Kathmandu:

Our teachers get a chance to learn English at the two-week Hornby School that is going on from January 8 at Hotel del’Annapurna. Organised by the British Council in association with Global Action Nepal (GAN) and Nepal English Language Teaching Association (NELTA), the theme for the training is ‘Facing Reality of Teaching English in Primary Schools’.

Teachers from different areas of Nepal like Surkhet, Dhading, Nuwakot, Kailali, Palung, Okhaldhunga, Makwanpur, Pokhara, Biratnagar, Kathmandu and various countries including Bangladesh, Pakistan, Uzbekistan, Iran and Kazakisthan are taking part in the training.

The AS Hornby Educational Trust was initiated in 1961 by Hornby to expand the use of English language in different countries by providing grants for teachers to provide them with an opportunity to go to Britain for professional training. Many teachers have been able to attend various British Council workshops and courses related to English language.

The training sessions are being conducted by Sue Leather, Colin Davis and Chris Sowton, who are international teacher trainers and experts in English language teaching methodology. They have come to Nepal especially for this programme.

An intensive programme has been outlined for the participants with workshops, seminars and practical demonstrations.

The programme has been designed in such as way so as to involve the teachers themselves by letting them share their experiences and reviewing the sessions and providing them professional guidance by experts.

Keeping in mind the difficulties and lack of facilities in rural areas, this programme intends to prepare teachers to make effective use of available facilities and hone their teaching skills.

For primary teachers interested in participating in the training, a special free session will held for around 100 teachers on January 17. Registration is required to participate in this session.

On January 19, the programme will conclude with the Ministry of Education and Sports coming up with an action plan for better policy for English language in primary-level in schools.

Welsh degree no more a distant dream

KATHMANDU: Here is a chance for interested students to acquire a degree certificate from the University of Wales, which is one of four federal Universities of the UK. And to do this you don’t need to cross the seven seas and travel all the way to Wales. You can avail of this facility just across the border in India and at lesser fees.

The Training and Advanced Studies in Management and Communications Ltd (TASMAC), is a college that offers Masters and Bachelors degree in Business Administration, and Masters in Information System, Advertising, Public Relations and Journalism. The duration for each Masters course is one year, whereas for Bachelors degree it is two-and-half years.

According to its Chairman and Managing Director, Dr Giri Dua, who was in Kathmandu recently, TASMAC is the first Indian management college to be recognised by the British Accredition Council (www.the-bac.org) with also an ISO 9001:2000 certification. The institute has also een ranked A+ three times from 2004-2006 by the Business India magazine in its yearly review of business schools, he added.

The college has three branches at Pune, Kolkata and Bangalore. Admission is possible three times a year — either in June, October or February.

The tuition fees add up to £3,000 for Masters, and £ 4,950 for Bachelors. This excludes lodging and food. The fees have to be paid at the time of admission.

The students have a record of placements in many leading business houses in India like, among others, Bajaj Auto, Castrol India, Ernst and Young, Reuters, Tata Consultancies, Aviva Life Insurance and Siemens, said Dr Dua.

(www.tasmac.ac.in/wales) — HNS