Leading education technology provider Turnitin and education non-profit Teach For Pakistan announced their partnership today. The partners will help develop the next generation of teachers and leaders in education with a focus on increasing education access and quality for primary and secondary school-aged children.
An integrated partnership, Turnitin is gifting technical expertise, edtech solution Turnitin Similarity, and a Fellowship grant to Teach For Pakistan.
Teach For Pakistan is a Pakistan-based, independent, national not-for-profit organization working to end educational inequity in the country by building a movement of diverse and capable leaders. Teach For Pakistan recruits, selects, trains, and supports graduates from Pakistan’s leading universities for a two-year Fellowship where Fellows teach and lead change in under-resourced and low-income communities. Each Fellow trained helps 50 children get access to quality education. In an average Teach For Pakistan classroom, students are able to catch up on a year’s worth of schooling in just five months. Alumni Fellows become lifelong leaders for sustainable education reform, using their experience to work from various points within education and across the broader socio-economic system to achieve equity and excellence in education for all children.
The Turnitin grant will fund one Fellow through their training—and subsequently 50 students’ education for two years—and support program operations.
With gifted access to text-similarity checker Turnitin Similarity, Teach For Pakistan will be able to more easily and accurately confirm Fellowship application authorship and integrity. Once accepted into the program, Fellows will use the edtech tool to strengthen their writing, research, and citation skills.
Turnitin will also support Teach For Pakistan with technical expertise, helping increase efficiency and effectiveness of relationship and performance management technology systems and processes. The Turnitin Pakistan team is also ready to assist with workshops for Fellows and students on best learning practices and academic integrity.
To date, the Teach For Pakistan Fellowship program at large has trained 230+ Fellows, improved 87 schools, and provided quality learning for nearly 10,000 students.
“In Pakistan, more than 20 million children are out of school; 40% of fifth graders cannot read a story; and 95% of students who are enrolled in formal education, attend under-resourced schools,” states Khadija Shahper Bakhtiar, CEO and Founder of Teach For Pakistan. “Because of the magnitude and complexity of the education crisis in Pakistan, we must think beyond band aid solutions and invest in a leadership force that can work long-term on multiple fronts to change how the education system works and the outcomes it produces. Partners like Turnitin are helping us create that leadership force that is delivering impact today, and will continue to do so for many years to come. ”
“Especially during a time of unprecedented challenges, we need to be supporting the frontline workers of the future—educators,” says Mohammed Shahrukh, Turnitin Pakistan Growth Manager. “Our future—the scholars, innovators, and leaders of tomorrow—is determined by students’ access to and quality of education. This is greatly influenced by educators’ quality of support. By partnering with expert leaders in equitable education like Teach For Pakistan, we can accelerate both immediate and long-term solutions to the education crisis.”
# # #
About Teach For Pakistan
Teach For Pakistan nurtures leadership to end educational inequity in Pakistan. The organization is incorporated under Section 42 of The Companies Ordinance, 2017 as a non-profit organization. All donations made to Teach For Pakistan are tax deductible under clause 2(36)(c) of the Income Tax Ordinance, 2001.
Teach For Pakistan is a partner in the Teach For All global network of independent, national social enterprises working to expand educational inequity in 60+ countries around the world. The Teach For model was pioneered over three decades ago by Teach For America in the US. More information about the network can be found at: www.teachforall.org.