Together with the British Council, Sindh Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah launched the second phase of the English as a Subject for Teachers & Educators (EaSTE-II) initiative on Wednesday. The program's goal is to increase the teaching abilities of thousands of educators throughout the province.

Shah, who spoke at the CM House inaugural event, called the project a turning point for Sindhi education. Building on the advancements established during the first phase of EaSTE, he said the initiative will train 30,000 new primary and early childhood teachers in addition to 1,000 mentors and 35 course leaders.

The CM stressed that EaSTE-II will establish a sustainable model of continuous learning by giving teachers professional skills and confidence at the beginning of their careers. He declared, "Education is the foundation of progress, and in Sindh we are dedicated to empowering those who shape our future—our teachers."

The program incorporates teacher training within the province's broader reform goal and is completely in line with Sindh's Continuous Professional Development (CPD) Model 2022 and the Early Childhood Care & Education and Foundational Learning Policy 2024.

While acknowledging the importance of native languages like Sindhi and Urdu, Shah emphasized that fluency in English provides access to technology, research, and international opportunities.

He pointed out that the program is anticipated to directly benefit around two million students in public schools and gives preference to female instructors, members of underrepresented groups, and educators with impairments.

Using online sessions, hybrid classrooms, digital self-learning modules, and peer learning networks, he commended the EaSTE-II training methodology.

Shah added that Unesco recently recognized Sindh's teachers as "creative teachers" for combining traditional teaching methods with artificial intelligence, describing this as the 21st-century paradigm of teacher development.

According to him, language is more than just a subject; it is the link between information, thought, and expression. He described EaSTE-II as a step toward enabling learning in every classroom rather than just an English project.

British Deputy High Commissioner Lance Domm, Sarah Rogerson, Regional Director of the British Council, and a number of education specialists also attended the occasion.

The chief minister concluded the event by thanking the UK government and the British Council for their support and restating that this program is an investment in Sindh's future as well as in its teachers.