Transforming English teaching for 30,000 teachers across Sindh: British Council and SELD Sindh launch landmark partnership

Celina Ali

Islamabad: The British Council and the School Education and Literacy Department (SELD), Government of Sindh, Friday signed a Letter of Intent (LoI) to formalise a new phase of collaboration aimed at transforming the way English is taught in public schools across Sindh.

This strategic partnership—set to be formalised through an Operational Alliance Agreement—will support the professional development of 30,000 newly inducted Primary School Teachers (PSTs) and Early Childhood Teachers (ECTs) through the British Council’s “English as a Subject for Teachers and Educators (EaSTE)” programme. This will enable teachers to teach English and other languages more effectively using inclusive, multilingual, and 21st-century approaches which will shape the futures of approximately 2 million children in Sindh.

As part of the collaboration, the British Council will work closely to implement a scalable digital Learning Management System (LMS) and to train 1,000 in-service public-school teachers as mentors to provide ongoing guidance and peer support.

James Hampson, Country Director, British Council Pakistan said: “Today’s agreement renews our partnership with and commitment to the people and Government of Sindh. I want us to do more, together. That’s why our ambition of supporting 30,000 teachers and 2 million children is a great next step.”

Sardar Ali Shah, Minister for Education, Government of Sindh said: “Our focus is not just on access but on quality. Through this initiative, we are equipping our teachers with the tools they need to teach English more effectively, and to do so in ways that reflect the linguistic and cultural realities of our classrooms, the next phase after recruitment focuses on teachers’ professional development and capacity building.”

The programme reflects a shared commitment to building sustainable teacher development models in Sindh by combining global expertise with local insight. Delivered through a multi-stakeholder approach, the British Council and SELD aim to drive lasting impact at scale—building on the British Council’s decades-long work in education and teacher development in Pakistan.

The EaSTE programme has already had huge success in Punjab where it enhanced English teaching for over 140,000 educators.

The British Council is the UK’s international organisation for cultural relations and educational opportunities.