The British Council and the School Education Department (SED), Government of Punjab, have signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to launch a flagship initiative aimed at improving spoken English confidence and communication skills among primary school students across public schools in Punjab.
The initiative marked a significant milestone in the current collaboration between the Government of Punjab and the British Council to focus on strengthening English language teaching and learning in the province.
Key thematic areas under the signing initiative; focuses on capacity building of Primary School Teachers (PSTs), Head Teachers through specialised training, technical assistance, and the development of high-quality, contextually relevant teaching materials.
The project included the training of 1,920 primary school teachers from 480 public schools. The stipulated outcome of this project is improving confidence in spoken English language for approximately 80,000 students.
Additionally, 160 District Subject Experts (DSEs) from 40 districts will receive training as mentors aimed at enhancing classroom teaching practices.
According to agreement signed British Council will offer technical assistance for the design and development of five teacher resource books for Classes 1 to 5, along with one head-teacher resource book to promote leadership in English language learning.
Furthermore, to encourage peer learning among primary students, a ‘Community of Practice’ model will also be introduced in the due course.
Meanwhile Ben Lawton, Deputy Director British Council Pakistan, highlighted their unwavering commitment to empower teachers, stating:
“Teachers are at the heart of every classroom. Through this partnership, we’re proud to support Punjab’s educators to inspire confidence in their students and open up opportunities through the power of English.”
In addition Khalid Nazir Wattoo, Secretary, SED Punjab, noted:
“By strengthening classroom practices and spoken English language skills, we are creating opportunities for our students to learn in inclusive and communicative environments that will prepare them for a brighter future.”
This initiative underscores the British Council’s and Punjab education departments constant efforts on education reform, teacher development, and equitable learning opportunities across Punjab and Pakistan.
