The Tamil Nadu State Council for Higher Education (TANSCHE) has initiated steps to create a pool of resource personnel to train and improve the English proficiency of college students, particularly those from government colleges.
In a letter sent to all the Regional Joint Directors of Collegiate Education, TANSCHE has asked for a list of faculty members who are proficient in English. The list can include those from departments other than English as well, it said. TANSCHE has asked for the names of retired faculty members who are willing to train students to be included as well.
Those who have completed certificate courses on training from institutions like British Council, those who are evaluators for English proficiency examinations like TOEFL and IELTS, those who are trained soft skill or personality development trainers and those who have already undergone the soft skills training programme organised by TANSCHE are to be part of this resource pool.
Apart from this, TANSCHE has also asked for details on the number of undergraduate students, the presence of English language labs and availability of wireless internet connection in all the colleges.
Higher Education Minister K.P. Anbalagan has on several occasions stressed the need for imparting English communication training, particularly to those from government colleges, to improve their employability.
Sources in the Higher Education Department said that a renewed push is being given regarding this after Selvi Apoorva took charge as the Higher Education Secretary in the last week of January.
“There is an urgent need to improve the English proficiency of students, We have just initiated the process. A detailed plan on how the training can be provided will be developed in the near future,” an official from the department said.
