British Council, CBB and HSBC award English Teachers with Cambridge qualifications | Daily News

British Council, CBB and HSBC award English Teachers with Cambridge qualifications

The annual Council for Business with Britain (CBB) Project English awards ceremony was held recently at the Ministry of Education.

At the event, 153 teachers across Sri Lanka were awarded the University of Cambridge Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT) UK qualification, having completed a distance-learning teacher training course delivered by mentors in 31 Regional English Support Centres (RESCs) located around the country.

The event was graced by several dignitaries – Thissa Hewavithana, State Secretary, Ministry of Education, James Dauris, British High Commissioner, Gill Caldicott, Country Director, British Council Sri Lanka, Mark Prothero, CBB President and CEO HSBC Sri Lanka and Maldives, Maheshi Weerasuriya, Director, English and Foreign Language Branch, Ministry of Education, and K M H Bandara Chief Commissioner, Teacher Education, Ministry of Education.

The CBB-British Council Teacher Training programme was designed and is being managed by the British Council with HSBC as the Principal Sponsor. The overall goal of the programme is to upgrade the English skills of pupils and this is achieved through improving the quality of the teaching practice in their respective schools.

The project has trained a total of 67 mentors from the Ministry of Education’s RESCs ensuring wide geographical coverage across Sri Lanka. The mentors deliver in-service teacher training in their respective areas using a distance learning course, which leads to the internationally recognised University of Cambridge Teaching Knowledge Test (TKT).

Today CBB and British Council further strengthened their partnership by signing an agreement to continue the project for another year.

Gill Caldicott, Country Director for the British Council, said, “Improving the teaching and learning of English in Sri Lanka is key to the future success of the country. English is a core skill for the 21st century –perhaps the most important to improve employment prospects of young people, to further international trade capability of businesses and organisations young Sri Lankans will work for, to support Sri Lanka in its aspirations to improve its position in the world as an international trading partner We are delighted to extend our partnership with CBB for yet another year.”

Mark Prothero, CBB President and CEO, HSBC Sri Lanka and Maldives said, “Adequate knowledge of English is a compelling necessity to reap benefits of the many opportunities available in today’s society. HSBC, as a global bank that has been with the people of Sri Lanka for over 126 years, is delighted to support this programme. It helps create opportunities, provides choices and builds bridges in helping teachers and pupils achieve their full potential.”

Speaking at the event, the States Secretary, Ministry of Education, Thissa Hewavithana said, “I am pleased that the Ministry of Education has been working with the Council for Business with Britain and the British Council on this project. It is an example of a successful public and private partnership. The Ministry of Education is keen to maintain its valuable relationship with the CBB and the British Council and to continue to support programmes such as this one in Sri Lanka. The Ministry also recognises the value of internationally recognised UK qualification like the University of Cambridge TKT and understands how motivating it is for teachers.”


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