The Teacher Training Program in the SoluKhumbu region of the Nepalese Himalaya goes from strength to strength. Approx 300 teachers came to Salleri for training with Jim Strang, the project corodinator and a team of volunteer teachers
PROJECT FUNDING IS COMPLETE
THANK-YOU! This project has now been fully funded by 5,421 donations
from the customers of the Footprints Network. We will update this site
with a project report on the continuing efforts from the Teacher Training program as soon as it's available. Check back in mid 2008.
(Update posted 20 April 2008)
ORIGINAL PROJECT DESCRIPTION
This project will cover:
Costs associated with this phase of project including:
- travel of volunteers
- services for participants
- all education materials and resources
- costs of Key Teachers during supervisory tours
(see below for details on other phases in this ongoing project)
Project Aims
The Teacher Training program greatly improves teaching and learning levels and skills and the rates of retention and transition into secondary school, thus improving the opportunities for kids in this impoverished and remote Himalayan region. It also, importantly, helps greatly to ease the severe shortage of trained teachers.
Educational Issues in the Himalaya Region
In the impoverished and remote communities of the Solu khumbu, there are very limited future opportunities for kids. With highly unsatisfactory current learning outcomes and retention rates, teacher education is the most effective way to increase student participation, achievement, and retention in schools. It also facilitates significant increases in community support (vital for attendance and retention rates), social cohesion and local involvement in the schools. Better education in turn increases their job and economic prospects and community leadership and income-gaining skills, and greatly assists community well-being.
Community Involvement
The AHF project team is led by a teacher training coordinator who is highly experienced in this profession and region and a group of Australian volunteer teachers (trainers) and has the strong local support of local Nepali teacher trainers. All teachers trained are from the local communities. The training is done in partnership with local communities, relevant Nepali organisations and officials.
Part of a larger project
This Training, Refresher course and supervising is the final phase this year of a wider Teacher Training program being rolled out across this Himalayan Region by the Australian Himalayan Foundation.
The first phase, supported by Footprints, was the Key Teacher Training – training of approximately 20 key primary school teachers to be-come teacher trainers themselves, with on-going monitoring responsibilities. The Key teacher training project includes sessions on leadership and teambuilding and provides on-going local capacity for the final phase - to training , mentoring and supervising other local teachers, through courses and visits to schools throughout the year.
The success of the initial phase allowed a second and central part of the cost-effective educational initiative to be rolled out – the Teacher Training Program, which trained a group of approx 160 to 180 local teachers, from about 65 schools. This was also funded by the Footprints community.
Other ways to get involved:
Australian (and others) who are qualified teachers can participate as volunteer trainers of Key Teachers, and of the other local teachers.
Also you can visit some of the 70 or so schools involved in the pro-gram by becoming a member of an AHF support trek (this year led by AHF Director Lincoln Hall) raising funds for the project. See www.worldexpeditions.com.au for details.