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Thursday March 28, 2024

Experts and professionals needed in non-formal education: NCHD chairperson

By our correspondents
May 30, 2017

All stakeholders should accept challenge
of educating 57m illiterates and enrolment of 22.6m
out-of-school children as prime national duty

Islamabad: While apprising the commission members of the National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) of the newly-established National Training Institute for the training of master trainers of non-formal education, National Commission for Human Development Chairperson Razina Alam Khan on Monday said the multi-grade teaching required specific training and expertise for that there was a need of experts and professionals in non-formal education.

“This institution will meet the needs of teachers’ training and for the training of master trainers in the country. All stakeholders should accept the challenge of educating 57 million illiterates and enrolment of 22.6 million out of school children as a prime national duty,” she told the 46th NCHD Commission meeting here on Monday.

The event was attended here by Dr. Sono Khangrani, Ms. Khurshid Bharucha, Dr. Muhammad Mubashar Bhatti, Saba Gul Khattak, Imran Ahmed additional Secretary Ministry of Federal Education & Technical Training, and Dr. Tashfeen Khan, DG NCHD.

NCHD Chairperson former Senator Razina Alam Khan said that “through this Training of Master Trainers by the National Training Institute (NTI), first of its kind in the country, professionals had prepared the trainers to make the learning attractive, easy and effective to acquire learning landmarks, within minimum time. Through multi-grade teaching techniques we will be able to enhance literacy and literacy rate in the country”.

She said that NCHD established and furnished this Training Institute with the experts who can cater with all the obstacles of non-formal education. This Institute she said, will provide services to NCHD as well as other institutions which are working on Adult Literacy and Non-formal Education programs.  “This NTI along with capacity building will also work for material development and Research & Development component related to Adult Literacy and Non-formal Education programs”, she informed. In this connection she appreciated the efforts of Mr. Arshad Saeed Khan, Iqbal ur Rehman Sharif and Dr. Muhammad Saleem, who are the experts in the NFE and presently working in newly established NTI.

While emphasising the need of master trainers for multi-grade teaching, the Chairperson said that the NTI is one of the major initiatives taken by the government to improve and enhance the literacy situation and to achieve the targets of Vision 2025 and SDGs within the stipulated time period.

“We are aimed to reduce the number of out of school children as well by increasing the number of Non-formal schools and launching massive campaign against illiteracy. This Training Institute is the first of its kind and will cater for the training needs of literacy personnel at all levels including all the major components of multi grade teaching techniques in Non-formal education system”, she informed.

Present government of PML-N has initiatives for building concrete educational foundation of the country and gave considerable attention to promotion of education, she informed.In this connection it is encouraging to note the decrease in Out of School Children from 24 million to 22.6 million and enhanced net enrolment rate from 72% to 77% during the last three years along with increase of students in the public sector schools, she added.

The total gross enrollment of all sectors & levels of education increased from 44.4 million to 47.5 million, she further added. According to UN Human Development Index Report 2016, Pakistan had made improvement in its HDI ranking, she informed.

The report shows that 63% Pakistanis are satisfied with their living standards in 2014 -15, she further added.Ministry of Federal Education and Professional Training in collaboration with JICA has launched curriculum for Accelerated Learning Programs, and NCHD Material Development Team at NTI is busy in revising and redesigning primers according to the needs of Accelerated Learning Program (ALP), she informed.

This programme offers complete primary education, equivalent to 5th grade to Out of School Children in short period of 32 months, she said. This programme is for the children who have missed their school going age due to poor socio-economic factors, poverty, poor results, physical or mental challenges, she added.

In developing countries like Pakistan, this technique is very useful and cost effective as it can address the issues of scarcity of teachers/facilitators in the school, she added.

On the other hand by introducing Accelerated Learning programs in the Non-formal Schools will support the learners to acquire the learning land marks in minimum time period, she added.

The commission members appreciated the efforts of NCHD in the NFE and ALP, especially in the enrolment campaign and for the establishment of NTI. The commission members observed that NCHD while imparting functional literacy, focus should be on life skills, i.e. values and attitude environmental education child care, gardening, poultry and local earning skills.

The digital monitoring of real time activity of learners and supervisors should also be ensured. It was also decided that a committee should be formed to examine the grievances of the employees, including service regularizations and pay rationalization.