Good news for those shaping young minds

University of Bradford in the UK has validated the Early Childhood Education Certificate Programme (ECE-CP) of the Teachers’ Resource Centre–Institute of Early Childhood Education (TRC-IECE) and the institute’s graduating students this year will receive an internationally recognised certificate in ECE.
The announcement was made by Mehtab Rashdi, chairperson of the governing body of the TRC-IECE, at the institute’s graduation ceremony of its 5th batch of students on Tuesday. Speaking on the occasion, Ameena Saiyid of the Oxford University Press said teachers are the future of Pakistan as they are responsible for developing young minds and the TRC-IECE is doing a great job in this context.
“The TRC is a beautiful model that needs to be scaled so that eventually there are thousands of TRCs around Pakistan,” she added. Saiyid, who was the chief guest on the occasion, said it is heartening that the ECE-CP, which has been developed locally with a special emphasis on cultural relevance to Pakistan, was validated by the Bradford University without any modifications. The ECE-CP offered at the TRC-IECE is an early years’ (ages 3 to 5 years) education programme, committed to developing and supporting early childhood professional teachers.
It is an affordable programme for in-service and pre-service teachers. TRC Director Seema Malik spoke at length about the programme, emphasising that the year-long ECE-CP is an academically rigorous programme that is flexible in its approach. “The primary goal is to develop and support early childhood professionals who are so badly needed in our country. The curriculum is based on the belief that children learn best through active learning, direct, hands-on experiences with their environment, people, events, objects around them and ideas,” she elaborated.
“Children are encouraged to construct their own knowledge by pursuing their personal interests and goals by guided by trained adults who understand the important learning areas for children in the pre-school years. Special emphasis is also placed on ensuring that such practices are suited to the context of a Pakistani school environment.” Malik explained that the ECE-CP was developed in collaboration with TRC’s institutional partners – Sheridan College Institute of Technology and Advanced Learning, and Ryerson University in Canada. The programme is the first of its kind being offered in Pakistan.
Mahenaz Mahmud, academic head of the TRC-IECE, elaborated that active learning (i.e. learning by doing) strategy that teachers are being trained to use in the programme is also employed to train the teachers themselves. This year’s graduates were an interesting mixed batch from varying backgrounds who all agreed one thing, that the programme changed their lives. Shaheen Mehboob Ali, a graduate of the programme changed track after doing her BBA and enrolled in the ECE-CP.
“I had always been interested in child development and spent a lot of time observing children. When I found out about the ECE-CP I knew that this is what I had to do.” It was an unpopular decision at that time, but a year on Shaheen says there is no doubt in her mind about the life-changing choice that she made. After a rigorous year at the TRC-IECE, Shaheen says that one of the best things about the course was its flexibility and the confidence that it gave her. With the ECE-CP under her belt, Shaheen is now headed to St Stephenson College at the Oxford University to pursue a degree in Child Development.
Sana Anas, another graduate of the programme is a nursery teacher at a private school. She says that the course has enabled her to understand children better. “The ECE-CP made me realise that teaching is a process in which both the teacher and the child are learning.” Amina Shakoor is another teacher, who enrolled in the course. A mother of three, she says that the course also helped her deal with her own children. Teachers tend to judge children based on their background and the ECE-CP undoes all of that to enable children to reach their potential.
Amina wants to use what she had learned to create a greater presence for young children in the electronic media. “There is just not enough wholesome programming on TV for children, although if done well, it can be an extremely powerful tool to spread education,” she said. The TRC is a non-profit, non-government organisation that was established in 1986 by a group of educationists in response to the declining standards of education in both government and private sector schools. The TRC has been spearheading the promotion of early childhood education in the country since its inception and one of its biggest achievements was the development of the National ECE Curriculum in 2002.
The curriculum was the result of a public-private partnership between the Education Ministry (Curriculum Wing) and the TRC, under the umbrella of the Education Sector Reforms Action Plan 2001-2005. The curriculum focuses on the holistic development of children in the 3 to 5 years age group, with special emphasis on active learning and is culturally relevant.