Back to school: Teachers learn how to make the most of meagre resources

A three-day training workshop was organised for teachers from slums.

KARACHI: As the children are enjoying their winter vacations, it is their teachers who went to  school.

Around 92 teachers from 10 schools in the city participated in numerous training sessions during a three-day workshop on ‘Child Development and Effective Teaching with Limited Resources’, which concluded on Friday at Dr SRA Women’s Complex.

Having been in the teaching profession for the past 14 years, Kiran Asad Javed is convinced that teachers can trigger a ripple effect by inspiring children to become tomorrow’s leaders.

With the same conviction, Javed organised this teachers’ training programme, aiming to train individuals teaching in schools with limited resources to provide quality education to their students.

Javed has been teaching economics at The International School and Lecole for Advanced Studies for several years. However, the inspiration to hold the workshop came to her around three months ago, when she became the principal of BPW Quality School, located in Azam Basti. The school, administered by Pakistan Federation of Business and Professional Women’s Organisation (PFBPWO), caters to the needs of nearly 600 underprivileged students and around 30 teachers.

With PFBPWO president Dr Salima R Ahmed on board, the two women contacted experienced trainers, such as Rehmat Ebrahim, Faryial Hussain and Rubina Feroz, and organised the workshop. At a cost of Rs500 per participant, the teachers learned how to make the most of their situation with meagre resources.



“The aim of the workshop was to encourage and instil knowledge of the idea that when the most basic resources are utilised to the maximum potential, there is no need for fancy equipment,” said Javed. “The point was to stimulate the professional development of the teachers, creating an atmosphere of better quality education and eager students.”

All Pakistan Women’s Association (Apwa) president Begum Laila Haroon Sarfaraz, who was the chief guest at the ceremony, told The Express Tribune that the teaching profession draws a number of untrained people, especially women, to help support their families.  “Later they wish to excel in the profession, but it is the lack of resources that bars them from acquiring expertise through in-service training workshops,” said Begum Sarfaraz.

She appreciated the fact that the workshop was affordable and that it helped teachers develop professionally. “I would suggest Kiran to go for a fully-fledged organisation for teachers’ training in the same pattern.”

Ayesha Aslam, a workshop participant who teaches at Rehnuma Trust School located in Sherpao Basti, told The Express Tribune that the workshop provided her the opportunity to learn new methods, interact with other teachers and gain inspiration and direction for her classroom. “As a teacher, I have this belief now that we can literally impact hundreds of lives,” she said.

The participants who attended the whole workshop and completed the group activity were awarded certificates by the organisation.

Published in The Express Tribune, December 29^th, 2012.