Minister outlines radical changes in education system
View(s):Far-reaching changes will be brought to the country’s education system, where decisive changes will be made next year to produce students who are all geared up for the twenty-first century, Education Minister Susil Premajayantha said.
He made the comment while addressing a news conference themed ‘Collective Path to a Stable Country’ at the Presidential Media Centre this week.
Human resources would be regulated to achieve the objective, and education would be remodelled in line with worldwide standards to form an education system that addresses sustainability and the best possible quality, he said, pointing out that there was a global consensus that educational success in the 21st century must include fruition on a broad set of outcomes.
The Minister also said the ‘Suraksha Sisu Rakshanaya’ insurance scheme for schoolchildren would be resumed next year. It was put on hold due to the economic crisis.
The Minister said, “In developed countries, the Education Ministry acts as a separate entity from the Central Government, and a Minister from the provinces is in charge of the Ministry of Education. The educational rights of children in countries like India, Canada, and Japan have been safeguarded as a result of this educational pattern.”
“The education industry needs to undergo a transformative change. Instead of the exam-centred education system, students should be aligned in a student-centred education pattern,” Minister Premajayantha said.
Looking at the glitches that were lined up in the education system in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic and the recent economic crisis, the Minister underscored the Ministry’s plan on introducing Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Information Technology (IT) to the school curriculum next year for two grade levels: Grade 6–9 and Grade 10–13. He pointed out that there was unprecedented growth in technology, with multinational technology corporations such as ‘Microsoft’ throwing light on the digital age.
The plans of action to transform the existing education system were on, he said. These plans had been developed to initiate teaching activities in English in collaboration with the British Council. In this context, it should be noted that 13,800 teachers have been trained so far to reach that goal, he said.
He also said the upgrading of textbooks in English had also begun. The Advanced Level (A/L) Examination is scheduled to take place in December 2023, and the exam results of the 2022 A-Level Examination are expected to be announced in mid-August. Necessary efforts have been made by the Ministry of Education itself to hold all the examinations in the prescribed year with no disruptions.
While pointing to the 50 open Principal positions and the 22,000 openings for teacher administration services and referring to the court action filed by trade unions, the Minister said he hoped the pressing issue of the recruitment of principals’ service and the teacher administration service could be resolved in no time by the court.
The Education Ministry is also hard at work keeping up the ‘13 plus’ education programme put forward by the President. A selection committee has been formed in this respect, and mandatory programmes to broaden the standards of education will be developed with non-governmental organisations as a joint venture in due course, he said.
Moreover, efforts are already being made to facilitate education loans for non-state university students. This would create an environment where they could also take part in contributing to the country’s economy, the minister said.
He also said a university training centre would be set up in Kotagala to prepare students to serve specifically in the plantation sector, with the view of securing the educational rights of the children of estate workers.
Mr. Premajayantha said the Ministry was ascertaining children’s right to education by extensively embracing the oversight programme of private and international schools.
“Driven by these issues, we are working to bring about a change in education next year,” the minister said.
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