Dhak Bahadur Pun
British Council Master Trainer
I am Dhak Bahadur Pun, a resource person working in District Education. My job is to visit different government based schools and provide support to the teachers.
In 2008 the British Council launched the ‘English for Teaching, Teaching for English’ (ETTE) project targeting schools in remote areas of Nepal. It was a very big and successful project. Its objective was to enhance the proficiency level of teachers of English by training them and enhancing their skills.
After receiving training at the British Council, I was selected as a Master Trainer. I then cascaded the training to nearly 300 teachers in different parts of the country like Manang, Baglung, Kaski, Parvat etc. Many teachers have benefited greatly from this training as I have observed them successfully implement the techniques and delivery processes they learned.
As part of the same project, I travelled to the British Council, Romania, and was trained for two weeks on mentoring and training teachers. That was a milestone in my professional life. I learned about designing teaching material, explaining sessions effectively, and engaging learners in the classroom. I can say with confidence that I became a better teacher/trainer for it.
In 2012, I was selected as a trainer under the Global School Partnership project. I received leadership training and was given the opportunity to visit England. My focus was on leadership and management. The invaluable insight I gained from the 78 schools that I visited, is what I shared with people in leadership positions in different schools across Nepal.
Then in 2015, I was selected as a trainer for the Connecting Classroom project which is co-funded by FCDO. The project is designed to help young people develop the knowledge, skills and values required to live and work in a globalized economy. Besides helping them to contribute both locally and globally. It's a very important project because teachers are trained in communication and collaboration skills. This, in turn, helps their students to develop their potentiality to become good global citizens.
In my opinion the British Council is a very important and highly reputed organization working in the field of education and cultural exchange. Nepal is a developing country and the UK a highly developed one, so the sharing of knowledge in the education sector is helping Nepal to a great extent.