Government moves on Bilingual Panama program

Government moves on Bilingual Panama program
PANAMA’S government is sending 512 teachers and students from the Juan Demóstenes Arosemena Superior Normal School in Veraguas to study English in the United States

The trips are part of the “Bilingual Panama” program, which is aimed at improving the teaching of English in the education system. The government plans on spending $135.4 million on the program in the next five years, including $7.6 million on thE first phase.
The program’s goal is to eventually train 10,000 English teachers.
The teachers and students will study at 14 universities in the United States and four in England. Preparations for the trip started in September will the procurement of travel visas and arrangements for food, lodging and transportation.
The educators will be oriented in methodology and strategies for the teaching of the English language, in addition to courses in classroom management and leadership.
While the government has launched a number of English programs in the past, including the Children Program, the After School Program, Teachers Training and English for Life they have been largely ineffective. A recent study by EF Education First, an international company specializing in the teaching of English, noted that Panama ranked 52nd out of 63 countries in regard to the mastery of English.
The study pointed out that “in the last seven years, Panama has not had a relevant improvement in the learning English by adults, and ranks even below countries such as Guatemala, Ecuador and Costa Rica.”
Diógenes Sánchez, general secretary of the Association of Teachers of Panama, criticized the program, saying the government is devoting too many resources to it while ignoring other problems in the sector reports La Prensa.
Sánchez said that the government should be focused on pressing problems, such as issues within rural school districts. The official said that 90 percent of existing schools across the country have structural issues.