Former KGS Headmistress Stella Jafri Passes away in London
By Shazia Hasan
Karachi
Scores of old students of the Karachi Grammar School (KGS), who entered at the kindergarten level between the 1960s to 1990s, were saddened to learn of the passing away of their beloved kindergarten headmistress Mrs Stella Jafri who died at her home in London, England, after a brief illness on Tuesday. She was 85.
Remembered for her kindness, love of nature and passionate commitment to education, she will be deeply missed by all who knew her. Some remembered going to her office for stars as she used to keep different colored small star-shaped stickers in a little silver lunch box on her desk for the children who did well in classwork. She would ask the children to choose the color star they wanted before sticking it in their copies on their lesson page.
Some remembered her pet turtles she used to keep in a big metallic tub under a tree in the school playground.
There were also some students who knew her daughters Tara, Sara and Natasha because they happened to be their classmates. All her three daughters also attended the KGS.
A parent also remembered when he and his wife were undecided about sending her only daughter to a co-education school such as the KGS, and were thinking aloud, how she put their minds to rest by sharing that all three of her daughters were also students of the KGS.
Mrs Jafri was a sharp observer of children’s behavior. She could often pinpoint any difficulties they were facing while trying to concentrate on their studies from something as small as weak eyesight to suffering from dyslexia. In fact, she was arguably the first educationist in the country to identify this reading and writing disability among children and educate others about ways of overcoming the problem.
Having a very sharp memory, Mrs Jafri could also recognize her old students even after they were grown up. - Dawn
