More students for job-oriented subjects

Forty percent into science, commerce streams:

Dharma SRI ABEYRATNE

Considering the ever- increasing demand in the job market, the Education Ministry will take measures to increase the number of students who follow commerce and science streams at the Advanced Levels by 40 percent, Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena said.

Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena Picture by Saman Sri Wedege

According to Education Ministry statistics, only 22 percent students gets ino the science stream while 25 percent students follow the commerce stream. Fifty three percent students take up arts.

“Moves are underway to increase the number of students following science and commerce streams to cater to the demand in the job market,” the minister told a press briefing yesterday.

A team of intellectuals, including professors and educationists and other experts in various fields, are engaged in formulating a mechanism to increase the number.

This team will forward their report together with the guidelines to the Education Ministry by March. Once the Education Ministry receives the report, it will be presented to Parliament, Minister Gunawardena said.

“With the dawn of peace, various sectors are booming while generating employment opportunities significantly, especially in the fields of banking, finance technological, science and so on. The number who follow science and commerce subjects has to be increased to cater to this ever increasing employment opportunities,” the minister said .

“The Education Ministry will establish more 1AB schools in which science, commerce and arts streams are conducted. However, according to Education Ministry statistics, not even a single 1 AB school is available in 72 divisional secretariat divisions.

As a result of this, students in these divisional secretariat divisions, are not able to follow science or commerce streams even though they desire to follow these subjects. As this is a drawback, 1 C schools will be updated to 1AB status. Only arts stream is taught in 1C school,” he said.

The Education Ministry is engaged in developing 5,000 primary schools and 1,000 secondary schools to ease the high demand for national and privileged schools. This move will be a turning point in the Sri Lankan education sector, Minister Bandula Gunawardena said.