As DIL Trust UK was mandated to providing quality teacher education itself, the best way to achieve this was to start building the capacity of the teachers and the support staff, so that learning could be improved and the children graduating from the DIL & DIL Trust UK schools could compete with the best in the future. During the summer of 2006, DIL hired its own trainers, did the needs assessment and planned its training according the specific needs of the community teacher. The results were so positive that DIL & DIL Trust UK realized that it had to provide its teachers with training geared to their particular needs, with continuous on-site support and feedback. DIL Trust UK is committed to raising the standard of education in all of its schools by:
To implement DIL’s Strategic Goal: Improve the quality of education by raising the standard of teaching at all DIL & DIL Trust UK supported schools it was decided that instead of outsourcing its training, DIL would set up its own professional development centre in Islamabad, known as DIL’s Teacher Education Centre (DTEC) This centre would design the training program according to the needs of teachers teaching in community schools in rural areas, after consultation with all its stakeholders – partners, field staff and the teachers themselves. At the moment there is no education institute which caters specifically to the needs of rural teachers, and DIL & DIL Trust UK hopes that in the future it can open its doors to all those who wish to avail its services and use its materials.
Most importantly, DIL assigned two Master of Public Policy graduates from UCLA, John Hellmann and Sarah Simons, to study the existing professional development practices in DIL & DIL Trust UK’s projects and identify the most effective ways to improve teacher development. The excellent report they produced after seven months of intense work, is the basis for much of the program design and we are grateful for their extremely valuable input.