• ECE-CPU briefing with District Officer Education

On August 22, 2011 a meeting was set up with District Officer Education (DOE), Mrs Farnaz Riaz, at her office in Karimabad. In the meeting Mrs. Riaz was briefed about the upcoming ECE-CPU (Early Childhood Education Certificate Programme in Urdu). The occasion was also used to apprise her of TRC-IECE policies concerning the teachers selected from the RCC project schools for the Programme.

The DOE displayed a keen interest in the Programme and enquired in detail about its structure and logistics, the course content, the instructors, and the selection criteria for the students. The meeting resulted in a request by the DOE to visit TRC and meet the directors.

The second meeting took place on September 16, 2011 at TRC. The selected teachers were introduced to the DOE during the meeting. The teachers also signed an undertaking on the occasion, in which they agreed to abide by TRC-IECE polices.

Visit to Child to Child Trust

On August 17, 2011, Seema Malik and Mahenaz Mahmud visited the Child-to-Child Trust, located at the Institute of Education, University of London. They met with the CtC Director, Tricia Young. Following an introduction to the work of the two organizations, it became apparent that we shared a very similar philosophy and approach to children’s education.

Tricia showed keen interest in establishing a long-term collaboration/working relationship with TRC. She was very impressed and excited by our innovative work and projects.

We also met Christiana Brown, Project Officer, CtC Trust with whom we discussed ECE, an area of mutual interest and concern. It was a thrill to see that they had our Pehla Taleemi Basta in their resource room:)

• TRC Visits the University of Bradford

To finalise the long awaited ECE-CP validation agreement, TRC Directors, Seema Malik and Mahenaz Mahmud visited the University of Bradford in August, 2011. During the visit, issues raised by the Course Assessment and Review Team (CART) were addressed, along with administrative and legal issues.

• TRC Visits York St. Johns University

On August 09, TRC staff drove to York with Nadira Mirza, Dean, SLED, University of Bradford. There they met with Professor Julian Stern, Faculty of Education and Theology and Heather Elliot, Senior Lecturer in Early Years. She was the external expert on the CART, during the review meetings of the ECE-CP validation process. We were informed that she was extremely impressed by the course, in terms of academic rigour, content, quality and high expectation of the students.

Following a warm welcome, a tour of the beautiful University and lunch, the three institutions discussed the possibility of collaborative projects in the future.

• The University of Bradford Validates the ECE-CP

On September 01, 2011, the University of Bradford and the TRC-Institute of ECE signed a validation agreement, bringing the four-year process to fruition.

As of now, students who enrol and successfully complete our ECE – Certificate Programme will receive an Award from the University. The internationally recognised award is a Certificate of Higher Education in ECE, from the University of Bradford, UK.

• ECE-CP (2011-12) Orientation Session

September was a busy time at TRC-IECE as we welcomed our 6th cohort of students. They attended a two-part orientation in which they were first invited for a brief session on September 8, 2011. At this session the students were briefed about the institute’s recent major achievement, namely Bradford University’s validation of the ECE Certificate Programme. They were informed about how they could benefit from the opportunity the validation offered.
At the second session, held on September 22, 2011, all the students were acquainted with the logistics and structure of the ECE-CP. They received orientation packs, which contained the academic calendar 2011-12, their student I.D cards and a CD containing the Student Handbook and Academic Skills’ Guide. The students were introduced to the faculty and other personnel that they would be interacting with over the course of the programme. They were also informed about TRC-IECE policies and then all their questions and concerns were addressed.

The session ended with tea and refreshments, in which the students shared their excitement and anticipation about classes scheduled to begin on September 26, 2011.

• ECE-CPU Kicks Off

Two years of effort paid off as the ECE Certificate Programme in Urdu (ECE-CPU) was launched on September 26, 2011. The programme is the first of its kind in Pakistan and has a keen group of students who are eagerly looking forward to the next class. They have classes five days a week.

We are hopeful that all of them will continue to display the same enthusiasm and zeal throughout the programme, which will end in April 2012.

• ECE-CP Classes Begin

After the silence of July and August, the TRC-Institute of ECE is finally buzzing again. This time round with ECE-CP (2011-2012) and the newly launched ECE-CPU, two classrooms are occupied and students are spilling over into the library and research and group discussion areas too. Both programmes began simultaneously on September 26, 2011.

• ECE-CP (2010-11) Graduation Ceremony

The much awaited graduation ceremony of our 5th cohort materialised with much excitement and enthusiasm on the eve of September 27, 2011. TRC’s hallway buzzed with beaming graduating students and their proud family members.

The evening opened with TRC Director Seema Malik welcoming the guests, and sharing her thoughts and experiences with the audience and the graduating batch. She also gave a brief overview of TRC-IECE’s linkage with its Canadian partners.

TRC-IECE Chairperson, Mahtab Rashdi, made a formal announcement about the ECE-CP’s validation by the University of Bradford.

Then Director Programme Development Mahenaz Mahmud talked about the diverse teaching and learning methods and assessment strategies used in the ECE-CP and shared the students’ projects with the audience.

Then, graduating students shared their views and experiences of their ECE-CP journey and how the programme had changed their lives.

The ceremony ended with the Chief Guest, Ameena Saiyid, Managing Director of Oxford University Press, giving out certificates to the graduates and sharing a few words on her long association with TRC and its valuable contributions towards the education sector in our country.

We wish our graduates all the best, and hope they continue their journey of lifelong learning, positively impacting the lives they touch.