New Delhi: The Directorate of Education (DoE) has tied up with British Council to train over 40 principals and 400 school teachers from Government schools in English proficiency.

The teachers will then train students in English proficiency, the DoE said.

The project has been launched with an aim to help students speak English fluently in time for the Commonwealth Games 2010 in Delhi.

"Though our schools have been doing well academically, the general perception is that students don't have English speaking abilities. Since the language is important in today's world, we felt that our students should also have the skill", said Rina Ray, Secretary (Education), DoE.

The first phase of the project was kicked off in August with a five-day workshop for teachers.

"We realized that the teachers had excellent theoretical knowledge, but when it came to implementation, were lacking in the requisite skills. Many teachers were hesitant about using the language in classrooms, which also impacted teaching", said Alison Barret, head, state partnerships, Project English, an initiative of the British Council.