During the summer school holidays, classroom seminars have successfully been developed aimed at training the skills and competencies of teachers in the National Pedagogical University in Kinshasa, D. R. Congo’s capital.
This training is part of the activities developed by the Education Convention that the FPSC has been implementing in Kinshasa since 2010, and is funded by AECID.
The project’s overall objective is to ensure quality training of teachers in primary education, and thus help improve the quality of education in the DRC.
The courses, which focus on innovation in teaching practices, respond to requests for cooperation requested by Ministry of Primary, Secondary and Vocational Education (MEPSP). The basic principles underlying the intervention promote education of the whole person, based on universal values and human rights, especially trying to promote gender equality, social awareness and active participation not only of teachers but also families in the education of their children.
In four years, the project aims to have trained 1,500 teachers, more than 200 inspectors and 100 primary school principals.
This second edition of the formation (the first took place in summer 2011) has been inaugurated with the presence of the Secretary General of MEPSP, the General Coordinator of the Spanish Cooperation in DRC and Secretary General Academic UPN. The seminars were led by the teachers of the Open University in collaboration with the teachers of the Pedagogical University of Kinshasa. Like last year, training, aimed at subjects of Teaching French and mathematics, has taught more than 300 beneficiaries, organized by the Ministry of Education of the DRC.
Besides classroom seminars, initial training on the use of Internet and the management of the course contents has been offered, which are presented on the website of the Open University to continue with distance learning and at the same time be developing the digital skills. For many teachers this has meant for the first time crossing a barrier, as most, especially women, are not considered suitable to use new technologies. Therefore, the objective of this training is also to help increase self-esteem and reduce the digital divide in the world.
After these training sessions, the seminar participants may continue to acquire knowledge through distance course on-line, supplementing the training. The main objective is to allow recipients to verify the degree of assimilation of the contents and the actual implementation of the same, through the consultation of the concepts discussed and monitoring activities that will be corrected and annotated by coaches.
Before the end of this year, plans to host the third edition of training for teachers and inspectors seminar in collaboration with the SERNAFOR (the body of the Congolese Ministry of Equation responsible for the general supervision of primary and secondary education), whose order will be training in the management of ICT as a tool and search tools of training content to become trainer of teachers and started investigations and proposals for improving education in the DRC.