The Director, British Council in Nigeria, Mr David Higgs, in Lagos last Wednesday  disclosed that the organisation would train about 2,500 Nigerian teachers in the use of  English language.

Higgs, who spoke with newsmen added that the training programme was in line with the council’s commitment to improving the competence level of young Nigerians in the use of the language.

“Experience has shown that a lot of English language teachers in Nigerian schools have a low level competence of the subject. So, we are working toward increasing the number of English teachers that we have trained in the past two years to 2,500, between now and early next year, “ he said.

Higgs further disclosed that 300,000 pounds sterling had been set aside as counterpart funding, to support state governments that were interested.

He said that participants at the ‘train the trainers‘ programme would be drawn from selected Colleges of Education across the six geo-political zones.

“After training teachers from the colleges, they will in turn train their colleagues in primary and secondary schools, especially those in rural communities. We are committed to making sure that many young Nigerians effectively speak and write good English. We know it is not their language. This is why the council is prepared to give them the basics,“ he said.

The director said that the teachers’ low level knowledge of the language was responsible for their students’ poor performances in written and oral English.

Higgs said that it was only when the teachers were knowledgeable in the use of English that they could effectively impact it on their students.

He said some northern state governments had signified their intention to participate in the programme.British Council to train 2,500 on English