I was the Principal of Sharafuddin School when I participated in the QUT programme. My experience at QUT helped me do better in networking and in channelling between schools and training organisations. But more importantly, it has changed my perspective towards underperforming students, which led me to better reach and make a connection with these children who are unfairly branded as “low achievers,” “useless,” and “hopeless.”
After finishing my QUT training, I was able to implement “Dhasvaaru”, which is a TVET programme for the underperforming students. Today, I feel proud to see that many students who underwent “Dhasvaaru” have now successfully found jobs and are effectively maintaining them. Some of them are working in restaurants, while others are security guards and photographers. These children are doing even better than some of the “high-achieving” students!
QUT also gave me a lot of insight towards special education. Because of this, I actively played a role to change the setup of Special Education Needs classes in my school. I established a sensory park and a family outreach programme, inspired by the schools I visited in Australia during my training at QUT. Immediately after the programme, I also created a website and a Facebook Page to more broadly spread the message of inclusion.
Finally, along with two other educationists, I started a company, which provides and promotes education. In the beginning of 2020, just before COVID-19, we took over a school, which now has an enrolment of 55 students in pre-K level. We are now a few steps away from establishing our higher education institute as well.
