69794 PROJECT REPORT ENGAGING TEACHERS TO HEIGHTEN AWARENESS ON YOUTH DISABILITY June 2007 Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 1 Abbreviations: AJ&K Azad Jammu & Kashmir AKU-IED Aga Khan University – Institute of Education Development BCEC Bureau of Curriculum and Extension Center CRI-Pak Children Resources International Pakistan DPO Disabled Persons Organization DSD Directorate of Staff Development DTEs District Teacher Educators EDO Executive District Officer GCMS Government Community Model School GGES Government Girls Elementary Girls School GGPS Government. Girls Primary School GGHS Government Girls High School GTZ German Technical …. IER Institute of Education Research ITA Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi JLOK Just Like the Other Kids MoSWSE Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education NCHD National Commission for Human Development NISE National Institute of Special Education PEF Punjab Education Foundation PITE Provincial Institutes of Teacher Education SEF Sindh Education Foundation STEP Special Talent Exchange Program SNPETHS Sanjan Nagar Public Education Trust Girls High School UNICEF United Nations Children’s Fund Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 2 I. Background Just Like the Other Kids (JLOK), the story book along with the teachers manual is a milestone in Pakistan for the promotion of inclusive education due to two reasons; i) it has been written by young children with and without disabilities encouraged by adults who assisted them in weaving these credible stories into one book, revealing the potential of such enterprises and ii) its dissemination across Pakistan has coincided with the launch of the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities on March 30, 2007. The Convention’s purpose is aptly stated in Article I : The purpose of the present Convention is to promote, protect and ensure the full and equal enjoyment of all human rights and fundamental freedoms by all persons with disabilities, and to promote respect for their inherent dignity. Persons with disabilities include those who have long-term physical, mental, intellectual or sensory impairments which in interaction with various barriers may hinder their full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others (http://www.ohchr.org/english/law/disabilities-convention) So even though the Convention is in the process of being signed for ratification by Pakistan, the country has begun to promote the central message through this powerful and energizing book. “ The central message being that people with disabilities have many capabilities and are not someone to fear� and that they have equal rights to be in schools with other children. The book and the manual promote the core principles of social inclusion, giving respect and opportunities without discrimination to persons/children with disabilities so that they are enabled to reach their maximum potential. Two grants awarded to recipients at the World Bank have facilitated the enterprise of the book and the manual, viz. South 2005 Asia Youth Innovation Fund and the Youth Innovation Fund Grant. Both grants in turn have mobilized Pakistani civil society organizations to develop the two products. The book was developed through facilitation of Special Talent Exchange Program (STEP), a Disabled Persons Organization (DPO) and the manual was facilitated by Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) Public Trust. The methodology common to the book and the manual was a participatory approach ensuring that critical stakeholders were fully mobilized. The entire process was vigorously overseen by Susan E. Hirsberg from the World Bank Islamabad, who in turn, also mobilized peer reviewers from World Bank in Washington. Muzna Irfan was the Project Coordinator representing ITA who spared no efforts to follow the methodology and reach milestones for the manual development and dissemination of the book alongwith the manual. Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 3 II. Project Objectives: I- Develop manual for teachers in both English and Urdu II- Pilot testing of the manual and make modifications accordingly III- Organize dissemination of the book and training workshop for teachers in all four provinces and earthquake areas with education officials, NGO networks, teachers IV- Get feedback from the participants about the trainings conducted. III. Project activities: 1. - MANUAL DEVELOPMENT The manual was developed through active collaboration of teachers, a Disabled Persons Organization (DPO), STEP, special education institutions, the World Bank peer reviewers and ITA. Participating teachers/ specialists were seconded from local mainstream government and private schools. These were both male and female, rural and urban, as well as English end Urdu medium schools. Specialists from the special education institutes working under the Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education were invited for the manual development sessions in which open discussions were held to decide & design the content of the manual. The institutions which took part in these activities were: • Community Model School (GCMS) Mohri Khambal Rawalpindi • Govt. Elementary Girls School Tanch Bhatta, Chungi # 22, Rawalpindi • EDO Education Office Reps, City District Government , Rawalpindi • City District Government. Girls Primary school , Mustafabad II, Lahore • Govt. Girls High School (GGHS) , Paisa Akhbar, Anarkali, Lahore • National Institute of Special Education (NISE) • Al-Makhtoom – Special Education Centre, Islamabad • Special Talent Exchange Program (STEP) • Sanjan Nagar Public Education Trust Girls High School, (SNPETGHS) Lahore • Head Start, Islamabad • World Bank – Islamabad and Washington DC • Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 4 Based on the brainstorming, discussions and deliberations from these sessions, the first draft of the manual was compiled. It was ensured that the manual was suitably tailor made to address issues of inclusion, raising disability awareness and was in line with the spirit and vocabularies of the book “Just Like the Other Kids (JLOK)�, serving as a guide for using the book in live classroom settings. The first draft of the manual was submitted to the World Bank where it was reviewed by Susan Hirshberg in Islamabad, Dr. Robert Proutey and Dr. Charlottle Vuyiswa in Washington. Their critical comments helped the team to fine tune the manual and further align it with the spirit and language of the book. A second session was held with the World Bank team through video conference in which other than the teachers who participated in the drafting of the manual, trainers from the Children Resources International (CRI) Pakistan were also invited. A thorough discussion was held to critically evaluate the language and spirit of the teachers manual. Helpful suggestions on including parents were also incorporated to ensure that parents were also central to the initiative. . The draft was then to be tested in the field for which both government and non-elite private schools were selected 2 - Field Testing – Feed back – Revision A - Training: To test the teachers’ manual, a training session was held on 6th April, 2007 for teachers. Teachers from the following institutes/schools were invited to attend the training: 1.Sajan Nagar Public Education Trust Girls High School (SNPETGHS) Lahore 2.GGCMS Mohri Khambal 3.Abdullah Model School,Rawalpindi 4.Moon Public Sch, Rawalpindi 5.Urooj Public Sch, Rawalpindi Each participant was given a feedback form which they were to return within 2 weeks... B – Feedback: Feedback forms were received only from 2 schools . (Please refer to Annex A for a copy of the form) Comments from the feedback forms illustrate that the teachers were satisfied with the manual and the use of the book. They provided positive inputs to all the questions asked in the feedback forms. Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 5 C- Revision/Printing: Revisions were incorporated and Urdu translation secured through support from STEP resource persons as well as the Punjab University’s Special Education Department. Following the translation, the manual was aligned in style and layout by the same design specialist who had put together the layout for the book, prior to its final printing. The manual may require further refinement and improvement might be undertaken by the World Bank. 3. Dissemination of the Book and Manual 27TH APRIL TO 22ND MAY 2007 The dissemination workshops were conducted between April 27th to May 22th, 2007 across the country and in AJ&K. Initial letters requesting the dissemination were sent to each Education Secretary of the four provinces and AJ&K. along with a set of books. In addition, the letters were copied to the Sindh Education Foundation, Punjab Education Foundation and the Directorate of Staff Development Punjab and PITE NWFP as well. Invitations to the dissemination and training workshops were sent through the Departments of Education to the public sector schools, through the EDOs Education of the Districts, government training institutions, NGOs and Private schools representatives. Dates and venues in each province were finalized with the consent of the Secretary, Department of Education. The process was completed by 14th April, 2007. ( please refer to annex B for sample invitation letters and cards). In all provinces the support of the Departments of Education was very positive. In Sindh the Secretary Education insisted on mobilizing his colleague the Secretary Special Education as well. Training and Dissemination Workshop Details: Dissemination and Training was held in the 4 provinces and earthquake areas as following: Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 6 Table I: List of Workshops: Dates, Venues, Participants and Host Organization Province Dates of Venue No. of Hosts Conducted by Area Dissemination Participants and. Training NWFP/ April 27, 2007 PITE, 45 Dept of Ed Muzna Irfan Peshawar Peshawar PITE AJK April 28, 2007 GGHS- 55 Dept of Ed Muzna Irfan Muzaffarabad Saheli Saheli Sarkar Serkar- Govt. Girls Resource High School Center Bagh April 30, 2007 GHS – 45 Dept of Ed STEP Training Sessar Sessar Govt. Team Girls High Abia School Pakeeza Mussarat Sindh / May 3, 2007 Defence 60 Dept of Ed; Muzna Irfan Karachi Central Dept of Sp library Education & SEF(support) Punjab / May 12, 2007 DSD – 100 Dept of Ed Muzna Irfan Lahore Lahore Directorate of Staff Development Balochistan / May 22, 2007 DSD – 50 Dept of Ed Farzana Kauser Quetta Lahore Bureau Of - ITA Curriculum Total 350 A total of 350 people participated in the six training/dissemination sessions, comprising, teachers, trainers and policy makers. The majority of the teachers came from government schools and some from the private and NGO run schools. The dissemination sessions shared a common agenda which included the formal opening by a representative from the Departments of Education followed by an intensive orientation and training. In each workshop a child writer was invited to give an account of his/her involvement in the process and their views on inclusion. One child writer, accompanied by a guardian attended the inauguration at different locations. The details are listed below: Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 7 Table II: List of Child Writers at the Trainings Name Institute / School Location Komal Ali Al – Makhtoom School Peshawer Ahmed Tariq Al – Makhtoom School Karachi Waheed Aziz Al – Makhtoom School Quetta Rizwan Rashid Al – Farabi Lahore Iqra Ashraf Zaffer Model School Bagh Comments by Child Authors.. a very special resource When we got together to write this book we discussed the options for the target group. If we wanted we could have written this book for older and senior students. But we as a group decided to do this for younger children of ages 6-8 where we could give the messages at an early age that everyone is equal and deserves respect. This is a good age to learn the fundamentals of responsibility and respect for all so that they could ensure that they carry along ALL including people with disabilities. Ahmad Tariq, Karachi No one in this world is perfect. If you have any disability, Allah will bless you with other abilities. Iqra, Bagh Our country has been formed since the last 60 years but first time we can see movement towards the welfare of special children and in this chain of events , we the children have written a book with the support of World Bank so we can create awareness amongst the new generation that we special children can do everything. Rizwan Rasheed , Lahore “We are normal just like others and if we are special, then everyone is special. In fact we are all very special� Waleed Aziz Quetta The inaugural session was followed by two interactive training sessions, ending with an activity session. The resource person used “read along� and the “role play� methodologies to familiarize participants with the contents of the book and the teachers manual. The interactive methodology helped to sensitize the trainees towards disability issues and consistent terminologies preferred by the movement on inclusion. Detailed reports on each of the training sessions are attached in the latter section of the report. Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 8 In Punjab, students from one of the private non-elite schools , where the book and the manual had been pre tested decided to convert the book into a puppet show very successfully. This was demonstrated at the Lahore workshop by children of Grade I and kindergarten of the Sanjan Nagar School, illustrating how JLOK messages can be transmitted very effectively Photographs are attached at annex. 4. Issues and Challenges: i. Project Initiation Delays The start of the project was delayed by two weeks due to paperwork & approvals, therefore the dissemination was moved to end of April/end of May 2007 which clashed with school/board annual examinations. As a result the participants of the training expressed their own & the students non-availability to conduct the reading/feedback sessions at the present time. These would have to be delayed until August, September 2007. ii. Feedback Forms – clash with summer break and examinations Feedback forms were given to all participants at the beginning of each session. Emphasis was laid on how important it is to get their opinion/feedback for the team to evaluate the projects i.e the suitability of the book JLOK & manual. But unfortunately very few of these have been received due to examinations and summer vacations. Some forms have been received after repeated reminders. After reading the book (JLOK), e responses of the children were good and they wanted that children with disabilities should get the right place in society. Between the reading sessions of the book and the manual, all the children were hopeful that they will never use bad alternative words, used in our society to refer to people with disabilities. Feedback by Mohammad Hamid PTC Teacher GPS New Garhi Bukhshipul, Peshawar ITA will pursue the feedback forms after the schools reopen in each province and each partner has promised compliance to this request for feedback after use of the books. They will be sent to the World Bank as they are received. 5. Future Plans for Dissemination & Requests from the Provinces : 1. The response received at the training sessions was overwhelming, where a high demand was put up for more copies of the book and the teachers’ manual. All participants and involved government / private organizations / schools were highly enthusiastic to take forward this message and practice far & wide across their province. Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 9 2. The Directors of government teacher training institutes, who were our hosts in three provinces, were happy to nominate their master trainers who would further train and disseminate the book and manual in all districts through their district trainers or district teacher educators (DTEs). They were ready to work on a plan to incorporate the book JLOK and the manual into their teacher training in-service programs, lesson plans and teacher resource kits in the district teacher resource centres libraries. For this, they requested for the following: • A large quantity of books and manuals to be provided to all decentralized training sites • A training session for all master trainers at the district and provincial levels Details of each province requirement is written in separate city reports(attached). 4. The National Commission for Human Development (NCHD) working across all districts of Pakistan, also put in a request for the books and the manual in large quantities, commensurate to their outreach. 5. In Sindh, there was an explicit request to translate the book and the manual in Sindhi. For this, the Sindh Education Foundation and the EDO Education Karachi City District agreed to collaborate provided the World Bank would grant them permission to do so. 4. There was an overwhelming demand for hosting the book and the manual on the website of the World Bank or ITA Public Trust. 6. A formal letter was sent to the Federal Minister for Social Welfare and Special Education to print the books for wider distribution responding the needs articulated during the dissemination workshops (annex C) 7. ITA also pursued several times with the Ministry of Education, Curriculum Wing to clarify their position on the book vis a vis granting of a No Objection Certificate (NOC) to be approved for supplementary learning materials. . 6. Inventory and Number of books /Manuals Distributed In each city the participants and organizations mainly from the Dept. of Education were provided with JLOK book and the manual. The final count on the books and manual is as follows: Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 10 Table III: INVENTORY – JLOK Books and Manuals CITY ENGLISH URDU MANUAL Peshawar 52 62 82 Muzaffarabad 100 110 120 Bagh 25 30 35 Karachi 125 125 180 Islamabad, INGO, 10 10 10 NGOs AJ&k 7 9 2 Lahore 104 129 175 Quetta 75 75 100 Field Testing 10 10 Save The Children 1 1 1 Education 7 7 7 Sectretaries /Directorates Total 519 552 712 Total Printed 864 1086 1000 Stock in Hand 345 518 288 The Stock in Hand will be returned to the World Bank for the national launch. 7. Outcomes 7.i The outcomes of the book and the manual are already significant even though the dissemination has been restricted to only the major cities and 350 participants exceeding the original plan for 200. The response was overwhelming; each participant had their own strategy of taking the messages forward. An indicator of participants’ interest was the fact that they stayed right until the end of the training workshop. In Lahore, ITA had to politely refuse additional participants. It was also very heartening to see how the government helped with the provision of venue, helping us to keep the costs down, and that in itself was a tremendous endorsement of the initiative. One group decided to convert it into a puppet show, another one decided to use the theme of inclusive education for their summer workshops program in government schools and yet another one wanted to develop ways of taking these valuable messages beyond grades 3. 7.ii The categories of participants invited were carefully selected to ensure that the sphere of influence would be significant. The strategic participants came from government schools, private schools as well as teacher training and research institutions including NGOs. Schools that participated all had a primary section attached even if they were middle or secondary level schools. As we all know that the pressure for enrolments is greatest in the first three grades. 7.iii However even at this stage we can safely say that the outreach to date extends to and is measurable, categorized according to the following types of participants: Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 11 Table IV: Outreach of Institutions According to the Training Participants Participants Categories Number Number of Students Total Beneficiaries Attended /Teachers at each institution Govt. School Teachers 200 300 60,000 Pri. Mid. & Sec Schools with Primary Sections Private Schools (same as 40 250 10,000 above) Teacher Training 100 200 20,000 Institutions Teacher Education & 10 200 2000 Research Inst. /NGOs Total 350 92,000 92,350 beneficiaries is modestly estimated at this time This is just one static version of who, and how many teachers and trainers will reach out to as one stable group, without taking into consideration multiple lots of learners’ cohorts over time 7.iv The demand for more copies and ability to access g through the website is a genuine one. How can the OUP promote the dissemination of the book and offer it on special discounts? 7.v During the workshops, it could be seen that these participants were sufficiently influenced and moved to push the cause of inclusive education optimally within their own sphere of influence. . It is also important to make the effort to disseminate the book and its guidelines to various textbook boards and publishing houses after the deregulation of textbook production policy in Pakistan as the book can easily be converted into stand alone chapters and teaching guidelines/exercise. This can be used for English/Urdu language, social studies and civics textbooks according to the new national curriculum guidelines. 7.vi. Dr. Kausar Waqar, faculty of IED AKU – ext 3710 tel. no. 021- 6347611 along with her organization Pakistan Association for Inclusive Education (PAIE) paie@ptan.org is very keen to form a network on Inclusive Education and to be online on forums and as support groups 7.vii. ITA is keen to be a part of producing the same book using the same method for grades III upwards. Preferably the same children can participate and where appropriate others may be mobilized as well. In the end ITA can say with confidence, that it was a very important milestone for the organization to be associated with this valuable enterprise of Promoting Inclusive Education in Pakistan. ITA enjoyed working with stakeholders, including Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 12 the child authors and STEP in taking forward the tasks. We look forward to future collaborations in taking this challenge further. A journey has just begun. ANNEXES Annex A. Report of each training session Peshawar Report Venue: PITE Peshawar N.W.F.P Time: 11.00 am to 4.00 pm Host Departments : Dept of Ed.Govt.Peshawar & PITE. Special Guests: Mr Eid Badshah, Director PITE Mr.Matiullah Khan, Additional Secretary Education, Dept. of Schools & Literacy, Peshawar N.W.F.P. No. of Participants: 45 Institutions: District Government Peshawar - EDO Education Teachers from Govt. Schools Sarhad Rural Support Program (SRSP) Private Schools Highlights: Mr. Matiullah, Additional Secretary Education was the Chief Guest on behalf of the Secretary Education engaged in Sector Reforms finalization. The session began with tilawaat, after which an introduction & overall review about the project was given to the participants by Muzna Irfan.This was focused on linking disability& development, inclusive education ,Phases 1&2 objectives, implementation, challenges & outcomes and Partners involved in the project Commitments / Comments by Chief Guests: Mr.Matiullah shared the policy of the NWFP Govt on inclusive education and advised the trainers attending to further spread this programme by becoming master trainers. Mr. Eid Badshah, Director PITE was happy for choosing his institute as the venue as he is working to revive this institute by having as many, trainings, as possible. During tea both guests were requested to work out a plan to help further disseminate the JLOK book & manual. They suggested that to cover the 24 Districts of NWFP, they will arrange for further trainings at PITE, for in-charge teacher trainers of each district. These master trainers would further ensure the dissemination of the book and the manual in the whole of the province .They suggested to send a formal proposal to Education Sect. Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 13 Child Writer’s Views Points: Komal Ali of Al-Makhtoom School attended the session with her mother and teacher Shaista. She was shy initially but when prompted by her teacher, she talked about her experience of writing the stories. She stressed on the benefits of inclusive education and requested all to give ALL the Children an equal opportunity to learn. Outcome of the Training: Comments by Participants: In between the sessions, the teachers & trainers present appreciated this effort of raising awareness towards disability issues &promoting inclusive education. Some of them shared their own experience as they themselves had children with disability. They enthusiastically discussed how they would further spread this progamme . No of Sets Distributed in NWFP: English JLOK Urdu JLOK Manual PITE 15 15 15 EDU.DEPT 10 10 10 Participants 20 25 45 Secretary Education 05 05 05 Director PITE 05 05 05 Invitation Books 02 02 02 Total 52 62 82 Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 14 Karachi Report Venue Defence Central Library Timing 11:00 am to 5:00 pm Host Department/s Dept of Ed. City District Govt. Karachi, Special Ed Dept Sindh Chief Guest/s Professor Anita Ghulam Ali SEF, Maula Bakhsh Khetrian Secretary Special Education Special Guest Mrs.Fakhar Karim EDO Education City Dist.Govt. Karachi No. of Participants 60 Institutions CDG Karachi, Many Special Ed Inst. (8 districts) AKU IED, Private schools network, SEF and its partners Highlights: Commitments/Comments by Chief Guests: Both the chief guest and the guest of honor want to extend and disseminate the book to every school in Sindh. They also wanted to translate the book in Sindhi and sought permission to undertake this. The World Bank needs to respond to the formal request made by the chief guest and guest of honor and supported by the Special Guest EDO Education, City District Karachi. The Secretary Special Education Sindh is committed to launching the book in every district of Sindh. Professor Anita Ghulam Ali said that she would ensure that all SEF supported schools (450) would be introduced to the concept of inclusive education. EDO Education Karachi said that she had hand selected her teachers and field team so that they could understand on how to take the messages to a maximum number of institutions. Each one demanded more copies of the book in both languages. Child Writer’s Views Points: I am very happy to be talking to all of you. Disability is not a drawback, it is there in all human beings, everyone has some sort of disability, some are visible, others are not. Every one is equal If our society accepts these principles of equality of opportunity without discrimination then quota system would become meaningless.To ensure that people with disabilities get their rights is the obligation of the people, and the right of the people with disabilities “Mazoor afraad ko muashiray main haq dilwana logon ka farz hay or maazoor afraad ka haq hay “ (Urdu ) Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 15 It does not mean that for people with disabilities there is any need to assist them more than there is need. And they too need to realize that they have duties and responsibilities as well. When we got together to write this book we discussed the options for the target group. If we wanted, we could have written this book for older and senior students. But we as a group decided to do this for younger children of ages 6-8 where we could give the messages at an early age that everyone is equal and deserves respect. This is a good age to learn the fundamentals of responsibility and respect for all so that they could ensure that they carry along ALL including people and children with disabilities. I would like to recite a couplet from teh famous poet Allama Iqbal Nahin hay koi cheez nikami zamanay mein Koi bura nahin hay qudrat kay karkhanay mein Allama Iqbal There is nothing that is without a purpose or without value in our times There is no one who is bad in nature’s workshop Outcome of the Training: A tremendous amount of support has been generated for the central messages. This has been incorporated in and is illustrated by the key messages of the chief guest and guest of honor above. No of Sets Distributed in Sindh: English JLOK Urdu JLOK Manual Participants 35 25 60 EDO –Ed City 10 20 30 Dist. Karachi Dept. of Sp. Ed 10` 10 20 SEF 30 30 30 IED AKU 10 10 Chitral /NA 10 10 AKESP * Private Schools 10 10 20 Malir Others 20 20 10 Total 125 125 180 Dr. Kausar Waqar IED AKU – ext 3710 tel. no. 021- 6347611 along with her organization Pakistan Association for Inclusive Education (PAIE) paie@ptan.org is very keen to form a network on Inclusive Education and to be online on forums and as support groups Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 16 Bagh Report Venue: AJK , Bagh Time: 12:00 to 4:30 pm Host Departments : Govt. Girls High School, Sessor Bagh, AJ& K Special Guests: Miss. Nasreen Aziz No. of Participants: 30 Institutions Highlights: Comments/Committment by Chief Guests: Miss Nasreen Aziz, encouraged the young writers to have faith in their abilities and to never wait for outside help to achieve their objectives. She said that the manual training has generated a very positive response. The teachers must be trained who are the real barrier in the way of inclusive education. The publication, which attempt to influence the thinking of future adults, is an extremely reader-friendly, and is accompanied by an audio CD. The illustrator and designer have done a remarkable job too. Child Writer’s View Points: Iqra one of the writer of this book attended this sessions. Speaking at the session, she talked about her experience of writing the stories .She said no one in this world is perfect if you have any disability Allah will bless you with other abilities. Shed added that though she was a little bit confused in the beginning to work with visually and hearing impaired persons and how to communicate with them but after some she realized that its not a difficult job. They are very intelligent and courageous. They can do everything with little cooperation, she stressed on the benefits of inclusive education And requested all to give them equal opportunity to learn. Comments by Participants: In between the sessions, the teachers and trainers appreciated this effort of raising awareness towards disability issues &promoting inclusive education. Some of them shared their own experience as they themselves had children with disability. They enthusiastically discussed how they would further spread this program . Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 17 No of Sets Distributed in Bagh, AJK English JLOK Urdu JLOK Manual Sessor Girls High 25 30 35 School Total 25 30 35 Profiling an Extraordinary Teacher in Bagh District Ms. Nasreen Aziz Teaches English A + B and Pakistan Studies for Class 8th; Home Economic for Class 9th and Islamic studies for Class 10th.at the Govt. Girls High School, Sessor, Bagh, AJ&K. She has a physical disability but her extraordinary strengths are remarkable and well recognized in the school and the community for her inclusive approaches to education and well being. In 2001, she formed an Organization named “Chiragh-e-Manzil� Welfare for Special People and was Registered in 2005 with Kashmir Council. Presently she is the Chairperson of this Organization. This organization is working for all AJK especially in District Bagh, only for special people like, Dumb, Deaf, Paralyzed and Blind. After the disaster “Chiragh-e-Manzil� surveyed in 15 – 17 villages and found approximately 650 disabled people. This organization is working on education for disabled students in different areas and admitted 6 female and 9 male children in “National Training Center� Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 18 Muzaffarabad Report Venue G.GHS Saheli Sarkar Timing 11:00 am to 5:00 pm Host Department/s Dept. of Education AJ&K Chief Guest/s Raja Altaf Kiyani- Add. Secretary Education Muzaffarabad Supported By: Mrs. Nighat Mubashir Principal Govt. GHS Saheli Sarkar No. of Participants 45 Institutions: Government Schools Directorate of Education, Extension Muzaffarabad Directorate of Curriculum, Senior Subject Specialists Private Sector Schools NGOs in Muzaffarabad Highlights: The programme commenced with recitation of the Quran followed by an introduction & to the project & highlights of the project were given by Muzna Irfan with special focus on the objectives, implementation, challenges and outcome of each phase. All of the partners who helped develop the book and the manual, viz. Teachers ,Trainers Special Institutes representatives, the writers, ITA, and World Bank peer reviewers were introduced to the participants. Participants during the role play came up with many ideas of improving situations in their school to welcome children with disability. Real life experiences and their already studying students with disability were referred to as the book was reviewed. Commitments/Comments by Chief Guests: Raja Altaf committed to a plan that the trainers who attended the Master training on 28th April 2007 would further train and disseminate the book in all the districts of AJ&K. The books (150 in no.) and manual (75 in no.) for this purpose have been kept with Mrs. Nighat Mubashir, Principal, Govt. Girls High School, Saheli Sarkar. Child Writer’s View Points: Nasreen Ikram‘s daughter Iqra was scheduled to join the session from Bagh but she could not attend the session as she was unwell. Outcome of the Training: The two sessions of the training were interactive. In the first half the teachers and the trainers were made part of a role play exercise in which they were students and were taken through the book. This session focused on bringing out the spirit in which the book Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 19 was written, to sensitize the children towards people with disabilities and focusing on all the objectives of the book. The reading session was set in a way to emphasize the techniques written in the manual which were later referred to during the presentation of the manual. In the second session the teacher manual and its vital points were explained referring to the actual teaching techniques presented in the manual.Then the participants were divided into groups. The group was given a scenario that a child with disability is joining their school & they have to propose the changes they would bring about in the classroom ,school, community & their teaching , to accommodate that child. Each group was given a different disability to work with. Then the group leader presented the suggestion to the participants. Comments by the Participants: All participants were given a feedback form which they were requested to mail or e-mail. Up-to-date: only one feedback form has been received from Muzaffarabad. At the end of the session the teacher, trainer and institute representatives enthusiastically talked about their plans to further discriminate the book. Sets of 5 JLOK books/manuals each were presented to the chief guest. Set of 10 books and manuals were presented to the Host School . No. of Sets Distributed: English JLOK Urdu JLOK Manual Distributed to the 30 30 60 Participants Left for 75 75 75 Dissemination Total 105 105 135 Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 20 Lahore Report Venue Directorate of Staff Development Timing 11:00 am to 5:00 pm Host Department/s Dept. of Education Govt. of Punjab/Directorate of Staff Developmen Lahoret Chief Guest/s Dr. Ruksana Zia, Director Directorate of Staff Development Special Guests: Jamshed Dawoodi, Deputy Secretary Education Reforms, Punjab Mohd. Aslam Kasmi, Deputy Sec. General Ishrat Jaheen Iradat, District Education Officer (Women Elementary) , Lahore Cantt. No. of Participants 80-85 Institutions ITA; Sanjan Nagar Public Trust School; Junior Model School SamanAbad; Education Department ;G.C.E.T Lahore; Kinnaid School; G.C.E.T Kot Lakhpat I.E.R Punjab University; PITE; D.S.D; Centeral Model School; Govt.Abu-Alkhair; N.C.H.D; Govt School Walton P.U Lab School; Alif Laila; C.D.G MochGali; Govt.New Islamia; Aagahi Education .System;C.D.G CakiGate Highlights: The program commenced with recitation of the Quran followed by an introduction & to the project and highlights of the project were given by Muzna Irfan with special focus on the objectives, implementation, challenges and outcome of each phase. All of the partners ITA, World Bank,Peers ,Teachers ,Trainers Special Institutes representatives& the child writers , in this process were introduced to the participants. An entertaining puppet show was presented by Class 1 children of Sagan Nagar School. Suring the field testing of the book and manual teacher Shaista of the same school came up with the idea to present a puppet show on the main spirit of the book and inclusive education. She had one at her school and the same was presented to the participants of the session. The whole presentation was colourful and lively. It was a good initiative appreciated by all. Commitments/Comments by Chief Guests: Speaking at the inaugural session, Dr. Ruksana Zia, Director Directorate of Staff Development appreciated the efforts and support of NGOs in bringing innovative ideas forward. She pointed out that attitude of teachers is the foremost challenge and the sense of social service needs to be re-infused in teachers. Referring to programs being run at DSD, she said that we are currently focusing on content and skill development of teachers. There are many more issues that need to be addressed. Our next step would be to focus on changing attitudes of teachers, conflict resolution, environment and inclusive Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 21 education. Commending the tea on the introduction of the model of inclusive education, she said that DSD will incorporate this in its teacher development model. She requested for 2300 copies of the books and manuals which could be disseminated across the province. These would be incorporated into our BFM 2 as lesson plans and as teacher resource kit. Child Writer’s View Points: Speaking at the session, Rizwan Rasheed said that he was proud to be a present at the occasion and be a part of this initiative. He thanked the World Bank for thinking about the welfare of special children in Pakistan and for initiating this first of its kind project in the country. He added that the book will help to create awareness amongst the new generation about the capabilities and abilities of special children. Outcomes of the training.. The two sessions of the training were interactive. In the first half the teachers and the trainers were made part of a role play exercise in which they were students and were taken through the book. This session focused on bringing out the spirit in which the book was written, to sensitize the children towards people with disabilities and focusing on all the objectives of the book. The reading session was set in a way to emphasize the techniques written in the manual which were later referred to during the presentation of the manual. In the second session the teacher manual and its vital points were explained referring to the actual teaching techniques presented in the manual. Then the participants were divided into groups. The group was given a scenario that a child with disability is joining their school & they have to propose the changes they would bring about in the classroom ,school, community & their teaching , to accommodate that child. Each group was given a different disability to work with. Then the group leader presented the suggestion to the participants. Comments by the Participants.&.feedback All participants were given a feedback form which they were requested to mail or e-mail. At the end of the session the teacher, trainer and institute representatives enthusiastically talked about their plans to further discriminate the book The trainers from NCHD were very enthusiastic in taking this programme forward not only in Punjab but to the different areas of Pakistan. Therefore requested for further training, books and manual. Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 22 No of sets Distributed in Punjab: English JLOK Urdu JLOK Manual NCHD 21 4 25 DSD 37 39 35 PITE 5 6 5 G.C.E.T 1 1 1 Govt. Schools 1 3 2 Punjab University ( 2 2 2 Lab School and IER) D.E.O. Lahore Cantt 1 1 1 Others 3 3 3 GTZ 1 1 1 UNICEF 1 1 1 Participants 31 68 99 Total 104 129 175 Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 23 Quetta Report Venue: Auditorium of Bureau of Curriculum and Extension Center, Directorate of Education Quetta, Balochistan. Time: 09.00 am to 02.00 pm Host Departments: Bureau of Curriculum and Extension Center, Directorate of Education Special Guests: Mr. Saad Ullah Tokhai, Director Bureau of Curriculum and Extension Center, Ms. Salma Qureshi, Director & Regional Coordinator VTCDP Quetta, Mr. Waleed Aziz from Almakhtoom Special Education School Islamabad. Resource Persons: Mr. Saeed ul Hassan, Manager School Improvement Program (ITA) Ms. Farzana Kousar, Manager Health & Environmental Program (ITA) No. of Participants: 40 Highlights: Mr. Saeed ul Hassan opened the session with Tilawat and formal greetings. He gave a brief introduction of ITA and its core programs. He unpacked the concept of inclusive education linking it with Education for All and further elaborated the objectives of the session and phase wise preparation, implementation, challenges, outcomes and partners involved in the JLOK Project. After that, Ms. Farzana Kousar began the training with an interesting introductory activity. By and large the inauguration of the book and training workshop on JLOK went smoothly. The feedback of the participants and the officials from DoE was quite encouraging. Commitments/Comments by the Chief Guests: Professor Saad Ullah Tokhai showed his commitment to replicate the training model on a larger scale in Balochistan and urged that both teachers from formal and non formal streams should get such orientation. He motivated the master trainers of the Department of Education to voluntarily share and disseminate information and message of JLOK with colleagues and their trainees. Ms. Salma Qureshi very aptly discussed various initiatives on Child Rights and Special Education by the Ministry of Social Welfare & Special Education. She offered every help to the Directorate of Education, teachers and reps. of NGOs in facilitating the implementation of JLOK Project Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 24 Child Writer’s View Points: Waleed Aziz’s presence made the session more significant as he shared his own story of meeting challenges, courage and hope. His father Akbar Aziz shared the systematic routine, discipline, and ambitiousness of Waleed who doesn’t give up. Waleed very confidently urged the teachers to realize their high responsibility to accommodate and tackle the children with any disability after the dissemination of the book. According to Waleed, “we are normal just like others, if we are special, then everyone is special. In fact we are all very special�. Outcome of the Training and Feedback: The training was interactive and dialogue based. Participants were encouraged to ask questions. Almost all the trainees were of the opinion that the session provided a good opportunity to understand the significance of inclusive education and usefulness of just like other kids. It seems that the book “JLOK� has left a positive impact on the participants which they reflected in the feedback and will help teachers not only in promoting inclusive education but also practicing newly acquired skills through training. No of Books Distributed in Balochistan: English JLOK Urdu JLOK Manual Education Deptt. 10 + 45 10 +15 10 + 30 Participants 10 40 40 NGOs 10 10 20 Total 75 75 100 Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 25 Annex B Pictorial Data Quetta Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 26 Lahore Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 27 Annex C: Just Like The Other Kids FEEDBACK FORM Name of Participant: (optional) Section I: 1. Do the teaching Methodologies proposed in the Teachers Manual (TM) allow the thinking process of the children to flow naturally during the storytelling? 2. Does the T.M give sufficient guidance to teachers? Section II: 1. What was the Children’s response? 2. Were the questions thoughtful and stimulating? 3. Were the questions able to stimulate some reflections, questions, enquiries on the part of the children? 4. How effective/helpful was the T.M in conducting the reading sessions? Section III: 1. Were the activities listed relevant to the lessons in the reader (JLOK)? 2. Did the activities help sensitize the children towards the issues of inclusion and acceptance? General: 1. Was the language of the manual able to convey the right message concerning people with disability? Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 28 2. Was the manual able to focus on helping realize the potential of the children? 3. Was it able to highlight the main messages of the JLOK reader? Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 29 Annex D: Invitation Letter Mr. Munir Ahmad Badini Secretary Education Government of Baluchistan Quetta 6-4-2007 Subject: Launch of “Just Like The Other Kids� Dear Sir, To raise awareness about youth disability issues and to foster social inclusion, the World Bank group, “Youth Innovation Fund�, had developed a two phased project to cater to Pakistan’s main stream schools (both public and private) .The overall objective of this project was to develop a book for children titled “Just like The Other Kids�. This book was aimed at harnessing the experience of youth with disabilities and to convey their experiences through compelling stories to first and second grade children. 16 young writers, with and without disabilities, were asked to put together a series of stories for this purpose which were then woven into one with the involvement of experts from both within Pakistan and abroad under Ms. Susan Hirshberg’s guidance. In the second phase of the project, a training manual for teachers’ has been developed by a group of education experts and teachers from government and private schools, Special Need Education Organizations etc. This phase of the project has been facilitated by Idara- e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) Public Trust. To ascertain a maximum outreach, we seek to launch and disseminate the book and Teachers’ manual in all four provinces of Pakistan and AJK region. Trainings for teachers on the usage of manual will also be conducted in all four provinces and AJK region. We are enclosing for you the book and the draft manual for your perusal. The Urdu translation is under process and this too shall be disseminated at the launch. In order for us to move forward, we request you: 1) To attend the launch of the book and teachers’ manual ( Maximum duration: one hour and a half hour) 2) To facilitate us in identification of approximately 30 govt. primary school teachers/trainers for the training session to be held in Quetta. (The teachers’ orientation to the manual will be for 3 and half hours.) Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 30 You will be pleased to know that to one of the authors of the book would be present at each launch ceremony. We would request your presence at the launching ceremony and inauguration of this workshop. We plan to hold the launch ceremony in your presence in Quetta on May 4th or May 5th. Kindly let us know your preferred date and availability. We would appreciate if a focal person is nominated with whom we can coordinate the entire program and proceed forward. On behalf of ITA, I shall be coordinating the program along with my assistant Mr. Shehzad Ali. Our mobiles numbers are: Muzna Irfan : 0300-8506655 Shehzad Ali: 0301-8125760 Looking forward to a positive and prompt response Sincerely Mrs. Muzna Irfan Project Coordinator Ph: 051-9218959 e-mail: muzna_irfan@yahoo.com cc: Ms Susan Hirshberg, the World Bank. Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 31 Sample Invitation Card: Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 32 Annex E Letter to Mrs. Zobaida Jalal for wider dissemination and printing of JLOK Mrs. Zubaida Jalal Minister for Social Welfare and Special Education Government of Pakistan Opposite NORI Hospital Islamabad May, 15, 2007 JLOK/ITA/WB Subject: Wider Disssemination and Printing of “Just Like The Other Kids� Promoting Inclusive Education in Pakistan Dear Madam, To raise awareness about youth disability issues and to foster social inclusion, the World Bank group, “Youth Innovation Fund�, had developed a two phased project to cater to Pakistan’s main stream schools (both public and private) .The overall objective of this project was to develop a book for children titled “Just like The Other Kids�. This book is aimed at harnessing the experience of youth with disabilities and to convey their experiences through compelling stories to first and second grade children. 16 young writers, with and without disabilities, and many of them from the Institutes working under your Ministry, were asked to put together a series of stories for this purpose which were then woven into one with the involvement of experts from both within Pakistan and abroad under Ms. Susan Hirshberg’s guidance. Madam you are well aware of this initiative which has been very well received across Pakistan. . In the second phase of the project, a training manual for teachers’ was developed by a group of education experts and teachers from government and private schools, Special Need Education Organizations etc. This phase of the project was facilitated by Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi (ITA) Public Trust. ITA has organized dissemination activities and training workshop across Pakistan and AJK. The response has been tremendous and we have received numerous requests for copies of the books and the training manual. Directorate of Staff Development, Government of Punjab, Departments of Education, Govt. of Sindh, NWFP, Sind Education Foundation, Govt. of AJK and many NGOs have requested for multiple copies of the book and the manual. Punjab’s DSD has requested for over 2000 copies of the books and training manuals. With the support of the World Bank, 2800 copies of the books and the teacher training manual were printed. However, most of them have been disseminated in the Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 33 training workshops. We, therefore, request the Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education to print at least 10,000 more copies of the books (both English and Urdu version) and the teacher training manual. These copies could then be distributed in teacher training institutions, universities with departments of education, high and middle schools with primary sections, Education Foundations, NGOs with education outreach programs and also special needs institutes across the country. We would be grateful if you would consider our request and seek permission from the World Bank for this purpose as they have the rights for publication. The book was printed in the first instance by the Oxford University Press (OUP). Ms. Susan Hirshberg, Education/Inclusive Education Specialist, Word Bank, would be in the country from the 25th to the 30th of May, 2007. It may be worthwhile for the DG Special Education to meet with her during her visit to discuss the modalities. We would then be able to discuss with your Ministry the modalities of distribution. Hoping for a positive response from your Ministry and ready to support the operational aspects of this program with you as a champion for the cause of Inclusive Education in Pakistan. A set of the books and manual is enclosed for your reference and information. With sincere regards Baela Raza Jamil Chairperson Idara-e-Taleem-o-Aagahi Cc: Ms. Susan Hirshberg, Education Specialist South Asia, The World Bank Ms. Muzna Irfan, Coordinator ITA for Just Like the Other Kids Director General ( Social Development) Ministry of Social Welfare and Special Education . Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 34 Annex F Media Coverage Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 35 Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 36 Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 37 Manual Development JLOK Report: ITA 38