Considering Balochistan’s growth in education and social life, one feels the province has always been as ignored as it could be. Governments have never prioritized the socio-economic developments while the entrepreneurs have always eyed better places to continue their investments and expansions. However, not everyone gets to lose the home comforts away and return back having several visions for the glorification of where they actually belong to. One among such Baloch entrepreneurs is Panjgur’s Aamir Kashani Baloch who has shouldered the cause of transforming the schooling system in the backward regions like his own.
A graduate from National University of Modern Languages (NUML) in Islamabad, Aamir Kashani has a degree of the Master of Business Administration (MBA). From his early childhood, Aamir has been struggling financially himself. Having secured a scholarship helped him continue his education at NUML. However, along with studies, he was in practice in small businesses aside which helped him grow more in times to come. He got his early education from Panjgur and then continued in Cadet College Mastung for his further studies. Despite plentiful difficulties, he was lucky to have full support of his father.
After his degree, he had a business idea in real estate which took no time in emerging among the best businesses across Pakistan. It was named as IDEAS SALES AND MARKETING. The company is now named one of the best real estate and marketing solutions across Pakistan. In fact, he was awarded three presidential awards which include the Fastest Growing Real Estate Company Award, Youngest Entrepreneur of Pakistan and Best Project Management Company by the president of the country, Arif Alvi. Apart from this, Governor Balochistan entitled Aamir Kashani as the ‘Ambassador of Entrepreneurship’.
Besides his personal growth as one of the leading entrepreneurs, Aamir has a bright vision of transforming the school system – especially for early childhood – in the least developed regions. One among such regions is Panjgur’s Parom tehsil. With around 42 schools – including two private schools – there are only countable government schools functioning in the area. Apart from Government Boys High School Parom, rest, including the high school itself, have been going through challenging crises in facilities with downgraded infrastructures. With such an environment, campaigning for educational change has been Aamir’s vision.
What makes it more interesting about Parom is a private school campaigning for co-education with Balochi dress code as school dress, named BAAM School. After starting functioning as a full-time school on March 15, 2022, Asif Baloch has been its founding Director and Irshad Ahmed as the Principal. A picture showing the school assembly where the number of girls was more than that of the boys – something very rare in Balochistan – nevertheless Pakistan – went viral on social media platforms which received much appreciation in various social media accounts.
Similar to Aamir’s vision for early childhood schooling vision, the picture appeared before him after which he took no time in getting in touch with the Director of the school. Soon after, he invited him in Islamabad taking out all the expenses of his travel and stay for showing him the different infrastructures of the schools within the capital city. The exposure of the BAAM Director not only improved in his understanding of the timely needs of the education in the twenty-first century but also helped him in remodeling the school he owns back in his native – with full support from Aamir in transforming the way schools are back in the region.
“The present school system in Parom is very traditional in methods,” says Aamir, adding that the schools lack proper washrooms, classrooms, offices, water, boundaries and other basics of a schooling system. He believes transforming one school in the region would directly influence the others in the locality which needs to be reshaped the way a school should look like. He would step first among others to bring the change in the schooling system on priority basis so that social and educational changes take no time to come.
Apart from Parom, he has also a vision for early childhood schools across the province which, he believes, are less schools and more torture cells. Plenty schools in the province are home to drug-addicts while the same school buildings, if they exist, are used for activities other than schooling. “The school environment has long-lasting effects on the psyche of the students,” he told me. A change in the basic infrastructure of the school would further help in upgrading the modes of schools in Balochistan no later. His vision, as a real estate entrepreneur, has been making this change possible so that schools in Balochistan are capable of producing more genius students in times to come. “Our youth are our future and that is how we aim to provide them the best we can so that we reap the best they can provide in return collectively,” Aamir says.
