LAHORE: Around 60 teachers from various schools were awarded certificates upon successful completion of a course as part of the Oxford Teachers Academy (OTA).

Addressing a ceremony here on Monday, Oxford University Press Pakistan Managing Director Ameena Saiyid said the OTA was the first of its kind professional development programme launched in Pakistan for schoolteachers.

`OTA courses provide quality teacher training, which help teachers develop the skills they need to meet teaching and learning goals. This is the first time in the history of Pakistan that school teachers are being awarded certificates endorsed and issued by the University of Oxford,` she said.

The OTA has conducted courses in over 30 countries for more than 15 years making a difference through education and learning to thousands of teachers and stu-dents. The courses constitute interactive presentations, role plays, video clips, energisers, case studies, individual and group presentations, as well as group discussions to consolidate successful learning.

She said the course aimed at teachers working with children aged six to10 years addressed pedagogical challenges and offered ideas to improve their teaching methodologies. The participantsfound the course practical, interactive, and experiential, she added.

PU: The Punjab University National Centre of Excellence in Molecular Biology (CEMB) is organising a three-day international symposium on `Advances in Molecular Biology of Plants and Health Sciences` on Tuesday (today).

Punjab Agriculture Minister Dr Farrulch Javed will be the chief guest on the inaugural session, while Vice Chancellor Prof Mujahid Kamran will preside over the ceremony.

Meanwhile, the PU has declared results of Doctor of Pharmacy Final Professional annual examination 2015.