Scholarship recipient celebrated
The fifth annual Early Childhood Association (ECA) conference was held in Mumbai, India over the weekend with over 300 delegates in attendance. NZTC India has proudly supported the event since its inception and this year a scholarship opportunity was offered.
The college’s six month Postgraduate Certificate in Education (Leadership and Management) has proven popular since its beginnings in February 2016 so it was decided that conference delegates simply needed to fill out an entry form during the conference to be in to win a scholarship to pursue this postgraduate qualification.
Many delegates entered the draw but it was Shilpa Solanki who was drawn as the winner by NZTC Chief Executive Selena Fox who arrived at the conference straight from the airport and a flight from New Zealand.
Solanki, a principal at The Harmony Tree pre-school, expressed the gratitude she felt for the enabling opportunity after an 18 year teaching career.
“I’m absolutely delighted. I’ve been longing to do an internationally recognised course for a long time because I wanted to see the difference between the teacher education I’ve done here and then take it to the next level.
“When I heard NZTC’s presentation yesterday I followed up to learn more, so to now get the opportunity to study with a scholarship, it’s fantastic. I want to see where I can take my experience and learning, and apply and refresh everything I know,” she said.
With the focus of the conference being ‘Sustaining Excellence in Early Childhood Education’, Fox reflected on NZTC’s commitment to early childhood education in India and how the ECA had progressed over the years.
“I’ve had the opportunity to support the ECA alongside Podar Jumbo Kids Director Ms Swati Popat Vats since its beginning ideas many years ago. New Zealand Tertiary College has supported early childhood teachers in India for almost 8 years and we continue as we commenced.
“We encourage all teachers to progress and engage with teacher training, taking your love and care of children and adding to this your knowledge of child development, teaching, curriculum, leadership and management skills to become a more qualified outstanding carer and educator of children,” she said.
The World Forum on Early Care and Education was also shared by Fox, encouraging delegates to partake in the global conference with over 700 early childhood education leaders from over 80 nations in attendance in Auckland, New Zealand from 9-12 May 2017.
To learn more about the World Forum and NZTC’s support of it click HERE