Project Pakistan Model: Education
HDF education program consists of three components:
A. Primary Education
B. Elementary and Secondary Education
C. Adult Literacy
Primary Education
HDF started its education program based on the non-formal education system. But with the passage of time it has been converted into a formal system.
Following are the salient features of the program:
1. Based on HDF philosophy of community participation, a school is started when the community is willing, eager and ready to provide space for the school.
2. The curriculum is the same as the government schools, with the addition of English beginning in kindergarten.
3. HDF has implemented an activity-based, joyful-learning method. The goal is to instill the love of learning among children.
4. Teachers are selected, whenever possible from the same community. This way, there is very little turn over of teachers. Also the local people trust their children, especially daughters, with someone they know. The teacher also feels comfortable because he or she knows the community and can deal with several social issues.
5. The teachers have to go through a teacher's training program before beginning and then periodically thereafter.
6. All the expenses except the space (which is provided by the community) are born by HDF. This includes all the materials, teacher's salary, teachers' training, etc.
7. The parents are charged a school management fee, which goes into a special fund. This fund will be later used for the sustainability of the school.
8. There are very active parent teacher associations (PTA), that are involved in the management of the school.
9. There are regular meetings between all the teachers from various schools in the same community to discuss many issues surrounding the education program.
As the program is growing, the number of children in some schools has exceeded the community’s ability to provide a comfortable space. HDF is planning to rent or build formal schools in these locations.
Elementary and Secondary Education for girls:
The reasoning behind providing elementary and secondary education to girls only is due to the fact that after fifth grade, most girls are not allowed to pursue their educational goals because many government schools are located a far distance from their villages. In order to meet this need, HDF decided to set up centers where these young girls can get an education up through the tenth grade.
Adult Literacy:
One of our goals is to promote adult literacy. The HDF adult literacy program consists of a six month course in basic reading, writing and math. Interestingly, women are the most enthusiastic participants of this program.
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