India, Aug. 6 -- In what is being billed as a game-changer for rural education, the Pune Zilla Parishad (ZP) has partnered with Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) to train teachers from ZP schools across Pune district in German and French so that they can then equip students with basic knowledge of these foreign languages. The move comes in response to increasing competition from private schools, even in remote areas of the district.

In the first phase of the programme, 100 teachers from 100 ZP schools across the district will be trained in German and French, with the training conducted by the university's department of foreign languages through a blend of online and offline sessions. The programme is open to all interested ZP schoo...