The British Council-managed Plan Ceibal remote teaching programme provides more than 1,100 weekly English classes remotely from our teaching center in Buenos Aires via video conferencing to children in grades 4 to 6 (ages 9-11) in 568 Uruguayan state primary schools, as part of the Uruguayan project Ceibal en Inglés.
The overall objectives of the Plan Ceibal programme are to take children from beginner level to A1/A2 level on the Common European Framework by the end of grade 6 and to improve the English of the classroom teachers through a guided online self-study programme. For more information click here.
The History of the British Council in Uruguay
The British Council began working in Uruguay in 1938. Its activities included the provision of annual grants to Instituto Cultural Anglo-Uruguayo (AUCI) branches, the British School and the Escuela Gran Bretaña, funding for a part-time Chair of English at the University of Montevideo, and the provision of scholarships.
From 1947, initially with our own office, but becoming tied to the AUCI, we built connections with educational institutions, government ministries and professional associations, taught English and administered exams. By 1972 student numbers had reached 8000, with over 20,000 examination candidates.
However, by 1973 our work in Uruguay became increasingly difficult – a military coup was followed by a government occupation of the University and the imprisonment of many students and staff. The AUCI and its branches carried on with only minor interruptions, but in February 1974 the decision was made for the us to withdraw from Uruguay following a large budget cut. The AUCI remained open and an annual subsidy was paid to it by the British Council.
There was little or no further British Council activity until 2012, when we successfully bid for a contract with Plan Ceibal. In 2013 a decision was taken to re-establish a branch of the British Council in Uruguay, located in LATU at Plan Ceibal, and the Council signed a major three year contract to develop a project to teach English remotely using videoconferencing technology. Today, we operate from Argentina fully committed to our work with Uruguay.