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| Wednesday, 17 March 2004 |
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The National Education Task Force : Why does it remain still-born? by Dr. Dieter Kotte
After Sri Lanka had signed the Ceasefire Agreement and commited herself to the policies of 'Regaining Sri Lanka (RSL)' it became imperative to seek solutions how to implement those policies. While this country seems to love drafting policies, resolutions and memoranda of understanding one wonders why there is repeated failure to implement them. To avoid that scenario for the areas of education, training and Human Resources (HR) development, the only reasonable suggestion is that of the The National Education Task Force (NETF). This body, if bipartisan and if equipped with the executive powers by both leaders (or, Government and Opposition), should be enabled to look across the range of complex issues which hamper solid and sustainable economic recovery and development. Education cannot be understood without its implications on the society and economy. Likewise, the economy cannot function if adequately trained Human Resources are not provided by the education system. Can you imagine that there is no mechanism in place to synchronize the demands of the economy regarding the intake of O-Level, A-Level or graduate students with the supply of students from the educational system?! Not necessarily is this a sign of planning skills by the relevant authorities. Human Resources In each modern society there needs to be a match between what students are educated in and trained for and what is required by the society and economy in terms of Human Resources. Sad to say, that this is still unheard of in Sri Lanka. To cut a long story short, I decided to put my personal effort into bringing the idea of the NETF to life. Luckily, I found a first credible and honest supporter in Jeremy Carter, Senior Representative of the IMF to Sri Lanka. Concerned with economic growth and stability and the reduction of an inefficient public administration, he readily understood the wider implications for adequately trained youth and supported our idea of the NETF. On 9 July 2003, Mr Carter and I met with the President and her Advisor and Former Secretary of Education, Dr Tara de Mel, at the President's House. The President, without hesitation, vowed her full backing of the NETF proposal as she, too, felt very unhappy about the declining state of education. One day later, the NETF Technical Preparatory Meeting was held at the Central Bank invited to by the Consortium of Humanitarian Agencies (CHA). Agreed on proposal Many stakeholders from all walks of life, among which were the key representatives from the CCC, Federal Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Sri Lanka, National Chamber of Commerce Sri Lanka and international donors, discussed and agreed on the proposal of the NETF. It was decided to brief the relevant Ministers and to seek approval also from the Prime Minister. On 6 August 2003, an official meeting with the Prime Minister on the issue of the NETF took place at Temple Trees. Present were also Jeremy Carter (IMF), Prema Cooray (CCC), Jeevan Thiagarajah (CHA) and Ms Susan Joachim, the Regional Director of my consulting company. Apologizing for not having been briefed in time for the meeting, we explained to the Prime Minister the concept and benefits of the NETF. Vivid discussions After some vivid discussions he promised his support and asked us to elaborate particulars with Eric de Silva, his Advisor on HR matters and Former Secretary of Education. The Prime Minister, too, shared the need for reforms and a bipartisan solution. From his point of view, the ineffective National Education Commission could be scrapped and the outdated Education Ordinance should be rewritten. Fine Fine. Would it not have been for Eric de Silva. This revered gentleman had just become the Chairperson of an ominous Cabinet-approved Subcommittee on HR in light of the RSL policies. Ominous because the Subcommittee wielded no executive powers, had no respective budget control and largely consisted of ministerial representatives from the then three (!) ministries dealing with education, training and HR (run by the Ministers Dr Kodituwakku, Suranimale Rajapakse and Kabir Hashim). In other words, those who were responsible for the misconduct and mess of their ministries during office hours met after hours to discuss and suggest remedial actions? Hmm, one wonders. As we know by now, my first impression was right. Mr de Silva simply was not correct when claiming that the Prime Minister had told him to discuss with me how his piddly-diddly Subcommittee could 'absorb' the (conceptually and legally much more powerful) NETF. HR issues The idea was - and this and nothing else was discussed with the Prime Minister on August 6 2003 - how the RSL Subcommittee on HR issues could be integrated into the much more complex framework of the NETF. May I reiterate, again, that the NETF concept is to address issues of education, training and HR development in all ministries dealing with those aspects. And that, naturally, also encompasses ministries as diverse as Health (eg, training of nurses), Plantation Industries (eg, upgrading of tea, rubber and coconut research), Defence (eg, retraining of excess capacities [soldiers], once a stable peace is in place) and many more. Personal weight Indeed, during the latter half of 2003 a small group of determined professionals put their personal weight and the bodies which they represented behind the NETF idea and assisted in briefing a wide range of Ministers and stakeholders. Here, I am very grateful for the foresightedness of Dr Tara de Mel, Professor Rajiva Wijesinha, Jeevan Thiagarajah, Prema Cooray and many others who helped accomplish the difficult political feat of bringing life to the NETF. With the exception of Dr Kodituwakku, who I never had the opportunity to brief personally about the NETF, the NETF framework won the support of distinguished Cabinet Ministers such as Karu Jayasuriya, Milinda Moragoda, Bandula Gunawardana, Ravi Karunanayake, P. Dayaratne, S.B. Dissanayake, Laxman Kiriella as well as the only female in the outgoing Cabinet, Mrs Amara Piyaseeli Ratnayake. Widespread backing So, with such widespread backing among all stakeholders, from Public to business community, from international donors to NGOs, from President to Prime Minister plus the plethora of distinguished Cabinet Ministers, why has the NETF not gone into operation as yet? Was it because the proposal was perhaps not written in the administratively correct format? Well, that can be ruled out safely, since the draft NETF Cabinet Paper circulated around to all key stakeholders in September 2003 was designed in the genuine Cabinet Paper format. No, dear Reader and dear Public, it is largely because of one person stubbornly blocking the way for progress and development: Mr Eric de Silva. The speech As the Prime Minister seemingly delegates issues of HR and education to Mr de Silva, and since the latter felt that his days had come to go into retirement (losing, perhaps, valuable status symbols such as a small office in the Urban Development Authority section of the respective ministry, a telephone and access to the corridors of power), Mr de Silva preferred to ignore the draft NETF Cabinet Paper and looked in the other direction. Shortly before Christmas, after the President had decided to takeover three key portfolios from the Government of Ranil Wickremesinghe, she had addressed a large audience of business people, lawyers and other stakeholders. In that speech, which, subsequently, was televised, she reiterated that she 'insisted' that the NETF was a good, timely and useful proposal and that it should be implemented as soon as possible. Nearing two years of pretty intense lobbying, the next General Election on April 2 2004 seems to have postponed the introduction of the NETF once again. Would it not have been for the shortsightedness and ludicrous behaviour of an old gentleman, who himself does not seem to have a clue about modern educational management, the plight of millions of Sri Lankan children and that of their equally suffering parents could have been addressed some six months ago. Further hardships for students and teachers would have been avoided. Education systems I have come across many education systems around the world and helped in improving them since two decades, I guess I know what I am talking about. In this country, so far, petty politics, greed and incompetence have stopped any hope of 'Regaining Sri Lanka'. I would have long given up this uphill battle would it not have been for the many deprived children and a few ardent and professional supporters and friends, which I had won throughout the history of setting up the NETF. (Dr. Dieter Kotte is an International Consultant, specialized in the areas of education, HR development, performance improvement, IT and statistics.) |
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