British Council partnered with Tamil Nadu Corporation for Development of Women and the Rural Development and Panchayat Raj Department of the Government of Tamil Nadu for the Deen Dayal Upadhaya Grameen Kaushalya Yojana (DDU-GKY) programme on 23 September 2022. 

DDU-GKY is the skilling and placement initiative of the Ministry of Rural Development (MoRD), Government of India. The scheme focuses on catering to the occupational aspirations of rural youth and enhancing their skills for employment.  

The aspiration of this two-year partnership project was to standardise English and soft skills learning curriculum for Project Implementing Agencies (PIA) students across the state  

To achieve this, we mutually agreed to focus on improving the teaching and learning experience of trainers and students by: 

  • developing a 60-hour English communication and soft skills course
  • developing three sector-specific courses on English communication and soft skills in Retail, Manufacturing, and Information Technology/ Information technology-enabled Services 
  • training a cohort of PIA trainers to deliver quality teaching using learner-centric and multi-lingual approaches which helps to leverage students’ home language skills in Tamil to learn English 
  • developing a cadre of 20 mentors to support the sustainability of the project

What our stakeholders say

‘For me, the biggest challenge prior to the British Council course was to keep my students interested and motivated to learn English. They refused to speak a word in English. After attending the British Council training where we were introduced to the English communication and soft skills course, I noticed a shift in my teaching methodology as well as my attitude towards the students. Very soon the whole class started celebrating each other’s mistakes. By the end of the three months course, my students had developed confidence to stand up and speak clearly, using Tamil and English words. One of the students has a job at the billing counter in a store. He called me one evening and said “Today, I had a customer from abroad. I understood what he wanted. I was also able to speak to him in English and satisfy his request. I felt very happy". This has been my greatest win – my students now enjoy the class and love me!’ -  Janaki Niranjan – Trainer, Project Implementing Agency centre: Adyar Ananda Bhavan, District: Chennai  

‘Initially, I had a great fear of speaking in English. When my teacher started using activities, it became very interesting. I really like the word ladder game and enjoy working in groups. She would encourage us and tell us not to worry about making mistakes. We developed confidence in sharing our ideas and thoughts. I am now working in the dispatch department’ – Jenifer Geetha- Student, Project Implementing Agencies centre: Adyar Ananda Bhavan, District: Chennai 

 

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