adults and start contributing to the society”.
Over 45 teachers were also recognized for their contribution in preparing the students for the Spellathon and the chief guests commended their efforts for playing an integral part in educating young minds from less-affluent communities.
Spellathon is now a nationwide spelling competition for the students to promote contemporary knowledge of the environment amongst the youth. WWF-Pakistan launched the Spellathon campaign in 1997, which is an environmentally driven educational initiative, targeting the youth of Pakistan. The objective of the campaign is to raise awareness and understanding among the young students for the need to conserve, protect and manage Pakistan’s natural resources and also improve their comprehension skills through the competition. PTCL, on the other hand, strives to contribute to the field of education as a primary focus area of its Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) activities.
Published in Daily Times, September 25th 2018.
