ISLAMABAD: In the past decade, emphasis has been placed on improving higher education system and educational infrastructure by the Pakistani government. Now, a project under China-Pakistan Economic Corridor (CPEC) called ‘Smart Classroom’ is growing vigorously in 50 universities across Pakistan, which may breathe new life into Pakistan’s education system in the near future.
According to Chen Chun, project manager from China Railway Signal & Communication Shanghai Engineering Bureau Group Co., Ltd., in the smart classrooms, teaching can be realized both offline and online at the same time, overstepping the boundaries of time and space, and interaction between teachers and students will be much more enhanced. Moreover, through advanced information and communication technology from China, an intelligent system of data sharing and assessment will be established.
“The smart classrooms will improve the accessibility of students from one location to the best teachers located at another place,” Umar Idrees, Pakistani site engineer of the ‘Smart Classroom’ project told.
It’s learned that a total of 100 smart classrooms will be built at 50 public universities in 49 cities from Hunza in the northernmost to Karachi in the far south, covering all the provinces and regions of Pakistan, which means the state-of-the-art educational resources will be better utilized and distributed over the whole country. It’s indeed inspiring for students who currently lack high-quality educational resources in the country.
The construction of the ‘Smart Classroom’ project started from September, 2021. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the team has risen to many challenges in equipment and material imports, customs clearance and construction, etc. “Now all the equipment and materials of the project have arrived at our warehouse in Pakistan. We’re striving to complete the whole project by November,” Chen Chun said.
As CPEC entered the second phase of improving people’s livelihood, education has become one of the key areas to develop to help the Pakistan alleviate poverty and let more Pakistani people live a better life. “The Smart Classroom project will benefit the university students in Pakistan who are the pillar of the state in the future. It will greatly promote the development of higher education in Pakistan, supporting Pakistan to evolve into a knowledge-based economy,” Chen Chun concluded. -Agencies
