ARCHIVED MEDIA RELEASE
PA/13/2002 14 August 2002
Indian teachers find Australia tour beneficial
An Australian Education International (AEI) exchange initiative has been an enriching experience for 14 Indian teachers back from a tour of Australia.
At a reception hosted by the Australian High Commission today, the teachers, drawn from schools in Delhi and Ghaziabad, said the visit helped them to understand the education system and teaching practices in Australia, and to develop ideas for application and innovation in their own schools and their approach to teaching in India.
The visit, in June, was organised by the Asia Education Foundation (AEF), Melbourne, and funded by the Australia-India Council (AIC) as part of an exchange program facilitated by the Australian High Commission in New Delhi.
The exchange program aims at introducing Indian teachers to Australia's lifestyle and culture and acquainting them in a practical and direct way with the Australian approach to education. It also supports the important goal of developing curricula about India in participating Australian schools.
"The program helps teachers in both countries appreciate each other's systems and approaches to managing and responding to education challenges, and extends professional contact and collaboration," said the Australian High Commissioner, Ms Penny Wensley AO.
"It also fosters the people-to-people links that are so fundamental in developing stronger relations between our two countries."
According to Mrs Rita Kaul, the Principal of Heritage School, Vasant Kunj: "The visit enabled me to appreciate the Australian literary tradition as well as to understand the education system there."
Mrs Williams, Vice-Principal, Mt Carmel School, Anand Niketan, said the exchange was a learning experience and a chance to study the Australian education system, from pre-school to University.
"The visit also gave insights into common concerns and challenges facing educators," she said. "I am going to work towards implementing some of the programs I learnt in Australia in my school."
According to Mrs Kalpana Kapoor, Head of School, DPS Ghaziabad: "The program widened my perspective and helped me focus more on investigative learning. The professionalism of the Australian education system is self-evident and there is optimum and efficient use of human resources."
While in Australia, the teachers toured several schools and educational agencies. They met the Australian teachers who had visited them in Delhi in January this year as part of the exchange program, and stayed in their homes, getting a taste of Australian family life, besides spending a few days with them in their classrooms.
For further details, please contact Ms Banu Sidharth, Education Promotion Officer, Australian High Commission, New Delhi, Phone 6888 223, extension 172.