The University of Helsinki Centre for Continuing Education HY+ and the Faculty of Educational Sciences have launched a Curriculum Consultancy Project in Pakistan with a local partner. A ceremony was organized in Karachi, Pakistan on Wednesday, March 6th, 2019.
The main objective of the project is to offer the University of Helsinki’s expertise in the development and change of the educational culture of a teacher education college in Pakistan. The role of the Finnish team of experts is to give the Pakistani teachers tools and support to implement Finnish education practices in the local context.
“The overall goal is to develop creative, constructive, communicative and reflective individuals. The work was done during the project also aims to educate citizens committed to creating a just civic society”, commented the Academic Director Dr Leena Krokfors from the University of Helsinki.
The project is directed to the Government Elementary College of [Teacher] Education (GECE) in Karachi, Pakistan, and the training is designed for the GECE faculty.
The project has three main components:
- Curriculum enrichment
- Syllabi development
- Professional development
Teacher practice will also be a part of each component. The training will be research-based and focus on the pedagogical and subject didactics of teaching.
HY+ is in charge of the project as a whole, and the Faculty of Educational Sciences of the University of Helsinki is responsible for the team of academic experts. As the local collaboration partner in Pakistan functions non-profit education company Durbeen.
Collaboration in the project started in May 2018, and it is planned to last for five years in total. Preparatory work towards the first semester of the new B.Ed. degree programme of GECE was done during last year.
A close collaboration between the Finnish and Pakistani teams is vital to the success of the project and in creating a sustainable change in the educational culture in Pakistan.
“It is fantastic, that the project has started swiftly and the work has proceeded as planned. This project culminates everything that is interesting and rewarding in working with global education services. The collaboration with the Pakistan team has been close and productive. By working together, we can have an extensive and long-lasting impact on teacher education in Pakistan”, remarked the Project Director Ms Minna Saadé from HY+.
Article Submitted by:
Kimmo Karpijoki
kimmo.karpijoki@helsinki.fi
The University of Helsinki Centre for Continuing Education HY+
Finland
