British Council, Sindh govt agree to train public school teachers

Karachi: The British Council and Sindh School Education and Literacy Department have agreed to train all schoolteachers working at public schools and promote non-formal education and vocational training for out-of-school children in the province.

According to a press release issued by SELD spokesperson Saeed Memon, British Council Director for Sindh and Balochistan Michael Houlgate visited the office of Sindh Education Minister Syed Sardar Shah on Wednesday to formulate the details of the agreement.

“It was very challenging for me to restore the confidence of the public in government schools. For this propose, I enrolled my only daughter at a government school. Therefore the public also appreciated my vision,” said Shah.

He further said that the education department is formulating comprehensive policies in consultation with civil society to improve the status of education in the province. “We are working to introduce non-formal education programs for out-of-school children.”

He said there was no assessment system from first to eighth level in the current state-run schooling system. “The education department has taken initiatives to constitute assessment boards on district level.” Minister Shah further said the promotions of teachers would be conditional to the progress and performance of the students they teach at government schools, while training for teachers from the British Council will be also mandatory.

Michael Houlgate said the statistical approach of the Sindh education department for resolving the issues is very encouraging. “The British Council has worked with the Sindh government in the past and will further cooperate in the future,” he said.