〜The goal is to contribute to the continuation of learning in such the COVID-19 pandemic and to improve the passing rate of the TVET graduation exam.
Having concluded a business consignment contract for the "Information Collection Survey of a new e-learning self-study tool for TVET(Technical and Vocational Education and Training) Diploma/Certificate in Pakistan" (contract period: October 22, 2021 to September 15, 2022) with the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA), we have conducted workshops on how to use learningBOX in Lahore, Pakistan.

Purpose and scope of the survey

● Contribution to issues in Pakistan
The high unemployment rate for 15-24 year olds (10-11%) in Pakistan is said to be partially due to lack of specialization and lack of official qualifications and educational background. In response to these issues, we aim to improve the pass rate and contribute to the qualification acquisition rate of both "Diploma" and "Certificate" by using learningBOX as a self-study tool for graduation exams at TVET institutions.

Product demonstration and workshops for teaching materials at the pilot schools

Followed by the learningBOX online demonstration, we held a series of workshops to demonstrate how to create teaching materials with learningBOX to teachers from the three TVET schools in order to verify the ability to utilize the system from December 2021 to January 2022.

The teachers nominated for this workshop are 18 (male: 9 and female: 9), from general subjects: "English" and "Mathematics" and from specialized subjects: "AutoCAD". They were taught not only how to create teaching materials and quizzes and upload content, but also how to manage members and monitor and check the progress of members’ learning. Despite being unfamiliar with the system the teachers quickly completed some tasks and built confidence and found it interesting.

As a result of the workshop, the participants were asked to build a series of learning flows: two types of learning materials, a web quiz with a combination of five different question formats, and a certificate issued upon completion of all of these studies. Most of the faculty members were able to add numerous additional materials beyond the targeted content, and some of them even fully mastered the learningBOX, greatly exceeding our expectations. From among the submitted works, the technical education specialists and Tatsuno Information System evaluated and selected the best ones, and at the end of January, we held a presentation of the results in which four teachers (two male and two female) presented their own works that were particularly outstanding. As a result, we found that there were differences in the degree of perfection among individuals, and we also identified issues that need to be verified, such as what kind of teaching materials are truly effective. Although the entire course of the workshop was held remotely online, the ease of use of the proposed product was not only demonstrated, but was also shown in subsequent interviews to be compatible with the needs of TVET institutions.

▼ Online Workshops

▼ GCT Railway Road school

▼ GCT Lytton School

▼Ahmad Hassan Polytechnic Institute

Future development

While the teachers who participated in the workshops have learned the usage of learningBOX, it is expected that teachers will become more and more interested in which teaching materials and quiz formats realize effective learning to their students.

Contribution to the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
In this project, we will contribute to the target regions in the following three areas out of the 17 items of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): education, economic growth and employment, and infrastructure and industry.

Future Developments in the survey

In this survey, we will mainly focus on the following contents.
◯We will conduct hearings on issues for government agencies, related organizations, and other stakeholders.
◯We will hold a product demonstration and a workshop prototyping sample teaching materials at the TVET organization pilot schools in Punjab.
◯We will conduct questionnaires and market analysis (market size, trends, customer image, needs, and reaction to products).
◯We will discuss introducing e-learning at TVET institution and the possibility of solving problems with the learningBOX.

About JICA
https://www.jica.go.jp/about/index.html