The University of Oxford has partnered with the Malala Fund to support the NGO Durbeen in launching an innovative teacher-education programme in Pakistan.
The collaboration, publicly announced by Shehzad Roy—renowned musician and vocal advocate for educational reform—aims to elevate teacher-training standards nationwide.
During an interview at Oxford, Roy extended his gratitude to Nobel laureate Malala Yousafzai for her instrumental role in establishing the initiative. He elaborated that the partnership focuses on developing a specialized MS curriculum to prepare educators who will, in turn, teach the B.Ed. programme within Pakistan’s Teacher Training Institutions.
The MS programme offers five specialisation tracks—Language, Social Studies, Mathematics, Science, and Educational Psychology—each tailored to equip teacher-educators with in-depth expertise to improve instruction across the B.Ed. curriculum.
Prominent figures in the collaboration include Roy himself, founder of Zindagi Trust; Salma A. Alam, CEO of Durbeen; Dr Ann Childs, Dr Aliya Khalid, and Dr Ian Thompson from Oxford. Dr Ian Thompson highlighted that his recent visit to Karachi and other parts of Pakistan enabled him to assess current training practices, contributing directly to the new program’s development.
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“This tailored approach will be transformative for teacher-trainers, allowing them to address specific educational needs in Pakistan,” Thompson noted, acknowledging the importance of local insights.
Roy underscored the program’s long-term potential, stating, “Properly trained teachers are essential for equipping children with critical thinking and analytical skills. This initiative will build the capacity of teacher-trainers, elevating education standards for generations to come.”
Meanwhile, Salma Alam described the partnership as a milestone for Pakistan, establishing teacher-educators as a recognised professional group for the first time—a designation that remains uncommon worldwide.
“Quality education begins with skilled teacher-educators,” she said, emphasizing that the initiative will lay the groundwork for a robust, professionally qualified teaching workforce in Pakistan. “This collaboration with Oxford and the Malala Fund represents a pivotal step in Durbeen’s mission, setting Pakistan on a path to become a hub of educational innovation,” she concluded.
The programme, set to be implemented across Pakistan’s teacher training institutions, reflects a pioneering model with the potential to transform the educational landscape by developing a new generation of qualified educators.
