English Day: Rural children showcase their talent

English Day 2011 which showcased the skills and talents of the John Keells English language scholars of 2010/11 from across the island was held on a grand scale on 18 June 2011 at the Bishop’s College Auditorium, Colombo 3. The English Day is an annual event organised by John Keells Foundation (JKF) in collaboration with the Gateway Language Centre.

The scholars displayed their talents in drama, poetry recitation and speeches with much enthusiasm, while over 126 Honour students also received certificates for the “English for Teens” course they had completed in 2010/ 2011.

Among the highlights of the programme was a humorous play titled “Robots on Rampage” performed by the students of the Ampara branch, a Greed play titled “Ion” performed by the Habarana students, “O Captain, My Captain’ performed by the students of the Trincomalee branch and ‘Unity” performed by the students of the Negombo branch. The eloquence of the students following this four month course, as well as the confidence with which the delivery was made, was indeed noteworthy.   

The chief guest at the event was renowned educator and human rights activist, Deshabandhu Jezima Ismail. Among the many titles she holds, she is currently a member of the United Nations National Advisory Board and a member of the Independent Commission on Human Rights.

In 2010/11, John Keells Foundation reintroduced the popular foundation-level programme for school children within the age limits of 12 to 14 years. Branded as “English for Teens”, the programme is designed to help early teens to understand and use familiar everyday expressions and very basic phrases and to interact with others in English in a simple way. The focus areas during the year were Ampara, Anuradhapura, Batticaloa, Chilaw, Colombo, Gampaha, Kurunegala, Matara and Ratnapura (First intake) and Bandarawela, Galle, Habarana, Jaffna, Kandy, Negombo, Panadura, Trincomalee and Vavuniya (Second Intake).

 The programme was also extended to cover a special class for 20 children of Samata Sarana – a non-government charity organisation dedicated to serve the poorest and most vulnerable slum dwellers including children regardless of gender, race or religious belief.

“This Scholarship is important to me as well as all the other scholarship holders”, said an enthusiastic Panchana Madara, a scholarship student from Matara. “Now I can speak and write English very well. This time I got good marks in my school term test too.

This is a very valuable scholarship. I hope you will continue this scholarship programme. Then it will help to develop English skills in many students like us.”

Less advantaged schools in the identified districts were requested to nominate eligible candidates under the two intakes during the year. Scholarship awardees were selected after a placement test set by Gateway Educational Services and a total of 1149 students registered during the year, entitling them to course fees, examination fees, text book and other course material. As at date, a total of 938 scholars have completed the course with over 97% passing the final examination. The classes at Habarana and Samata Sarana organisation are in progress and due to conclude by June and August 2011 respectively.

The English Language Scholarship Programme of the John Keells Foundation was launched in 2004 in collaboration with Gateway Language Centre.

This long-term project is aimed at enhancing English language skills of school children and youth across the island towards improving their opportunities for higher learning and sustainable employment in an increasingly competitive world. As at 31 March 2011, the Programme had empowered the lives of over 4,400 individuals.