Primary and pre-primary teachers are trained on using mathematics and literacy kits

Ahmad, a 7-year old Afghan boy, studies in the first grade of primary school in Tehran City. According to the decree of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution of Iran, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, issued in 2015, all children, regardless of their legal status, should have access to Iran’s formal education system. This has created an incredible opportunity for Afghan children like Ahmad to enroll in formal schools and sit in the same classroom as other students in Iran. Ahmad’s favorite lesson is mathematics. Every week, in the mathematics class his teacher, Ms Nosrati, uses a series of games, tools and instruments known as the Mathematics Kit for Primary School to better teach concepts such as number sense, mathematical ideas, measurement and patterns as well as elementary arithmetic. In Ms Nosrati’s Mathematics class, pupils use all the educational blocks and objects they need, to explore elementary math concepts and solve problems. Learning mathematics with the colorful objects and blocks of the kit is fun and exciting. Educational kits, games and teaching tools turn classrooms into a rich educational environment in which children are active learners.

Improving access to basic social services for Afghan Refugee Children and Adolescents is an area of collaboration between Iran’s Bureau for Aliens and Foreign Immigrants Affairs (BAFIA) and the UNICEF Iran Office. As part of this agreed collaboration, 630 mathematics educational kits, 2,750 literacy kits and 290 pre-primary kits were purchased from funds provided by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) and distributed among ten provinces across the country which cover 2,750 primary and 290 pre-primary classes. The funding has supported the Government’s ongoing joint programme with UNICEF to improve access to basic social services for Afghan refugee children and adolescents in the country. The Ministry of Education’s focus working together with BAFIA and UNICEF with EU support is to improve access to education for Afghan refugee children and to help them integrate into formal schools. 

On Thursday 15 March 2018, the Ministry of Education and UNICEF Iran jointly organized the first training workshop on using the Mathematics kits at Sanaye Amoozeshi Industries for several primary school teachers from Tehran province. The training series are designed to provide teachers with the necessary skills and knowledge on how to apply the kits to create an opportunity for the students to enjoy the process of learning as well as improving their ability to think through a problem. Teachers from nine other provinces will attend similar trainings in Spring 2018.

Commenting on the training, UNICEF Representative in Iran, Dr Will Parks, said: “Education is the foundation of society and is a long-term investment for all nations. A positive future starts in the classrooms where children’s curiosity and imagination can solve the most difficult problems. Using the educational kits in the class encourages students to reflect on and verbalize their thought process and enhance their creativity and problem-solving skills.” He emphasized that UNICEF is ready to continue to support the Ministry of Education in achieving national priorities.

Every week, Ahmad and his classmates look forward to having their mathematics class where many fun math challenges awaits them. Ms Nosrati, a skillful math teacher, improves the knowledge of her students by using the materials in the kit and constantly encourages them to work in groups. This teaching approach has a great impact on students’ learning and motivates them to eagerly participate in the math class while strengthening their teamwork capabilities and conceptual thinking.