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THE CITIZENS FOUNDATION
The Citizens Foundation (TCF) is a professionally managed nonprofit organization set up in 1995 by a group of citizens who wanted to bring about positive social change through education. 25 years later, TCF is now one of Pakistan’s leading organizations in the field of education for the less privileged.
TCF works with the vision of removing barriers of class and privilege to make the citizens of Pakistan agents of positive change. They have a well-defined mission through the power of quality education enabling moral, spiritual, and intellectual enlightenment and creating opportunities to improve quality of life. The 5Cs of education represent TCF’s definition of quality education; Creative and Critical Thinking, Conceptual Knowledge, Confidence, Core Values, and Communication Skills.
The journey of a thousand schools began with a single idea and soon turned into a global movement. South Asian Federation of Accountants (SAFA) awards TCF with "Best Presented Annual Report Award 2016” in the category for nongovernmental and not-for-profit organizations. UNESCO honors TCF’s Adult Literacy Program "Aagaahi” with the Confucius Prize for Literacy. Below is more information about the TCF’s Education Programs.
A CURRICULUM SUITED FOR STUDENT SUCCESS
TCF’s school curriculum promotes an interactive, childcentered teaching approach with emphasis on hands-on activities that help children learn, question, and enjoy the learning process.
They use their own textbooks for most of the subjects. The contents are tailored for relevance and ease of understanding for the students. The objective is to standardize the daily lesson plans for teachers across the network.
BUILDING CHARACTERS AT SCHOOL
Special emphasis should be placed on the personal, moral, and social development of the students. Activities at schools are therefore aimed at inspiring children to become responsible and well-rounded individuals.
INTENSIVE PRINCIPALS’ AND TEACHERS’ TRAINING
TCF understands that specialized principals’ and teachers’ training is a prerequisite for imparting quality education in all its schools. While teachers have a direct impact on students in classrooms, principals affect all students in the school.
For teachers, the modules are designed based on their training needs assessment ranging from Classroom Management to Motivating Learners to Usage of Visual Aids.
Principals, on the other hand, receive training for effective school leadership. Their training includes courses like Communication Skills, Conflict Management, Delegation, Prioritizing and Taking Action.
The objective is to produce and sustain a positive learning environment that generates strong learning outcomes in classrooms, ensuring students’ academic success.
E-LEARNING CONTENT & TEACHER TESTS
Nardban—Stairway to Success was initiated in 2014. It is an innovative program comprising two unique features: Teacher Competency Tests (TCTs) and E-Learning Videos.
TCTs are yearly assessments that all TCF teachers go through based on the subjects they teach. The objective is to test and improve teachers’ subject matter knowledge in a competitive way and reward them accordingly. These tests are created using an online management system that generates highquality standardized questions for all subjects and grade levels.
E-Learning content is another aspect of the program. A specialized Learning Management System (LMS) Unit has been working on creating engaging and interactive videos for English, Mathematics and Science teachers. These videos equip teachers with the material they need to expand their content knowledge. Hence, enabling them to teach more effectively.
ASSURING THE QUALITY OF EDUCATION
TCF oversees the quality of its Education Program through a dedicated Quality Assurance (QA) team. The objective is to ensure that an acceptable education standard is maintained in all the TCF School units across the country. Visits are conducted throughout the year to monitor each school’s educational activities, formal classroom observations are carried out and insights are collected from principals, and teachers and students to come up with a focused and dedicated school improvement plan.
In addition to the schools’ monitoring and evaluation, the QA team also conducts two centralized examinations—midterms and finals—in an academic year. The team prepares the examination papers, monitors the marking, and compiles results.