Smile Foundation is organizing a Teachers Training Programme to hone the skills of the teachers working in various grassroots level organizations being supported by it. The two-day-long training programme being held on  May 26 & 27, 2009 at the Smile Foundation head office aims at enlightening the teachers on various aspects of child psychology, effective usage of innovative teaching & learning materials, and avoidance of teaching methods that disinterests the students.

Smile Foundation strongly believes that all problems related to societal development be it poverty, unemployment or poor health care services can be addressed at the corridors of education. Since its inception in 2002, Smile Foundation has been focusing on universal education through its Mission Education programme.

The education scenario in India is quite complex. And so despite the efforts of many grassroots organisations, the poor and needy are still deprived of basic education. Firstly, due to low salaries, there is lack of rightly qualified and trained teachers employed by the development organizations. Secondly, the parents of children coming to these organizations are unaware and ignorant about the importance of education. As a result, the school drop out rate is very high. This also impacts the overall annual performance of a development organization adversely, defeating the very purpose for which it is functioning.

The Mission Education programme of Smile Foundation aims at strengthening the grassroots level development organizations working in the field of education by providing them the right impetus. Smile Foundation aims at enhancing the quality of education being imparted by the development organisations. It should hold the interest of the children as well as their parents. The teachers need to be rightly trained and have sufficient skill to make the teaching content and process interesting.

Smile Foundation has decided to organise teachers’ training programmes on regular intervals and thus improve the quality of education imparted under its Mission Education projects across the country. The on-going training programme is the first step in this direction.