Swat science festival ends on hopeful note for future scientists

SWAT: The science festival in Swat concluded with a ray of hope for aspiring future scientists.   

The two-day science festival, organised by Udhyaana, Deputy Commissioner Office, District Government, Swat Education Department and Pakistan Alliance for Maths and Science ended on Thursday. 

The premier festival witnessed a massive attendance of 13,500 students and science enthusiasts from more than 100 government schools. The exhibition was held at the Khadee Hall in Saidu Sharif.

Being the largest science festival held for students in Swat, the festival is a shining example for district governments across Pakistan who can replicate this model in their regions. 

 

Such events are especially important in rural areas of the country to familiarise school administrations, teachers, and students with unique ways to teach and understand basic science concepts in an interesting and engaging manner. 

Additional Deputy Commissioner General Faisalabad Khalid Farooka also attended the festival and met with his counterparts in Swat to discuss inter-provincial coordination and other practices for upcoming Faisalabad Science Festival in May.

Students from all over Swat district participated in the festival, setting up over 150 stalls to showcase their creative exhibits on different themes and aspects of science. 

Many students had designed their models based on solutions required to fix Swat’s urgent problems such as road infrastructure, electricity supply, and water management. 

During the closing ceremony, former MNA Bushra Gohar emphasised on the need for local administrators to invest more in STEM education, especially for girls and encouraged teachers and providers to help children explore various dimensions of science. 

Dr Jawad Iqbal of Udhyaana requested the government to provide teachers with the latest digital tools and training to help them improve their lesson planning. 

Meanwhile, Deputy Commissioner Swat Shahid Mehmood announced to establish science labs in all government schools of Swat and promised to arrange science festivals of this scale every year.

Prizes were distributed to schools’ headmasters and students by Bushra Gohar, former MNA Jameela Ahmad and former provincial minister Wajid Ali Khan in five categories: primary, middle, high, higher-secondary and college. 

The organisers also thanked the six science organisations, namely Pakistan Science Club, AZCorp, Numerica, Sabaq, Learn-o-Bots, and Stemmers, that captured the attention of children through various creative activities.