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How do you end up in the current position?
After 30 year service in the government high school as a senior assistant teacher I saw an advertisement in the newspaper for English Language Trainer for Stamford-City Business Institute, so after applying and sitting for the interview I got into SCBI in 1996.
Please explain to our reader about Stamford-City Business Institute.
Stamford-City Business Institute was first established by Suzanne Pun in 1996 at 5th floor FMI Centre and it was first affiliated with Stamford-City (Singapore). At first we offered many courses viz – general English Courses, LCCI courses, Business Courses and computing courses. But later because of different reasons and also because of the demand, we specialize only in general English from Elementary to Advanced level. Then in 2011 we moved to No 42 (A) ground floor, Yaw Min Gyi Street, Dagon Township now we are at No 375, Third floor, Bogyoke Aung San Road, 3rd Floor, IMA Building, Pabedan Township.
What are the unique selling point of SCBI?
The unique selling point of SCBI is catering to the needs of students from different levels not only to Grade-11 graduates and Kids 6 to 14 years of age we also target university students and working adults who wants to improve their English language skills. The ability to use the target language fluently in a very short time, the school environment which create and English speaking friendly atmosphere where students can feel free to use the language are the factors that contribute to the unique selling point of SCBI.
How do you train your teachers and staff to control the quality of SCBI?
To control the quality of SCBI we recruit well qualified teachers. We give them in-house training and let them take part in workshops to share the experience, knowledge and to upgrade their teaching skills. Please explain more about the curriculum you are adopting. All books used in the general English language courses are from Cambridge University Press. We use the latest updated books, online workbook and student centered interactive method. Students are given different projects that they work together on for examples presentation on different topics, school magazines, video project according to their levels etc.
What programs does SCBI offer currently?
We have the followings:
- General English Introductory to Advanced levels (six levels)
- Weekend Kids Program ages 6 to 14 years (different levels)
- Summer Kids Program ages 6 to 14 years different levels.(For weekend kids and summer kids the school prepares them to take Young Learners Exam at the British Council)
- Corporate English classes.
- Spoken Chinese classes.
What is the current student statistics?
Our current total number of students is 300; 50% Adults, 40% Kids, 10% Corporate.
What is your target market segment?
Grade-11 graduates, kids 6 to 14 years, working adults from different organizations and current university students from different educational institutions are our target market segment. What are the long term objectives of SCBI? Since the country is opening up in every sector, I think English language will play a crucial part in the near future for the developing of the country. So our long term objective is to focus more on the needs of students of all ages given them quality English and Chinese language skills so that they are ready to join any educational institution of their choice and also to be ready to be absorbed into different sectors and organizations and help contribute to the development of Myanmar.
What do you think is the key to a successful education system?
For the education system to be successful we need to change the method of teaching from teacher centered to student centered and using updated and relevant textbooks and immersing students in the target subjects. We also need to upgrade the skills of the teachers.
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