Volunteer Name: Naseem Jaffer
Location: Central Asia
Duration of Assignment: 9 months
Impact Made:
- The development of UCA’s (University of Central Asia) inaugural summer camp curriculum based on a thorough assessment of Central Asian educational realities and international university expectations and standards
- An assessment of both content and pedagogy in mathematics instruction in Central Asia, which continues to be instructive as UCA designs additional programmes for high school students
- One-on-one capacity building of a mathematics teacher, who after successfully teaching the curriculum during UCA’s Summer Camp, has been hired as one of UCA’s first faculty members for its Preparatory Program
- The successful delivery of an innovative and relevant mathematics curriculum at UCA’s inaugural Summer Camp for Grade 10 students
Full Story:
The University of Central Asia (UCA) was founded in 2000. The Presidents of Tajikistan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan, and His Highness the Aga Khan, signed the International Treaty and Charter establishing this secular and private University which was ratified by the respective parliaments and registered with the United Nations. The Presidents are the Patrons of UCA and His Highness is the Chancellor. UCA brings with it the commitment and partnership of the broader Aga Khan Development Network.
Naseem Jaffer is an education consultant with 25 years of experience working with underprivileged schools. With her qualifications, a Master’s in Education and a Teaching Certificate in Mathematics, Naseem had all the required skills and experience to add significant value to an educational program. When UCA identified a need to develop its mathematics curriculum for the inaugural Summer Camp, Naseem was approached to take on this assignment as a TKN volunteer.
Having spent so much of her professional life upgrading the maths skills of both teachers and students in underprivileged schools in the United States, with a focus on aligning mathematics curricula to meet national standards, Naseem is familiar with the sense of fulfilment derived from helping the less fortunate. However, through her TKN assignment with UCA, Naseem experienced“an even higher sense of satisfaction”.
When Naseem first arrived in Central Asia, she was tasked with grading and tabulating math results. Her focus quickly shifted to upgrading the curricula. She says, “to get a better understanding of the education system and teaching culture, we visited students and teachers in UCA’s host countries of Tajikistan, Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan. The students were well behaved and the teachers well qualified. In addition, the teachers were very committed despite often working two or even three jobs”. Naseem collated as much information as possible and returned home to continue her assignment.
“On my return, I concentrated on developing the mathematics curriculum for the Summer Camp. The curriculum was based on the gaps we found in the assessment analysis and since the curriculum was for students with varying levels of English-language skills, it had to be written through a different lens”. Naseem also focused on introducing students to topics that are not covered in their school curriculum but are required by international universities, such as graphs and probability.
Following her work developing the curriculum, Naseem returned to Bishkek to train a mathematics teacher who helped the Summer Camp counsellors to deliver the curriculum. In this valuable exchange of skills and experience, Naseem picked up the cultural nuances of Central Asia while the teacher acquired new teaching skills to maximise the benefits of the new curriculum.
Once the Camp was underway, Naseem was constantly in touch to provide assistance and ensure the curriculum was delivered with seamless ease.
TKN assignments vary in their nature and duration but a common thread is the personal and professional fulfilment experienced by volunteers. As Naseem says, “My TKN experience has been extremely rewarding and I can only hope that the students have benefitted from my work and that they apply to study at UCA”.
UCA highly appreciates Naseem’s passionate commitment and exceptional contribution on this significant TKN assignment.
