{"id":147033,"date":"2025-01-01T17:38:36","date_gmt":"2025-01-02T00:38:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=147033"},"modified":"2025-01-01T17:38:36","modified_gmt":"2025-01-02T00:38:36","slug":"education-policy-2","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2025\/01\/01\/education-policy-2\/","title":{"rendered":"Education Policy"},"content":{"rendered":"

Sugath Kulatunga\u00a0<\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Sri Lanka does not possess an abundance of physical resources for large-scale industrial development but is blessed with ample human resources. It is on this comparative advantage that the country has to develop its economy. Education is the driving force with which the optimal benefit could be derived from this rare advantage and is the key to developing competitiveness and excellence. High-performing countries in the Far East considered relevant education as the foundation of economic development and social advancement. They focused on developing human capital in science and technology and vocational skills as they are pivotal to economic development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

 It is most encouraging that on the 27th December at the Bandaranaike memorial International Conference Hall, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya had stated: For a country, a nation, or a society to develop, it requires individuals with diverse skills. Our government is committed to ensuring that no one is left behind in the education system. Youth must acquire skills that are directly relevant to achieving full employment, and we must foster a workforce with entrepreneurial capabilities. This approach will help bridge the skills gap between the labor market and the youth community.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is a significant departure from the traditional educational policies practised in the country since its independence. It is a radical measure after Kannangara Reforms of 1947. of aligning the educational system with the needs of the market. The 1944 the Kannangara education reform was a landmark event in education policy in the country. It was radical and futuristic. Other than \u2018free education from preschool to University \u2018 Kannangara Committee proposed:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Establishing three types of schools \u2013 Secondary, Senior, and Practical Schools,<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Introducing Vernacular medium of instruction at Primary level and bilingual or English,<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  •  Medium schools for Junior Secondary level and English schools for Senior Secondary and higher education.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    The Committee believed that although the educational system should be closely related to the present needs and conditions it has also to be planned with due regard to all possible lines which future development is likely to take. The development of education must not only keep pace with a country\u2019s advance but should definitely contribute to accelerating the pace of the advance.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    But in the implementation and subsequent years the need for education policy to be attuned to future needs was ignored. The concept of Practical Schools was not pursued seriously. It was limited to Farm Schools and Technical colleges. Even one of the prominent members of the Committee Sir Ivor Jennings had doubts about the country needing a large number ie. 15 % of Schools leavers every year with commercial and technical qualifications. He did not see any evidence that the Island is likely to be able to absorb even half that number.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The result was that the SL school education system became \u2018tutories\u2019 preparing students for examinations based on the British system. The Universities too concentrated on general education producing a large number of unemployable graduates. The existing plicy makers and practioners in education did not deviate from their comfort zone of general educaion and only made improvements of the syllabuses in the school curiculums.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    An attempt to introduce an element of practical education in the form of the NCGE for School leavers during the government of Mrs. Bandaranayake was scrapped by the next government falling back on the SSC. While SL deliberately ignored technical education with independence India established in 1950 five Institutes of Technology (IITs) in the main States of the country. These IITs were modeled on the best examples of higher technical education from Germany, Russia, the United Kingdom, and the United States. They have been the cutting edge of technology development in India and are highly recognized internationally. Many of the CEOs of leading high-tech firms like Google, Infosys and IBM are alumni of the Indian IIts.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In many countries vocational and technical education are combined as Tve. That gives vocational education better acceptance. Even in Sri Lanka it would be better if Technical Education is brought under the Prime Minister in combination with the present portfolio of Vocational Education. It will remove the bias against vocational education as handwork (Athweda).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    An education policy not aligned with technology and industrial policies of the country would be irrelevant, unimportant and an expensive luxury. It creates more problems of unemployment, dissatisfaction and social disharmony than positive outcomes. It is not surprising that there is no coherence among these policies as Sri Lanka does not have an Industrial Policy or a Technology Policy. An integrated policy package of these three vital policies is the pressing need of SL at this moment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    The fast-paced evolution of technology necessitates a workforce that can adapt to new tools, platforms, and methodologies. Integrating education with technology ensures that students and workers are equipped with relevant skills such as Digital literacy,Programming and data analytics and Problem-solving using AI and machine learning, Industrial policies aligned with technological advancements can drive the adoption of these skills in industries, fostering a seamless transition from education to employment.The synergy of education  and technology nurtures innovation which is the driving force of development In just a few decades, South Korea has transformed itself from an underdeveloped nation to an industrialized country exporting high-technology products (Domjahn 2013, p. 16). Much of this development has been attributed to improvements in the country\u2019s education system. Various South Korean and international scholars (Ellinger and Beckham 1997; Han 1994; Kim 2000) have credited the nation\u2019s economic success to an efficient education system that provides the quality workforce necessary for economic expansion. \/Users\/sugath\/Desktop\/h   https:\/www.researchgate.net\/publication\/284831895<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    China,Republc of Taiwan is an Island smaller than Sri Lanka with a similar population. Before the 1980s it was a predominantly agricultural economy. Today it is a high-tech powerhouse leading the world in a number of high-tech industries. It has a per capita income of 36, 000 dollars. At the beginning of the 1980s, Taiwan increased the ratio for senior vocational schools and general high schools to 7:3. By 2012 there were 155 senior vocational schools, 14 junior colleges, and 77 universities\/colleges of science & technology, totaling 246. It is the education system that has sustained the significant development of this small nation.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    It is fervently urged that the proposed visit of the President to China be made use of to canvas for the establishment of a Chinese Technical University in Sri Lanka. Establishing a Chinese tech university or collaborations with existing institutions can provide advanced technical education and skill development opportunities for Sri Lankan students in fields such as AI, robotics, cybersecurity, and telecommunications.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    China is a global leader in several tech sectors. A tech university can facilitate the transfer of cutting-edge technologies, helping Sri Lanka modernize its industries. Such a university could act as an innovation hub fostering startups and entrepreneurship in Sri Lanka. Such umniversity couldbe located in the PortCity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    Sugath Kulatunga\u00a0 Sri Lanka does not possess an abundance of physical resources for large-scale industrial development but is blessed with ample human resources. It is on this comparative advantage that the country has to develop its economy. Education is the driving force with which the optimal benefit could be derived from this rare advantage and […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[191],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-147033","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sugath-kulatunga"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147033","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=147033"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/147033\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=147033"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=147033"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=147033"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}