Guwahati, Jan. 21: For hundreds of students who stumble over the Queen’s language when facing an interview, the Assam Higher Secondary Education Council has decided to launch a six-month certificate course in spoken English in all districts by March.
The outgoing chairman of the council, Dilip Kumar Kakati, said the classes would be held after school hours in a leading government institution. They will be open to Plus-2 students from other institutions and colleges too.
Kakati handed over charge to Mohsin Ali, chairman of the Board of Secondary Education, Assam. Ali is being replaced by B.C. Konwar.
Education minister Ripun Bora said the government has taken special permission from the state election commission to make the appointments since the poll code of conduct is still in force.
Elaborating on the course, Kakati said it will be a collaborative effort between the council and English Language Teaching Institute of the government and those enrolling will be charged Rs 500.
“We have been working on the project for some time given the emerging demand for English-speaking people in call centres and the hospitality sector. This course will give our students, mostly studying in vernacular mediums, the necessary confidence and skills so that they do not lag behind in the job market. Though we will start with one school, it will extended to more schools once everything falls in place,” Kakati added.
The council will soon be finalising the introduction of three new elective subjects — web technology, Sattriya dance and entrepreneurship — from the next academic session. “Everything will be finalised by February 2. The number of elective subjects will go up to 14. We need to keep on updating ourselves and I have no doubt that my successor will take the council to even greater heights,” Kakati said.
The council has also decided to check drop-out rates by opening a cell under the National Institute of Open Schooling that will offer courses to Plus-2 students at subsidised rates.
It will also launch teleconferencing facilities from a mini studio to be set up at its office where experts will answer queries posed by students. A dry run has already been conducted in Silchar, Dhubri and Guwahati.
