Teachers need training through latest technology

LAHORE: “Pakistan faces critical shortage of teachers as it immediately requires approximately another one million teachers to come close to achieving the country’s global commitment on education by 2030,” reveals Sabahat Rafiq, co-founder and Executive Director of United We REACH (UWR).

Unesco (United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation) estimates urgent requirement of 69 million teachers globally to achieve Goal-4 of Quality Education under Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs-2030). The Goal-4 envisages ensuring inclusive and equitable quality education and promoting lifelong learning opportunities for all.

“It’s a sad reality that there are 28 million children out of schools in Pakistan. As much as 60pc of boys and 70pc girls from deprived backgrounds have never been to school,” says Sabahat Rafiq while talking to The News. Sabahat, who served on the President’s Council of United Religions Initiative (URI), is an active member of the American Pakistani Public Affairs Committee (APPA).

Sabahat Rafiq informed that Equity Literacy Research (ELR) identified children from different demographics have different learning needs. There are not enough jobs in Pakistan for all school dropouts to be employed. Existing vacancies remain vacant because of lack of practical skills. We need to prepare entrepreneurs to generate employment for school leaving students, Sabahat Rafiq said.

“I believe that technical education should be started after 12th standard. This is a serious discrimination with those students who cannot afford education and are forced to learn skills to become an earning hand at young age.

She said, “We are working with eight schools in Lahore right now and our students are getting state-of-the-art education. We believe that rapid change in the technology and science demands extra effort from students. We have started science and IT education from grade 1.”

Talking about role of government in the education sector she said, “The government has to work on well researched and current pedagogical techniques including learning-by-doing and activity-based practices to impart quality education to the students. We are ready to work with all the federal and provincial governments as education is the backbone of country’s development.”

Discussing the procedure of UWR, she said, “We undertake impact assessment of students by using international standard techniques. The impact of our first academic year has exceeded our targets with 10% improvement across the board. Impact is a journey, not an event for grades and students participating in their second year of the UWR Education Ecosystem. We are aiming for an impact of 15pc improvement in students’ scores. We also have specially designed content to encourage engagement and learning, while staying within the National Curriculum Framework, and providing local review and oversight to ensure content suitability.”

“We use latest technology such as content delivery mechanisms, oversight and monitoring and data analysis for targeted student intervention. Each child learns differently thus use of Tablets to target each child's learning needs. United We REACH (UWR) holds itself to the highest standards of excellence, verifiable data with detailed analysis, which forms the cornerstone of UWR’s measurement efforts,” she said.

She emphasised on teachers’ training and said, “Teachers are our real asset and there is not a particular standard set for the teachers. We need to train our teachers through latest technology. Good quality Teacher Residency Training costs on average $50,000 per teacher over several years. Low-cost private school teachers usually are not qualified, which is a major setback for the students.”

She believed: “Our religion emphasises on acquiring education from mother’s lap to grave but unfortunately we are just manipulating the thoughts of our young generation to get education for jobs and earning money. Everyone is in a race to get a degree but no one is focusing on the grooming of students.”

Basic education is the right of every child guaranteed under Pakistan’s constitution. she demanded the government provide basic education to all children with teachers’ training being vital part to help achieve the education’s goal under SDGs-2030, she said.