EU empowers Central Asian educators with innovative learning tool: DARYA SCAFFOLD training in Kazakhstan
From 15 to 19 April, over 250 educators will participate in a week of training events organised by the European Union (EU) in Astana, Kazakhstan. The training, targeting trainers from five countries, will introduce participants to SCAFFOLD, an EU-developed deck of cards designed to assist educators in creating effective learning activities. Special attention will be given to equipping trainers to deliver further training to their peers, Kazinform News Agency learnt from the Astana Press and information team of the Delegation to Kazakhstan.
Kazakhstan will host this educational initiative, which aims to upskill and reskill educators from the region of Central Asia. The European Training Foundation (ETF), in partnership with Delegation of the European Union to Kazakhstan and the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan, will conduct these meetings over five days with a focus on SCAFFOLD. This innovative tool consists of a deck of 102 cards, enabling educators to design and implement learning activities comprehensively, from planning to assessment. The SCAFFOLD card deck and materials are being made available in all national languages of Central Asia.
The week's schedule, organised under the European Year of Skills, includes training sessions for national trainers from Central Asia (15-17 April), followed by a day of training for trainers from Kazakhstan (18 April), and concluding with training for educators from all over Kazakhstan (19 April). This initiative forms part of DARYA, the EU's flagship regional project supporting education, youth employment, and inclusive skills development in Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
Ms Arai Urazova, Vice-Minister of Education from Kazakhstan, opened the week’s events highlighting: "We would like our young people to have competences for life and the labour market. DARYA and SCAFFOLD can support this. Let us together create a better future for our young people and our educational community. We are confident that our joint work and dialogue will lead to concrete action plans and measures that will help us make our education system more effective, accessible and adapted to the needs of our time."
Mr Kestutis Jankauskas, the EU Ambassador to Kazakhstan welcomed participants, mentioning that the “DARYA programme is the European Union's investment in the human capital of Central Asian countries and the future of their young generation. From now on, educators of VET schools in Central Asian countries will have access to the newest and most modern teaching methods, such as SCAFFOLD. Dynamically developing relations between the European Union and Central Asia and potential investment projects will require qualified workforce. In turn, these investments will contribute to mutual prosperity and economic development.”
Ms Pilvi Torsti, Director of ETF, commented: "Introducing SCAFFOLD to Central Asia underscores the impact of the DARYA programme in the region. With participants from across the region, SCAFFOLD presents a transformative opportunity for widespread learning. Through its innovative methodology, it equips educators with teaching and learning techniques that are relevant and essential, emphasising the importance of transversal key competences.”
Reaching out to more than a thousand teachers
Further activities following the Astana week will include training, pilot actions in schools and dissemination of SCAFFOLD with the aim to reach out to more than a thousand educators in Central Asia. In 2024, a regional competition named “SCAFFOLD – competences for life” will motivate educators in Central Asia to integrate SCAFFOLD into their teaching methodologies, in line with ETF's efforts to promote key competences including green skills development and sustainable growth as part of the European Green Deal.
