VIJAYAWADA: As part of its educational reforms, the State government on Friday signed an MoU with ETS (Educational Testing Service) to improve the communication skills of government school students from the basic level and prepare them for TOEFL (Test of English as a Foreign Language).
The MoU was signed by Lejo Sam Oommen of ETS India and B Srinivasa Rao, Project Director of Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, in the presence of Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy. The initiative is aimed at helping government school students of class 3 to 10 to learn international English accent.
Speaking on the occasion, the Chief Minister said, “We want our students to become globally employable. You should put in more empathy and passion in training our students to face TOEFL. If we can transform their lives, we will be doing a great service not only to their families, but also service to God as it helps uplift the downtrodden.”
Stating that the task is no doubt a serious challenge, he urged ETS representatives not to stop at junior level but take up the training classes at the senior level also gradually as students want to go abroad generally for studying undergraduate courses after completing Plus 1 and 2 (Intermediate courses).
Disclosing that almost 30,200 classrooms, equalling to 50% of the total in the State, will be digitised by July end and students above class 6 will be taught through interactive flat panels, Jagan urged them to formulate plans on how to integrate the courses with the curriculum and improve the teaching abilities effectively to take the entire programme forward successfully.
Besides giving Byju’s-content loaded tabs to students of class 8, bilingual textbooks are also being provided to them, he said, stressing that the government is making serious efforts to ensure that they become global citizens equipped with knowledge of emerging and future technologies. As part of the MoU, ETS will train and conduct preparatory TOEFL examinations to students of class 3 to 10.
ETS Senior Director Alain Daumas, who led the delegation, said, “This collaboration between the government and ETS is a testament to the progressive approach the State has taken towards providing students with global opportunities and fostering their academic excellence.” It works as a step forward in improving the quality of education of government school students in the State. The team of teachers coming to Princeton every year for training will get the best, he added.