Sri Lanka Education Forum

According to recent news, University Grants Commission in collaboration with the Ministry of Vocational and Technical Training is to set up a University of Vocational Technology. The public university system is in crisis. Funding is in adequate and/or is mismanaged. Students are protesting about lack of facilities. The Technical and Vocations Education system is in no better shape. Yet the government authorities in charge of these failing systems are proposing to set up more institutions. When this bill comes into parliament the opposition better be ready to ask some hard questions. For example: What is the track record of the University Grants Commission and ...

While the 2007 GCE Advanced Level examination paper marking has come to a standstill due to trade union action by some teachers’ unions, the Supreme Court yesterday made an order restraining the unions from threatening and intimidating the Assistant Examiners who were to scrutinize the answers scripts. Court made this order following a petition filed by H.S. Rukman Senananda, a student who had sat the examination, citing Education Minister Susil Premajayantha, Ministry Secretary Ariyaratne Hewage, Commissioner General of Examinations Anura Edirisinghe, the Ceylon Teachers’ Services Union, All Ceylon United Teachers’ Union, Education Professional Association, Ceylon Teachers Union and Lanka Home Science ...

A key issue worries a significant youth population in Sri Lanka, is the difficulty to find a suitable job to meet their expectations. The long term goal should be to create jobs, but if somebody at least helps others to find proper employment opportunities that itself is commendable. We hope the other politicians too follow the Lyceum example, and conduct job fairs rather than pushing their supporters to positions within government ruing the system.  This news item from today's Daily Mirror.  _________________________________________________________ “Virekiyawen-Rekiyawakata” the annual job fair organized by the Lyceum International School in collaboration with the Mohan Lal Grero Foundation will be ...

It has become so very difficult to highlight any one problem that the people in this country face .There are so many issues caused by the mismanagement, corruption and abuse of power and just the lack of concern. Good governance seems to a be a myth as politicians seek to nurture themselves as they survive in their niches of power .They are no longer worried about the issues facing the voters who were once dazzled by the manifestos they presented .Today these voters have been reduced to discarded statistics while the politicians like the famous ostriches who hid their heads ...

The first ever National Education Act will be introduced next year, the chairman of the committee appointed to formulate the Act said yesterday. Former Education Director General G.B. Gunawardna who heads the seventeen-member committee said the committee had already held two discussions since its appointment recently by the Education Minister on a directive by President Mahinda Rajapaksa. “The committee has been asked in its terms of reference to formulate a ‘National Education Act’ as Sri Lanka did not have a coherent, clear cut policy or law on education since gaining independence. National education for the last 68 years was guided and governed ...

Issue of Grade One School Admission has taken an unexpected turn against the evolution of the education policies of Sri Lanka. Although there is a Supreme Court ruling, every one including the judiciary is not above the ‘Law of Justice’. Justice should prevail in any court or any judgment. By granting the fundamental rights of a few elites, the court is denying the fundamental rights of the ordinary citizens of the nation. This event is in the making of history in Sri Lana’s education. Sri Lanka’s education system is one of the best performing systems in the world and much appreciated ...

One hundred Sri Lankan students were awarded Mahatma Gandhi Scholarships yesterday at a function organized by the High Commission of India in Colombo. These students were selected from all 25 districts on the criteria of merit-cum-means based on their performance at the GCE ‘O’ Level examinations 2007 as well as interviews jointly conducted by the High Commission of India Colombo and the Ministry of Higher Education. The selected scholars will receive financial assistance of Rs.1,500 per month for a period of two years to enable them to successfully pursue their ‘A” Level courses. The Mahatma Gandhi Scholarship programme, which was instituted ...

Internationalisation of School Education Dr. Siri Gamage   EDUCATION: This paper critically examines the internationalisation of education in Sri Lanka in the last two decades, relevant discourses and their implications on the society and culture. A well-known Sri Lankan educationist once said that there is no informed educational debate in Sri Lanka. What exists there is only several myths extracted from the British educational tradition’ (Udagama 1981/82:8). However, it is important to see if these myths continue to exist, whether the myths have changed, or indeed different myths have been extracted from other powerful countries such as USA, and Australia. Inequality A central argument of the paper ...

Court approves Draft policy on school admissions Wants speedy reference to Cabinet: Wasantha Ramanayake COLOMBO: 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 ...

University education to be broad-based - Minister Warnapala Rohan MATHES COLOMBO: Higher Education Minister Prof. Vishva Warnapala asserted that University education would never ever be privatised but would be broad-based in line with modern trends of education with the formulation of a ‘Development Oriented’ policy for higher education. Addressing journalists at the weekly Cabinet press briefing at the Government Information Department in Narahenpita yesterday, Minister Warnapala stressed that the frequently misinterpreted and misleading slogan of ‘Privatisation of Universities’ was a myth. Nevertheless, he said that we ought to move with the contemporary global trends and ascend from a primarily and absolutely undergraduate education to ...