A teacher training programme giving Khoja madrasahs the best faith teaching in the world has run on five continents in five years.
The World Federation’s Teacher Skills Programme (TSP) is part of the Madrasah Centre of Excellence.
It excels in both its geographic range and the quality of the programme. Feedback from teachers includes: “This session blew me away. It has given me the confidence to inspire, to teach, and to help children understand the love of Allah and the beauty of our religion.”
Since it was launched in 2014, WF has delivered TSP training to teachers in:
Europe:
London
Birmingham
Leeds
Wessex
Essex
Wolverhampton
Paris
Trollhattan, Sweden
Marsta, Sweden
North America:
Orlando
New York
Allentown
Toronto
Brampton
Africa:
Dar Es Salaam
Mombasa
Nairobi
Mwanza
Arusha
India:
Mumbai
Ahmedabad
Bhavnagar
Australasia:
Sydney/Auckland
Melbourne
Stunning achievement
The man behind this incredible mission is Sayyid Ali Naqvi, WF’s head of teacher training.
He developed the TSP then set out single-handed to deliver it to teachers in madrasahs around the world. “I travel on my own, delivering the two-day programme, crisscrossing the globe from Europe to North America to Africa and Australia,” he said.
It is a stunning achievement. “The World Federation asked me to run six programmes a year but I have been doing 13 or even 14 a year.”
He will be in Montreal next month, Bangalore in November and Pakistan in March 2020.
Forefront of faith teaching
Combined with Sayyid’s recent Distinction in his Masters in Education at the age of 50, this puts WF at the forefront of faith teaching.
Sayyid explained: “Before I joined WF’s Madrasah Centre of Excellence (MCE) I was WF Head of Islamic Education. I discussed with then President Dr Asgar Moledina the need for a programme for madrasahs. We held a retreat in Dubai in 2011, bringing in teachers to talk about their challenges and how the curriculum could improve.
“We established four work streams and brought in volunteers for each. The Teacher Development stream lead to the TSP. You can give a teacher the best curriculum but they need the skills to impart it. So I left the Islamic Education to focus on MCE.
Non-stop training
“I delivered the first TSP programme in 2014 after quality ensuring it at a three-day retreat in London with 25 professionals including doctors, professors and teachers. I reworked it following their comments and since November 2014 have been travelling the world training teachers non-stop.”
The response from teachers has been phenomenal and demonstrates the powerful impact of WF’s commitment to education.
Feedback includes:
“You have been such an inspiration for me. Changed my perspective for so many things. I will forever cherish this. The programme was much, much better than I had anticipated. I am sad to see it end and wish it could be longer.”
“You are absolutely amazing. You are in every single dua of mine. The transformation you have created in us is unbelievable. I cannot believe that we achieved all this in two days.”
“This programme has given me the opportunity to challenge myself as a human being.”
“Inspirational and motivating”
“Powerful speaker with a strong passion and compassion for both teachers and students.”
“The energy and respect that was given in this course changed my core beliefs as a teacher. I feel that I have a new set of eyes to view my journey to help Muslim children.”
“A very good programme which makes madrasah learning even better. Thank you for arranging this programme and for making me want to teach even more. You have been inspirational, motivating and a kind soul who made this experience the best.”
“An outstanding session on the importance of being a facilitator, a guide, a role model and a confidant of the child. As a primary school teacher I have been on many training sessions but this session blew me away. It has given me the confidence to inspire, to teach, and to help children understand the love of Allah and the beauty of our religion.”
Last breath
Sayyid said: “Receiving feedback from the teachers I trained is so motivating and a joy to see.”
His work involving almost constant travel requires sacrifices, and he is grateful to spend time at home with his wife and children aged 22, 19 and 16.
But he insists: “I am driven by my passion for education and my desire to pass on the important messages of our faith to children. There is no end to my energy and I would give my last breath to educating the community and our teachers.”
Read here how Sayyid’s Masters in Education has put WF in the vanguard of teacher training.