3 teachers from Nagaland participate in international teacher development initiative – ILEP

At a time when many states and the upcoming National Education Policy is trying to address the issue of increasing teacher attendance and efficiency in schools, 6 Indian teachers have chartered a path and are showing the way for teachers across the country. These teachers have just returned after participating in the International Leaders in Education Program (ILEP) in the USA. Of the participating teachers, 3 were from the state of Nagaland – Christina from Little Star School, Dimapur, Tonika Yepthomi from Government High School, Diphuphar B, and Rev. Fr. Francis Cheerangal, Ph. D from St. Christopher School, Chessore. Together they attended a semester-long ILEP.

Once back from the States, Rev. Fr. Francis Cheerangal issued a press release sharing the importance of that experience with his fellow teachers across the country and the media. He said that the program brings together outstanding secondary teachers from the Near East, Southeast Asia, South Asia, Africa and South America and helps them further their expertise in their respective subject areas, enhance teaching skills and increase their knowledge about the USA. Importantly, the semester long experience also provides the teachers a firsthand experience of US education system and its dynamics.

The 2016 edition of the ILEP was hosted by the Arizona State University, Indiana University of Pennsylvania, James Madison University, Ohio and Kent University. A typical university schedule includes course work in teaching methodologies, lesson planning, teaching strategies for the home classroom environment, teacher leadership and instruction technology. The release went on to elaborate that the outreach programmes to New York, Washington and other cities including prominent places of interest made the course more interesting.

The ILEP program is one of the many initiatives of the US Department of State, channelled through the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs (ECA), to foster mutual understanding between the United States and other countries through international education and training programs.

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The Indian contact point of the IELP is the USIEF (United States-India Educational Foundation). The USIEF focuses on administrating the Fulbright Program to Indian and America students, faculty and professionals, encouraging international engagement of Fulbright scholars; advising students in India of higher education opportunities in the United States and linking higher education institutions in the USA and India.