At Isurupaya – the Education Ministry – this week, the Minister and Secretary endorsed commencing teacher education programs on mindfulness, starting January 2017.
Initially commencing with the National Schools of all denominations in the Western Province (72), batches of teachers from each school, will be introduced to mindfulness practice based on secular principles. They will be introduced to mindful sitting, mindful walking, and being mindful in day-to-day activities. In addition, the teachers will be given guidance on how to share this practice with students in their schools based on the instructional essays included in the Sati Pasela book.
At the end of the first term the program will be evaluated using self-administered questionnaires.
The inaugural program will be for the Education Ministry officials, and will be conducted by an experienced mindfulness practitioner. Students of the National Colleges of Education where teachers get their training prior to teaching, will also be included in this new mindfulness teacher education program.