There is a misconception among some, that the GCE ‘A level’ is solely for the purpose of entering the conventional universities in the country.
While those who successfully complete GCE ‘ A level’ with the requisite passes, can proceed to higher education to the conventional universities, there are those who leave the secondary schools prior to sitting for the GCE ‘A level’ or even before the GCE ‘O level” for other forms of education and training. These students depending on their achieved qualifications in General Education would fall into the category of Tertiary Education which covers Vocational Education, Technical Education, Professional Education and also Higher Education & University Education as Tertiary is the third stage after primary and secondary schooling.
|
| The author Prof. Wijeysekera |
Those who have followed preferably upto GCE ‘O level’ classes and also those who have proceeded further but prefer Technical & Vocational Education and Training (TVET) as their future career could explore the opportunities available through TVEC Registered / Accredited courses of study. The currently available opportunities in the TVET sector could be obtained from the TVET Guide 2011 by visiting the website www.tvec.gov.lk link TVET Guide, which is a publication of the TVEC.
In order to align youth in the secondary schools to the TVET sector which is essential for the development of any country, the Standing Committee on Tertiary and Technical Education of the National Education Commission initiated in February 2009, the deliberations on a Technology Stream for the GCE ‘A level’ in addition to the four existing streams for the GCE ‘A level’ namely Arts, Bio Science, Commerce and Physical Science.
The National Education Commission accepted in early 2010 and submitted it to the President in July 2010 to be among the recommendations to National Education Policy on Higher Education and Technical & Vocational Education. Thereafter, the recommendation was forwarded to the Ministry of Education and the National Institute of Education for implementation.
While it was anticipated that at least some secondary schools could commence this stream in January 2011, it has not materialised and it is hoped that at least by January 2012 it will be available to those who aspire to pursue fields of study in further education having successfully completed the requisite relevant subjects.
The three groups which have been proposed are as shown below with the recommended subject combinations which could lead to different fields of further Tertiary Education covering selected courses in University Education, Higher Education, Technological Education, relevant Professional Education and Vocational Education courses of study and training.
Group A:
Mechanical Technology
Electrical, Electronics and
Information Technology
Civil Technology
Group B:
Food Technology
Agro Technology
Bio -Resources
Technology
Group C:
Combined Mathematics
Physics
Chemistry
Biology
Information Technology
Accountancy
Economics
Agriculture
Geography
(The writer is Chairman, Tertiary & Vocational Education Commission (TVEC) and Member, National Education Commission for Technical & Vocational Education &Training (TVET) |
E-mail
