Cartoon of the day , Dailymirror

Universities need 1,200 more teachers

The universities are facing a shortage of 1,200 teachers, and urgent steps are needed to fill these vacancies, officials said yesterday.
Higher Education Ministry Secretary Sunil Jayantha Navaratne told Daily Mirror yesterday that about 500 Dr. Sunil university academics who Jayantha left the country for further Navaratne studies and had not returned.
He said the Ministry had decided on giving them incentives if they were to return, “

In this regard, the cabinet paper will be presented soon,” Dr. Navaratne said.
Federation of University Teachers spokesman Mahim Mendis said only an average of 25 per cent of lecturers who taught at universities had doctorates as their highest academic qualification. He said none of the universities of global rank would recruit anyone without a doctorate. He said that four Asian universities fall within the top 30 of the world.“tokyo and Kyoto Universities in Japan, Singapore University and Hong Kong Universty are a few of them. In this top category, there are 15 American universities. They do not recruit anyone without a doctorate to their staff. Universities cannot run without doctorate holders,” he said.
“In Sri Lanka, Peradeniya and Moratuwa universities are a little better as 35 percent of teachers there have doctorates. We do not have enough qualified university teachers in any discipline. We have to produce qualified persons in all academic disciplines,” he said. Dr. Mendis charged of not having enlightened public policies in SL, which has caused the present issue.

MOVES TO OPPOSE SETTING UP OF NON-STATE UNIVERSITIES

“Education is considered the prime and foremost need of people. There cannot be anything that is more important than education. An individual, in his spirituality, should place his education above his religion.

The Movement to Protect Free Education, an organization comprising school teachers, students and university lecturers, yesterday vowed to challenge, in a court of law, the proposed bill to set up non state universities.
According to the bill, non-state universities can be registered under the Companies Act and the Board of Investment Act. A council is to be established to administer these nonstate universities under the bill comprising two representatives from the non-state university concerned as well. Addressing the media, Sri Jayawardenapura University senior lecturer Ven. Dambara Amila Thera said that the bill had been drafted, and it would have dire consequences on free education if enacted in Parliament.ven. Amila Thera who is also the President of the Jvp-affiliated National Bhikkhu Front said education was the topmost fundamental right of individuals. At least six percent of the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) should be apportioned for education, Sri Lanka had set aside only two or 2.5 percent for the purpose during the last few years

“Education is considered the prime and foremost need of people. There cannot be anything that is more important than education. An individual, in his spirituality, should place his education above his religion. It does not mean that education is something like a belief system. It is education that shapes and determines everything in one’s life,” he said. He vowed to make every possible effort to pre-empt the government’s attempt to introduce this new bill which is yet to be presented in Parliament.
“The government is trying to make a time tested move to enact this bill. It has been drafted. We have got hold of a copy of it. In 1980s, the then government attempted to privatize education through the infamous ‘white paper’. Yet, progressive movements were able to defeat the move. Today, those who try to introduce this bill appeared to have learnt from the mistakes they made in the past in trying to privatize free education. Now, they seem to be making a novel approach,” he said.open University lecturer Dr. Rohan Fernando said though at least six percent of the Gross Domestic Products (GDP) should be apportioned for education, Sri Lanka had set aside only two or 2.5 percent for the purpose during the last few years. Dr. Fernando said that Cuba spends 18.2 percent, Germany 4.6 percent, India 4.1, the United States 5.7, Ethiopia 4.6 percent and Kenya seven percent for the development of the education sector from their budgets.

“UNESCO says that at least six percent of the GDP should be set aside for the education sector,” he said.

Submission Policy

University runs short of teachers

 Dailymirror
The university system runs short of 1200 teachers, and urgent steps are needed to fill these vacancies as soon as possible, officials said today.

Higher Education Ministry Secretary Dr. Sunil Jayantha Navaratne told Daily Mirror today there are roughly around 500 university academics who left the country for further studies    had not returned to the country.

Dr. Navaratne said that the Ministry had decided to give incentives for them to return to the country, as a measure for the addressing the dearth of university teachers at the moment.
“In this regard, the cabinet paper will be presented in this regard soon,” he said.

Spokesman of the Federation of University Teachers Dr. Mahim Mendis said that the universities run only with an average of 25 percent of lecturers having doctorates as their highest academic qualification.  Dr. Mendis said that none of the universities ranking globally in other countries do not recruit anyone without a doctorate.

He said that four Asian universities fall within the top 30 of the world. (By Kelum Bandara)

Talent & skilled-based education system a must

November 20, 2011, 7:25 pm, The Island.


Welcome

Welcome to the sixty sixth edition of this regular column. Here, we discuss a wide range of topics around Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), many aspects of Business, SME Development, Agriculture, Education, Entrepreneurship, Creativity, Innovation and the Society at large.

A Skill Based Education System

I heard on the news last week that Minister Bandula Gunawardena had said that during C.W.W. Kannangara’s time, our school system had a lot of practical aspects such as carpentry, pottery (clay craft), home science and many others. In fact schools had special rooms for these subjects. Today, it may be that those class rooms are still there, but the interest for these subjects are extremely low.

What we have is a highly exam oriented system. In fact what we need is a talent based, skill based education.

The late CWW Kannangara, Father of Free Education, introduced a national system of education with emphasis on vocational training. Every school then had a work shop for learning trades. But, with the passage of time that aspect was ignored and we have moved towards passing exams by memorising. Today, that is the system that decides who climbs up in the higher education system. Sounds problematic? Yes it does.

Only a very few can find their way through three key exams (i.e: Year 5 scholarships, OLs and ALs) well and achieve university entrance. The fact remains that no matter how hard students try, there are only about 20,000 seats. But what happens to the rest, the vast majority who won’t get there?

On the other hand, just like higher education, vocational skills are important for the country. However, to create an interest in vocational education after school, they should have been educated in a skill-based school system. So that is the problem at the moment.

The Problem

Everyone’s geared towards exams, everyone’s geared towards higher education, and we know for a fact that we can’t accommodate all of them and we know for a fact that we don’t need that much higher educated (academic studies) people anyway and we know for a fact that we need vocational skills for our country. And then the obvious solution is to start producing them!

Well, one can argue that you can start converting them into vocational skills after school. But in reality it is not effective, because people haven’t built tact or an interest for that type of work during their school period.

So, the school period is the best time to instil those features, skills and interests. It’s not an alien concept, it has been there in our schools as was noted at the start. Even some of the facilities might be there. It’s more about re-starting it. But I don’t think it is enough to just say we have to do it, but we have to have a plan to get there. Especially you have to tackle the real problem to fix a resultant issue.

What should we do?

The key thing is to take measures slowly to take out the exam oriented nature in the education system. Parallel to that, there needs to be a process that introduces and implements skill-based education. A part of it could be looking at the delivery modes. At the moment, it’s very little practical work but more writing, as students are expected to memorise notes. Nevertheless can we make it more of a practical environment where the students actually learn? There is a difference between learning vs teaching. What we do is mostly teaching, of course it is important in certain areas, but it has to be mixed with learning. That is getting the student to do things practically; research, read, observe, experiment and learn. They are the traits we need to develop in a student to have a generation that is more innovative, takes initiative and adds value to the country using their talent.

Also it is important to do a mindset change in the people. One reason that the education has become so competitive is that there is a misconception that higher education is the best thing and everyone needs to pass exams. Vocational areas are extremely important for the country as we need people to do certain things. They are important, so they have to be valued. As long as we perceive that only a few professions as good, then people won’t create an interest in others.

Vocational education has diversified over the 20th century and now exists in industries such as retail, tourism, information technology, funeral services and cosmetics, as well as in the traditional crafts and cottage industries. Some other areas are carpentry, masonry, electrical work, pre-school teaching, beauty culture, performing arts, electrical sewing, motor mechanics, plumbing, welding, tailoring, computer applications and IT, handloom, embroidery, sewing, chefs/cookery and hospitality. When you read through that list, it is clear how critical they are for the economy of a country. Basically, you can’t run a country without these skills.

So, it is great to see the Education Minister himself coming forward and admitting the problem. I hope we see some improvements on this identified problem pretty soon.

There is already a vocational training sector in Sri Lanka for people who have left school. However, the point here is to have a holistic view on things and see how we mould kids during school and then release them for more advanced vocational training after school.

In September, there was a news item about an initiative to set up a school for prisoners. The school would be located in the Watareka area in Homagama. The prison school is expected to provide non-formal education opportunities to the prisoners. Carpentry, masonry, motor mechanics are among the eight fields that will be offered to the prisoners. I hope these initiatives will come into reality sooner rather than later.

All of that would help us to improve the skills of our people, helping us to uplift the country to the next level.

Inaugural Reconciliation Conference

Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies (LKIIRSS) is a Sri Lankan research institute (or ‘think tank’) in the area of international affairs. The Kadirgamar Institute is organising Sri Lanka’s first national conference on Reconciliation and it is to be held on the 24th of November. The key note address will be made by Mr Gotabhaya Rajapaksa, Secretary of Defence. The Kadirgamar Institute functions under the Ministry of External Affairs.

For a country that has come out of a civil war, reconciliation is extremely important. Whether we like it or not, there is a bit of a broken link between the Tamils and Sinhalese, and between North and South. Many events have happened in the past that have caused many people to suffer, to be unhappy and go through utmost pain. But then again, are we to just be in pain and stay separated forever? Or are we to look on the bright side, and move on to a better future? The latter is the right thing to do by the human kind. And reconciliation is for that. Therefore this conference will discuss these aspects in a serious manner.

The Kadirgamar Institute as a think tank can lead the research and development of ideas in key areas such as this. Their website is at http://www.kadirgamarinstitute.lk/ and will also be launched on 24th November at the historic first national conference on Reconciliation.

The Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies, (LKIIRSS) was inaugurated in 2006. The institute was the brain child of the late Foreign Minister, Lakshman Kadirgamar, who saw the long felt need for a strategic studies institute in Sri Lanka and worked towards establishing one with dedication.

The ground work for establishing a strategic studies institute was completed during his time, but he was not able to witness it actually being set up. After his assassination, President Mahinda Rajapaksa, (then Prime Minister), proposed to the Cabinet that the new Institute of International Relations and Strategic Studies be named after Minister Kadirgamar as a tribute. The proposal was approved, thus paving the way for the LKIIRSS to be established. Recently Asanga Abeyagoonasekera was appointed as the Executive Director of the Lakshman Kadirgamar Institute. Asanga was once the youngest Chairman in the government sector.

Get in Touch

If you have an event or a group that you would like me to talk to, I can see if I can make some time for such activities. I am happy to speak to groups about the ICT/BPO sector, youth leadership, business, careers, communication skills, soft skills and entrepreneurship. I always take pleasure from such activities.

If you have any feedback, please drop a note to yva@lankabpoacademy.lk

See you next week!



The Columnist

Yasas Vishuddhi Abeywickrama is a professional with significant experiences. In 2011 he was recognised as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) in Sri Lanka. Yasas has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from University of Colombo and a Masters degree in Entrepreneurship & Innovation from Swinburne University in Australia. He has worked in the USA, UK, Sri Lanka & Australia and being trained in the USA & Malaysia. He is currently involved in the training organisation, Lanka BPO Academy (www.lankabpoacademy.lk). Apart from this column, he is a regular resource person for ‘Ape Gama’ program of FM Derana (Sunday 3-5pm). Yasas is happy to answer your relevant questions – email him at yva@lankabpoacademy.lk .

Budget 2012 today

November 20, 2011, 9:30 pm , The Island.

President Mahinda Rajapaksa in his capacity as Minister of Finance will present the Budget 2012 to Parliament today at 1.50 pm.

The country has, according to government sources, made significant progress in fiscal discipline this year and therefore is likely to meet the deficit target of 6.8 percent of the GDP. However, public debt to cover the deficit has ballooned from Rs. 433.7 billion estimated for the whole year to Rs. 515 billion in new loans by end August.

In 2012, the deficit has to be reduced further to 6.2 percent according to the government’s own fiscal plans and in keeping with conditions attached to the US$ 2.6 billion IMF standby facility.

The second reading stage debate on the budget proposals is scheduled to commence tomorrow (22) at 9.30 am and go on till 5.30 pm for a period of seven days upto Nov. 30. The Second Reading stage vote would be taken at 5.00 on Nov. 30.

The Third Reading stage of the appropriation bill will commence on Dec. 1 and go on till Dec. 21 and the votes of all ministries would be taken up for debate. The final vote on budget 2012 is scheduled to be taken at 5.00 pm on Dec. 21.

Newly formed outfit vows to defeat setting up of private universities

November 20, 2011, 9:44 pm, The Island.


by Dasun Edirisinghe

The newly formed National Movement for Protecting Free Education (NMPFE) consisting of university teachers, students, doctors and school teachers, yesterday said it would go all out to scuttle the government’s attempt to establish private universities.

Addressing the media after launching the NMPFE in Colombo, its convener Ven. Dambara Amila thera said that the draft bill would be presented in parliament next January posing a serious threat to the free education system introduced by the late C. W. W. Kannangara.

Holding aloft a copy of the draft bill, Ven. Amila said that the provisions of the bill, if implemented, would limit university education to producing graduates only fit for the job market. The government had, he said, chosen to ignore the basic principles underpinning university education.

Amila Thera said that the government had already granted degree awarding status to more than 10 private institutions including the Malabe Private Medical College and about ten more applications had been submitted to the University Grants Commission (UGC). He said the UNP governments of yore had tried to privatize the free education system through the now infamous White Paper racket in the early 80s but they had failed to do so owing to resistance put up by teachers, students and the discerning members of the public.

Amila Thera said his organisation was amenable to educational reforms but it would not allow free education to be privatised on the pretext of reforms.

Senior lecturer of the Open University of Sri Lanka Dr. Rohan Fernando, Senior lecturer of the Sri Jayewardenepura Management Faculty Dr. Devaka Punchihewa, National Organiser of the Socialist Students Union Dr. Nalinda Jayatissa, Committee member of the Ceylon Teachers Service Union Lal Fernando and National committee member of the Doctors Against Private Medical Colleges Dr. Jayantha Bandara also attended at the media briefing.

University non-academics threaten continuous strike unless …

November 20, 2011, 9:42 pm

by Dasun Edirisinghe, The Island.

University non academic workers threaten to stage a continuous strike if their talks with Higher Education Secretary Dr. Sunil Jayantha Navaratne tomorrow (22) on the rectification of their salary anomalies fail.

President of the Inter University Trade Union Federation R. M. Chandrapala told The Island that the union’s executive committee had been scheduled to meet on Friday to decide when to commence the strike, but that meeting had been cancelled due to the ministry’s invitation.

"We will decide on a future course of action depending on the outcome of tomorrow’s discussions," the union leader said.

Chandrapala said that governments since 2006 had taken them for a ride by inviting them to discussions but the non-academics would resort to trade union action to win their demands in the event of the government’s failure to deliver on its promise tomorrow.

Chandrapala said that university non academics including executive and administration officers had been waiting for the rectification of their salary anomalies for the past six years and they were at the end of their tether. They staged a token strike on Nov. 02.