Teachers' training, education-quality improvement: British Council, PEF to explore new avenues of cooperation

British Council and Punjab Education Foundation (PEF) have decided to explore new avenues of co-operation in teachers' training and education-quality improvement in the Punjab to open the doors of quality education for the children of economically deprived strata.
In this regard, Managing Director Punjab Education Foundation (PEF), Mohyuddin Ahmad Wani held a detailed tripartite meeting with Lynne Heslop, Director Education, Central & South Asia, British Council & Rukhsana Asim, Project Officer, British Council, through video conferencing, at his office, on Wednesday. Ali Sarfraz, CEO of Punjab Skills Development Fund Company along with Sara Saeed, besides PEF-DMD (Ops.) Tanvir Zaffar, PEF-Project Officer (Donors Relations) Samreen Sajjad and Subject Specialists Rehana Qaisar & Huma Mir, also attended the meeting.
At the outset, PEF-MD briefed Ms Heslop about various dimensions of PEF working in collaboration with the 2445 partner schools in 29 districts and maintained that PEF can benefit from the technical assistance of the British Council in school education. Adding that teaching of English language should be so designed that the students could use it as a 'skill' in their later life, he observed that PEF can join "Connecting Classrooms Online" project of the British Council. Ninty percent of the PEF partner schools have their own personal computers therefore, through ICT, students of PEF partner schools can benefit from the British experience, he said.
On the occasion, Ms Heslop informed the meeting that British Council Pakistan has decided to upscale its work in English language, as it's an essential skill. She told that "Connecting Classrooms" programme- interlinking Pakistani & British institutions for mutual learning, has been launched in Pakistan to develop trust and understanding between young people living in different societies and creating a safer and more connected world for the future.
It will help to develop a wider worldview in students, she hoped. In the next phase, as many as 300 Pakistani schools, 50 from Punjab, are going to be included in "Connecting Classrooms Online" programme to enable the schools in Pakistan to benefit from the international experience through Information & Communication Technology. She also informed that Pakistani industry and institutions of higher learning would be interlinked with British institutions and the industry to help them to learn new innovations in technical and vocational education and training.