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| Wednesday, 10 March 2004 |
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The PA educational vision which the UNF allowed to wither by a Correspondent
The development of a nationally-relevant education system is recognised as the key factor for sustained high economic growth and it is most significant in open economies like Sri Lanka. High quality human resources are decisive for increasing productivity, competitiveness and creativity. However, the quality of human capital produced by the present education system has not in general kept pace with labour market requirements. Emphasising general and university education and overlooking the importance of technical and vocational training were partly responsible for the shortage of skilled manpower and for the high unemployment among the educated youth. Hence, the educational reforms introduced in 1998 under President Kumaratunga were primarily aimed at improving the quality and focus of Education so that the mismatch between educational attainment and labour market requirements would be minimised. Educational reforms were being implemented at primary, secondary and tertiary levels. At that time, the PA Government took several steps to improve the qualitative aspects of general education in the country. An educational Reforms Implementation Monitoring Unit (ERIMU) was established with a view to effective monitoring of the implementation of educational reforms.
Along with the educational reforms, several programs had also been undertaken to improve school infrastructure. Taking reforms to a further height, the PA Government in 2001 proposed several policies and programs to even better the education system in the country and produce efficient and smart, employable human capital. However, the Government that rules after 2001, failed to implement these initiatives suggested by the PA Government and the reforms came to a standstill. Many education analysts are of the opinion, had the PA-proposed education policies been implemented as scheduled and continued in the same sphere, the education system in the country today, would have been much more vibrant. According to schools census of 2001, there were 9,887 functioning government schools and 381 non functioning schools at end of 2001. One of the significant features proposed by the PA's policy initiatives was the new schools development projects. Under this was to develop the Central Schools concept, which was initiated by the late Dr. C.W.W.Kannanagara. In the early days, the Central Schools became prominent educational institutions in the country and more students sought admission to Central Colleges. The Central Colleges produced many top ranking professionals in diverse areas. However, this concept had long been neglected and the PA Government made a strong commitment to revive the Central College concept. It's the hope of the common people in this country that President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga will strongly implement this proposal under her government in the near future. They should also seriously consider the rehabilitation and reconstruction of the schools in the North and the East and in the plantation sector. From 2002, the PA government had proposed to set up amity schools in Colombo and Kandy where children of all communities study together in the medium of their choice. However, this was not to be with the change of Government. We need the introduction of such novel methods in our education system not only to ensure quality education, but also to develop amity and unity among children of different communities. Another neglected area in our education system is the early childhood care and development programs. Have successive Governments put enough emphasis to develop this learning area? Have any of the political parties thought about including educational projects in their election manifestos? Again we recall that the PA Government had some ambitious plans to implement various projects in connection with the above subject. These proposals included strengthening and expanding the use of the English language and other foreign languages in the schools system, the introduction of English medium instruction to all grades and intensive training for teachers to expand teaching facilities. The pupil-based and activity-oriented curricula reforms introduced by the PA Government into the school and university systems were intended to trigger the imagination of young people, to stimulate their curiosity, to develop competencies in problem-solving and to instill in them the capabilities of coping with the variety of challenges of present day society in a mature and democratic manner. The teacher training programs through the National Colleges of Education and in-service teacher training were to be implemented in a comprehensive and systematic manner. Restructuring the public examinations such as Ordinary level and Advanced level and the school based assessment system in accordance with the nature of the curricula was to be developed with close supervision and monitoring. Career guidance and counselling for Advanced level students is a must, considering the competitiveness in the education stream today. However, the UNF Government which ruled the country since 2002 failed to address the requirements of the present day education system. Nor did it complete implementing these policies. The PA government also made several proposals to improve the quality of life of the students by way of introducing nutrition, physical education and welfare facilities. There were many programs to introduce a nutrition supplement to all Grade One children in 25 districts. The program had been prepared by a team of education and health sector professionals. As far as scholarships for students are concerned, a new grade 9 scholarship scheme based on the school based assessment at grade 9, was to be introduced from 2001. Teacher transfer system is another major issue in our education system. There are many teachers who have been working in difficult areas for more than 10 years while another set of teachers have the privilege to stay in a Colombo school throughout their career. This is a very unfortunate situation as far as the teachers serving in the difficult areas are concerned. In the absence of a proper teacher transfer policy the PA government took the initiative to prepare a policy in 2001. It proposed programs for teacher welfare, teacher community centres and facilities for teachers who are working in the conflict areas. An Academy to train Principals was proposed too. Apart from school curricula, the students should have more opportunities to develop their skills through various programs such as libraries (to strengthen their reading habits) and distance learning programs. As far as the teachers are concerned, they also should have a wide range of higher studies facilities, scholarships and incentives for such studies. Having realised these needs, the PA Government had also proposed various methods to invest in people in the teaching profession. But, it's unfortunate that none of these proposals really worked out from 2002 to 2004. They were ignored, much to the detriment of the development of education in the country. Minister of Education Karunasena Kodituwakku is square peg in a round hole, absolutely ignorant or totally apathetic to the problems besetting administrations, squandering the rich legacy of solid development inherited from the history of the People's Alliance government. The proposals and initiatives made by the PA government should have been ideally implemented by any government irrespective of the colour of the party. (Source: Central Bank Report 2001) |
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