The Teacher Preparation Programme celebrates 6th graduation ceremony

The Teacher Preparation Programme (TPP) held its 6th graduation on 18 June 2020 in an online ceremony to honour the achievements of eight graduates from Kenya and Mozambique who successfully completed the 18-month programme. The cohort underwent training to become certified International Baccalaureate (IB) teachers in line with the Aga Khan Academies’ aim to maintain a teaching staff of at least 80% locally trained teachers. Below, Dr. Tom Abuto, the TPP Coordinator tells us more about the programme and this year’s cohort.

18 June 2020 will remain memorable for the Aga Khan Academies Teacher Preparation Programme (TPP) for several reasons. Firstly, this was by the far the biggest TPP graduation ceremony since the inception of the programme in 2014 as it brought together our partners from across the globe. We were privileged to have the University of British Columbia (UBC) Director of the International Baccalaureate Program for the Faculty of Education, Meredith Fenton; the Interim Head of Academies Unit, Dr. Graham Ranger; leaders and faculty from the Academies in Hyderabad, Maputo and Mombasa; the graduating cohort and their families and many more.

This also marked the first-ever online graduation for the TPP in an exciting event that brought together people who would otherwise not have been able to attend a physical ceremony.

The cohort was a unique combination of four Kenyans and four Mozambicans. The team of eight began their journey as strangers with different languages and cultures but shared a curriculum which was delivered in English. Although a challenge was posed by the fact that the programme was delivered through the problem-based learning (PBL) approach, which was new to all of them, they quickly discovered how to make their journey productive and creatively worked together. The Aga Khan Strand of pluralism found fertile ground here where evident diversity played out as a strength in the mix.

Having been involved in the recruitment and training of the team from the onset, I must say it is a true realisation of the power of education in transforming people and hence societies. The biggest strength of the TPP is the clear development of solid professional identities guided by a well thought out personal philosophy of education. The newly graduated teachers have developed into life-long learners committed to applying responsive teaching practices to impact the world.

Working with such passionate and enthusiastic lifelong learners drawn from different contexts has been a fulfilling experience and I look forward to exciting times ahead as the network grows.  The ‘new normal’ makes it even more interesting as teaching and learning undergoes a transformation that will definitely have an impact on the programme.