Problems faced by local government and teachers regarding setting

up of new training programs.

We see that there are various social, cultural and economic constraints which end up in a
plethora of problems being faced by the local government and teachers of KPK. Such problems
call attention of policy makers and the government in order to identify and correct the flaws of
Early Childhood Education. Not far behind is the problem of lack of training which results in
incompetency and unprofessionalism of teachers. There are not one, not few but many factors
which are responsible for not setting up new training programs in the province as it should be
made possible on emergency basis without further delay undertaken by the government to setup
new training programs by handling the social, economic and cultural barriers in the right manner
which stand as hurdles in the progress of Early Childhood Education in KPK. Teachers’
unprofessionalism also counts a lot in this regard because for increase in their pay and other
benefits, they conduct protests and strikes whereas when it comes to training, they never raise
this issue before the policy makers and the education department about setting up training
programs for pre-primary and early childhood education. Such laid back behavior provides
government yet another opportunity to turn a blind eye towards the education sector and in this
manner remains deprived of proper policies and adequate funding. Shortage of training
programmers or instructors also remain a challenge for the government due to which setting up
new or upgrading existing training centers is a serious hurdle. Either the government has to
educate people by setting up an institution exclusively for the purpose of making them learn the
profession of instruction particularly for the segment of early childhood education of literary
department or hire people from other provinces which may prove to be costly but is very
effective manner to enhance the process of teachers’ training. However, it is feasible for the
government to setup an institution in the KPK province where locals can join this field of interest
resulting in significant difference in the costs incurred. Educational institutions which have hired
teachers also have a responsibility of voicing the need of setting up new training programs for
teachers at the forums of public interests. There is a big chance for teacher during teaching
practice because during training. Teachers’ training is in a position to increase their knowledge
and solve their problems which they are facing during teaching. For this purpose, the provincial
governments along with UNESCO play an important role in facilitating the alignment of
provincial teacher education training to familiarize with ECE system (The Express Tribune.
2010). Particularly, the teachers training worked closely with the provincial government to train
ECE teachers and educators so that they could offer pre-service and in-service teacher training
courses. However, there are numerous issues and problems raised in the training of teacher in
Peshawar (SPARC, 2009).

No meaningful teaching and learning can take place without provision of adequate resource
materials. This applies to curriculum implementation as well (Curriculum Research and
Development Division, 2006). Lack of resources employed by the government for development
of new training programs for the teachers of Early Childhood Education also play a vital role in
its downfall. Inefficiency of adequate funding on the part of government dedicated for this very
purpose tends to show that as far as priorities are concerned, early education tends to be on the
last page. It is important for teacher educators to use specific methods to assess the relevance and
delivery of their programme, as well as its impact on teachers’ learning and classroom practice
(Fatima, 2017). The federal ministry of education should play a hand in legislation in making the
provincial government of KPK fully independent in incurring the expenditures of setting up
training centers to uplift the performance of early childhood education teachers. Provincial
government should fully collaborate and coordinate with the federal government in order to its
open doors for establishing new training programs and updating existing systems. Therefore, it
is worth mentioning that as long as the KPK government doesn’t take initiatives in the form of
providing recommendations needed for establishing new vocational training programs of
teachers and demanding financial independence to spend in the direction of training of teachers
of early childhood education, the current situation is not going to change. Where relevant laws
are legislated, implementation of policies and laws remain yet another challenge which requires
attention on the part of federal as well provincial government of KPK. Existing pre-primary
education classes will be transformed, upgraded to quality ECE by providing the required
infrastructure, facilities and services including separate classroom, exclusive teacher and
playground etc. ; Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs) will be used for
promotion of early childhood education and teacher training; Research on various aspects of
early childhood education will be conducted, disseminated and utilized for promotion of ECE in
the country (National Education Policy, 2017). For the sake of national cause it is also
responsibility of the department of vocational training to step forward and close collaborate and
coordinate by giving its recommendations to the government which it deems fit and necessary in
introducing new training programs for ECE teachers. Cultural aspect in training of teachers is
also a barrier, teachers belonging to different diverse backgrounds may not prefer to train
themselves further in the form of in-service professional development. Some teachers might
prefer old school methods and procedures of teaching with no room for innovation and
experimentation as per their cultural norms and from where they belong. Here, it is the
responsibility of the institution hiring them should take undertaking from them that they shall
continue the process of professional development and such training should not be resisted by the
teachers no matter which background or culture they belong to. It is mistaken that people expect
change or innovations in teacher education from external sources coming towards them. Change
desired from other sources which do not reach needs and concerns of the teachers and the
environment and situations they serve, is not possible (Korthagen, 2001).
In this regard considering the cultural norms of the society based in KPK, it is generally
observed that female teachers are facing more problems as compared to males because of the
restrictions imposed on them by their relatives. This is a severe challenge in the training process
of ECE teachers as majority of the teachers are females. Sadly, not much can be done about this
as the teachers are confined to stop their process of training due to family pressure in order to
limit their interaction with the male gender. Therefore, there has to be an awareness campaign
against these cultural norms and traditions by government so as the notion given by their family
is not based on the religion. Religion regulates the interaction of female and male gender by
several other ways except prohibiting them to interact. For instance it is ordered for female to
properly cover herself and for the male to down his gaze while interacting with each other. In
this regard teachers are less motivated towards and take least interest in their school duties. In
many cases teachers get salaries without attending the schools because of their businesses. This
has retarded the process of quality teaching and learning in schools (Shahzadi and Perveen,
2002). All married woman has the common problems of pregnancy/delivery which female
teachers face repeatedly during the entire service i.e. on one side she has to performed his official
duty and on the other side she faces a lot of complication and hurdles during this period, which is
quite alarming one (Shah, 2014). Another hurdle is from economic and financial condition of
teachers. It should be considered that teachers are earning merely a monthly salary, therefore in
no way they are going to spend from their own pocket for purpose of their professional
development. Inflation in Pakistan is on the rise and the majority of population is living hand to
mouth with very little or no savings at all. Teachers in this regard are no different, they earn their
livelihood by working hard. Teaching in Pakistan is without a doubt one of the underpaid
professions. A fund should be established by the government specifically for the training needs
of an ECE teachers. Teacher community, being the most finically poor in Society, often look for
other sources of earning such as going abroad for working and run their own Businesses at the
cost of their professional integrity (Zafar, 2003). Keeping in mind the social, economic and
cultural barriers in the way of teachers’ training and development and introduction of new
training programs, it is safe to say that KPK lags far behind in the training and development
segment of Early Childhood Education. Endeavors are to be made on all fronts by teacher
themselves, educational institutions, policy makers, community as a whole and the government
to ensure that the process of training of ECE teachers never stops and continues to flourish in the
right direction.

Numerous studies and researches have been conducted for the purpose of demonstrating the
importance and significance of Early childhood education. All of them unanimously stress upon
the positive impacts it confers on a child. Most of the researches highlight that ECE is a
foundation base of children upon which the building of their life is going to be constructed. Early
Childhood Education plays a vital role in the physical and mental development, it is a significant
part of education process of a ECE is basically that segment of education, which has been
subjected to new policies recently by the government. Such policies does not seem to be working
and going in the right direction as early childhood education is still in development process.
Therefore, there has to variation in policies from time to time as the development pattern of ECE
has not established fully and cannot be predicted. Early Childhood Education is indeed a matter
of significance as the whole life of a child depends on it. Therefore, the society and government
cannot afford to put it at loose ends and must not allow it to get targeted by corruption or inept
policies Taking into consideration a brief analysis of the Early childhood education system in the
province of KPK, we tend to observe and realize that ECE in the province is in a struggling
phase but also a developing one. Some of the challenges are of such nature that they require short
term measures i.e. A period of less than one year, whereas, some need long term policy on the
part of government. Hurdles in the prosperity of early childhood education are immense. If the
government, policy makers, educational institutions, teachers and other relevant authorities
perform their duties respectively, there is going to be a vast improvement in this segment of
education. Such change is going to be possible only through collaboration and coordination of
all concerned authorities, especially, between federal ministry of education and provincial
ministry where the federation should oversee matters and play a role of supervising all the
matters which require immediate attention like Early Childhood Education in such case.