3,000 teachers acquire English teaching skills

The Ministry of Education (MINEDUC) through the Teacher’s Service Commission (TSC) yesterday completed its first long English teaching course. The course is aimed at empowering both English and French-speaking teachers the basics of teaching English. These teachers will then train their colleagues the basics they acquired from the training. “They include primary and secondary level teachers. We expect them to go back to their respective schools and teach other teachers,” the head of TSC, Diane Sengati said at the end of the training. The training is in line with the government policy for all schools in the country to adopt English as the medium of instruction. “These teachers represent all district from the country, each district sent 100 teachers” she added. The training was carried out in nine different schools across the country. “We have given them at least all the basic skills any teacher would need to help his/her students perform better,” she said. Sengati also promised that the trainings would not stop there; emphasising that they will continue and follow-ups will be made in their respective schools. “We are expecting the trainees to get time after class hours to train their fellow teachers, and we are sure these will help students in their daily studies,” Sengati said. Phillip Rugazura, one of the trainees, welcomed the initiative as a step in the right direction. “We have learnt how to motivate our students so that they are enticed by our lessons. The skills we have acquired during this one week have helped us and we are able and ready pass on the knowledge to our colleagues,” he added. “I am a Francophone teacher but what I have acquired today is quite enough for me to train my colleagues and I am convinced that these trainings are going to make a very big impact,” said Rugazura. He called upon the Ministry of Education to offer these courses on a regular basis so that they can improve their skills. Ends

National

3,000 teachers acquire English teaching skills