Programs

Courses at DIN Headquarters

The DIN organises various residential courses for other organisations and invividals on its premises in Minna. The schedules for these courses are usually sent to various Islamic organisations and posted on a number of websites.
Other organisations in other parts of the world who also organise these and/or similar courses are also posted (E.g. islamiceducationtrust.com, thinkislam.org and ietonline.org, etc.)

Our courses at DIN include:

Notice to DIN for courses

For courses with in Nigeria, the DIN requires 2 months’ written notice at the least. For international course, the DIN requires a minimum of 6 months notice. Acceptance of invitations by the DIN is usually on a “first come first serve” basis, and on the readiness of the local organizers and the DIN. As most organizations prefer to fix courses to coincide with students’ holiday periods, these times therefore are when the DIN tutors are unfortunately often already booked for courses by organizations that request well in advance.

Teaching method and assessment

The courses are conducted in a manner that encourages an optimum amount of interaction between participants and tutors, and among participants. Relevant questions are usually entertained as the sessions are in progress. A number of both oral and written methods of assessment are uses to enable participants test and “drill” each other, and be assessed by the tutors. All confirmed participants are usually given the required reading material ahead of time to ensure they have read carefully, and if possible researched the material before coming to the course. This ensures that participants have thought over the material before hand and contribute more effectively to class sessions. Presentations are done in English.

Teaching aids and resources needed

For most courses, basic teaching equipment needed are white board and marker, or blackboard and chalk, or overhead slides and projector, or PowerPoint presentation equipment. Other resources needed for participants are the course study material, some paper, writing material, name tags, etc. Depending on the course requested for, other resources may be provided by the DIN.

Course Participants

The “introduction” and “contents” or outline of each course given in this prospectus usually helps local organisers make better decisions in fitting appropriate courses to their chosen audience or group of participants.

Courses such as the TTCs, as the name suggests are primarily meant for participants who will in turn find opportunities to train others. For such courses and these are the DIN’s priority interest courses, the participants need to be very carefully selected for the task ahead. They have to be critical individuals who are ready to question and be questioned. They have to be willing and ready to train others or at least be involved in supporting a group of trainers.

It is ultimately up to the local organizers to decide who they want each course for, and what is the best way to use their resources. Details on the appropriateness of each course for various groups can also be discussed with the DIN before deciding who to invite.

Class arrangement

A class is preferably 15 participants, and a maximum of 20. The class sitting arrangement is preferably in a U-shaped arrangement for greater interaction. Males and females are usually in the same class, for increased diversity of perspectives on issues that one gender may be more sensitive to, or more knowledgeable about.

Time-table

The time-table to be used depends on the conveniences of the stakeholders. The local hosting group or organization agrees on the course(s) required, the optimum number of contact hours per day, and the numbers of day for the course, etc. They also suggest times for prayers, meals and tea beaks. Through early communication and discussions with the Da’wah Institute, a final time-table is concluded upon. Where there are 2 or more tutors, the tutors alternate periods between themselves to add variety to the class experience.

Certificates

At the end of each course, certificates of attendance are usually presented to each participant that attends up to 75% of the course. The certificates are signed by the DIN, the local organisers, and any other stakeholder deemed necessary by the local organisers. The design and contents of the certificates are agreed upon before the actual commencement of the course.

Number of tutors per course

The number of tutors for each course depends on the courses chosen, the number of hours per day, the number of days or weeks for which the courses would be run, the number of classes, etc. Some courses usually require specialists in more than one field (such as the Da’wah Resource Management Course). This is ultimately concluded upon through the preliminary discussions with the DIN.

Some host organisers try to organise 2 or more courses simultaneously for different groups of participants; such as the full TTC in the day time for one group, and the PDL for another group in the evenings. To give the tutors a less stressful programme, we would usually have at least 2 tutors in such an arrangement.

Some host organisers have so many participants for a particular course that require 2 or more classes going on simultaneously.

Where there are 2 classes going on for more than 5 hours a day, we recommend 3 tutors at least. Four tutors for 3 classes, and 6 tutors for 4 classes. In other words, 1 tutor for every additional class, and 3 tutors for every additional 2 classes. The more the tutors per course, the greater the variety of faces for the participants, as each tutor has their unique style. This also give tutors an opportunity to be more relaxed, and do other things such as marking assessments, observing and evaluating sessions, and ensuring other supporting activities are going according to schedule.

Number of participants per class

As a rule, for training trainer courses, where participants are expected to also train others, we recommend an optimum number of 15 participants, and a maximum of 20 per class. For seminar type presentations, we recommend a maximum of 40 participants per class.

Duration of each course

The duration of each course depends of the needs and conveniences of the local organisers and the Da’wah Institute. The key issue is the number of contact hours per course. Usually, the fewer the number of days, the better it is for the DIN. However, pending on the conveniences to the local organisers, some courses run for say 2 to 4 contact hours a day (excluding breaks) for several days. Others prefer to have an intensive 7 to 9 hours a day for a fewer number of days.

Customized courses

Some local organisers request for course to meet their specific needs which may not be appropriately met by any of the existing DIN course packages. In such situations, they inform the DIN of what components of which courses they are interested in, the time available, etc. and together, they put together a more appropriate course package for the participants.

As mentioned earlier, each of the courses offered by the DIN is of 2 versions, a full course and a short course. For each full course listed above, there is a shorter abridged version of the course (“Short course”) that takes about a third of the time of the full course.

Costs, subsidies and sponsorships

As a rule, the entire financial implications of the DIN courses are shouldered by the local organiser. These costs include the cost of the DIN course materials for all participants, all transportation, accommodation and feeding of tutors. In addition, the DIN usually charges for its administration, a token amount for the courses it conducts. This amount depends on the contact hours and duration of the courses requested for. Depending on the financial strength of the hosting organisation, the DIN may be able to find sponsors that could help subsidise the course for the local organiser.

Administration and logistics

The administrative arrangements for the course are handled by local organisers. This includes publicity and selection of participants, registration, securing of venues, arrangements for feeding and refreshments, teaching equipment, cleanliness and security, etc. – anything that requires local If the DIN is expected to handle anything in this regard, it should be informed in good time in writing.