INTRODUCTION
The world has become a global village and has interconnected on different platforms for various reasons which include exploring diverse cultures, sharing expertise, getting acquainted with people, and adapting assorted techniques in order to move together in the same direction. Prevailing technology has made it easy for even a lay-man to get connected to the rest of the world. Most of the world is now well equipped and well aware of the way through which a connection with the rest of the world could be possible.
In this era when people are thoroughly aware and have a leverage of connecting themselves to the rest of the world, there is still one part of the world which is nevertheless obscure to the rest of the world. Less than even few know about people who live there. They have been taken as aliens by the modern society. Many myths have been made and people tell bizarre stories about them. The modern world takes them as a bunch of people who look like humans but are actually not. Yes, it is about Pakistani people living in the rural, northern and remote areas of Pakistan. It was prerequisite to unveil this mysterious anonymous world and let populace of the modern society learn about their culture, religious beliefs, behaviour pattern, languages they speak and their expertise in various areas.
It was also essential for the Pakistani people to acquire acquaintance to the world which is far more modern and advanced. Where the world takes a 360 degree turn and is different in very many ways. Take the climate, food, language, standard of living, their educational policy or system and the modern techniques being used by them.
The ministry of education of the British government realized the requirement of some kind of collaboration between the two countries in regard of education which gave birth to the idea of Connecting Classrooms project. British Council which is already providing its dynamic services in Pakistan for the last four decades was given the project to be initiated.
Connecting classrooms is a project which helped to bridge the schools of UK with the schools of Pakistan to bring the young generation closer to each other and to learn more about the diverse cultures, lifestyles, languages, pattern of work and societies. It is designed to help children more about sharing and exchanging their views and ideas about a certain information, learning strategies and the system of education in each others countries. The world has become a global village and is interconnected in many ways therefore it is the need of the day to break all the barriers and learn to pay respect and tolerate the diversity of cultures. Connecting classrooms project has become a milestone to achieve the mentioned goal. It has not only brought children closer but has provided a platform to the teachers to learn and share strategies, techniques and modern theories of education with each other.
In order to connect the classrooms of both the countries it was highly required that the teachers of both the ends should have a comprehensive knowledge and exposure of each others schools, their systems, curriculum, techniques being used for teaching and several other aspects of education. For that they were equipped properly through a massive training program.
ABBAS HUSAIN
British Council found Abbas Husain, the director of Teachers’ Development Centre to be the best available person in Pakistan to handle the project. As he is the best educationalist and teachers trainer who has not only trained more than 19000 teachers in Pakistan but has also provided his services on an international level.
SELECTION OF THE MASTER TRAINERS:
Abbas Husain as he is known for his strive for par excellence selected a team out of hundreds of master trainers who approached him to be the part of such big project. The criteria for the selection was first to be a master degree holder and should be a certified master trainer from Teachers’ Development Centre. The team which was selected further went through a rigorous training program which was conducted by Abbas Husain himself. Not once but several times the contents of the workshops were defined, discussed, demonstrated and rehearsed at TDC in order to deliver the quality.
WORKSHOPS:
British Council assigned TDC two programs out of three of the total connecting classroom project which included English Skill Development and Professional Development for Teachers. English skill development was designed to fortify the personal level of the teachers for English. Professional Development for Teachers on the other hand was designed to strengthen the pedagogical skills of the teachers. Both the programs were intelligently designed keeping in mind the diverse groups of teachers attending them. The manuals were enriched with a wide-ranging content knowledge and various doable activities which helped teachers enhance their language and pedagogical skills.
CLUSTERS:
There were 14 clusters altogether which were to be reached and trained all across Pakistan. Every cluster had five schools amongst which one was suppose to be private and four government schools. From every school five teachers and one school head were selected so altogether there were 36 participants in every cluster. For each cluster a certain venue was arranged where the workshops were supposed to be conducted, so they were meticulously equipped and arranged by the British Council personnel.
THE JOURNEY BEGINS:
Sindh
There were nine master trainers altogether including Abbas Husain himself, who not only conducted the workshops but also supervised them by visiting each and every cluster. The clusters which were scattered in all four provinces of Pakistan, the journey started from Sindh where there were three clusters. Matiari, Tandoallayar and Sukkur were the towns where the classes were conducted.
As Sindh is known for its extreme hot weather during summers, it proved itself one more time to be hottest in the month of July. Amina Saeed and Fareed Ahmed were assigned Tandoallayar and Matiari where Amina Saeed was assigned to take Professional Development for Teachers and Mr. Fareed Ahmed was chosen to conduct English Skill Development. At the same time Saira Shahab and Abbas Husain were conducting workshops in Sukkur where Saira Shahab was taking English Skill Development and Abbas Husain was taking Professional Development for Teachers.
At all three clusters the response from the participants was enormously encouraging. They were extremely delighted to have the professional help that was thorough and accurate which they had never experienced earlier. They found the whole program exceedingly unproblematic to clutch and were sure to materialize it. The hospitality shown by the natives would sure be always remembered by the master trainers who were momentously looked after by them. Sindh’s journey of learning and sharing came to an end with great memories saved in the snaps which were shot during the tour.
Punjab
The great green Punjab became greener when such healthy educational activity took place. The young enthusiastic and vibrant teachers welcomed the program in such jubilant manner that the concerned people started thinking to have more clusters next time. The places where the workshops were conducted were Islamabad, Khanewal, Bahawalpur, and Multan. At Islamabad, there were two clusters one was rural and the other one was urban. Saira Shahab and Ayesha Shahid conducted the workshops in both the clusters where Saira Shahab took Professional Development for Teachers and Ayesha Shahid took English Skill Development. Abbas Husain was there with all his educational might and charismatic personality to mesmerize the participants. He not only observed the trainers but also took small chunks of the workshops. At Khanewal Amina Saeed and Abbas Husain conducted the workshops where Abbas Husain took English Skill Development and Amina Saeed took Professional Development for Teachers At Bahawalpur Arwa Kuzaima and Sadaf Sohail were the trainers. Arwa Khuzaima took Professional Development for Teachers and Sadaf Sohail took English Skill Development. At Abbotabad and Multan Amina Saeed took Professional Development for Teachers where English Skill Development was taken by Abbas Husain and Rashid Memon.
All through Punjab the teachers were in high spirits to have a program of such distinguished echelon. The feedback from the teachers was so encouraging that the necessity of more programs was felt very keenly. The journey came to an end with exchange of telephone numbers and e-mail addresses.
Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa
The mountainous Kyber-Pakhtunkhwa is known for its hospitality, scenic valleys, gallant men, stories of their courage, poetry and subtle wisdom it has in its soil. Dissimilar to the perception world has for this place and people; this area has the highest educational level. The people are genuinely educated and everyone has the urge to get more knowledge. People here are united and are encouraging everyone to get educated. Even the watchmen at the universities are computer literates. All the poor young boys have been given free education by the colleges and universities. The women on the other hand are also taking interest in education nowadays. They not only are seeking education but are also motivated to materialize it further. The workshops were arranged for four clusters which were made in Peshawar, Mardan, Chaarsada and Swabi. In Peshawar and Swabi; Saira Shahab took Professional Development for Teachers and Fareed Ahmed took English Skill Development. In Chaarsada and Mardan; Saira Shahab took Professional Development for Teachers and Muhammad Saleem took English Skill Development. Abbas Husain visited all four clusters and was highly appreciated by the teachers for the gift of gab he has. All through the province what was strikingly delightful was the spirit of learning, urge to get equipped with the modern technology and the qualitative education being provided by the universities, colleges and schools. Hospitality and warmth which was shown by the natives would be remembered by all the trainers for the rest of their lives. The love and respect surely left a deep mark.
Balochistan
Balochistan which is enriched with all the UNIQUE minerals, still strives for proper exposure to the modern education and technology. People are young and energetic but are not aware of many of the advancements being made in all the areas of education. Education is not something very popular amongst natives. Few who are aware do not have proper skills to deliver. As it could be observed by the number of cluster…. Only one!!!! The largest province of the country, but the educational awareness was at its least. Anyways, Amina Saeed was the only trainer who went there and conducted both the programs. The teachers urged to have programs of the same nature in future by skillful trainers in order to uplift the level of education. The concerned authorities took the feedback very seriously and promised to do something fruitful on this account.