Muslim Aid Project Coordinator Education, Sadia Riaz has said that our country is facing critical shortage of qualified educators especially in the rural areas of the country. Schools in rural areas resort to hire unqualified, volunteer or para-teachers. These teachers are usually paid less that result the low-quality education.

The recruitment of unqualified teachers has resulted in the de-professionalisation of teaching. The practice has negatively affected the quality of education in our country. Badly trained, underpaid and poorly motivated teachers are unlikely to teach effectively, she said. While keeping in view the dire need of trained teaching staff, Muslim Aid has started teacher training project in rural areas of Islamabad and Murree. Muslim Aid teachers training project targets the education-related Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), to which Muslim Aid is committed, she said. Initially Muslim Aid has started to train teachers in 37 schools of Murree and Islamabad. For the purpose, 250 primary school teachers and 60 principals, vice-principals and heads are selected for the training purpose. Our trainings are on in Tarali (Islamabad), Ghora Gali, Trait, New Murree Charehan, Mussiari (Union Councils of Murree). Muslim Aid has hired highly-qualified trainers whose specialisation is in education and the assessment of teachers. Dr. Asad Abass Rizvi, Dr. Muneer Kyani, Tasneem Sarwar, Sabahat Yasmin and Farid Ahmed Barohi are among the trainers. Project Coordinator said that we are focusing on effective teaching methodologies, modern concepts of education, capacity-building of teachers, leadership and academic management, lesson planning, classroom management, subject specific training and understand child psychology.
We are also engaging parents in these training and community participation is being ensured to get desired results, she said. Programme Manager Education, Asad Farooq said that the education-related MDGs cannot be achieved without adequate numbers of properly trained and qualified teachers. Muslim Aid teachers training project is designed to develop and provide training programmes, especially for unqualified teachers who teach in both formal and non-formal schools.

The project seeks to reclaim the teaching profession and to bridge the gap between formal and non-formal education. Our trainings involve government and private education institutions in the suburbs of Islamabad and Murree, he added.