Through Taleemabad Schools, Yasin offers private schools serving local communities an entire suite of products, including digital teacher training, the programme’s original mobile app and classroom content aligned with the National Curriculum of Pakistan, and administrative support. It’s a partnership that Yasin hopes will help overcome a major education challenge facing Pakistan.
“In the past two decades, Pakistan has seen an explosion in the low fee private school market. The problem is that there is no oversight, no consistency in the curriculum, and no support, which means students aren’t reaching their optimal learning goals, and putting schools at risk of closing. So we are going to these schools to offer everything they need to run their school and to protect children’s right to an education.”
The Taleemabad team has launched eight of these schools in the past six months and is working to grow a team of employees and partners to launch 1000 more over the next three years. Their ultimate vision is to embed the system in all public and private schools in Pakistan.
Noting that Taleemabad was launched at the 2014 WISE Summit, Yasin credits his win to Qatar Foundation, and the partner organisations that support its mission for human development. “There aren't a lot of places in the world where you can get the education and support that Georgetown offers, combined with the networking and EdTech incubators and accelerator programs offered by QF and WISE. That's a mix that's very rare. And that's what has propelled us to success,” said Haroon, who named his program Taleemabad, Urdu for “Education City,” in recognition of that model.
Yasin launched the small educational startup, a digital streaming programme that uses cartoon characters to make learning fun for children, as a senior at GU-Q.
Aligned with Pakistan’s national curriculum, Taleemabad has now been downloaded 1.5mn times on the Apple and Google and app stores, and reaches a daily audience of 8.5mn viewers across Pakistan through the nation’s radio and TV Teleschool channels, launched by Prime Minister Imran Khan in response to the pandemic’s disruption to education.
Recognition for Yasin’s contributions to education includes a recent appointment to the Pakistan Prime Minister's Youth Cabinet, a parliament and cabinet advisory body that counsels the Prime Minister and lawmakers on issues that affect young people.
The six WISE award winning projects will be celebrated at the upcoming WISE Summit, 'Generation Unmute: Reclaiming our Future through Education', in December. In addition to the prize money, each winning organisation will benefit from publicity and networking opportunities for expansion and future development.
