TikTok has partnered with Edkasa and LUMS to launch a digital learning programme to facilitate online education and distance learning for high school students. Driven by TikTok, the programme #ExamReady will promote digital learning designed to help millions of Pakistani students.
In this first of its kind year-long partnership, TikTok, Edkasa and LUMS will collaborate to bring to life over 500 educational videos online covering Chemistry, Physics and Mathematics, including study tips and exam hacks. The Syed Ahsan Ali and Syed Maratib Ali School of Education at LUMS will provide guidance on teaching methodologies and cover monitoring and evaluation of the project whereas Edkasa, as the implementing partner, will develop all content and host it on TikTok and other social media profiles. The programme’s first round of content is expected to go live in August this year.
The announcement comes at an opportune time for Pakistan that is seeing pressure on its low- and middle-income groups with education costs becoming a cause for distress. In a country where access to high-quality educational content remains a major hindrance to human development, Edkasa has achieved over 15 million minutes of viewing time in 2021, enrolled over 145,000 students, and 129 online courses. With demographics of over 140 million Pakistani citizens below 30 years of age, while more than 10 million currently enrolled in high-schools, the partnership could not have come at a better time. TikTok, home to 1 billion monthly average users globally, will help disseminate the content to millions of Pakistani students through its platform.
Farah Tukan, Head of Government Relations & Public Policy at TikTok – Middle East, Turkey, Africa & Pakistan (METAP) said: “This partnership with LUMS and Edkasa promises digital access to quality education for everyone. We look forward to working together for the nationwide promotion of literacy, and to enable Pakistani students to use our platform to hone their knowledge and skills to set themselves up for successful professional lives.”
LUMS will be co-creating the content, while engaging learners. The intellectual experience of the University will enhance the teaching efficacy of this innovative programme, while the learning and performance of each participant will also be evaluated by scholars from LUMS.
LUMS Vice Chancellor, Dr. Arshad Ahmad, spoke about how the University is able to amplify the impact created by its dynamic alumni; Edkasa too was cofounded by LUMS alumni Annum Sadiq (BSc 2011) and Muhammad Fahad Tanveer (BSc 2005, MBA 2010). Dr. Ahmad added, “At LUMS we embrace change and look for opportunities to better pedagogy, and to personalise education to engage students.”
Annum Sadiq, Chief Education Officer and Co-Founder of Edkasa, said: “As one of Pakistan’s top-ranked, specialised apps for online teaching, we’re excited to come on board as an implementing partner in this initiative. Edkasa pledges to provide the right technological solutions, products and services to enrich the students’ knowledge and perceptions. With over 300,000 downloads in one year, Edkasa enables distance learning of essential subjects like Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Biology, English and Computer Science (STEM), along with 21st century skills, educating nearly 30,000 students per month.”
