First Post: A Brief Introduction to English E.Teach


1. WHO ARE WE?
            The  Bombay Community  Public  Trust  is  a  long-established  Trust  which  has  launched  the  'English  E.Teach' project.   The  vision  of this project, is  to  bring  the  vast  population  of impoverished children (which is why our content is absolutely FREE) into  the  main-stream  of  prosperity, by  improving  their  ability  to  pursue  a higher  education,   qualify  for better  job  opportunities,  &  gain more  self-confidence through a high quality English education.

2. WHY DO WE DO THIS?
             Our prime  objective  is  to  empower  children   from   the  poor  strata  of society who  attend  vernacular-medium  schools,  to  become  job-ready,  and to  be able to qualify  for  higher  studies. Right now the only thing that stops many of them is their inability to communicate in English which is a requirement for many jobs and colleges/ universities.

            The secondary  objective   of  this  initiative  is  to  save  the  existing  &  vast  infra-structure  and  teaching  staff of  vernacular  schools  from  being  annihilated,  and  to  align  them  with  best  practices  followed  by  other non-English  speaking  countries  (Germany,  Japan,  Holland etc),  which  teach  all subjects  in  the  mother-tongue in  primary  schools,  while  simultaneously  teaching  English  as  a  separate  stand-alone  subject  --  thus  laying  a  strong foundation  and  understanding  in  each  subject.

3. WHAT EXACTLY DO WE DO?
            We provide DVDs (FREE) which teach the existing English  syllabus  (page-by-page) prescribed by the government of Maharashtra ,  using  the existing  Teachers,  in  existing  free  / low-fee  schools, to  existing  students,  during  the  existing  English  class period.

                Standardised teaching  is  achieved  through  the  use  of  simple  and  low-cost  technology  (DVDs  displayed  on  a TV  +  DVD-player/pen-drive  which  the  Teacher  operates  with  a  ‘remote’).   The  DVDs  are  custom-made  to  teach the  prescribed  Maharashtra  Govt  English  syllabus,  page  by  page  --  to  help  the  Teachers  to  understand  and  teach words  &  phrases,  &  to  simultaneously  explain  these  to  the  children  through  animations which   hold  their  rapt  attention.

4. HOW FAR HAVE WE COME?
              Teaching  material  has  been  distributed  (free)  to  over  1500  govt  and  private  vernacular  schools,  and  we are  estimated to  have  reached  over  140,000  students  of  the  1st  to  3rd  standards  in  Maharashtra.
From  the  Academic  Year starting  July  2016,  we have extended  to  also  teach  the  4th  standard  students.

5. WHERE DO WE WISH TO GO NOW?
               We aim to halt,  and  reverse,  the  current  trend  of  destruction  of  vernacular  primary  schools system; to  restore  the  pride  and  confidence  of  the  primary  vernacular-school  Teachers;   and  to  reach  out  to  more  and  more  Schools  in  Maharashtra  so  as  make  a  meaningful  impact on the lives of the most impoverished families.

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