Bengal's life skills teacher training model to expand

A life-skills and career counselling training model implemented in a section of state-run schools in West Bengal for teachers and students at the secondary level will be expanded to other parts of the country soon, a Unicef official said.

"Currently, in 200 schools, we are doing a project on life-skills, livelihood and career coaching. The model is from Bengal and we are now trying to expand to other parts of India," Asadur Rahman, Chief of Field Office, Unicef West Bengal, told IANS on the sidelines of the State of the World's Children Report 2016 launch on Tuesday.

While the career counselling part was being run since the last couple of years, the life skills section was added this year, said Shubhra Chatterji, director of NGO Vikramshila Education Resource Society.

"The training is for the secondary school teachers and students (class nine and ten) a right now the training is going on in state run schools. In the life skills portion, adolescent issues are being dealt with. Once trained, the teachers will run it in the schools and we will monitor the quality," Chatterji said.

Rahman said the next step is to sensitise various stakeholders on early childhood education and equity in education.

--IANS

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