This week, Team Happinez had a chat with Colombo English Studio (CES) Founder Shehnaz Kamar, who stands as a testament to the importance of embracing new horizons and seizing opportunities for growth. As she navigates the intersections of law and education, her story serves as an inspiration for those who aspire to carve their own paths and leave an indelible mark on the ever-evolving landscape of their chosen professions.

Tell us a little about yourself and your educational background. 

I started off as a law student and worked in that field for almost two years, after which I moved on to the field of education and completed my CELTA (UK) and trained at British Council, Colombo as an ESL trainer. I’ve also completed the University of Cambridge ESL Teacher Training programme and am currently reading for my Master’s in Education. 

These are just my main qualifications, not including any of the minor ones I’ve acquired over the years. Finding a new course in relation to my field of work is something I love to do. I believe that in a world that keeps evolving continuously, keeping ourselves updated regarding our job roles is quite crucial.

Can you tell us about the community project that led you to the field of education?

I attended a very prominent international school in Colombo, with a variety of clubs and societies that tend to carry out various community building projects. One such project was ESL training for the underprivileged in the neighbourhood areas of the school premises. 

I was fortunate enough to be in charge of this project back in the day, which was also the reason behind my passion for the field of education. This project involved us tutoring primary aged kids every Sunday over a span of a few weeks. It was towards the end of this programme that I realised the impact we had made on these little humans, due to the immense emotional appreciation their parents showed us.

How did these encounters with parents impact your perspective on the importance of education?

As a 16-year-old, I would say it definitely wasn’t something I expected or was aware of and I honestly didn’t think the impact of that programme would be that significant. Therefore, the unexpected personal and emotional response from the parents post-programme made me understand the importance of learning and how for most parents, it’s not just about academic achievement, but also an opportunity for their children to become the best versions of themselves. 

This emotional encounter with the parents made me understand the importance of empathy and compassion in education. It left me with a great sense of responsibility to keep doing more amazing projects like that for the community in future and empower more students. 

It took me a little over a decade to get this started, but currently I’m in discussion with a foundation to provide free ESL sessions for girls who’ve been through gender-based violence, with the hopes of creating a meaningful impact on their futures.

You mentioned that you started teaching from your parent’s garage, which sounds like an unconventional beginning. What challenges did you face during those early days and how did you overcome them?

I am honestly grateful for the trust placed in me by my parents, which helped me boost my confidence to pursue my passion, by giving me the garage space in their house to start my dream. 

One of the biggest barriers I faced was cultural norms; I had never come across a situation where a teenager was tutoring professional individuals in their 40s and 50s. I had so many doubts, such as how I should address them or what I could teach someone with a PhD when I was just still in senior school, which was why I took over a month to accept my first paid student. I guess this student’s progress and scores was another step in me realising that I was actually good at what I was doing. 

There were a few other minor challenges as well, like the garage space only being able to accommodate four students at a time, limited teaching resources, noise disturbances from vehicles passing by, and overall, the entire setting was quite different to what most of my adult learners were used to. 

However, by helping my students progress and achieve their targets, I gained their trust and as a result, they overlooked the minor issues. I learnt that if you do your work right, along with a bit of creativity, determination, and professionalism, you can overcome any challenge.

How did your passion for business play a role in shaping the growth and development of your educational initiative?

Growing up in a very business-oriented family meant watching how the whole system worked and, in some instances, getting to practise it quite early on as well. I was the unofficial treasurer of the family for any of the trips or vacations we would go on, as I was quite good at handling the finances. I guess this helped me practise budgeting, resource allocation, and so on, since financial management is quite important for any business to scale.  

Back then I didn’t know these terms, but now, after more experience, exposure, and learning a bit more about the subject, I’d say being able to strategise was another big strength of mine, along with knowing when to take that next step and expand. 

For my academy, the introduction of more courses such as corporate training and English for kids and the recruitment of freelance tutors all helped us scale up operations while maintaining the quality and effectiveness of our programmes.

What specific changes or innovations have you introduced to make education more accessible to a wider audience, and what impact have these initiatives had?

In order to make what we provide accessible to a wider audience, we initially started off by introducing the hybrid manner of learning, which is not just physical but also uses an online classroom setting. Secondly, we designed our courses to be more inclusive and in a way that makes them compatible with the working crowd, student crowd, or mothers at home, along with a variety of payment structures. 

We also offer scholarships to certain students, mainly depending on their interest and course attendance and not their school transcripts, as we believe that every individual, regardless of how well they performed in school, should be given an equal chance at education. 

These criteria made it possible not just for students around the globe, but also for different crowds with varying income levels to access our courses. We are currently planning to partner with community organisations with the hopes of maximising our impact on education.

Have you faced any criticism or scepticism about your approach to education and how did you address it?

Sri Lankan students are mainly used to the traditional classroom setting, which is more teacher-centred. This wasn’t the case at our academy, so the learners or parents would raise concerns, since our methods involved customised plans catered to each individual’s ability to learn, making the entire curriculum student-centred. 

The first approach was open communication, where we let the adult learner or parent know the reason behind our method, which ensured transparency and built trust between the student and us. 

At the same time, we made sure to be open towards constructive criticism and use that to further improve our approach. This was followed by helping them progress and achieve their targets, after which they shared their success story with others. 

How do you envision the future of education, especially in terms of accessibility, and what role do you see yourself playing in that future?

With the introduction of AI and the development of technology, education is far more accessible now in terms of affordability and availability to most individuals than it was in the past. I believe that this is a positive development and it will keep growing to an extent where no one will have the excuse of not being able to educate themselves. 

In future, not only will education become accessible to all individuals, but there will also be a more personalised approach catering to the different requirements of each learner, making it more effective. 

Along with the abundance of gifts comes the loss of interest, so there is a huge chance that future generations will need extreme guidance and motivation to acquire what is within their reach. I suppose that is where I’ll be active. 

My main role will be to advocate for positive growth in education and ensure that the interest and love for learning keeps growing within individuals, inspiring the future generations of changemakers. 

What advice would you give to someone looking to make a positive impact in the field of education, especially in terms of accessibility and quality?

In order to create a more inclusive and effective learning environment for all students, I believe in two concepts. 

The primary one is continuous learning, which is essential for personal and professional growth. Not only does this help in keeping up with evolving teaching methodologies and subject matter, but this also allows the educator to remember what it’s like to have a student’s mindset, which will allow them to better empathise with their students’ struggles and needs. 

Secondly, an educator must always give extreme importance to equality within the classroom, that is, pay attention to the struggling students and not just the high achievers, because every student has the potential to flourish given the right support and encouragement. This will not just help the students to succeed, but also will enrich the educators’ own teaching experience as well.

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