Global Education Report Highlights Planet Aid-Supported Teacher Training in Malawi

The report, published on January 29 by UNESCO, features the DAPP Teacher Training Program. The program has enrolled over 1,300 new teachers, and has made great strides in supporting female teachers.

Elkridge, MD (PRWEB) March 11, 2014

UNESCO has published the latest edition of the Education for All Global Monitoring Report, which highlights the success of the Planet Aid-supported DAPP Teacher Training Program in Malawi, one of the many programs supported by Planet Aid. The report details the progress being made towards global education goals and stresses why education must remain a priority in the global development agenda.

Malawi has a dramatic shortage of teachers (the average primary school class size is 76 students), and it is especially difficult to attract talent in rural areas. The DAPP Teacher Training Program's four colleges have enrolled over 1,300 new teachers since 2011, providing the tools necessary to improve the low learning outcomes persisting in rural areas of the country.

The Gender Summary of the report, which was released yesterday at an event at UN Headquarters in New York City, calls for new global development goals of gender equity in education.

The DAPP Teacher Training Program has been particularly beneficial to young women, with 80% of females in the program reporting that the “school practice topics prepared them adequately for teaching in rural areas,” whereas only 38% of female students enrolled in government colleges felt the same way. It has also encouraged them to teach where their skills are most needed, with 87% saying they would opt for a rural post, opposed to only 67% in government colleges.

Furthermore, these colleges are deemed highly important in setting an example for other educational institutions. "Given the large numbers of rural children needing such support, government colleges need to learn from the programme to ensure that all trainee teachers acquire the skills to teach in areas where they are most needed," says the report.

Planet Aid is a nonprofit organization whose mission is to inform, mobilize and inspire individuals and communities to work together to bring about worldwide environmental and social progress. It is incorporated under the laws of Massachusetts and recognized as a tax-exempt charity under IRS code 501(c)(3). For more information on Planet Aid and its work, visit planetaid.org.

For the original version on PRWeb visit: http://www.prweb.com/releases/2014EFAreport/planetaidteachertraining/prweb11658445.htm