19.4.2008
The
Government launches a major initiative this week on the
teaching of English in the country aimed at improving
the skills of English teachers both in the private and
public sectors, training in English for Business Outsourcing,
the of use new methods of English language teaching through
the electronic media, and opening access to a large numbers
of persons in the low income categories to obtain a working
knowledge of English.
This
Job-Oriented English Language Programme titled “English
as a Life Skill” is an initiative by President Mahinda
Rajapaksa, which in the short-term seeks to produce at
least 50,000 persons with communicative skills in English
to serve in any capacity, especially in the services sector
such as IT related Business Process Outsourcing (BPO)
industries. This fast-track development of skills in English
in expected to attract more investment to Sri Lanka in
areas where human resources with adequate Communicative
English Language skills are at present largely lacking.
A
key exercise in this programme is the “English Teaching
Business Mela” a Business Exchange being organised
in Colombo from April 23rd - 25th by the Board of Investment
(BOI) of the Ministry of Enterprise Development and Investment
Promotion in collaboration with the Presidential Secretariat
at Hotel Galadari, Colombo. This will bring together Indian
and Sri Lankan investors who will explore the possibility
of joint ventures in English Language Teaching in Sri
Lanka. Investment in these venture swill attract a range
of BOI concessions making them attractive investments.
The
Presidential Secretariat states the programme which targets
youth above 18 years for intensive English language skills
improvement will provide financial assistance to 50,000
persons between ages 18 and 24 over a period of three
years to acquire Job Oriented Communicative English Skills
through a special loan scheme subscribed by both the Government
and Private Sector.
Teach
the teachers
On
the overall improvement of English Language teaching in
Sri Lanka, both for specialist and general communication,
the programme will initially select suitable candidates
for 30 scholarships, offered by the Government of India,
for a 3 months training course for Master Trainers in
English Teaching at the reputed English and Foreign Language
University (EFLU) in Hyderabad, India. Advertisements
have already been placed in the media calling for applicants
for these scholarships.
The
Presidential Secretariat and the Board of Investment looks
forward to the fullest cooperation to this initiative
by the public and private sectors, which will have tax
concessions and infrastructure facilities for those investing
in good and result-oriented training in English; establish
a Centre for English Language Teaching (CELT) in Sri Lanka
by the EFLU of Hyderabad, India, and will conduct examinations
for certification of English Language skills of teachers,
and help develop Distance Learning Programmes through
the Sri Lankan electronic media.
Recent
surveys by the Presidential Secretariat show that Sri
Lanka has nearly 21,000 largely-untrained persons teaching
English in the government primary and secondary schools,
and as many as 1,690 private tutoring institutes spread
throughout the country teaching English with teachers
untrained in English Language teaching skills. They cater
to the huge demand for learning the English Language for
different needs of skills and communication. The result
is that only a very small number of persons qualify for
jobs in the service sector that require knowledge of English,
which is adversely affecting investment in the country
and the opportunities for advancement of youth.
The
“English as a Life Skill” programme is organized
jointly by the Presidential Secretariat and the Board
of Investment, with the assistance of the High Commission
for India in Sri Lanka.
Courtesy - priu