Commercial Bank takes English to rural Sri Lanka

Saturday, 13 October 2012 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The Commercial Bank of Ceylon has embarked on a second national scale community initiative to take English language education to children in rural Sri Lanka, in a significant adjunct to the Bank’s country-wide IT education programme.

The Bank has engaged the professional expertise of the Life English Academy (LEA), a leading English language training institution in Sri Lanka, to conduct this program as an extra-curricular activity at selected schools across the country.

The inaugural program under this groundbreaking initiative began on 27 September at the Kiriella Madhya Maha Vidyalaya in Ratnapura for more than 250 students aged 16 years upwards, with funding and training equipment provided by the Commercial Bank CSR Trust. Initially, 160 students applied to participate in this program but the numbers increased to 250 students due to overwhelming demand, the Bank said.

The first program comprising of 16 two-hour lessons spread over four months, will conclude in February 2012. It will thereafter be replicated in other rural areas simultaneous training programs in other parts of the island.

Explaining the rationale for the Bank’s adoption of English language education and IT literacy as focal areas for its CSR Trust, Commercial Bank’s Managing Director and CEO Ravi Dias said: “These are two areas that are critically important to the future development of the country. In the age of knowledge driven economies, Sri Lanka’s development is dependent on the development of the skills and knowledge of the younger generation, and as the country’s leading bank, we believe it is our responsibility to contribute tangibly to these areas.”

He said the bank already has in place a well-evolved, on-going program of donating IT training facilities to needy schools which has to date benefitted more than 25,000 students, and the Bank hopes to build this new initiative along the same lines.

Dias said the two community programmes promoting IT literacy and English education reflect the Commercial Bank’s own vision of being the most technically advanced Bank in the country, and are an articulation of the bank’s brand positioning of ‘for a better future.’

“The overall goal of our Corporate Social Responsibility policy is to generate measurable and sustainable social dividends for different segments of society, in particular those which require empowerment and enrichment,” Dias added. “These programs represent a pledge by Commercial Bank to contribute tangibly to help young Sri Lankans become more competitive in the global context.”

The structured English education courses to be conducted under the Commercial Bank initiative will focus on spoken English and basic writing skills as required for personal development. Each student would receive up to 32 hours of contact with the trainers of the Life English Academy, led by Noeline Honter, the Academy’s Director/CEO and Lead Trainer.

As part of its commitment, the Commercial Bank will provide a laptop computer, multimedia and PA system and complimentary stationery to the students undergoing training. The classes at the Kiriella Madhya Maha Vidyalaya will take place in two sessions after school hours two days a week, with a break in December on account of the school vacation and the GCE Ordinary Level examination.