The US embassy hosted Thursday an orientation for 40 Pakistani public school English teachers, half of them women, at a local hotel.
The teachers will travel to the United States for six weeks of intensive training as part of the US government-funded Teaching Excellence and Achievement (TEA) Programme.
The teachers were selected from hundreds of Pakistani public secondary schoolteachers.
The TEA programme provides educators with a unique opportunity to develop subject expertise and enhance their teaching skills. The participants will be engaged in group training seminars and internships at US secondary schools.
The US Department of State pays for all travel, living stipends, health insurance and tuition for the entire period of study.
US Embassy Cultural Affairs Officer Brent Beemer encouraged the teachers to take advantage of the opportunity granted to them and to return to Pakistan with the ability to counter the challenge to teach students to write and speak excellent English.
Beemer told the teachers that the TEA programme was part of the US government’s commitment to education in Pakistan, and, in particular, the enhancement and encouragement of its teachers.
“With 70 percent of its population under age 30, the future of Pakistan and its role in the world is dependent on the success of its children in school right now. The job of educating that generation relies on teachers like you, and what an opportunity. Imagine tens of millions of educated, multi-lingual young Pakistani men and women serving as soldiers, politicians, diplomats, engineers, lawyers, doctors, scientists, businessmen and teachers: what a great nation and a great world they will build.”
USEFP, a bi-national commission established in 1950 by the governments of Pakistan and the United States, is one of 51 ‘Fulbright commissions located throughout the world. Since its inception more than 61 years ago, nearly 4,000 Pakistanis and more than 800 Americans have participated in the USEFP-administered exchange programmes.
In addition to the Fulbright programme, the USEFP administers a number of scholarship programmes for undergraduates, teachers, journalists, and other professionals. In addition, the USEFP offices in Islamabad, Lahore, and Karachi assist students interested in applying for study in the United States by offering free advising services. The USEFP also runs testing centers in Islamabad, Lahore and Karachi administering the TOEFL, SAT, GRE, and other standardized examinations.
