Correct vision needed for creativity

by Ishara MUDUGAMUWA

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The most crucial time for youth who strive hard for years, comes when the A/L Z-scores are announced followed by nominations for universities have been finished. But educationists say that all those who gain admissions to universities as well as those who fail to do so would have an experience of their lifetime, by preparing for the examination.

In the journey of academic education, Advanced Level is a barrier which has to be cleared before one could venture further onto other fields. Those who surmount this obstacle is one step closer to greener pastures.

The fate of those who had achieved a high Z-score and then gets selected to enter the portals of universities are sealed. Those who are not successful won’t be completely doomed, as they may not be intellectually inferior. Failure in their vision may be solely due to the system of evaluation rather than deficiency in their intellectual ability.

Many a man, who failed to enter have gained huge successes especially in various other professional fields, and have contributed immensely for the betterment of society.

Unlike those days when there had been only a few openings for gaining educational achievements, today, the world of education is open to everyone who wants to learn.

One does not have to worry now even if he is not fortunate enough to join foreign universities or any other private institution in our country as there are several government sponsored free professional or substitute educational studies available to the pursued.

The Sunday Observer, talked to many students, who had gained admittance to Universities and others who had failed at the entrance.

The island’s first in Bio Science last year, Irosha Chandimal says “Now I have no worries about my future for I have been selected with the highest marks to the Colombo university.”

Yet he adds, “Even if someone couldn’t get selected there is nothing to worry about for there are many openings to help them find a career path.”Another girl who couldn’t get admitted to medical college but instead, selected for Bio Science studies, Melani Muthugamuwa Arachchi, says “I will strive to reach a higher position in my assigned field even though I will not be a doctor of medicine.”

A boy pursuing a professional course at a technical college, Indrajith Liyanage who did his A/Ls in the arts stream says “Even though I sat for the exam I would not enter the university since my interests are different.

I want to complete my automobile engineering studies at the tech and go abroad to earn a living.” The former Director General of the National Institute of Education, Prof. Jagath Wickramasinghe, opined “I also agree with that reasoning, because our education system does not have a vision which should help produce an innovative human being.

We should try to inculcate these qualities, in the child’s mind. It should be our motto.

But unfortunately it’s not happening. Principals, teachers, directors and even support staff, must be involved.

He further added, “Ministry officials and educational experts talk and boast about achievements of A/Ls and O/Ls ten or twenty years ago when the pass rate was 27 percent or 30 percent whereas now it is 50 percent.

But what is the use of that. In our universities there are certain fields like engineering, medicine, law and if someone can enter to follow these courses and study well they can have a comfortable life.

But what is the future of the students who are following arts courses. Having spent 13 years in school and then another four or five years in the university and finally they will engage in protests and shout against the government asking for jobs.”

According to Prof. K. T. Silva, Dean, Faculty of Arts, University of Peradeniya, “the current situation in our country is such that they will waste time by entering universities. But the number of students who enter the universities have not reduced even this year.”

All these go to prove, Z-score or no-score, if you are destined to become somebody, nobody can change thecourse.