WASHINGTON, D.C. – USAID has recently announced a partnership with Arizona State University’s Mary Lou Fulton Teachers College. Together, they have pledged $4.3 million towards a program that will improve teacher training in India.
Throughout the past few decades, India has made progress in regards to providing access to basic education to its citizens. Now the country is challenged to improve the quality of its education. This new program, launched by USAID and ASU, will work with the government of India in order to improve the quality of the education by first improving the quality of teacher’s education, and through “early grade reading interventions.”
USAID and ASU will also be working with HRD, or the Human Resource Development ministry, and the In-STEP program, or the India Support for Teacher Education program. The Human Resource Development is focused on using education to balance the socio-economics of India. The HRD website states, “Our billion-strong nation needs the nurture and care in the form of basic education to achieve a better quality of life.” The HRD was founded in 1985, and it operates through the Department of School Education and Literacy, as well as the Department of Higher Education.
The In-STEP program will be used to cultivate the abilities of educators in India. 110 educations will be sent from eastern and northeastern Indian states. The program will consist of a three month training at Arizona State University. It will encompass assessment techniques, in-service and pre-service teacher education, and teaching pedagogy. The educators will witness American educational practices first-hand and learn different and innovative methods. Each of the 110 educators will write an essay on a potential reform in their state or institution to improve the quality of teaching and education. Upon returning from the U.S., educators will then implement the changes into their classrooms.
– Corina Balsamo
Sources: Economic Times, ASU, Times of India, USAID India
Photo: The New York Times