Temporary Learning Centers – TLCs

Naseerabad, located in Balochistan, the most affected district by flood, is still in tatters. The flood has exposed the farce of education in Naseerabad.

The data on the havoc unleashed by the deluge on the school system can only be described as overwhelming.  The data was collected by Unicef and the other partners of the school education department(SED).

A friend of mine, Muhammad Hanif, working in CPD Unicef as a Teachers’support associate (TSA), provided me with the consolidated data.

 Of the nearly 622 schools in Naseerabad, almost 30% of schools in the flood-affected areas have been destroyed or partially damaged. Due to this immense loss, the education of thousands of school-going children has suffered.

 But there is still hope. The contributions of CPD Unicef to the education department in this challenging time deserve appreciation, and it is working for the betterment of education.

 Temporary Learning Centers(TLC) are set up to provide access to education for traumatized children who have been witness to death and destruction during the flood.

A School van is also arranged by Unicef that keeps going to the traumatized children to get them engaged in educational activities.

 The teachers appointed in TLCs teach students using playful tactics. Though their pedagogy is not the conventional one popular in Pakistan, students learn through fun and games.

Unicef has provided school kits to teachers, which contain all the basic material for teaching, such as stationery, notebooks, books, and sports equipment.

 The Unicef representative working in CPD also maintains that the parents are pleased with TLCs and are demanding education for their offspring.

TLC is an excellent idea that Unicef has actualized to provide education to children in times of natural calamities such as floods.

 Unicef is maintaining profiles of children in their villages to be able to track them when they have to be mainstreamed and moved to regular institutions. True, the monitoring system will ensure enrolment.

 But the attendance of the teachers can only be ensured by the community itself.

The old order would require more efforts that would not be feasible given the present situation of education.

 Despite providing these services, the contribution of Unicef to public schools is also worthwhile.

The schools inundated with floodwater were cleaned, and floodwater was drawn from the schools with the collaboration of Unicef.

 Unicef is reconstructing many Schools that the flood has partially damaged. Unicef bridges the gap and offers an alternative to the present education apparatus by setting up TLCs and assisting Public schools in reinstating them.