BCAS Education and beyond
View(s):Dreams do not move into reality that easily. Let’s just say you have your sights set on becoming an engineer, a lawyer perhaps, maybe even a nurse? “At BCAS (British College of Applied Studies), your dream of a career driven education can definitely become a reality, if not more. Our programmes are offered to anyone with the interest, enthusiasm and of course the capacity for learning,” says Abdul Rahman, Chairman – BCAS.
Being an Engineer by profession, Rahman, while completing his degree in the UK, had a vision of formulating an educational facility in Sri Lanka of similar standards to some of the most recognised universities in the UK. As a result, in 1999, BCAS was born, strongly driven by a vision of practicality. Speaking on BCAS’s inception, Rahman says, “what motivated me to come into this line of work was partly my understanding and the concerns I had about career development of Sri Lankans.” It had occurred to Rahman, while studying in the UK that only a selected few get to further their studies abroad and the average Sri Lankan had very few opportunities of getting a good, all rounded higher level of education in Sri Lanka. “Not every Sri Lankan student can move forward after completing his/her A Levels, into a university here, and many of the private institutions flashing higher education banners are neither affordable nor are they trustworthy,” he adds. He believes that another obstacle standing between local students and achieving their true potential is the language barrier. “I too was in university here, before my time in the UK, I knew students that had graduated with an Engineering degree, but couldn’t get a job because their English language skills were limited.” According to Raham, if students are going to make use of their opportunities globally, then they need to overcome these sets of challenges, such as financial hurdles, language barriers and immigration restrictions. This is when Rahman came up with a solution for “building careers and transforming lives” for all, through BCAS.
Within the institution’s first four months of operation, BCAS had achieved the inevitable, sending its first 12 students to complete their university education in the UK “through our affiliations with UK based universities” in what Rahman depicts as a 100 percent success in BCAS’s main objective. “All the 12 students were successful after their training here at BCAS, and this gave us a lot of courage and motivation to further develop our system of education.” He affirmed that it was affordable for the students to continue their studies in the UK. After intensive research Rahman found that when the students completed a major part of their studies in Sri Lanka, at BCAS, this opened up a route to achieve a UK degree through an approachable solution that is affordable as well.
Today BCAS houses a number of disciplines or schools under one roof. The school of Business, Management, Building Studies – which is by far their most popular area of study for students who are aiming for careers and high end salaries in professions like quantity surveying in the Middle East – Law, IT, Engineering, and their most recent addition, the school of Health Sciences, which will shortly accommodate a Nursing programme.
Each of these schools is equipped with essential English language courses, which meticulously aide the nature of the field being pursued. The difference, between any other private educational institution and BCAS, Rahman emphasises is that they offer their students the opportunity to move forward with the certificates and prevent stagnation after attaining their educational qualifications, through vocational training centres, which deem students as immediately employable after completing their programme of relevance.
While being established in Colombo, BCAS branches out to some of the main cities in the country such as Kandy, Kurunegala, Batticaloa and Jaffna, making it accessible for students nationwide to have a chance at pursuing the education they so deserve. “BCAS also has one of its very own facilities setup in Qatar,” commends Rahman.
Boasting collaborations with internationally acclaimed universities both in the UK and Malaysia, BCAS’s main path of education hails through their HND (Higher National Diploma) programmes for Edexcel. With an overall student strength exceeding 2,000, “every student here gets continuous guidance and support to motivate them to move on to the next step through our student council.
This council also plans many of the annual recreational events, which fosters culture and unity within the BCAS environment,” says Rahman.
Ranging from the foundation courses to suffice the requirements for entry level enrollments to the programmes such as the soon-to-be-commenced Master’s level curriculum in Law as well as Construction Project Management, which is to be approved by the RICS (Royal Institute of Charted Surveyors), BCAS is far from a short supply amid a staff of 120 strong, highly qualified lecturers. “We don’t compromise on the quality of the education we give our students. Although I am running a business, it’s not purely profit oriented. I’m very proud to say that this is for the future of my people and my country “elucidates Rahman.
- Sonali Kadurugamuwa | Photography Damith Wickramasinghe
| All the 12 students were successful after their training here at BCAS, and this gave us a lot of courage and motivation to further develop our system of education
what motivated me to come into this line of work was partly my understanding and the concerns I had about career development of |
|