UNICEF and UNESCO congratulate schoolchildren of Turkmenistan with the first day of academic year
Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, 1 September 2008 – The United Nations Children’s Fund and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization congratulate all schoolchildren and teachers of Turkmenistan on the first day of academic year 2008-2009.
“Education is critical to children’s development as individuals and as members of societies, and it helps pave the way to a successful and productive future,” stated UNICEF Representative in Turkmenistan, Mr. Abdul Alim congratulating children and teachers of Turkmenistan. “When we ensure that children have access to a child-friendly quality education, we create a ripple effect of opportunity that impacts generations to come,” said Mr. Abdul Alim.
This year the 1st of September, the Day of Knowledge, is celebrated at the national level with many festivities. Thousands of Turkmenistan children will move to new schools and will use modern facilities that are aimed at enhancing effective understanding of subjects. While school facilities and equipment are important pillars of education, child-friendly learning and teaching are the major contributors of improving quality of education.
UNICEF and UNESCO welcome Turkmenistan Government’s reform efforts in education sector and stand committed in supporting the initiatives that foster quality learning and teaching. This year UNICEF and UNESCO’s partnership with the Ministry of Education is focused on human resource development and education management and planning. Besides an annual teachers’ conference in August, all 70,000 teachers of Turkmenistan participated in the sessions on the concept of child-friendly environment organized by UNICEF and UNESCO.
“Now that all teachers have undergone an orientation seminar on modern methods of teaching and know how to create a child-friendly environment at schools, we hope that they will apply those skills in a classroom. Effective learning of children largely depends on a skillful teacher, and UNICEF and UNESCO will continue implementing programmes with the Ministry of Education that will strengthen educators’ teaching capacities,” said Mr. Abdul Alim.
For more information please contact:
Ms. Gulshat Amandurdiyeva UNICEF Education Officer Phone: +99312 425681/82/86/86 Fax: +99312 420830 Email: gamandurdiyeva@unicef.org
Ms. Gulyalek Soltanova UNICEF Communication Officer Phone: +99312 425681/82/86/86 Fax: +99312 420830 Email: gsoltanova@unicef.org Web: http://www.unicef.org/turkmenistan
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