Jazz Smart Schools Programme Nominated for Global Good Awards 2019

The Jazz Smart Schools programme has been nominated at this year’s Global Good Awards under the category of ‘Best Education’. Global Good Awards is a prestigious platform that rewards organizations working towards improving people’s lives, protecting the planet and strengthening the economy. Other nominees under this category are Manchester Airport Group, Tata Consultancy Services and The Opentree Foundation. The award winners will be announced this June at a ceremony in London, United Kingdom.

“The Jazz Smart Schools programme deserves all the plaudits being received, including its nomination for the prestigious Global Good Awards. Its global recognition is due to its unique scale and innovation in the field of education, directly serving the UN’s SDG Goal #4 with affordable, reliable and context-sensitive digital education,” said Syed Ali Naseer, Chief Corporate & Enterprise Office – Jazz. “The entire team behind the programme is humbled at this nomination, but understands more needs to be done in ensuring every child in Pakistan benefits Jazz Smart Schools Programme Nominated for Global Good Awards 2019 from this digitally enabled educational initiative.”

“As Jazz grows as a corporate entity so does giving back to the ecosystem through digitally empowering youth and making the country ready for a future that will be mostly automated, and understandably unsettling,” he further added.

In Pakistan, where 38% school going students hardly know how to string a sentence in any language or do basic math, the Jazz Smart Schools programme was launched as a pilot in October 2017 to . Since then, this programme has successfully taught 28,000+ middle school girls blended learning in 75 public schools of Islamabad. Also 800+ female teachers have been trained to use tech to teach using smart learning solutions based on existing curriculum. Its success can be gauged by the increase in average scores of students since the programme’s inception, and the visible increase in the training capacity of teachers.

A digital sustainability initiative under VEON’s ‘Make Your Mark’ programme, Jazz Smart Schools are designed to increase student-learning outcomes and improve teaching methodology by a smart learning solution deployed through a digital blended learning platform. The idea is to digitize Pakistan’s youth bulge and equip them to access entrepreneurial opportunities when they are ready. The Global Good Awards were launched in 2015 by CEO and founder Karen Sutton. The aim is to make the Awards more inclusive, and to reward businesses, NGOs, charities and social enterprises achieving ‘Global Good’. Previous winners include UBS, The Crown Estate, Investec GSK, Microsoft,
Sky, Aviva, M&S, Twinnings, Jaguar, Land Rover, and Tesco.