Towards development-oriented education:

Radical reforms needed

The country’s education system is geared towards obtaining university degrees. It is necessary to bring radical educational reforms to orient education to development of the country, Youth Affairs Minister Dullas Alahapperuma said.

The Minister made these observations addressing a function held to award certificates to 236 youth who had been given vocational training at the Mihilaka Medura BMICH recently. The youth was trained by St. Anthony’s Group and Kevilton Lanka (Pvt) Ltd.,

The Youth Affairs Ministry had a program to train youth with skills and President Mahinda Rajapaksa had directed that a youth corps should be trained.

Aspirations of a section of the youth are at a lower level while some youth have higher aspirations.

When we train our youth we want to ensure they have sufficient skills to enhance their opportunities of employment and future hopes, he said. The Minister said as the former Transport Minister he was sorry he did not see the importance of National Vocational Qualifications and artisans and vocationally trained persons are accorded a low place in our society.

This system has to be changed and vocationally and technically trained people should get due recognition in society.

The Government has allocated large funds for vocational and technical training and according to the last Central Bank report tourism and apparel exports sectors have earned Rs 382 billion income from the remittances of expatriate Sri Lankans overtaking tourism, apparels and traditional plantation crop exports.

It was the aim of the Government to send skilled Sri Lankans abroad for employment instead of exporting unskilled labour, the Minister said.