Karachi, March 10: IUCNP team met with Dr. Hamida Khuhro, Minister for Education and Literacy, Government of Sindh and Mr. Mehboob Sheikh, Additional Secretary, Academic, Ministry of Education at the Sindh Secretariat to discuss the collaboration between Provincial Institute for Teacher Education (PITE) Sindh and IUCNP. Hasan Akhtar Rizvi, Head Education, Communication and Knowledge Management Group of IUCNP briefed the Minister about IUCN’s operations in Pakistan while Nasir Ali Panhwar, Coordinator Constituency, focused on IUCNP’s activities in Sindh. Zohra Rehmat Ali, Coordinator Environmental Education(EE) Programme highlighted the initiatives of the EE Programme and presented the outcomes of the capacity mapping exercise, conducted by IUCNP for PITE Sindh. A draft report on capacity mapping was also shared with the group.

It was observed that institutionalization of environment, particularly Education for Sustainable Development (ESD) at PITE is becoming increasingly important as it is the centre of excellence for teachers’ education in Sindh. The concept of ESD got widespread recognition after the Rio Conference in 1992 to provide an emphasis on educational processes which focused on sustainable development. PITE’s role in teacher training around ESD is instrumental as the Federal Curriculum Wing of the Ministry of Education is already working on a project to integrate EE/ESD concerns into the curriculum. Therefore, teachers’ training in EE/ESD would be a dire need in the coming years. A Swiss funded project on Environmental Education at School and College level, under NEAP (National Environmental Action Plan) which is being implemented by the Federal Curriculum Wing, is now looking into situational analysis for EE in the country.

PITE has a huge campus and training facilities in Nawabshah, Sindh. Besides, it has a competent faculty, skilled in teacher training and material development. It was recommended that for integration of ESD into PITE’s programmes, it should concentrate on capacity building of staff in not only EE but also human rights, population, health, peace education with a focus on skills enhancement in research, strategic planning, critical thinking and liaison with parents and communities. In this regard, beside IUCNP, support from relevant organizations such as Teacher Resource Centre, Institute for Educational Development, Sindh Education Foundation, and Human Rights Education Programme can also be sought. In addition, linkages of PITE with regional organizations such as Centre for Environment Education (CEE) could be developed. Moreover, environment friendly practices such as water and energy conservation and waste management should be promoted at PITE to focus on the whole campus approach for ESD. The need of effective monitoring and evaluation of the recommended plan was also discussed.

Dr. Hamida Khuhro and Mr. Mehboob Sheikh emphasized on taking forward this collaboration with continuous and uninterrupted liaison between PITE Sindh and IUCNP. It was also decided that a training programme for PITE faculty together with representatives from elementary colleges of education and Bureau of Curriculum would be arranged by IUCNP in late March 2005.