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We should train and develop the potential of our people - Minister

by Sarath Malalasekera

The most precious resource of this country is the human resource. ' We are not a big country but a small island. We have limited natural resources therefore we should train and develop the potential of our people.' The public and the private sectors should work together if we are going to make this country face the challenges in the years ahead, Tertiary Education and Training Minister Kabir Hashim said at the Diploma Award Ceremony of the Sri Lanka Institute of Training and Development (SLITAD) held at the National Savings Bank Headquarters, Kollupitiya recently.

Thirty-six award winners received their certificates from Minister Kabir Hashim who was the chief guest at the ceremony.

We live in the 21st century, we talk about globalisation, we talk about computerisation, modernisation, but yet we live in an era in our country where some parts are still in the dark where children still study with candle light. Ownership of companies in the provinces or in the districts is less than 0.4%. This is the age we are living in and also this is the age we want to change in Sri Lanka to face the challenge of globalisation. I think, the Minister said, today globalisation is no more a myth. It is a reality that we have to live with. Today technologies are changing in the work places, in factories and whether we like it or not we have to give way to the technology revolution. When technology is changed, old jobs give way to new ones, and so are work ethics. Therefore training becomes vital, Minister Hashim said.

'I think it is in this context that SLITAD is playing a key role to upgrade the skill of trainers in the private and public sector organisations. The Institute is playing a key role in this direction,' the Minister said.

The Minister emphasised that Sri Lanka today has the highest ratio in the South East Asia in terms of general education provided to the students of Sri Lanka. In primary education 1.9 million children are enrolled in grades one to five. From year six to twelve it is about 2.3 million. This is a very large figure when you compare with the South East Asian countries or even worldwide.

The Minister addressing the award winners said that in higher education the figures are different. We have 13 Universities which house 40,000 students. We have 22 public advanced technical training institutions offering diploma programs. We also have 22 private tertiary educational institutions enrolling around 10, 300 students. But the participation rate is less than 3% as against 8% in the South East Asian region. In Malaysia the participation rate for university education is 11% and in Thailand 20% against our 3%.

The Minister said that the reason for this is that in our University Education System or Technical education system suffers from weak governance and inadequate financing. Tertiary education expenditure per student in Sri Lanka as a proportion of the Gross National Product is 64%. You may think that this is high but the average in the South East Asian countries has been well above 76% and in some low and middle income countries it is well over 91%. Hence we need to spend so much of our financial resources for tertiary education in future if we are to make the country competitive in the globalisation environment.

The Minister asked 'Are we training and educating the people to face the demand of the job market?. Large number of graduates come out of Universities but when you take the unemployment rate of graduates below 25 years you will be surprised that it is 58%. The unemployment rate of graduates between 25 to 30 years is 35%. We can be proud of saying that we have many graduates coming out of the Universities but they are not fitting into the demand in the private sector.

Minister Kabir Hashim emphasised that the people would like answers to these problems in the 100 days programme such as creating 5000 jobs or train 50,000 in computers. But we are going to engage earnestly in restructuring our objectives and rationalising our training programs that we conduct. We have seven Institutes under our ministry where most of the training programmes overlap each other. Students obtain certificates which have no weight in the private sector or the job market.

'There is no accreditation to most of the programs we run. We need to change this situation. If we train 8,000 students under our Ministry we want to make sure that at least 80% fit the employment market, the Minister said and added that we want to have demand driven programs, we want to liaise with the private sector and we want to get their advice and counsel.'

We have a training of trainers programme by the NITE SL which is under our Ministry. We want to upgrade the degree level. We also want to upgrade the level of trainers. We do not wish the Government to have a monopoly in this but want the private sector too to participate. So in a sense what the SLITAD is doing becomes very important to us, the Minister said.

In future I would require the SLITAD President Mr. Joseph, the Board and the members to be in close contact with our ministry, We are there to give you the fullest support as much as we can support you, the Minister promised the SLITAD. "You can help us too," Minister Hashim added.

When I came to know about the SLITAD, I was convinced I should attend this ceremony. I realise the relevance of this institute to the Ministry that we run, and now that I am here, I really feel how important it is for me to be here on this occasion, because I see a connection between the SLITAD and the Ministry of Tertiary Education and Training, the Minister said. 

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