A brand in Education sector from more than 30 years

In talk with Amjad Hussain Baig Ceo LAPS (London Academic plan school)

Q1- Can you provide some information about your history and experience.

It is a long story of struggle, persistence and devotion. I believe that when you get committed with your mission and then work hard for it, you will surely achieve your goals. It seems difficult in the beginning but one should never give up and always remain optimistic. I remember, when I was studying in the university, I used to give free tuition to the kids of my home servants. Besides that I was also teaching in an academy just for my inner satisfaction.

After completing my graduation in commerce, I preferred to join the field of education. I had a mission that I would establish an educational system where excellent academic facilities will be offered to all irrespective of their socio-economic backgrounds.

In 1989, I established a school under the name of Al-Hadeed Foundation. I worked day and night and finally in year 2000, I got successful to establish a formal institute under the name of LAPS (London Academic Plan School).

In order to extend our mission, we have launched countrywide LAPS Franchise (Pre-School to High School) in 2016 and now we have more than 50 successfully running campuses all across Pakistan.

 Q2-Please describe your leadership style.

I believe in the concept of Shared leadership. For me, a true leader is the one who shares his responsibilities with his team members, believes in the opinions, viewpoints, feedback, insights, and wisdom of other stake holders (Principals, Administrators, Teachers, Parents, and Students etc.)  as well. I always involve my team and take their feedback into consideration while making important decisions related to the school™s organization, operation, and academics.

Q3- What do you think, is most important benefit of educating the society?

œEducation is the most powerful weapon which you can use to change the world | Nelson Mandela

Education leads to creation of a better society. In this era of globalization, if any society wants to excel and become independent, it has to ensure education of its citizens.   Education motivates self-assurance and self-dependency in the people. Education brings positive social change in the society. Therefore, educating society should be our top priority.

Q4- What do you feel about the role of an Educationist in shaping the society?

In my point of view, Educationists play a signification role in shaping the Society. They are not only working to educate the students rather they are shaping their future as well. They are contributing in building up the character of the next generation, thus shaping the nation™s growth & development. Therefore, they have a huge responsibility on their shoulders which should be fulfilled with full commitment and devotion.

Q5- What is FMF?  Can you give us little brief on it ?

I always wanted to contribute to the lives of underprivileged and deprived people of Pakistani society. For this purpose, I laid the foundation of Fazal Mamdot Foundation (FMF) in 2013. FMF is a Non-Proft & non-Governmental organization working with the mission to bring improvement in the living conditions of the people of Mamdot. Mamdot is a village in the district of Talagang, Punjab. Under the umbrella of FMF, we have initially started welfare projects in Mamdot.

Currently, FMF is running a free dispensary in Mamdot village and planning to transform it into full medical complex to provide advanced health facilities in the area.

Furthermore, FMF is providing free water supply to 800 homes of Mamdot village on a daily basis through solar tubewell and tank. We are working to increase water supply to more number of homes by increasing solar and tank capacity.

Q6- Do you have any plans to expand this Cause of FMF on National level?

Yes I have plans to extend the scope of FMF to other far flung areas of Pakistan too where people are suffering due to lack of basic facilities like health, clean water, education etc. For this purpose, a few projects are in pipeline which will be announced very soon In Sha Alla.

Q7 - What can be done to make Education in access of everyone?

Education is the basic right of every individual but unfortunately it is not as accessible to everyone as it could be in Pakistan. There are a lot of reasons behind that which should be addressed on priority if we really want our nation to grow and develop in this era of globalization.

All children and youth, no matter their age, gender, ethnicity, family income, citizenship, disability status or where they live, should be provided with basic educational facilities free of cost. Specially, we need to focus on our rural areas.

For this purpose, our Policy makers should increase funding to education sector, build more schools, bring necessary improvements in the existing schools™ infrastructures, train the teachers & administrators and concentrate on building public-private partnerships programs. Apart from traditional ways of learning, Flexible e-learning option should also be utilized as we saw that all schools shifted from physical classrooms to digital classrooms.

With these efforts and initiatives, we can make education accessible to everyone.

Q8- In the end any message to the world from our platform.

Always work hard and never give up. You may encounter difficult times during your journey but never surrender. Sometimes, you have to take difficult and challenging decisions, but always believe in yourself and strive for the best.

More, I would like to request everyone to please play your role for the welfare of the society. In whichever capacity you are working, always keep in mind that underprivileged people of our society need us. It is our moral, religious and social responsibility to help others who are needy and do something worthwhile to bring a positive change in other™s lives.

I would conclude with a famous saying that œA man™s true wealth is the good he does in this world. So do good and I assure you that Allah will make your journey easy and successful.