Kerala govt engages British Council to teach Malayalee youth English

To make educated Kerala youth ready for international job market, Kerala government has decided to tie up with British Council to offer English language proficiency training to over 10 lakh candidates at a cost of Rs 10 crore.

Senior government officials said the decision to engage British Council English Score Limited, the commercial arm of British Council, for the training purpose was taken after Kerala Development and Innovation Strategy Council (K-DISC) member secretary recommended the need for English language proficiency as an essential requirement for improving the profile of educated unemployed people who are being groomed by Digital Workforce Management System (DWMS) for jobs in the international market.

The DWMS has been established by Kerala Knowledge Economy Mission to provide jobs for at least 20 lakh educated unemployed people by 2026. The K-DISC is the implementing agency of DWMS which brings together job seekers, employers, skill providers and agencies for grooming, curation and personality development of the job seekers.

Based on the recommendation of the K-DISC, the Kerala Government on February 19,2023 has issued an order giving administrative sanction for engaging British Council English Score Limited for a period of four years with an estimated cost of Rs 10 lakh US Dollars (approximately Rs 10 crore).

“Sanction is also accorded to sign the legally vetted agreement between K-DISC and British Council English Score Limited. The K-DISC shall place the proposal of English Score in the Executive Committee of K-DISC consisting of the Finance Secretary and the Secretary Planning and Economic Affairs. The expenditure in this regard will be met from the budget provision under the head of account Knowledge Economy Fund,” the order said.

As per the details, British Council English Score Limited will provide 10 lakh certificates to the candidates registered in the DWMS over 4 years. The payment to British Council English Score Limited will be made on a quarterly basis against the invoices raised.