The Living Scripts | Zafar Qadir (Chairman Taleem Foundation)

Spread over two sittings, the seventh session of the series of programs titled ‘The Living Scripts’ was organized by IPS LEAD (the learning, excellence and development program of IPS) with Zafar Qadir, chairman, Taleem Foundation.

In the first sitting, which was held on August 30, 2019, Qadir threw light on his life’s journey starting from his childhood, stating that he initially wanted to become a doctor but later ended up joining the armed forces of Pakistan. He however got severely injured a few years later during a tough training drill, after which he chose to retire himself citing medical reasons. He then joined civil services after passing the CSS examination, and went on to serve the country on various important posts throughout his career.

The second sitting, which was held on September 26, 2019, enlightened the audience with an inspiring story of how Qadir came up with the idea to establish Taleem foundation and what challenges he had to face in the pursuit of his dream. Qadir shared that the first school of the foundation was established in the year 1989 in Kohlu with the strength of 30 students only. The successful model was then replicated in Zhob Agency in 1991, Qilla Saifullah in 1992, Loralai and Muslim Bagh in 1993, and Pishin and Sui (Dera Bugti) in 1994. Revealing that the Taleem Foundation today educates around 4000 students per year on average, the speaker termed the establishment of the foundation the most significant achievement of his life to date.