British Council celebrates a decade of special teacher training programmes in Maharashtra

British Council marked a decade of driving successful teacher-training programmes for the Maharashtra government with a ceremony presided over by Maharashtra minister of school education Varsha Gaikwad in Mumbai.

The Maharashtra government had commissioned 4 distinct projects between 2012 and 2021 to improve English language proficiency of in-service primary and secondary school teachers and students across the state.

British Council, the United Kingdom’s international organisation for educational opportunities and cultural relations, designed and delivered the four projects through its extensive knowledge of English language training and pedagogy.

The special programmes trained nearly 2,000 master trainers and 146,000 teachers, thus benefiting 4.38 million learners in schools across Maharashtra.

An independent evaluation report on the programme was unveiled at a ceremony in the presence of Gaikwad and Jovan Ilić, director, West India, British Council. The report provides evidence-based recommendations and predictions guiding future teacher education programmes in Maharashtra, ranging from consideration of gender-related factors and opportunities for the increased adoption of technology.

Speaking at the event, Gaikwad said, “Our state government is dedicated to improving the standard of teaching and learning for millions of students enrolled in our government schools and we are very pleased with the impact report presented by the British Council for this agenda. Our partnerships with the British Council, such as Tejas and English for All Mumbai (EfA), have led to a significant improvement in the competency of the teachers, which has resulted in higher quality education for our students year on year. We are confident that through our continued partnership, we will equip our government schools with highly skilled teachers, leading to improved learner outcomes and young students of the state becoming successful global citizens.”

The ceremony acknowledged partners like Tata Trusts and key stakeholders who contributed to the success of these initiatives such as government officials, teachers, trainers, mentors, English Subject Assistants (ESAs), State Academic Resource Persons (SARPs) and Teacher Activity Group (TAG) Coordinators.

“We are delighted to be a long-term partner of the government of Maharashtra, to improve the level of English proficiency in government schools and supporting the state government’s knowledge ambitions,” Ilic said. “Teachers are at the centre of driving change and preparing students for their futures; and we are glad to have Maharashtra’s trust to upskill their biggest assets – the teachers. Through our various projects, we have strived to bring in long-term reform to support the creation of a school education system that enables sustained positive outcomes; and through teachers’ sustained development, prepares students to succeed in an increasingly competitive world of education and employment,” he said.