USAID gives $13 million for quake zone education plan

The American Institutes for Research (AIR) has been awarded grant by the US Agency for International Development (USAID) to implement their Revitalising Innovating Strengthening Education (Rise) programme aimed at improving education in earthquake-affected areas of Pakistan.
Under the four-year, $13 million grant, Rise programme will work with teachers, parents, and communities to improve the quality of classroom instruction, train primary, middle and high school teachers, enhance the learning experience for students and build community participation in education sector.
The American Institutes for Research will be partner with local Pakistani organisations as well as international partners to improve educational opportunities in the earthquake-devastated districts of Bagh and Mansehra, Ascribe Newswire reported.
"Our goal is to help heal the physical and psychological devastation of schools, children and communities at large because of October 8 earthquake by ensuring that a quality education is available for all children and that schools become a safe and healing environment," said Janet Robb, an AIR vice president and head of its International Development Programme.
AIR's Rise team is a world-class group of international and Pakistan-based organisations that have decades of experience working to improve educational quality and substantial experience working collaboratively to improve student learning in Pakistan.
The Revitalising Innovating Strengthening Education has been designed with a keen awareness of the educational challenges in the devastated areas from the loss of families, teachers and homes to competing recovery priorities as communities struggle to rebuild shattered lives, buildings and institutions.
The Rise team is well-positioned to facilitate new approaches to education that the energy and resources accompanying the rebuilding effort make possible from the implementation of a Healing Schools activity. It will focus on the comprehensive educational and development needs of children in post-disaster situations, to a Subh-e-Nau (New beginnings) initiative to support activity-based learning projects at the school level, to professional development activities for district education officers that draw on their recent experience as post-disaster community leaders.