AP inks MoU with ETS for improving English speaking skills of govt school students

Amaravati: Andhra Pradesh government signed an MoU with US’ Educational Testing Service (ETS) for improving the communication skills of government school students from the basic level and preparing them for the Test of English as a Foreign Language (TOEFL).

The MoU was signed by Lejo Sam Oommen and B. Srinivasa Rao, Project Director, Sarva Shiksha Abhiyan, on behalf of ETS India and the government respectively.

The agreement was signed in the presence of the Chief Minister at the Camp Office on Friday.

It is a part of the measures to help government school students of class 3-10 attain an international accent in English and the ability to face TOEFL.

Addressing the officials and ETS representatives, Chief Minister YS Jagan Mohan Reddy said that the government wants its citizens to become globally employable.

“What I request is that you should put in more empathy and passion in training our students in facing the TOEFL. If we can transform their lives, we would be doing great service not only to their families but also it could be a service to God as it helps the upliftment of the downtrodden,” he observed.

Stating that the task is no doubt a serious challenge, he asked the ETS representatives not to stop at the junior level but take up the training classes at the senior level also gradually as students would try to go abroad generally for taking up undergraduate courses after completing Plus 1 and 2 (Intermediate courses).

Almost 30200 classrooms would be digitized by July end and students above class 6 would be learning through IFPs. Jagan asked the ETS officials to formulate plans on how to integrate the courses with the curriculum and improve the teaching abilities effectively to take the entire program forward successfully.

As part of the MoU, ETS will train and conduct preparatory TOEFL examinations for students of classes from 3 to 10.

ETS has been extending its services to students in 180 countries and would do its best to train the students in Andhra Pradesh.