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The opening
ceremony of Certificate in Education: Teacher Education for the
faculty of elementary colleges of education and supervisory personnel
from the selected districts of Sindh and Balochistan was held at
Aga Khan University Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED)
in Karachi. The programme is being funded by USAID through the Research
Triangle Institute-Education Sector Reform Assistance (RTI-ESRA).
The programme is a reaffirmation
of the University's focus on the development of quality human resources, through
productive linkages and collaborations, to respond to the unique needs of the
developing regions.
ESRA has recognized AKU-IED
as a national partner in capacity building to improve the quality of teacher
education in Pakistan. AKU-IED has recently initiated two Certificate programmes,
one in Educational Leadership and Management and the other in Primary Education
for teachers and supervisory personnel as mentors, under the ESRA project.
The Teacher Education programme
is a 10-week programme that aims to develop a core group of `reflective practitioners'
as potential teacher educators who can play a key role in improving teacher
education in their institutes in Sindh and Balochistan. The programme will thus
help promote critical reflection on the current trends and issues in teacher
education.
In his welcome address,
Director of AKU-IED, Dr. Gordon MacLeod, spoke about the importance of the programme
for teachers and teacher educators. He said a whole group of people at AKU-IED
would be available to support them during the programme.
The Head of Programmes at
AKU-IED, Dr. Muhammad Memon, said AKU-IED was taking a lead role in reforming
the education system at the grass-roots level. He said the programme would be
both constructive and challenging. "The programme will help you to become effective
teacher educators," he added.
The ESRA Programme Coordinator,
Iffat Nayyar, highlighted ESRA's role in supporting the government's efforts
for achieving sustainable development in education. She said ESRA was putting
in resources to improve the quality of education through the training of teachers
and teacher educators. She praised AKU-IED for playing an important role in
reforming the education system in Pakistan.
In her closing remarks,
Dr. Nilofar Vazir, Coordinator of the ESRA programme at AKU-IED, said the course
participants have a crucial role to play as teacher educators. She hoped the
programme would bring about a positive difference in the personal and professional
lives of all teacher educators in their respective roles. "Only with untiring
and united efforts towards initiation, implementation and monitoring our practices,
can we then ensure quality education in Pakistan."
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