Not the end of the road:
Alternate routes for career development
Prof Dayantha Wijeyesekera Chairman, Tertiary and Vocational
Education Commission The Post Secondary school students who sought Sri
Lanka University Education having sat for the G.C.E. Advanced Level
examinations in August 2010 would have been informed of their prospects
of pursuing a programme of study in a Conventional University in Sri
Lanka through the admissions processed at the University Grants
Commission (UGC).
University Grants Commission |
Some would be rejoicing having obtained their desired field of study
and the desired university while some others would be quite disappointed
at varying levels. Also there may be some who have the required entry
requirements, but nevertheless would wish to pursue other alternate
avenues of Tertiary and Vocational Education. Furthermore, there may be
those who did not even attempt the G.C.E. Advanced Level examination,
since they prefer alternate routes of Tertiary Education as some of us
did in following Technical Courses soon after G.C.E. (O-Level).
Tertiary education
This message is not for a category of ‘Drop outs’ as I do not believe
there is such a category, but to encourage and motivate the 96 percent
(approx) of the age cohort who seek alternate routes for their career
development through Tertiary Education of which University Education
through UGC at the Conventional Universities and their Institutes is
just one of the avenues in Sri Lanka, catering only to about 4 percent
of the age cohort.
For those who seek ‘University’ education in Sri Lanka, they should
be reminded that within the UGC, there is the Open University of Sri
Lanka and also in addition there are other Universities outside the UGC
established under separate Acts of Parliament such as, the University of
Vocational Technology, Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka,
Buddhasravaka Bhiksu University, General Sir John Kotelawala Defence
University.
In addition there are Local Degree Awarding Institutes recognized by
the UGC and the Higher Education Ministry. These are as listed below and
their respective websites would give details of the programmes of study
being offered leading to recognized accredited degrees:-
* Institute of Technological Studies
* Institute of Surveying and Mapping
* Aquinas College of Higher Studies
* National Institute of Social Development
* National Institute of Business Management
* National Institute of Fisheries and Nautical Engineering
* Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology
Professional courses
Diploma level programmes of study are offered under the Youth Affairs
and Skills Development Ministry and also under Higher Education
Ministry. These are programmes leading to National Diploma and Higher
National Diplomas with career development pathways subsequently
available to degree level.
Well-recognized professional courses are also available through
member associations of the Organization of Professional Associations (OPA).
The Member Associations of the OPA which offer such courses are as
listed below:-
* Institute of Chartered Accountants of Sri Lanka
* Sri Lanka Institute of Architects
* Sri Lanka Library Association
* Institute of Supply and Materials Management
* Chartered Institute of Management
Accountants
* Pharmaceutical Society of Sri Lanka
* Institute of Chemistry, Ceylon
* Gemmologists Association of Sri Lanka
* Institute of Chartered Secretaries and Administrators
* Institute of Personnel Management, Sri Lanka
* Computer Society of Sri Lanka
* Institute of Valuers of Sri Lanka
* The Textile Institute Sri Lanka Section
* Institute Chartered Shipbrokers, Sri Lanka
* Institute of Quantity Surveyors, Sri Lanka
* Sri Lanka Institute of Marketing
* Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka
Of course, there are also many Private Higher Education Institutes
conducting relevant training programmes through Certificate, Diploma and
Advanced Diplomas etc of International Qualification Awarding bodies and
degrees of Overseas Universities. The Academic Credibility and the
Registration of such non-degree level Tertiary Education Institutes
should be ascertained from the Tertiary and Vocational Education
Commission (TVEC) the details could be obtained by visiting its website
www.tvec.gov.lk. Undoubtedly, obtaining such qualifications through
programmes of study while being partly or fully in Sri Lanka would be of
a lesser financial burden than proceeding overseas, to obtain the same
qualifications.
Educational institutes
In addition to all the above, the trend in the development of
Tertiary Education and Vocational Training world over is the rapid
progress and recognition of Vocational Education. In some developed
countries, fields such as Law, Medicine, IT and Engineering are now
categorized as vocations.
Vocational training |
It has to be clearly understood by post secondary school leavers,
their parents, teachers and school authorities, that while graduating to
obtain a degree is prestigious, there are many other avenues of
obtaining Professional, Technological and Vocational Qualifications
which can be equally or more prestigious rather than being an
‘unemployed graduate’ with a degree or being a frustrated secondary
school student repeatedly trying to secure a place in a conventional
university.
There are currently about 800 tertiary level educational institutes
maintaining the TVEC registration, with TVEC Accredited courses. The
Tertiary and Vocational Education and Training opportunities through
TVEC Registered and Accredited courses could be verified by visiting the
TVEC website www.tvec.gov.lk through the link ‘Registration and
Accreditation.’
Most of these courses of study are now aligned to the National
Vocational Qualifications Framework (NVQF) which ranges from NVQ levels
1 to 7, where level 7 is at degree level for some selected fields at the
University of Vocational technology at Ratmalana.
The TVET Guide 2011 presents fields of study as shown above,
available in the Provinces of Sri Lanka in the various districts. For
Human Resource Development and to be gainfully employed with career
prospects for further academic advancement even upto degree level, these
avenues should be explored and pursued rather than focusing only on the
traditional routes some of which may be now outdated.
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