On Task: Shazia Amjad, Ed.M.'09

Shazia Amjad, Ed.M.'09, used to have free time. But the reading, hiking, and gardening that she once enjoyed in her leisure time have taken a back seat in recent months. And she couldn’t be more thrilled. In October 2009, the government of her home country established the Pakistan Education Task Force. Amjad was selected to serve as an education expert.

“I was totally amazed and surprised [to be chosen] as the competition was very tough,” says Amjad. “I actually believed that I would never make it!”

Now she finds herself working with a task force cochaired by Shahnaz Wazir Ali, special assistant to the prime minister on social sectors, and Sir Michael Barber, former head of the United Kingdom Delivery Unit and current distinguished visiting fellow at the Ed School. The main goal of the group is to support the new national education policy in Pakistan by helping increase the capacity of the federal and provincial governments to implement reforms.

This couldn’t be a better fit for Amjad, as helping to put a new education policy into practice in Pakistan has been among her goals since before coming to the Ed School. Even just the existence of the task force shows they are on the right track, she says.

“I believe that political leadership and will is in dearth — and motivated and committed individuals as champions can make a huge difference on the ground,” she says. “I consider my present work and assignment as a step forward in that direction.”

So far, the task force has succeeded in completing the first-ever performance assessment of reform initiatives in the four provinces and continues to work closely with local governments to develop long-term strategy and action plans to improve performance of the education sector. They have also developed a school report card in the Khyber Puktunkhawa province that makes school district performance available to policymakers for the first time.

Although Amjad is still adjusting to the “rollercoaster ride” of the task force, including the fast pace of the work, the extensive travel, and — yes — the lack of free time, the clear progress being made makes it well worth it.

“At the task force secretariat, we believe that we are not here to write another report,” she says, “but to translate policy into concrete actions and to make a visible difference to the lives of children in schools.”