What are the secrets to a successful education system that gives children a sense of purpose and a future, according to UNICEF’s Afshan Khan

Teachers feeling motivated to do their job and students being happy at school are the secrets behind a successful education system, according to Afshan Khan is the UNICEF Regional Director for Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS).

Evo News sat for a talk with Afshan Khan who explained that in a successful schooling system, you measure how well students perform in class and offer them not just theoretical development, but also creative development, encouraging critical thinking and the use of imagination.

“You create opportunities for all children and you don’t focus only on the gold students or those that do the best, but rather that your success be measured by how every child performs. You need to create more opportunities for students themselves and that opportunity is not just the result of what’s in school, it’s the engagement of the parents, it’s the engagement of the communities in schools”, according to Khan.

Schools should try to develop skills that are relevant to the XXI century, she went on to say.

“Also, I think we need to stop attaching stigma to how we learn, so if you are not able to memorize and learn theory, you may be one the best creative and critical thinkers, inventors of ideas and that’s being able to question, to challenge and some of these students who are ending up in what is not considered the best track may often be the best entrepreneurs or learners in a different way. Think of some of the big success stories like Bill Gates who never went to university. Why? Critical thinking, imagination, what’s possible and if you were to nurture that and create the opportunity to stay in school, you can see a big potential for a new generation with XXI century skills for XXI challenges”, she said.

To change an education system that isn’t effective, you have to start with teacher training and opportunities to constantly improve their craft.

“In terms of motivation for teachers you have to ask what is the merit for teachers, how do you measure success? How do we accompany that process in a clear way? Teachers are also supported in terms of what best can they do to create success for their students, the second think we need to ask is how do we create a possibility for teachers to have shared learning accompanying our best practices. It’s on the job training, rather than theoretical learning”,  Afshan Kha says.

Another factor that should be taken into account is how happy students feel in school. If it’s something they feel like running away from because of the environment, then they won’t perform in school.

“The happiness of children in school is part of the question `How do I get my worth and value?`Is it from a test result, or from what I’ve learned in school, what I’ve been able to achieve and how do I bring this to be part of my life, my interchange with my parents, my peer to peer support from other students and my contribution to community. So I think a holistic environment that cares and nurtures for young people is incredibly important in terms of creating motivation and support”, Afshan Kha concluded.