STiR Education was very pleased to attend the first ever international education conference hosted by the Delhi government this week, which brought together 22 experts from across the globe to discuss best practices which could help revolutionise education. It was highly encouraging for STiR to see many of our core principles being echoed by experts in various fields within the education space. For example, Dr. Jeremy Hodgen (Department of Curriculum, Pedagogy and Assessment, Institute of Education, UCL) spoke of the importance of allowing students to make mistakes and learn from failure and of teachers engaging in reflection to improve their own practices. Panellists also talked about the importance of practices like elaborative questions, classroom routines, student discussions and student journals – all of which have been integral parts of learning improvement cycles conducted in Delhi through our programme over the years.
One of the highlights of the conference was an independent report published by Boston Consulting Group, which had analysed the Delhi government’s education reforms. The report highlights the unique way in which the Delhi government is engaging with partner NGOs as a key to its success. Unlike other states, the government takes complete ownership of the programs and works in close concert with the NGOs. In particular, the report mentions the Teacher Development Coordinator (TDC) programme (delivered in partnership with STiR) and its focus on providing continuous school-level support to teachers as one of the key initiatives that has led to a positive impact and improved learning outcomes.
In another excellent session entitled ‘Treat Teachers as Professionals’, a panel discussed best practices for successful teacher development programs and how the position of teachers can be elevated relative to other professions. During the talk, the panel emphasised the importance of cross-sharing learnings and challenges between teachers. They also spoke of the importance of providing teachers the opportunity to try new practices and learn from them, and cultivating an environment that helps them grow – all key objectives of our TDC programme. Mr. Manish Sisodia, Deputy Chief Minister (Delhi) and Dr. Audimulapu Suresh, Minister of Education (Andhra Pradesh) discussed the need for cross-sharing of best practices between states in order to strengthen education reforms. Mr. Sisodia also emphasised the importance of preparing students to return to school in a post-Covid world, and STiR continues to work in partnership with the Delhi government to ensure that teachers have the support they need at this time.
STiR Education was represented by Shadab Ahmed, Tushar Pundir and Sanya Sagar during the conference. “Hearing Ms. Yamini Iyer, President and CEO, Centre for Policy Research, talk about fertile ground for new ideas made me think of our motto at STiR – that we strive to provide a fertile ground (intrinsic motivation) for the other technical seeds (programmes) running in the system. Seeing our ideas echoed by so many different experts was exciting and encouraging!”, says Shadab Ahmed, Senior Programme Manager (Delhi).
“It was fantastic to see the synergies between STiR’s theory of change around lifelong learning and the existing priorities of the Delhi government as well”, adds Tushar Pundir, Lead Senior Programme Manager (Delhi). Echoing Shadab and Tushar, Sanya Sagar, Senior Manager (Design & Programme Readiness, Delhi) says, “The conference was energising and we’re so proud to be a part of Delhi’s fantastic effort to ensure that every child loves learning.”
