Association of Primary Teachers

Background: Education in Pakistan is widely acknowledged to be in a state of crisis. Since its very existence it has struggled to give quality education to its people where the literacy rate is still below 40% and where more than 50% of all school going children do not attend school. The traditional methodologies of teaching followed in schools have yielded not more than mediocre results at best. The greatest change today requires innovative approaches, a commitment of resources and most importantly, a conscience geared towards change. Despite the growing evidence that the early years are vital for the physical, social, emotional and intellectual development of the child, the education scenario particularly at the primary level remains a matter of concern. According to one of the studies conducted “primary education situation in Pakistan is one of the worst in South Asia.” There is also a tendency in Pakistan to view Primary Education as the least important and professional of the various stages of education. For example it is customary to give the youngest children the least qualified and trained teachers. In general, very little attention has been paid to the effective teaching at the primary grades and therefore little attention is attached to the quality of professional development of teachers at the primary level.

In recent years the private sector in Pakistan has begun to play an increasingly important role in education, resulting in the establishment of institutions like The Aga Khan University – Institute for Educational Development (AKU-IED) which has become a vanguard in educational reform and improvement in Pakistan and other developing nations. Since its establishment in 1993 IED has continued to make endeavors in bringing quality improvement in the performance of teachers through professional development. A major thrust of IED’s continued effort in educational reform and improvement is directed towards primary education, which has been incorporated as an essential component in a number of its ongoing cycle of degree and professional development programmes.

The Association of Primary Teachers (APT) has been set up as a result of expressed need by IED’s key stake holders (primary teachers educators/ administrators and heads) to provide a forum where issues specific to the teaching and learning of young children could be deliberated upon. APT aims to complement IED’s pursuit in developing effective primary school teachers, and to take ahead one of its mission; to improve the quality of education at the grass root level by reaching out to all its key partners in the education sector; the AKES, government, private, and the NGO’s /CBO’s.

We believe that:

primary school teachers are high status professionals

the education of all children in Pakistan and other like nations depend upon the improvement of the performance and the elevation of the dignity of teachers, and

such an improvement depends in turn upon the creation of a network of teacher development, dispersed throughout Pakistan but linked with a centre of excellence of international quality which is the AKU-IED. And the Association of Primary Teachers (APT) is one such avenue and means.

Our Goals are to:

improve the quality of primary education in Pakistan

broaden the conception of members about their role as primary teachers and teacher educators

provide a forum for primary teachers and educators to share experiences, best practices and disseminate current research findings in the field of primary education

establish links / networking at regional, national and international level

Our Objectives are to:

enhance teachers’ content and pedagogical content knowledge

motivate teacher’s to become lifelong learners in order to grow personally and professionally

locate, develop and share low-cost resources and material relevant to the needs of primary school teachers and students

provide a forum for the primary teachers to share concerns, issues, successes and challenges with others

provide a platform for a larger community/stakeholders (primary teachers, teacher educators, heads of schools, parents and government officials) in order to engage in professional dialogue / other academic activities and learn from each other’s experiences.

Our Functions are to:

carry on a situational needs analysis in cooperating schools and other education organization.

conduct school based professional development/activities.

conduct conferences, workshops and seminars at IED, our co-operating school/organizations, and any other interested institutions.

develop teaching \ learning materials and share with other teachers and organizations.

engage and carry on small-scale collaborative research.

write, publish and disseminate research and other information.

collaborate, plan, organize and execute annual events.

Executive Committee Members:

Ms Atiya Hussain

(Senior Instructor IED and chairperson APT)

Ms Rana Hussain

(Senior Instructor IED and co-chairperson APT)

Contact person and sub working committee members

Farah Baqar

Outreach through Institutional / Associate Members from (AKES, Govt., Private, NGO's/ CBO’s)

· Institutions reached to date: 25

· Individuals reached to date: 85

Types of Membership: Fees:

Individual / Associate Rs.200/year

Institutional Rs.700/year

Contact:

apt@ptan.org

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