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Education system needs to be revamped says new Minister
View(s):The Education Ministry will see a number of changes under newly appointed Minister Akila Viraj Kariyawasam, including a new unit to monitor International schools, re-establishment of the Teacher Transfer Board, and broadening of Information Technology (IT) studies.
The Ministry will shift its focus to developing its Human Resources as there haven’t been proper policies to develop this area, Minister Kariyawasam explained. According to him, teacher training and recruitment has not been conducted in a planned and a cohesive manner.
“Introduction of the Technology stream is a mess. It doesn’t have proper staff to teach in that stream. There are similar problems in teaching Maths, English and Science. I will have to look into teacher allocations on those subjects as well,” he said.
As part of the 100-day programme, Minister Kariyawasam is to establish a new monitoring unit, similar to that for private schools, to streamline the quality and standards of International schools, along with a monitoring mechanism to supervise these schools.
Under this system, all International schools will need to register with the Education Ministry. Registration, to be renewed annually, will only be granted if they fulfill a stipulated criterion which will take into consideration, teacher-student ratios, facilities available, teaching quality and other infrastructure required for a school such as a playground, lab facilities, classroom space etc. However, a grace period will be granted to schools which do not meet the criteria given, to improve standards before revoking their licenses, the Minister elaborated.
The Ministry will also have a separate committee to continuously assess teacher quality of International school teachers, and conduct regular inspections.
The new Minister is also keen to re-establish the Teacher Transfer Board to handle all related transfers. At present, most transfers are politically motivated, Minister Kariyawasm told the Education Times.
“Often, when teachers are transferred, other issues are not considered. Sometimes, the teacher’s child goes to one school, while the mother is transferred to another school about 30 km away, and the father travels in a completely different direction. This upsets the balance for the teacher’s family. We need to consider all of these when a teacher is transferred,” he explained.
The Minister also intends to improve Information Technology (IT) studies in the local Education system. The country is at an advantage, as foreign organisations prefer to set up their back-office operations in Sri Lanka, and the Minister claimed that students should be bestowed with skills to reap the benefits of such investments.
“If IT studies are developed, we have better skilled workers to offer, and are better able to cater to the current job market, which is the Education Ministry’s the goal. We will further study the situation, now that I am in a position to do so, and invest better on IT education,” he said.
(See interview with Minister of Education on page 2)