Coca-Cola sharpens the skill of teaching English in Jaffna

Saturday, 7 January 2012 00:36 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Ltd. continues to work towards uplifting the lives of people within Sri Lankan society with their new sustainability initiative – a Capacity Building Programme for English Teachers in Jaffna.

The programme which is a two day workshop organised by Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Ltd. was facilitated by Kent Ridge in collaboration with the Ministry of Education.

As the country restores itself to its glory after a 30-year civil conflict, the effects of the war in the northern province of Jaffna do not go un-noticed. Teaching education standards in particular were adversely affected and the north currently faces a severe shortage of teachers capable of teaching the English language.

With a minimal number of teachers left in the region and the increase in demand for knowledge of the language, Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka recognised the necessity to support the Ministry of Education to develop and train the current English Language teachers in the province.

English is deemed to be the link language between communities around the world and in this period of restoration it is vital to ensure that the teachers of the Northern Province meet the educational standards in the country. The workshop acts as a catch up training programme for teachers in Jaffna to learn new, viable methods of teaching English. Lectures and sessions were conducted by K.L. Premachandra – Director of English and Foreign Languages at the Ministry of Education, Dr. C.L. Amarasekera – former Dean and Head of the Department of Languages of the Sabaragamuwa University and Janaka Kumarasinghe – Human Re-source Management Strategist. Rohitha Amarapala – Manager, Public Affairs & Communications, South West Asia, of Coca-Cola SABCO stated: “We recognised the need of a Capacity Building Programme for English teachers’ in Jaffna and felt that it was so important for us to support the Ministry of Education with this programme.

As an organisation Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka limited remains absolutely committed to the continuous improvement in the lives of community that we serve. “The recognition and realisation that successful business is both dependent and fortifying the prosperity of the community has now dawned. The concept that business and the community can survive as two watertight departments is outdated. It has now given way to this new approach which has proved eminently beneficial to both sectors. Since the government and other educational and professional institutes are presently making a concerted effort to work together, to improve the standard of English language in the country, we have considered it as an obligation to contribute our efforts to this national task.”

Supporting Coca-Cola Beverages Sri Lanka Ltd.’s long term commitment to better people’s lives within the Sri Lankan community, the workshop in Jaffna successfully taught 50 teachers in the Northern Province better and new methods of teaching the English language.