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Tuesday, 19 April 2011 |
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Education has at times been a bitter experience for the Sri Lankan teenager. There are moments when the exam oriented and stressful education system has deprived them of aesthetic pleasure and the beautiful side of life. However, the ‘Global School Partnership’ programme initiated by British Council provides local school teachers and students with an exclusive chance of interacting with schools from United Kingdom, adding variety to their learning activities and providing them with a joyful environment to continue their studies. The programme provides them with a chance of sharing experiences, understanding each other’s cultures, traditions and their learning environment. Joint curricular work between partner schools widens horizons and enables them to think beyond boundaries. The programme allows them to communicate with each other through cyber chatting and electronic mail. At the same time they share their handicrafts and other creative projects through snail mail. The most striking part of the partnership is that once in a while, they get a chance to visit their European friends to get a taste of their schooling system. Sharing their experience on their jovial visit to their English counterparts in Kineton High School UK, a teen of Sangamittha Balika Vidyalaya Galle said, “As a result of our partnership with Kineton High, we got a wonderful opportunity to visit them and their school in March 2010.
We learnt the difference between their education system and ours. Despite colour, race and nationality, we were still able to work as a team and engage in extra-curricular activities. Even when they visited us, we had great fun, despite the cultural and ideological barriers.” Keerthi Samarasinghe, a teacher from Kappetipola Maha Vidyalya, who visited UK in parallel to the programme said, “We have lot to learn from their system. For instance, in Sri Lanka, we have a very stressful, exam oriented education system. But in UK it is different. The students are provided with a very stress free, happy environment to continue their studies.” Since its introduction in 2005, Global School Partnership Programme has reached 200 schools in the Uva, Central, Sabaragamuwa, Southern, North Western, Western and Northern Provinces. So far through the GSP programme, 193 teachers and 58 students have had the opportunity to visit their partner schools in various parts of UK including Yorkshire, Cambridge-shire, London, Cornwall, Nottingham and Northern Ireland. The International School Award ceremony 2010 was held in Earls Regency Hotel, Kandy, on April 9. Justice Minister Rauf Hakeem, Justice Ministry Secretary Suhada Gamlath, British Council Sri Lanka Country Director Tony Reilly and many other distinguished guests graced the occasion. Angamuwa Tract 06 Maha Vidyalaya bagged the top prize this year. “The project took me back to my school days and motivated me as a teacher. Our partner school in UK was very supportive. We even compared our project with those from countries like India, Lebanon and Japan. The students were enthusiastic in taking part in the programme. I really enjoyed guiding them and working with them,” the school ISA Coordinator M Kumudu M Bandara said. She also added that the students got a chance to work with some of the latest technological devices in the programme. “British Council looks towards creating opportunities worldwide. The ISA is another chapter of this project. It recognizes and rewards the efforts of schools that have integrated aspects of global awareness into their curriculum. I congratulate this year’s award winners while appreciating the dedication and hard work of the principals, international coordinators, teachers and students. We plan to encourage more schools to incorporate international awareness into their curriculums and school ethos. Fifty schools from Uva, Kandy, Theldeniya and Colombo will be involved in the GSP programme next year,” Reilly said.
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