Sri Lanka Education Forum

Eighteen-year-old Arvind Aradhya from the Indian city of Bangalore has stars in his eyes these days.   He aims to be an astronaut in future and he believes his dreams of reaching the stars are just about to come true.  Winning a reality talent hunt show on an Indian television channel has given Arvind an opportunity to study engineering at Warwick University.  The Indian television channel, NDTV, conducted the show - called Scholar Hunt, Destination UK.  It is a multi-discipline contest which provides opportunities for students in India to win prestigious scholarships to five renowned universities in Britain.  Arvind is the first winner ...

A top university academic this week urged the private sector to stop criticism of universities saying “we do not criticise anyone so lets get together and work for a common goal”.  The comments were made by Prof Ananda Jayawardane, Dean, Faculty of Engineering, University of Moratuwa, during a presentation at the Industrial Relations Forum (IRF) of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka on the theme “Importance of University Interaction with the Industrial Relations Forum. He was speaking at the Third IRF, according to a statement of the meeting issued by the FCCISL.  IRF which was started ...

The Indian government's recent attempt to introduce sex education for school children has provoked a vigorous debate. In the second of two articles, the BBC's Jyotsna Singh considers the case against a more open discussion of sex in schools.  The decision to introduce sex education in India's schools, aimed primarily at creating awareness about HIV-Aids, has generated howls of protests from many quarters.  Many women's organisations and religious groups as well as several politicians say exposing children to an open debate on the subject, specially in classrooms, will make them "more permissive".  More than 30% of Indian states have rejected the federal ...

The Secretary of the Ministry of Education informed court that Visakha Vidyalaya had organised a raffle at Rs. 200 a ticket and issued ticket books to the current students to be sold at Rs. 4000 each failing which they had to pay Rs. 4000 on their own. Court observed that the past pupils could donate what they wanted to the school but the school could not force the current students to make such donations. If they do organise a raffle should first must get prior permission from the Education Ministry authorities. This recommendation was also was to be added to the circular. Source:http://www.dailymirror.lk/2007/08/30/news/18.asp

The Supreme Court yesterday having approved the draft Policy framework for school admissions for the year 2008 directed the Education Ministry Secretary’s speedy action to present it to the Cabinet of Ministers for their sanction.The Secretary to the Ministry of Education, Ariyaratne Hewage tendered the draft Policy Framework to the court. The Court directed the Secretary to submit to the court any reservations by the Cabinet of Ministers in order to consider whether such reservations could be incorporated in the Policy framework. If there would be none the Secretary should take steps to have it published as a circular to be applicable ...

CIMA (The Chartered Institute of Management Accountants) and ICTA (the Information and Communications Technology Agency of Sri Lanka) have signed a Memorandum of Understanding designed to help foster the business process outsourcing (BPO) industry in Sri Lanka. The future wealth creation for most of the developing world is slated to be through knowledge based industries. Business process outsourcing brings with it not only foreign direct investment but also provides significant opportunities for the creation of a large number of skilled jobs. CIMA Sri Lanka is a leading membership body that offers an internationally recognised professional qualification in management accountancy. CIMA currently supplies ...

The reformulated draft of the National Policy on Grade 1 admissions based on the guidelines recommended by the Supreme Court will be presented to the Court for a final order tomorrow with minor revisions. The reformulated draft was presented to courts yesterday. The Bench comprised Chief Justice Sarath N. Silva, Justices N.G. Amaratunga and Jagath Balapatabendi. The amended draft would thereafter be presented to the Cabinet the same day. The representatives of Past Pupils’ Associations, Parents’ Association and the Education Ministry Secretary are to meet today to facilitate the inclusion of the amended revisions. Past Pupils’ Associations of popular schools like Ananda, Nalanda, ...

An education system that provides for different mediums in schools should not be allowed to split students, Malaysian Education Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein said. “We have the national schools, Chinese and Tamil schools, religious schools, private and international schools. Like it or not, this is the reality of our education system today.  “But we cannot allow our education system of various mediums to divide our children,” he said at the national-level Student Leaders Unity and Integration Programme.  Hishammuddin pointed out that because of the country’s history, rural and urban areas and the divide-and-rule policy of the colonialists, the nation had established ...

Amending (and re-amending) the criteria for Grade One admissions has now become such a recurrent activity for the education authorities of this country that now it is a ritual like taking the daily bath. Education Secretary will be modifying his criteria again today, we have been told, but please do not take bets that would be final. The process might be repeated tomorrow, the day after…well, it is like a perpetual machine now.   To make the job of the Education Authorities let us present some FACTS (NOT opinions, but concrete facts) they have to take into account of they want ...

The Indian IT Training and Education market, which is currently $656 million, is growing at a rate of 64 per cent. However, the Indian IT e-learning market, which is currently $122 million, is growing at a CAGR (Compound annual growth rate) of 73 per cent, said Navug Mohnot, CEO of India QAI, while announcing education ventures in this space under the name - Edista. QAI, the leading process consulting organisation, has decided to foray into this space in order to meet the growing need for IT training and education in the country. Quoting interesting trends in IT education, he said 29 per cent of ...