The Institute of Bankers of Sri Lanka (IBSL,) is the successor to the Bankers' Training Institute established in 1964.

It has remained as the premier educational institution engaged in providing instructions and training in the sphere of banking and finance and has recorded and maintained a significant progress in this field.

The IBSL is the only institute authorized to offer banking and finance qualifications in Sri Lanka and also plays a major role in training personnel in the country's banking and financial sector.

Apart from the above, the IBSL has ventured into the international market by opening its first international Accredited Centre.

The IBSL International Accredited Centre in the Maldives will be launched on February 6 2010 on the request of educational institutions in the Maldives. The Sunday Times spoke to Mr. S H A M Abeyratne, Director General of IBSL to find out more about the new accredited centre in the Maldives.

What is the main objective of the new accredited centre?

Maldives is a very popular vacation paradise and Tourism is the country's biggest foreign exchange earner and the single largest contributor to the country's GDP. Today, there are 89 resorts in the Maldives, providing world class facilities for tourists. The annual arrival figure of tourists exceeds 600,000. The banking sector plays a major role as a support service to the tourist industry. Building up a strong banking and financial system has, therefore, become a necessity and is of vital importance to the country. In order to achieve this objective Maldives needs professionally qualified and well-trained personnel in the field of banking and finance.

As per the invitation from educational institutions in the Maldives, the IBSL will be opening a new accredited centre in the Maldives on February 6 2010. Dr Priyanka Baddewithana, will function as the Coordinator of the Centre. Lecturers will be recruited mainly from Sri Lanka and India. This will be the first time an Accredited Centre of the IBSL will be opened in another country.

What are the activities of the launch which will be held on February 6 and what is the response up to now?

The programme will start with an inauguration ceremony which will be followed by a Road Show for schools. Meetings with officials of the Maldivian Monetary Authority (MIMA), banks, finance companies, insurance companies etc. will be held in order to apprise them of the objectives and activities of the Accredited Centre.

Initially 100 students will be registered to follow the Course for the Certificate in Banking & Finance and they will be sitting the 2010 September examination.

What are the advantages of the new accredited centre?

As we all know the literacy rate in Sri Lanka is 90.8% percent which is a very high rate compared to other South Asian countries. Our education market should be expanded to other South Asian countries such as Nepal, Bhutan, Bangladesh etc. This new accredited centre will be a big step in that direction and will be a major development in Sri Lanka's professional education market.

How do you feel about the present Education system in Sri Lanka?

Annually more than 100,000 students qualify for university entrance from GCE A/L and only around 20,000 of them are fortunate to gain entrance to local universities. Students who are financially secure are fortunate enough to seek education overseas. The others seek assistance of various tertiary educational institutes and other such professional bodies within the country to continue their higher education.

What is the role of the IBSL in this regard?

The IBSL focuses on students who are eager to obtain higher qualifications upto degree level but have not been fortunate enough to enter local universities or have no means to enter foreign universities. The IBSL provides an opportunity to such students to obtain a both locally and internationally recognised professional qualification in banking finance at very affordable fees.

Even a student with ordinary level has the ability to obtain registration with us and go up to an internationally recognized degree at a very reasonable course fee.

The other advantages are that since there are many Accredited Centres of the IBSL in various parts of the country, including Jaffna, accessibility to classes is not a problem and also lectures are conducted in all three media - English, Sinhala and Tamil. Thus the students will also not face any form of language barrier.

What are your future plans as the pioneer professional education provider in the banking and finance industry?

Currently we have a student base of 30,000 and we accommodate approximately 6,000 new students annually. The main objective is to enhance the student base by opening new accredited centres in neighbouring countries and to introduce an e-learning system to help students who have time barriers to attend lectures.