ISLAMABAD ( BMZ REPORT )
Intel Pakistan and USAID Pakistan Reading Project will collaborate for better access to and enhanced quality of education in the lesser developed regions of Pakistan.
Intel Pakistan has undertaken the task of training at least 100 master trainers for USAID PRP to enhance their competencies in the effective use of ICT in school education / literacy and daily life through Intel Education Initiative. Intel Pakistan is also committed to support of PRP field staff in order to improve the quality of reading and other education activities.
The USAID funded Pakistan Reading Project is a five year initiative which is supporting Pakistan’s provincial and regional departments of education to improve reading skills of children in grades one and two across Pakistan. PRP is promoting the adaptation and implementation of policies that promote quality teaching and will ensure the sustainability of its initiatives over time through permanent policy changes.
The intervention will improve reading instruction and assessment of 23,800 teachers in 23,800 public schools. Towards the end of the project, it is anticipated to reach at least 1,300,000 grade 1 and 2 students across all provinces of Pakistan.
Speaking at the occasion, Naveed Siraj said “This is another massive step toward Intel’s mission to proliferate technology in the classroom. The Intel® Teach Program was introduced by Intel Pakistan Corporation to enable school teachers to ensure effective utilization of technology in classroom teaching, launched in the year 2002. The program is a skill development program for teachers. Since 2002, Intel Education Initiative has trained more than 340,000 in-service / pre-service teachers in more than 60 districts throughout the country.”
The program offers K-12 classroom teachers a curriculum designed specifically for their needs. Teachers learn how, when, and where to incorporate technology tools and resources into their teaching. They also learn how to create assessment tools and align lesson plans with required learning outcomes. These teachers work as agents of change and belong to a new genre of techno savvy teachers who are better equipped to prepare their students to face the challenges of the 21st century workforce.
The trainings are based on train the trainer model, both face-to-face and online instruction, whereby the Intel Education Trainer trains at least 15 to 20 Master Trainers. Each Master Trainer after completion of the training disseminates and trains more resource persons as well as end-users in their parent institutions in the respective region.