The University of Oxford has partnered with the Malala Fund to support the Pakistani NGO Durbeen in launching a pioneering teacher training program in South Asia. Rockstar and education reform advocate Shehzad Roy announced this initiative.
During a London interview, Roy thanked Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai for helping establish this partnership. He explained that the collaboration between Oxford and Durbeen focuses on developing a curriculum for an MS program. This program will prepare educators who will teach in Pakistan’s Bachelor of Education (BEd) programs.
The MS program offers five specialization tracks—Language, Social Studies, Mathematics, Science, and Education Psychology. Each track is designed to train educators who will then instruct future BEd students. The primary goal is to improve Pakistan’s teacher training institutions and nurture a new generation of skilled, high-quality school teachers.
Key figures in this initiative include the Malala Fund, Shehzad Roy of the Zindagi Trust, Salma Alam, CEO of Durbeen, and Oxford’s Dr. Ann Childs, Aliya Khalid, and Ian Thompson.
Dr. Thompson shared his experience visiting Karachi and other areas in Pakistan, where he met teachers and their trainers. These visits informed the specialized program, which aims to boost the skills of teacher trainers. He expressed confidence that this program would greatly benefit the trainers.
Roy stressed the importance of robust teacher training, noting that without it, students might gain qualifications but lack essential critical thinking and analytical skills.
Salma Alam called the initiative a major milestone for Pakistan, noting its focus on teacher-educators—a first in Pakistan and rare globally. She emphasized that Durbeen, in partnership with Oxford and the Malala Fund, aims to transform teacher education.
Alam concluded, “This program initiates a transformative era where Pakistan can become a hub of educational innovation.”
