Teacher Training Center

The 2005 earthquake in Pakistan caused a great deal of devastation and a huge loss of life. The education system in the affected areas of the NWFP and Azad Jammu & Kashmir (AJK) has been severely affected. Almost all schools in the worst-hit areas, especially Muzaffarabad (AJK) and Mansehra (NWFP), have been either completely destroyed or severely damaged. UNICEF has estimated that 960,000 school-age children need school support, of which 450,000 are of primary school age.

These children have already lost an academic year and unless the education system of these areas is rebuilt soon, they are likely to lag behind for the rest of their lives. The Citizen's Foundation (TCF), a local Pakistani NGO focused on creating affordable good quality schools in areas with the greatest need in Pakistan, is building a school network in these areas to restore the education system destroyed by the earthquake.

In addition to building schools, a major priority is the hiring and training of personnel who can be trained to handle teaching of traumatized children. This necessitates creation of a Teacher Training Center to provide pre-service and annual developmental training to school faculty. The Pakistan Teacher Training Center initiative aims to provide training facilities for TCF school faculty on quality education methods, using first-rate training aids and methods of instruction, by building, equipping, and staffing a Teacher Training Center (TTC).