Farzana Hossain is one of thousands of primary teachers in Bangladesh who have built their skills and confidence with support from our Training of Master Trainers in English programme. Now, she’s working with other teachers to raise standards of learning in schools across the country.
The catalyst
Farzana never planned on being a teacher. She was diagnosed with polio at a young age, affecting her movement and with it her confidence. Despite achieving a good degree at a top university, she didn’t know if getting a job was the right choice for her.
But Farzana’s family believed she could do anything. They encouraged her to begin a career in education. She quickly fell in love, becoming a passionate and dedicated teacher and later a teacher trainer. That’s when the British Council came in.
The spark
We invited Farzana to apply to our Training of Master Trainers in English programme, run in partnership with the Directorate of Primary Education and the Ministry of Primary and Mass Education. The training programme helps primary teachers like Farzana to improve their English and teaching, equipping them with the skills and confidence to support other teachers across Bangladesh.
We encouraged Farzana to take the programme’s entry exam, and she was soon chosen to become a master trainer. Through training and mentorship, she built her knowledge of best practices in English teaching from around the world, learning new ways to inspire and engage her students. She was also introduced to a vibrant and supportive network of English teachers across Bangladesh.
The success
Following the training, Farzana and her peers set up an online community to help them stay connected and support each other’s professional development. Together, they are working tirelessly to innovate English teaching in low-resource classrooms.
Farzana continues to make regular use of our free TeachingEnglish resources to support her in the classroom. Having grown in confidence, she has even joined our Facebook Live sessions as a speaker, sharing her own knowledge and experiences with a global community of English teachers.
Since its launch in 2019, our training programme has helped 2,000 primary teachers to become master trainers. Through a peer-to-peer learning model, we aim to support the development of almost 130,000 primary teachers, leading to improved learning outcomes and experiences for millions of students throughout Bangladesh.
Training of Master Trainers in English is an essential part of the Bangladesh government’s ambition to transform the quality of primary education. Our experience managing large-scale education programmes and expertise in teacher training and development made us ideally suited to meet their needs. Together, we are raising standards of English teaching and learning in schools across the country.
We are the partner of choice for governments, NGOs, institutions and community-based organisations around the world.
‘I aspire to reach every corner of the country to improve teachers’ and students’ knowledge, skills and expertise.’ - Farzana Hossain