our correspondent
PESHAWAR
On Tuesday, the Directorate of Curriculum and Teacher Education (DCTE) marked the end of a successful three-month training program with 91 Afghan refugee teachers trained on the Pakistani curriculum.
Previously, training was also conducted for a 10-day period, on the Pakistani curriculum; involving 635 Afghan refugee teachers from different refugee village schools. Both programs provided by UNHCR fell under the auspices of the Elementary and Secondary Education (E&SE) Department. They aimed to enable Afghan teachers to teach Pakistani school curriculum in the next school year.
A ceremony marking the end of these trainings was held at the Regional Institute for Teacher Education (RITE) in Peshawar. Certificates of appreciation were awarded to the teaching faculty who conducted the training. Advisor to the Chief Minister on Elementary and Secondary Education, Mr. Zia Ullah Bangash was guest of honored the ceremony. Other guests from Khyber Pakhtunkhwa included: Director DCTE, Mr. Gohar Ali Khan and Director Education, Mr. Hafiz Muhammad Ibrahim.
The Acting Head of the UNHCR Sub-Office in Peshawar, Ms.Katie Ogwang, also participated. Speaking on the occasion, Ms. Ogwang conveyed UNHCR’s gratitude to the Government of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and the E&SE Department for their support of efforts which promote the education of the Afghan refugee students in province.
Ms. Ogwang also acknowledged the valuable contributions of the Commissioner ate for Afghan Refugees of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa to this initiative. Earlier this year, a Letter of Understanding was signed between UNHCR and the E&SE Department in KhyberPakhtunkhwa on the inclusion of Afghan refugee children in provincial education sector plans and strategies.
