Sean [British teacher] and I have been working like mad things on writing up the distance learning modules for a brand new teacher training programme. At present, approximately 40% of Sierra Leonean teachers are trained and qualified so this programme does have the potential to make a real difference to the quality of education in secondary schools across the country.
This week we are training the tutors and mentors that will support the 40 student-teachers who will participate in the pilot in Kenema and Kono, the far east of Sierra Leone. In January, the course goes live, starting with 2 week residential sessions.
The new course adopts a completely new approach. It is a skills based course which attempts clearly, for the first time ever, to address the real needs of the nation at this time and in the current context. It is a very exciting project for the development of the whole country if implemented well.
Tutors and mentors of the new Higher Teachers Certificate Course think through the implications for teacher training of a skills based curriculum.
Another interesting aspect for us is where EducAid staff have been able to participate in various ways. This week, Brima Will and next week Emmanuel Bailay, members of the EducAid Leadership Team, are observing the training so that they can serve as monitoring and evaluation officers of the residential courses.
It is interesting to see how, thanks probably to the regular EducAid training, they are more than able to hold their own in the company of the country’s teacher training lecturers.
Brima Will of EducAid attending the training of tutors and mentors.
For more information on EducAid’s work see www.educaid.org.uk