News Updates - May 2005
26 May 2005
Two Coordinators Appointed
EI has hired two coordinators to implement the work of the EI Tsunami Relief Programme.
Basil de Silva , formerly Asia-Pacific Regional Executive Secretary of Union Network
International (UNI), will be based in Sri Lanka. He has previously worked as a project
evaluator for an EI-PSI teachers' programme in the region. Basil will be stationed at
Canada House, Colombo. Jerome Fernandez will be based in Aceh, Indonesia. His career
has included positions within the National Union of the Teaching Profession and the Trade
Union Congress of Malaysia. Jerome has extensive experience of education and trade union
issues.
20 May 2005
500 Will Attend Trauma Counselling Programmes
Along with teacher training programmes and the recruitment of new teachers, trauma counselling
for teachers is a priority of the EI Tsunami Relief Programme. In both Sri Lanka and Indonesia,
a Tsunami Relief Committee has been established which will oversee and implement the project .
250 teachers in each of the two countries will be trained in trauma counselling to assist the
children affected.
10 May 2005
Indonesia: Recruitment and Training of Teachers
In the Aceh province, where 765 schools were destroyed, about 2,000 of the 55,000 teachers
are dead or missing. The EI/PGRI Aceh Education Rehabilitation Project is a three-year scheme
(2005-2007) focussing on teacher training. The EI/PGRI Aceh Education Rehabilitation Project
aims to identify, select and provide pre-teacher training to candidates in local areas. EI
and its affiliate in Indonesia, PGRI, insist on the importance of high quality training
for new teachers.
1 May 2005
India: Direct Assistance to Teachers in the East Coast
50,000 euros were distributed to teachers and their families and orphaned children in 6 districts of
Tamil Nadu (Chennai, Cuddare, Kanyakumari, Nagappattinam, Tirunelveli and Toticorin) and in Kerala.
The help was distributed through EI's affiliate, the All India Primary Teachers Federation (AIPTF).