KARACHI, Aug 27: The Sindh Education Department will

start a project aimed at revitalising 42 teachers training institutes throughout the province, with finance available from the Canadian Debt Swap Assistance.

An official of the education department told Dawn that the project had recently been approved by at the Central Development Working Party, Islamabad, and Sindh government will start getting funds for the execution of project from the next month.

The provincial government will be provided a fund of Rs1261.773 in phases for rehabilitation and capacity building of its elementary colleges of education, educational technology resource centres, colleges of education, technical teachers training centres, the official added.

The official said that activities planned under the project will help reinforce the system of attaining quality education mainly at primary and middle schools of the province.

A source said that an assessment made recently established the fact that many government school teachers had little understanding of the material they taught.

They lacked training in effective classroom management skills that result in harsh treatment to students. Besides, funds had not been readily made available for maintenance of teacher training institutes and many of those were therefore in a state of despair, added the source.

The project emphasises activities such as renovation and repair of 42 institutes and their hostels, improvement of existing facilities like science laboratories, gardens, kitchens and air-conditioning, faculty training and capacity building, development and production of teacher training modules and resource kits models, supply of equipments, classroom and office furniture and revamping of libraries.

Under the project, 510 faculty members of elementary colleges will be trained in teaching methodology.

A total of 90 head teachers and deputy head teachers will be trained in management.

Similarly, 690 master trainers will be given primary school teachers’ training, 27,000 primary school teachers will be trained in decentralised courses all over the province, while another 690 master trainers will be trained for 8,310 junior school teachers training.

The overall authority for the administrative and financial management of the project will rest with the provincial education and literacy secretary. However, the provincial government will establish a project coordination committee.

The provincial government will also establish a project management unit (PMU) within the education department, which will be responsible for the preparation of annual work plans, annual budgets and preparation of financial and physical reports.

Under the project, about 43 vehicles, including 25 vans and 14 double cabin pick-ups, will be procured for implementation of course activities, practice teaching visits to institutions and follow up of the training programmes.

An official of the education department said that all teachers training centre would be converted into professional development centres.

He mentioned that the activities of Provincial Institute for Teacher Education, Nawabshah would be converted into activities of professional development centre in the first instance.

Slowly and gradually the functions of all elementary colleges would be converted into the activities of PDC in a phased manner, he informed.