Oxford University programme to train Pakistani teacher-educators

LONDON/OXFORD: The University of Oxford has signed a landmark contract with the Malala Fund to support the Pakistani non-government organisation ‘Durbeen’ in training teacher-educators in Pakistan through a programme that is the first of its kind in South Asia, renowned rockstar and education reforms campaigner Shehzad Roy has said.

In an interview here at Oxford University, Shehzad Roy thanked Nobel Peace Prize winner Malala Yousufzai for her efforts in facilitating the partnership. He explained that the collaboration between Oxford and Durbeen has been focused on developing the curriculum for an M.S. programme to develop the faculty who will subsequently teach the B.Ed. programme in Pakistan’s Teacher Training Institutions.

The M.S. programme will have 5 specialization tracks - Language, Social Studies, Mathematics, Science and Education Psychology - and each track will develop teacher-educators to teach a specific set of corresponding B.Ed. courses. The goal is to develop a workforce that can turn around teacher education institutions across Pakistan, which in turn, can develop a new generation of professionally trained, high-quality school teachers. The key individuals involved in this partnership are Malala Fund, Shehzad Roy, founder of the Zindagi Trust, Salma A Alam, CEO of Durbeen, Dr Ann Childs, Dr Aliya Khalid and Dr Ian Thompson of the University of Oxford.

Dr Ian Thompson said he visited Karachi and other parts of Pakistan and met the teachers and their trainers to gain first-hand knowledge about how the teachers of teachers are trained. “That helped us develop this specific programme for the teachers’ teachers. We are confident this programme will benefit the trainers a great deal. With our colleagues from Pakistan, we have put in a great effort in its development.” Shehzad Roy said: “If teachers are not trained properly then this affects children and they end up getting qualifications but without the critical thinking and analytical skills that are needed in the modern age. This programme is designed for the trainers and the impact, we are sure, will be in terms of improvement in educational standards, for generations to come.”

Salma Alam said: “This is a major milestone for Pakistan, especially as it focuses on teacher-educators as a separate cadre which is a first for Pakistan. In fact, even around the world, the University of Oxford is the only programme focused solely on teacher-educators. Quality begins from the top and until we don’t have capable teacher-educators we can’t have a professionally qualified school teaching workforce and it is exactly this change that Durbeen is trying to bring in partnership with the University of Oxford and Malala Fund. Through this programme, we will develop teacher educators for Pakistan’s government teacher training institutions. These educators, in turn, will prepare teachers for government schools. This initiative marks the beginning of a future where Pakistan can become a hub of educational innovation, ”Alam concluded.