Entries from October 2005 ↓

Come post-November 17 are we going to get a whole new set of policy documents? Hope not. We have policies plenty. Here are some of the key documents. Some need updating.

GENERAL EDUCATION

• Proposals for a National policy Framework on General Education in Sri Lanka, December 2003 National Education Commission, Sri lanka (contact: secnec@slt.lk; +94 11 280 7323; 223 C, Nawala Road, Narahenpita, Colombo 5).

—————————————————————————————–
TECHNICAL AND VOCATIONAL EDUCATION

• Report of the 1997 Presidential Task Force on  Technical Education and Vocational Training

• National Development plan for the Tertiary and Vocational Education Sector, Prepared by the Tertiary and vocational Education Commission at the directive of Hon. Kabir Hasheem, Minister for Tertiary Education and Training, January 2004.

(The task force report is an excellent document. Don’t think anybody did much with it. The second National Development Plan represents an attempt.) ——————————————————————————————
HIGHER EDUCATION

• Presidential Task Force on University Education Reforms Convened on 11th February 1998 (No official report released)

• Improving Relevance and Quality of Undergraduate Education Project Documents, World Bank, 2001-2005

• New Universities Act (Draft for observations), Sep 2004.

(This sector has trouble getting any policy document out. Only the world bank document has any relevance with US$ 50 million to back it up)
———————————————————————————————–
ALL SECTORS

Treasures of the Education System in Sri Lanka, World bank (2004).

English for All

 The UNP has promised in its manifesto a new national programme called ‘English for All,’ to improve the ability to read, write and converse in English of our people within 6 years. The details are yet to come but how realistic is that goal?

Judging by the advertisements in the media there is a huge demand for private education in English, but standards of English education have not received any attention. Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission (TVEC), the organization responsible for standards in all tertiary education and training,* does not cover English education. This gap has left the consumers of education faced with wide array of choices with very little information to make a correct choice.

 The best strategies in an “English for All” goal  are to:

(1)   Develop standards for English Education that are based on a menu of outcomes such as a pass in GCE (O/L), GCE (A/L), IELTS or other existing standards of English learning.

(2)   Allow the existing community of English education providers to thrive but require them to register with the TVEC in accordance with the standards required by TVEC.

(3)   Expand the proposed voucher system to help the neediest of the needy students to pay for a registered training program of their choice.

This approach is in keeping with the principle of “government as facilitator not provider” principle recommended by the 1997 Presidential Task Force on Technical Education and Vocational Training Reforms.  Prior to that Mr. Ranil Wickremasinghe was instrumental in setting up the Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission an organization that would be the main instrument of facilitation by government. Unfortunately, all governments have been progressive in polices but laggards in implementation.

 If the UNP is able to put into action the progressive thinking that has characterized technical and vocational education reforms in this country, yes, it would be possible meet the goal of English for all.