State ties up with British Council to train teachers

T o enhance the quality of English language taught in 67,000 state-run schools, the government of Maharashtra has signed a memorandum of understanding with the British Council to implement the English Language Initiative For Primary Schools. Sanjay Deshmukh, state project director of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan, and Rob Lynes, director (India), British Council, signed the MoU. 

“This MoU aims to enhance the level of English taught in state-run schools. British Council has selected 300 teachers who will take part in the training,” said Rajendra Darda, minister for school education. As per the state’s 2011-12 economic survey, there are 76,625 primary schools in the state, from which teachers of only 67,000 schools qualify. “Some schools are in remote areas where there could be 2-3 students and only one teacher. As this teacher can’t be sent for training, these schools haven’t qualified,” said sources. 

    According to Deshmukh, “We plan to teach 67,000 teachers, for which we have to train 1,700 master trainers. These trainers would travel across the state to train teachers from these schools, with 40 teachers for each master trainer.” Grace Pinto, MD, Ryan Group of Educational Institutions, said, “If the education minister calls upon Ryan Foundation to undertake this teachers’ training, we will support the Government’s plan. We’d do it as a social activity with the support of our NGO network. It’d be easy for us to implement it as the Ryan group has a network of educational institutions.” 

    VBalasubramanian, director, NES and SVB group of educational institutions, says, “It’s great that the state is taking up this English training initiative. It’s a global language and such efforts were long needed. The education minister’s initiative is commendable.”


Source::: The Times of India, 09-07-2012, p.06. http://epaper.timesofindia.com/Default/Client.asp?Daily=TOIM&showST=true&login=default&pub=TOI&Enter=true&Skin=TOINEW