Instill Education

Transforming the Teaching Profession in Africa

We're rebuilding the foundation of teacher education in africa.

We're a start-up education organisation with a vision to transform teaching and school leadership across the African continent. We are currently based in Johannesburg, where we are running pilot programmes of our innovative curriculum, and building partnerships with several leading school networks. We are inspired by cutting-edge teacher training institutions (such as Relay GSE and Sposato GSE) to build the most innovative, impactful and scalable teacher training institution in Africa.

The State of African Education

THE STATE OF African education

According to the UNESCO Institute for Statistics, Sub-Saharan Africa will account for two-thirds - or 6.2 million - of the new teachers needed globally by 2030. As the school-age population expands, this growing demand is exacerbated; for every 100 primary school students in 2012, there will be 147 children in 2030. Countries in the region will have to fill almost four million existing teaching positions by 2030, as well as create and fill 2.2 million new ones.

Unfortunately, simply adding more space at established teacher training institutions (TTI) will not achieve this target. Nor will it engender much-needed improvements in student learning and skill-development. TTIs’ current pedagogy emphasises theoretical understanding of best practices, and not the practical, field-tested skills that today’s teachers actually need in order to serve today’s students in today’s classrooms. TTIs also fail to attract the highest quality young professionals, deepening challenges associated with teacher training and increasing costs associated with retraining and attrition.

Instill Education believes that transformative teaching will have unparalleled influence on student outcomes, that a consistent pipeline of qualified, effective teachers will enable African Education to exceed the charge set by the Millennium Development Goals, and that although large scale education reform must start with education accessibility, it can neither survive nor flourish without in-classroom teaching excellence.

Core Principles

IMMERSIVE

We offer a practical-intense programme where trainees spend over 50% of their time in the classroom teaching and building proficiency through deliberate practice.

INTEGRATED

We prepare trainees to transition seamlessly into the school classroom; the learning journey and year-one teaching experience are integrated through simulation, classroom practice, and classroom training.

Evidence-informed

We employ evidence-based pedagogies that focus on the core skills of teaching. Our methodology ensures that the science that underpins great teaching drives learning activities, evaluation, and evidence.

DEMAND-DRIVEN

We have tailored our programme to the needs of our partner schools. By driving the competencies they value, we create a strong pipeline of teacher talent.

Contextualised

We work with leading training institutions and global education experts to ensure our methodology remains at the cutting edge of teacher education. This is complemented by master facilitators with extensive experience in African classrooms.

data driven

We maintain a strong focus on data which drives candidate selection, student performance, and teaching practice, and allows us to continuously adjust and improve in real time.

“The direction in which education starts a man will determine his future life.”

— Plato

Team

Alim Ladha, Founder

Education Strategist, Founding CEO at ALU, and Former Associate Principal at McKinsey

Alim's strength lies in a deep understanding of how adults learn, strong experience in education strategy, and a passion for building new institutions.

Tom parry, co-founder and MD South Africa

Former Teach First Member, and Founder and CEO at Business Bridge

Tom has spoken to PGCE students demotivated by their training and the environment into which they are heading. He's also spoken to thousands of entrepreneurs who would be creating massive social change, if not for poor quality education. Tom knows how rewarding teaching can be, the difference teachers can make in children’s lives, and that teacher education is the key piece to solving long-term inequality.

Evan Hendon, Founding dean

Teach for America graduate and former Director of Operations at Relay Graduate School of Education, Newark Campus

Since leaving the classroom, Evan has dedicated his career to building education institutions that focus on reducing education inequality. He has a broad understanding of education policy development, implementation and broad knowledge of the education, financial, political and social issues faced by low-income communities, with particular focus on the US, Caribbean, and Sub-Saharan Africa.