Keywords; Teacher education in Pakistan, The
history of teacher education, Associate Degree in Education (ADE), B.Ed.
(Hons)., Pre-Service Teachers Education Programme (STEP), Primary Teacher
Certificate, (PTC), Certificate in Teaching (CT), B.Ed. , B.Ed. honors
The history of teacher education in Pakistan
Teachers’
professional education is viewed as one of the most important factors in
improving students’ learning. Keeping this in view many developed and less
developed countries pay significant attention to improve the practices of
teacher education. In order to develop capable teachers they make conscious
efforts to establish and maintain quality teacher education institutions.
The history of
teacher education in Pakistan starts with the establishment of the country.
However, this area has been facing various challenges such as lack of
consistent policy, inconsistency in curriculum, low resources, lack of quality
teachers, low quality of teaching process, lack of standard, etc. Today, a
range of public and private institutions are engaged in preparing school
teachers. In Pakistan, like many other countries, public institutions are the
main source for developing teachers through pre-service and in-service
programmes. However, many studies have raised the question on the quality of
delivery mechanism of the institutions while forwarding recommendations for
improvement.
Historically,
different reforms have been brought to improve the condition of teacher
education in the country. Currently, teacher education in Pakistan is passing
through a transition as an innovation has been initiated by the Government of
Pakistan with the support of USAID through their Pre-Service Teachers Education
Programme (STEP) project. This reform is attempted in order to improve the
quality of teacher education by including different innovations.
In this regard,
a new curriculum has been developed for pre-service programmes such as a
two-year Associate Degree in Education (ADE) and a four-year B.Ed. (Hons).
Effort has been made to design the curriculum keeping in view the modern
educational principle along with the contextual relevancy. These programmes are
gradually replacing the previous pre-service and in-service programmes such as
Primary Teacher Certificate (PTC), Certificate in Teaching (CT) and the
one-year Ed programme. In addition, an effort is being made for the
accreditation and standardisation of teacher training institutions through this
initiative.
The ADE and B.Ed.
programme has been initiated in some colleges and will be gradually implemented
in remaining colleges throughout the country in the coming years. In addition,
to attract the best mind towards the teaching profession a stipend is also
offered to student-teachers for providing them financial support.
The significance
of such educational innovation cannot be overlooked for improvement of teacher
education in the country. However, there are areas that need serious
considerations for the effectiveness and sustainability of the new reform
initiatives.
Firstly, the
new developed curriculum is based on the modern educational principles.
Teachers are provided a course outline with the expectation that they will
explore the teaching learning material for classroom instructions. However, it
was observed that some of the teachers are struggling with identifying teaching
resources due to the unavailability of the reference books and lack of Internet
facility in their colleges/institutions. This situation may affect the
teaching-learning process of the ADE courses. Hence there is a need to provide
the reference books and Internet facility to the faculty members in order to
make the teaching-learning process smooth.
Second,
Internet is considered as one of the important sources for identifying
teaching-learning material. However, it was observed that some of the faculty
members are not literate in computers and Internet. So they are facing
challenges in accessing the teaching-learning resources that are available on
the Internet or in soft version. Therefore, the faculty members of colleges
need to be helped in acquiring workable computer and Internet skills.
Third, the new
curriculum demands new teaching strategies such as collaborative, inquiry and
activity-based teaching approach. However, a majority of the faculty in the
teacher institutions are not oriented with the teaching strategies demanded by
the ADE and B.Ed. programme. Therefore, the professional development of the
faculty at teacher training institutions should be given priority along with
the curriculum development.
Furthermore,
there is a sense of uncertainty about the sustainability of the new initiatives
after completion of the Pre-STEP project. Many educational initiatives in the
past died away with closure of the projects. Therefore there is a dire need to
develop a clear road map for the continuity and sustainability of reforms.
It was also
observed that some school teachers are being deputed in teacher education
colleges due to lack of adequate number of teachers in there. Due to the
different approach of pedagogy and andragogy, these teachers treat the
prospective teacher like children, which demotivates them. Thus when the school
teachers are deputed in colleges they should be oriented with the andragogy of
teaching an adult.
Finally, a
sense of insecurity can be observed among the student-teachers about their job
prospects after the completion of their ADE or B.Ed. honors. How will they
stand apart from the teacher who has done one year B.Ed. and other courses, is
a question to ponder upon. A clear policy is required about job opportunities
for the prospective teachers so that they can focus their studies.
These issues
need to be addressed in order to sustain and maintain the quality of the new
reforms. A vigilant plan and sincere implementation will, of course, be helpful
in transforming the teacher education practices in the country.
In short, the
importance of quality teacher education cannot be overlooked for improving the
quality of teaching-learning in the school. The new educational innovation
will, definitely, lead to improve teacher education practices in Pakistan.
However, there is a dire need to look reflectively at how to sustain the
initiatives and make it productive.
