Mozambique: Aga Khan Academy Maputo certifies a new group of 125 educators

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Mozambique: Aga Khan Academy Maputo certifies a new group of 125 educators

2:09 CAT | 18 Apr 2018

Photos: Courtesy of Aga Khan Academy Maputo

The Aga Khan Maputo Academy’s Professional Development Centre (PDC) awarded course and participation certificates to a group of 125 educators from 16 primary schools in the districts of Matola and Boane.

The certification ceremony was held at the Aga Khan Maputo Academy last Saturday, April 14, 2018 and was attended by representatives of the Ministry of Education and Human Development.

The group of 125 educators comprises 51 members of the school councils that participated in the Training Course between 2017 and 2018, 18 teachers who participated in the Reading and Writing Programme, 20 English teachers and 34 teachers who participated in the Improvement Mathematics Teaching in 2017. These courses are taught by the Aga Khan Academy’s Professional Development Centre in partnership with the Ministry of Education and Human Development through the Matola and Boane District Education Services and the Matola Teacher Training Institute .

Certification of this group of school board members by the Aga Khan Academy’s Professional Development Centre is in line with the holistic framework for school improvement adopted by this institution to enable members of the School Boards to play a more active role in management and development of schools in the province of Maputo. During training, beneficiaries learned content related to their duties and responsibilities for more effective and efficient school management.

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During the sessions of the programme, members of the School Councils participated in discussions, in which the current condition of management and leadership practices in their schools was discussed. At the same time, they were challenged to implement good leadership practices in their schools, covering aspects such as collaborative management, transparency, accountability and open communication among all members of the school community, with a view to improving student achievement.

This is the first time that the Professional Development Centre of the Aga Khan Maputo Academy has undertaken the training of members of School Councils.

The plan is to train more members during this year in the six reference public primary schools and, in the coming years, expand to the other 10 schools in the network of 16 public primary schools with which the Aga Khan Academy has been collaborating since 2010.

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Teachers who participated in Reading and Writing, English and Mathematics shared the challenges and experiences gathered through interactive discussions, learned and tested student-centred approaches and methodologies to teach reading and writing skills, math skills, and basic geometry. These teachers were challenged to use games, music and plays as a way to increase the interest and motivation of students to learn, while being encouraged to use locally available resources to develop and improve teaching and learning environments.

At the graduation ceremony, the representative of the Ministry of Education and Human Development and National Director of Teacher Training, Mr. Remane Selimane made the training programmes more relevant, saying that “these constitute a strong contribution that the Aga Khan Maputo Academy is providing to beneficiary schools of the various programmes”, and that “there is no greater legacy that can be left for future generations than the knowledge embodied in the learning and experiences shared by teachers during the Aga Khan Maputo Academy”.

Indeed, the representative of the Ministry of Education and Human Development placed greater emphasis on the members of the School Boards, urging them not only to celebrate their certification, but also “the knowledge acquired should be put into practice and shared with the rest members of the school community”.

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Director of the Aga Khan Academy, Mr Michael Spencer, stated that “the certification ceremony is the celebration of more than 5,000 hours dedicated to learning by all teachers and members of the School Councils” and particularly praised the presence of children, who also have a voice in the members of the School Councils, indicating that “all the efforts that the Academy is carrying out in partnership with the schools is aimed at improving student achievement”.

A spokesperson of the certificated group, Mr. Bernardo Macuácua, said this training meant “a lot of learning and sharing. Many of us members of the Councils of Schools were curious, without any exact notion of our duties. After this training we have the tools to effectively and efficiently comply with our responsibilities in our schools”.

The Aga Khan Development Network and the Ministry of Education and Human Development have recently signed a Memorandum of Understanding in which, among other actions, the Aga Khan Maputo Academy undertakes to continue to train teachers.

Since the start of its activities in 2010, the Aga Khan Maputo Academy’s Professional Development Centre has certified 606 state education boards, including first-to-third-grade teachers, English teachers, school managers and members of School Councils.

Learn more about the Aga Khan Academy Maputo

The Aga Khan Academy Maputo operates under the Aga Khan Services for Education, Mozambique, which is part of an integrated international school network that offers an international standard of primary education to high school with a rigorous academic and leadership experience. The Academy develops exceptional calibre intellectual talents enabling boys and girls to become future leaders in Mozambique and Africa as a whole.

One of the particular strengths of the Aga Khan Maputo Academy is the delivery of high quality professional development programmes for educators, focusing on the acquisition of thematic content, general pedagogical skills, interactive learning techniques and student-centred teaching methodologies. All of these interventions are in line with the Strategic Plan of the Ministry of Education and Human Development, which highlights the need to improve the quality of education in the country through reforms in the teacher training system, and increased monitoring and evaluation of performance of students and school management systems.

The Aga Khan Academies Unit is one of the education agencies of the Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN). Founded by His Highness the Aga Khan, AKDN is a group of private, international, non-denominational development agencies working in the areas of environment, health, education, architecture, culture, microfinance, rural development, disaster mitigation, entrepreneurship promotion the private sector and the revitalization of historic cities.

The AKDN agencies conduct their programmes regardless of creed, origin or gender. AKDN works in 30 countries, employing around 80,000 people, the vast majority of whom are from developing countries. The annual budget for non-profit development is approximately US$925 million. The Aga Khan Fund for Economic Development (AKFED) projects generate revenues of approximately USD4.1 billion annually, with all AKFED surpluses reinvested in new AKDN development activities.

For more information, you may contact:

Aleixo Amelia José
Extension Program Coordinator
Centre for Professional Development – Academia Aga Khan Maputo
Zimbabwe Avenue 212, Matola ‘A’, Maputo – Mozambique
Phone: +258 82 3367584 | Landline: +258 21 720963
[email protected]

Source: The Aga Khan Academy Maputo / Press Release