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After the ECE Orientation workshop for heads and supervisors two concurrent workshops titled “Behter Mustaqbil Ki Janib Gamzan” was held for the teachers of Jamshed and Korangi Towns at TRC, from August 10 – 21, from 8:30 a.m. – 1:30p.m. These 50 hour workshops were completed in ten days. A total of 41 teachers and 01 supervisor (on request from her) attended the workshop. This workshop was the second in a series of workshops and classroom support TRC will be engaged in over the next two years, with these Towns.
TRC resource persons Mehnaz Amir Ali, Nahid Parveen, Nighat Hasan and Seema Yasmin facilitated the workshop along with Farah Rebecca and Tabinda Jabeen, two teachers from PECHS Girls’ School who are recent TRC-IECE graduates.
The participants were introduced to the importance of ECE and active learning. The topics covered were growth and development, how children learn, the setting up of a developmentally appropriate learning environment for young children and observation and assessment.
The workshop was based on the National Curriculum for ECE. Mazboot Bunyadaen, the Urdu version of Strong Foundations, our ECE Teachers’ Guide was also distributed to the teachers to help them implement the Curriculum in their classrooms. The participants also learnt about developmentally appropriate classroom activities that they would need to implement throughout the daily routine; communicating and involving parents in classroom activities; and the importance and different methods of singing rhymes and telling stories to young children.
Different teaching-learning methods, such as, role-play, simulation, brainstorming, interactive lectures, group work and discussions and our training videos on the learning environment and the development of language and literacy skills were used.
The participants in both groups were enthusiastic, motivated and vocal. They shared their school experiences and discussed their concerns regarding the ECE classroom environment.
Last week, we received an email from BVS Parsi High School which says “From this year onwards we are not going to print our newsletter, calendar or any other information for the benefit of parents and students. We will put it on our website. Just like TRC, BVS has decided to “Live Green” and will actively use its website from now on.” They attached a copy of the letter sent to parents.
TRC is a pioneer in promoting environmental education in schools. We have been organising events, sending out lesson plans/activities and reminders to be eco-friendly since 1990. Finally, after all these years we have received instant feedback from a school … our circular on “TRC Lives Green” made an impression and BVS acted instantly. More importantly, they told us what they’d done! Going digital helps us remain connected.
Thank you BVS.
On August 04, 2009, Action Aid’s Education team conducted a strategic review of its own programmes, vis-a -vis their needs and upcoming developments in the education sector of Pakistan. TRC was invited to participate in this policy review, owing mainly to its contribution in curriculum development and policy advocacy. While taking stock of their own work and the current scenario where the National Educational Policy is yet to be finalized (after 3 years of policy formulation), ActionAid identified educational financing, policy review and advocacy for curriculum implementation as well as Early Childhood Education, as its core areas of intervention and support for the next 3 years. Our contribution was deeply appreciated by Action Aid and it was agreed to jointly plan and carry out initiatives for ECE, given TRC’s extensive and long standing work in the sector.
The Ed Links Programme organized a four day planning exercise for it’s year 3 activities across Pakistan from August 3-6, 2009. EdLinks – Links to Learning is a 5 year USAID-funded programme that supports improvements in quality education in secondary schools in Sindh, Balochistan, ICT and FATA. In partnership with the Government of Pakistan, ED-LINKS improves student learning processes and teacher professional development in Mathematics, Science, Information and Communication Technology/Computer Science, and English Language. In addition, ED-LINKS works to strengthen education leadership and management and upgrade the government’s EMIS infrastructure.
Under this programme, TRC is responsible for the development of interactive digital material for students of Classes 6-8. During the planning meeting, we contributed to the overall planning of the ICT Component (Information Communication Technology) of EdLinks and also provided input on other teacher education and policy initiatives to be rolled out from November 2009 onwards.
As the technical assistance partner in the RCC Programme, TRC provided support to the Karakorum International University in setting up their ECE learning resource centre, in January 2009. Initially it was decided that members of TRC’s training and development team will work with KIU faculty to help them. However, due to adverse weather conditions and non-availability of flights to Gilgit, the plan did not materialise. Technology came to the rescue … KIU shared the list of learning resources they were aiming to procure for their ECE Centre, and we provided detailed feedback on all the resources, suggesting developmentally and culturally appropriate and more eco – friendly, alternatives. Possible activities and ways in which the materials could be used were also suggested.
For the last few months, TRC has been in discussion with the City District Government Karachi, for improving Katchi Classes in 40 government schools. On July 27, 2009, the partnership between CDGK and TRC was formalized through the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding. TRC plans to work with 40 partner schools functioning under the Local Bodies Wing and Education Department, CDGK, in Jamshed and Korangi Towns. This partnership is supported by the Releasing Confidence and Creativity Programme (RCC). The idea is to transform Katchi classes in partner schools into vibrant learning spaces, through training and regular follow-up support provided to teachers and supervisors. Next steps include developing a core mass of teacher educators and mentors, and advocacy with District administration. Through these initiatives, TRC aims to strengthen public sector capacities for initiating and upscaling ECE in other government schools in Karachi.
Mr. Ibrahim Ali Kambhar, Executive District Officer, Schools – CDGK, on the occasion of the MOU signing, expressed his deep appreciation of TRC’s support to government schools and ensured that full cooperation would be extended to us for quality implementation of the project. Seema Malik, Director TRC, thanked CDGK for its cooperation, and emphasized that TRC has always experienced that government school teachers, when professionally supported, are hardworking and committed to improving their teaching and classroom set up. She expressed her hope that the Education Department and CDGK will utilize the ECE expertise created through RCC in its own programmes and launch similar initiatives across Karachi. Ms. Farhana Iqbal, Chairperson CMIS/KEDC and Ms. Shamim Akhtar, Chairperson Education Committee CDGK, also appreciated the launch of this ECE improvement programme in government schools. District government officials and representatives of Jamshed and Korangi towns were also present at the MOU signing, including Mr. Ahmad Nawaz Niazi, D O, Headquarter, Mr. Mansoor Mirza, D O, Education Local Bodies Wing, Mrs. Farnaz Riaz, DO Elementary Female, and Mr. Aftab Ahmad Shaikh, DDO, Education.