Maharashtra government today signed an agreement with the British Council to implement 'English Language Initiative for Primary Schools' (ELIPS), which aims at enhancing the English teaching skills of teachers in government-run primary schools.
The agreement was signed by Rob Lynes, Director (India), British Council, and Sanjay Deshmukh, State Project Director, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyaan. Maharashtra Education Minister Rajendra Darda said that "undoubtedly, we have good teachers but when it comes to teaching English, they need improvement". Darda also said that students in Marathi-medium schools must be able to speak and write good English, and those in English medium schools should be able to speak and write Marathi well.
An analysis done by the British Council in the state had brought to the light the poor standard of English teaching, Darda said.
The agreement lays emphasis on improving the quality of teaching of English in the lower primary classrooms. The two-year programme will provide face-to-face training to 920 'master trainers' who will 'cascade' the training to over 67,000 primary school teachers (a teacher per school).
1700 potential 'Master Trainers' will undergo a selection procedure comprising a written assessment, group tasks and personal interviews conducted by the British Council. 920 of them would be selected.
