IED alumni Zaheer Abbas, Alia Fehmi and Anila Baig are among the 20 Pakistani teachers selected for the six-week long Teaching Excellence and Achievement Program (TEAP) run by the US State Department.
The three – who currently teach English in government and government-funded schools in Gilgit-Baltistan – have been invited to take part in a global programme that hones the skills of “outstanding” secondary school teachers. TEAP will expose them to latest teaching strategies and instructional metho
From left to right: Alia Fehmi, Zaheer Abbas and Anila Baig.
ds during a graduate-level course at an American university followed by 40 hours of field experience at a secondary school.
Speaking about the need for such a programme, Zaheer Abbas, an English language instructor at the Government Elementary College, Skardu in Gilgit-Baltistan, noted that there is a shortage of English language specialists in schools in his area. As a result, teachers from other specialties such as mathematics are assigned English classes. This means that English is taught like a subject rather than a language which affects children’s ability to develop proficiency.
“A poor grasp of a language can become a barrier to learning other subjects and in the long-term impacts a student’s chances of studying at good quality higher education institutions,” Zaheer said.
Alia Fehmi, MEd ’16, is also looking forward to learning from teachers in the US and understanding which teaching methods work best in multi-lingual countries such as Pakistan.
Anila Baig, who teaches English at the Gilgit-Baltistan Girls Model School in Aliabad, Hunza, added that she is keen to explore ways to further improve her teaching. “TEAP will supplement what I have already learnt at IED and practiced in my school so far. It will help me further polish my language teaching skills by exposing me to the best and most innovative teaching practices in the US,” she stated.
The IED’s master’s degree and the TEAP programme both seek to increase the number of qualified teachers by imparting advanced education and training in the latest teaching strategies. Both initiatives are aligned with one of the targets under Goal 4 of the Sustainable Development Goals which calls for increased cooperation for teacher training initiatives with developing countries in order to boost the supply of skilled educators around the world.
The TEAP programme aims to build the expertise of teachers at government and government-funded schools around the world. All participants in the programme are required to return to their local schools to apply the skills learned during the training.