“I really wanted to become a doctor, but we don’t have a science teacher in our school and I don’t have money for science tuition classes, so I’ve had to give up on my dream.”
BATTICALOA PILOT PROJECT
Tackling the STEM Teacher Shortage
In collaboration with Child Action Lanka, our pilot program targets the urgent need for STEM teachers in three schools within the Batticaloa West Education Zone. We recruited ten A/L-qualified volunteer teachers from the local community, who went through an intensive one-month pre-service training program, complemented by ongoing coaching from a life skills coach at Eastern University.
These committed volunteers are set to teach for one year, ensuring continuity in the classroom while enhancing their teaching and leadership skills. This initiative aims to create sustainable, long-term improvements in educational quality across Batticaloa schools.
This innovative partnership among local schools, zonal administrators, and TFSL illustrates that by recruiting local A-level graduates and providing them with comprehensive pre-service training and continuous instructional support, we can effectively address critical STEM teacher shortages. This public-private partnership approach not only ensures effective classroom teaching but also reduces teacher turnover by attracting top local talent through meaningful professional development opportunities and career pathways.
This innovative partnership among local schools, zonal administrators, and TFSL illustrates that by recruiting local A-level graduates and providing them with comprehensive pre-service training and continuous instructional support, we can effectively address critical STEM teacher shortages. This public-private partnership approach not only ensures effective classroom teaching but also reduces teacher turnover by attracting top local talent through meaningful professional development opportunities and career pathways.
Project Objectives
- Increase Local Teacher Capacity: Train and deploy 10 volunteers to address teacher shortages in three rural schools within Eravurpattur division, teaching in the classroom for two years.
- Enhance Student Achievement: Significantly increase the number of students achieving a grade of 60% or higher in those subjects taught by our teaching Fellows.
- Foster Inclusive Classrooms: Cultivate an engaging learning environment that increases student participation in classrooms and overall school attendance.
- Evaluate Program Viability: Assess pilot program’s effectiveness through pre-defined metrics in volunteer recruitment, retention, and community engagement. Provide insight and community feedback to launch the full two-year fellowship program.