Sending teachers back to school

By Mahesh Uniyal

NEW DELHI (IPS): Three years away from the target date to universalize education, developing nations are using ingenious ways to bring and keep children in school.

Pakistan's co-educational classes held in mosques when these are not being used for prayers, have persuaded conservative parents to send their daughters to study, while Mexico has made free schooling a constitutional right. Brazil is offering mid-day meals to lure students and teachers in Bangladesh go from house to house to enroll pupils.

These are pushing up primary school enrollment to desirable levels in the world's nine most populous nations which are home to half the human population.

But just getting learners into class will not be enough to meet the goal of 'Education for All' by the turn of the century unless the quality of teaching is improved, say education experts from these nations who are meeting in the Indian capital recently.

"If you have good teachers, you have good education. Unfortunately, their ability to work with children in class, with parents and with communities has declined in recent years," says Warren L. Mellor of the UN Educational Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco), one of the sponsors of the Feb. 6-8 meet.

"What is taught and how it is taught are the two elements of primary education. If either of these two pillars fails, there can be no arresting drop outs," says O.S. Dewal of India's National Council for Teacher Education, which played host.

Education experts and officials from Bangladesh, Brazil, China, Egypt, India, Indonesia, Mexico, Nigeria and Pakistan were present to learn about innovative ways of improving teaching skills.

The meeting had before it studies commissioned by the Unesco and funded by the UN Development Program (UNDP) in each of the nine nations on how children are taught and what they are taught.

A key reason for the low quality of primary school instruction in these countries is not enough training before teachers take up their assignments. The studies in the nine nations show that it is not how long, but how they are taught, which decides how much the pupils learn.

In India, more than half the basic school teachers in its northeastern region are either untrained or lack even basic job qualifications.

The New Delhi meeting was a follow up to last year's ministerial meeting of the Nine High Population Countries held in Bali in Indonesia. The Bali meet had called for greater attention to teacher training, specially in rural areas along with improving their working conditions and social status.

Unesco officials said the New Delhi consultation was held to discuss the nuts and bolts of teacher training and devise action plans for each of these nations.

For this, the experts considered best practices in teacher training which were chosen on the basis of their ingenuity, scope for use in other countries and ability to improve learning levels.

One example is Bangladesh's cluster-based training which brings together 15 to 20 teachers from adjoining hamlets for one- day workshops. A mock classroom session is conducted by one of them and the others then discuss the performance of their colleague. Parents and members of school management are also present at separate discussion sessions with the teachers that follow.

Another much talked about method is that used by Nigeria's teacher training system which identifies instructors with a reputation for efficiency. They in turn become instructors for their colleagues in nearby schools.

"The most important advantage of this self-help approach is the opportunity it provides for teachers to build high self- esteem. Teachers can be experts in the locality by sharing their skills with their colleagues," says Unesco.

Following Brazil's example, India will now put its about three million mainly rural primary school teachers into 'virtual classrooms' where interactive training sessions will be held for the instructors. The 200 million dollar five-year project will begin with the country's new Five Year Plan which is being finalized, a top national Planning Commission official told the meeting.

However, these training classes using satellites and computers will be held only for a week at the district headquarters. To avoid removing the teachers from their pupils for too long, they will also be given instruction material for study at home. Special training camps will also be held at the sub-district levels periodically.

Evidence presented at the education experts meeting showed that teacher training helps both teachers and their students. In Brazil, it has greatly enhanced teacher status, while Indonesian teachers find it to be "morale booster".

In Bangladesh, Mexico and Nigeria, the performance of children under trained teachers improved considerably. Teacher training programs in Brazil and Mexico have also brought schools closer to the local communities.