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Teachers’ Training

Children’s International Film Festival

Page 6 Page 8

Table of Contents Spring 2011

From the Chief Executive 2 Civil Works Update 3 Renovation Work 5 Academic Programs 6 Extra-Curricular Activities 8

Progressive Education Network (PEN) is a non-profit

company, registered under Section 42 of the Companies

Ordinance 1984, with a mission to improve the quality of education in public schools

all over Pakistan.

PEN is audited by Deloitte, one of the Big 4 auditing firms

in the world. The audited financial reports are available

online at: www.pen.org.pk

CHIEF EXECUTIVE

Nadeem Babar

BOARD OF DIRECTORS

Dr. Arif Nazir Butt

Ahsan Imran

Agha Shahid Majeed Khan

Adnan Asdar Ali

Dr. Shujaat Nadeem

Omar Khayyam Sheikh

Students of the Government Primary School, Bhabra at the Children’s International Film Festival

Students of the Government Girls Elementary School, Gopal Nagar, Gulberg - II, Lahore

From the chief executive

Dear Friends, In the second issue of our newsletter, I would like to share our priorities and plans for the future. The 23 public schools we have adopted in and around Lahore have seen significant improvement in terms of infrastructure and academic standards. Our analysis of student data indicates a significant rise in enrolment.

PEN Primary School in Noor Ghazi (near Muzzafargarh), part of a model village for the flood-affected victims of the devastating floods last year, is nearing completion. The classes will move from a rented-building to their new campus within a month. The new building has been designed to accommodate a large number of students from the underserved community in the vicinity of the school. We aim to raise the school to Middle-level within a short period of time, which will then become the first ever Middle School in that area.

In terms of improvement of Academic standards, where public schools have lagged far behind private sector schools, we have conducted several teachers’ training sessions. The importance of training teachers of public schools cannot be underestimated. Teachers’ training does not just have a positive influence on a teacher’s and students' knowledge of a subject matter, but also the teaching method used to share information by teachers helps children stay in school and also encourages young students to keep learning. Research suggests that the fear of punishment and harsh treatment of students by their teachers in public schools is one of the main reasons that students drop out. In collaboration with the Ali Institute of Education, PEN’s master trainers have been conducting regular teacher training sessions. We are encouraged by the data collected from the teachers at the end of each training session.

Civil works is part of our effort to bring the schools to a minimum acceptable standard to create an environment for effective learning. With renovation work, paint work and provision of furniture in resource-starved public schools, we have seen a dramatic shift in enrolment. Members of the community appreciate the changes and heed to our appeal to send their children to school. Since poverty is another important factor that makes it difficult for poor families to send their children to school, the provision of free textbooks helps to convince them otherwise.

In the future, we are working to setup computer labs in our schools. To start with, we will be setting up computer labs in all of our adopted Middle-level schools. We will also be hiring teachers for instruction of computer science.

We are also in the process of surveying schools in different parts of the country to adopt more schools. To that end, we plan to adopt at least 25 schools shortly in Sheikhupura and Multan.

Regards,

Nadeem Babar. 2

Teachers' Training at Ali Institute of Education

Construction work at PEN Primary School, Muzzafargarh

PEN Teacher's Training in March 2011

Government Middle School for Girls, Kot Lakhpat. The paint and renovation work at both the schools was started on March 4

and completed on March 22, 2011.

CIVIL WORKS UPDATE

BEFORE

AFTER

BEFORE

BEFORE

AFTER

AFTER 3

Government Primary School for Boys, Kot Lakhpat

AFTER

AFTER

BEFORE

BEFORE

AFTER

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BEFORE

Renovation work at Government Primary School, Dar-ul-Haq, Township

Renovation work has been completed at the Government Primary School, Dar-ul Haq Township. Two classrooms, that were in very dilapidated condition and previously unusable, have now been completely renovated and a large tract of land has been leveled and prepared as a sports field. Bathrooms have also been repaired with new sanitary ware and tilling.

Clean Drinking Water Facility in all PEN Adopted Schools

All 23 PEN adopted Government schools now have clean drinking water facility. Water coolers with three-stage filters have been installed in every school.

Electric Repair Work

PEN is in the process of carrying out electric repair work in nearly all its adopted public schools. Most classrooms do not have proper lighting or fans. To bring all the classrooms to a minimum acceptable standard, PEN will be installing Energy Saver Bulbs and fans in the classrooms.

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Teachers’ Training at Ali Institute of Education PEN organized a training session for teachers of its adopted schools at the Ali Institute of Education. Master trainers from the prestigious Lahore University of Management Sciences and the Ali Institute of Education delivered lectures in the following fields:

Motivation Child Psychology A Child’s Place in History Teaching of English Language at Primary Level Teaching of Urdu at Primary Level Modern Teaching Methods at Primary Level Activity Based Learning

Trainers: Mr. Nasser Aziz, Mr & Mrs Sibte-Hassan,

Ms. Aqila Zamman, and Mrs. Farhat Baig.

PEN Teachers’ Training In January, 2011, PEN organized a training session for the all the teachers of Class I in its adopted schools. The training, conducted by PEN’s Master Trainers, focused on the following areas:

Bolti Kitabain (Talking Books) – Educational Software based on Primary Curriculum

Conceptual Learning based on Content Use of Audio and Visual Aids.

Training for the New Academic Session In March, 2011, PEN organized a training session for teachers that PEN has provided to its adopted schools. The training focused on the following areas:

Preparation for the start of a new academic session Classroom Management Developmental Domain of a Child Story-telling as a method of learning…

Academic programs

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Free Notebooks as Incentive to Increase Enrolment Most of PEN adopted schools are located in underserved communities. According to our survey, most of the students do not attend school because their parents are too poor to afford an education for their children. As an incentive to increase enrolment, PEN is providing free notebooks to all the students of its adopted schools. The provision of free notebooks has proven to be a success in convincing parents to send their children

to school. The tuition and fees is minimal and it can be waived for needy families. Moreover, free notebooks, English-medium of education and significant improvement in infrastructure have helped to increase enrolment in PEN adopted schools.

Student Incentives

In April, 2011, on the last day of the academic session, prize distribution ceremonies were organized in PEN adopted schools to award the students who scored well on their Annual Examinations. Students, with the highest scores, were given prizes, which included school bags, art supplies, children’s books and stationery items. In the current academic session, PEN will conduct a standardized test for each class-level. Teachers, whose students perform well on the

test, will also be given awards as incentive.

Academic programs

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Children’s International Film Festival Extra-curricular activities serve to broaden the mind and expand the horizons of the students. Extracurricular activities can also help students discover hidden talents, meet people they might otherwise not encounter, and learn about things outside their own environment. PEN sponsored the participation of public schools in the Lahore Children International Film Festival held at the Ali Institute of Education. The major objectives of the Children’s International Film Festival are:

To screen the best of local and international films for Pakistani children and young people

To promote media literacy among children and young people through workshops and screening of meaningful films

To promote children as film makers, while training them in the art of film making and exhibiting their work in the festival

To nurture and inspire local film makers to produce films to children in Pakistan

Extra-Curricular Activities 7

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PROGRESSIVE EDUCATION NETWORK 

10-Ali Block, New Garden Town, Lahore, Pakistan.

Tel: (+92) 42 3591-1164

Fax: (+92) 42 3591-1168

www.pen.org.pk