Online course developed by late Dr Ruqaiya Hasan kicks off in Pakistan

Posted on February 11, 2017 by beenasarwar
feb2015-chris-m-rh-and-mak-photo-by-lexie-don

Ruqaiya Hasan, Hong Kong, Feb 2015. Photo by Lexie Don

Thrilled and excited to share this news from my mother, Zakia Sarwar, founder member of the Society of Pakistan English Language Teachers (SPELT), about the online course for teachers’ professional deveopment that was her sister, my khala ammi Dr Ruqaiya Hasan’s dream

PRESS RELEASE: 11 February 2017

Professional development online course for teachers in Pakistan kicks off

Project posthumously takes forward globally renowned linguist Dr Ruqaiya Hasan’s dream and intellectual legacy

KARACHI: The posthumous launch of an online course for Pakistani teachers designed by the internationally renowned linguist Dr Ruqaiya Hasan kicks off February 11, 2017, taught by Dr. Carmel Cloran, Dr. Hasan’s colleague and co-researcher from Macquarie University, Sydney Australia. Continue reading →

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R.I.P Ruqaiya Hasan: A life well lived

Posted on June 28, 2015 by beenasarwar
Ruqaiya Hasan, Hong Kong, Feb 2015. Photo by Lexie Don

Ruqaiya Hasan, Hong Kong, Feb 2015. Photo by Lexie Don

Ruqaiya Hasan: Born -1931, Pratapgarh, India; studied at Allahabad University (1953); Government College Lahore (1958); Edinburgh University (PhD in Linguistics, 1964). Retired as Emeritus Professor Macquarie University. Passed on: June 24, 2015, Sydney, Australia.

She seemed to be getting progressively better since the life-threatening respiratory infection she’d contracted after receiving radiotherapy for her advanced stage lung cancer (she survived rectal cancer in the 1980s). I had rushed over to Sydney to be with her, not knowing whether she’d still be there when I landed. If she’s still around, I’ll get to see her, if not, I’d be there for my cousin Neil and Uncle Michael, I reasoned. We knew, as did she, that it was a terminal disease but the rate she was improving led the doctors to add a chart to her hospital room stating her expected date of discharge as: “(?) 07/07/2015. Destination: Home”. We knew she wouldn’t be with us long, but at least some months seemed assured.

Continue reading →

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An unplanned visit to Oz and my mother’s appeal

Posted on June 14, 2015 by beenasarwar
M.A.K. Halliday and Ruqaiya Hasan, at a conference in Sun Yat Sen University, 2012

M.A.K. Halliday and Ruqaiya Hasan, at a conference in Sun Yat Sen University, 2012

Sydney, Australia, June 13, 2015.

I’ve been promising for years I’ll visit them in Sydney but as things happen, one ends up keeping a promise only when disaster strikes. A couple of weeks ago, doctors said that that Khala Ammi’s discomfort was due not to reflux (a digestive disorder) as diagnosed earlier but advanced stage lung cancer.

“I’m 84,” she said. “Everyone has to go, but I had always hoped that when my time came it would be quick.” That’s not something cancer is known for but we don’t always get to make these choices. Continue reading →

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