Teacher training centre to be set up soon

School heads from across Karachi gather to discuss present education standards.

KARACHI: A teacher training centre will soon be set up in Karachi, Lahore and Islamabad to “influence the quality of education” in the country.

Trust for Advancement of Knowledge and Education (Take) is a local organisation, which has collaborated with the Institute of Education (IoE), University of London, to sign a Memorandum of Understanding for the training centre.

Dr Raphael Wilkins, director international for the London Centre for Leadership in Learning, which is part of IoE, is currently visiting the city to assess the knowledge, skills and abilities that will be required for the training institute. He held a meeting with the heads of schools on Monday to discuss the education system, curriculum, teachers’ qualifications and the growing culture of taking tuitions.

Dr Wilkins told The Express Tribune that the goal of their “strategic plan for the training institute was to help the system move forward and achieve higher standards in various situations and not just in test results”. He added that they wish to achieve this by not inhibiting test results.

Taymur Mirza, founding head of The International School and a board member of Take, said that “everyone agrees that education is an issue”. “Some want to attack it from the top - at the college and university level - however my approach is to tackle the root - primary and secondary levels - and make improvements there.”

‘Teachers today lack passion’

“Teachers today aren’t like what they used to be 15 years ago. The level of commitment is lacking in many,” said Yasmeen Aqeel, who was representing the Beaconhouse School System, one of the largest institutions in the country with over 85,000 students nationwide.

“Even when teachers go through training sessions, they soon revert to their old ways as there are no refresher courses,” believed Bernadette Dean, principal of St Josephs College.

Some participants suggested that a structured, post-training session should be conducted to make sure that the skills imparted during training are effectively implemented in the classrooms. It was unanimously agreed that pedagogy, and not content, should be the centre of focus in training sessions. Calling the existing standard of Montessori education “outdated”, the school heads highlighted a dire need for an industry benchmark in hiring teachers.

Why do teachers leave work?

The group offered two main reasons why teachers leave their jobs frequently, mainly marriage and higher salaries. Karachi Grammar School principal Graham C Platts said the lack of regulation on teachers’ salaries often left schools to “deal with renegade individuals who hold us to ransom”.

St Joseph’s principal also mentioned the new phenomena of “package deals where teachers and their spouses are hired by the same school and allowed to have their children transferred to study for free or at subsidised tuition”.

Part-time teachers are not the favourites

A’ Level part-time teachers are clearly not the favourites of the principals. “Many just make a career out of being part-time,” said Kermin Parakh, principal of Bai Virbaiji Soparivala Parsi (BVS) High School. “They just hop across seven or so schools in the city with a couple of hours here and there, offering no counselling, bearing little responsibility and barely any commitment or passion.”

Aqeel added the culture of part-time teachers was also creating an ill-will among permanent teachers, who put in complete hours and take responsibility for counselling students but still end up making less money.

‘Boys go to tuitions to meet girls’

The participants also discussed the reasons why an increasing number of students visit tuition centres and the need for extra help even to get into kindergarten.

“Around 20 to 30 years ago, a single-income household was enough,” said Parakh. “Stay-home mothers would help children do their homework and revise for tests and examinations. That is no longer the case.”

He added that “another reason is that they [tuition centres] have become a place for young boys to socialise and meet girls”.

“There is a great deal of peer pressure. The brilliant kids feel left out not going to tuitions so they start going as well,” Aqeel said.

Meanwhile, The Lyceum School principal Shireen Saeed Khan believed that “language is another issue”. “Most of the education is in English [for private schools] and some parents aren’t capable of helping out,” she added.

“Competing within families is also another reason,” Platts said. “Parents often push their children to do better than other family members.”

Published in The Express Tribune, November 30^th, 2010.