LAHORE    -   United States Consul General Lahore William K Makaneole has said that the teachers are very close to his heart since his own daughter is a teacher in Hawaii.

Addressing the participants of Professional Development Novice English Teachers (PDNET) programme at a local hotel here on Friday he said, “I know what it takes to be a teachers and how important it is to be a teacher for societies.”

Some 60 English language teachers from across Punjab attended the U.S mission sponsored five-day residential training programme. Under the programme, participants become eligible to receive U.S mission small grants to conduct follow-up activities in their respective regions.

Addressing the participants, Consul General Makaneole said, “I appreciate your hard work, dedication, and commitment to your teaching profession. Pakistani students are very fortunate to have teachers like you.”

He further said, “I am confident that you have learned new teaching techniques and hope that you will incorporate these in your local teaching methods. As time passes, I would love to hear your success stories.” He said some 25000 English language teachers had benefited from the U.S. funded training program since 2005.

During the training program, both U.S. and Pakistani trainers presented innovative techniques and best-practices for activity-based teaching. Makaneole also distributed certificates among the PDNET program participants. He thanked PDNET trainers Dr Nikki Ashcraft, Zaheer Hussain, and Tayyaba Ehsan for their valuable training.