Technology for the future

If you glance through the Employment section of this newspaper, you will see hundreds of local and foreign jobs advertised. If you are a keen reader of those pages, you will also notice that over time, some ads appear again and again. This can only mean that the employer is unable to find properly qualified candidates.

The stark reality is that our education system is not geared to fulfil the demands of the job market. The jobs call for certain qualifications which our education system does not provide. Moreover, most candidates seem to be lacking a good knowledge of English, which is one of the prime requirements for any job in the private sector here and abroad.

There is a school of thought that this is the result of an education system which relies heavily on academic studies even at university level, leave alone school level. Thus, students have little or no practical knowledge of subjects that are actually sought by employers. A few decades ago, vocational subjects were offered from Grade 8 so that those who would not expect to enter the universities could pursue a career in such a field. Later, such subjects were discontinued. But this seems to have created a major lacuna.

It is in this context that we should laud the Education Ministry for planning to introduce a new advanced level stream called Technology as the fifth stream from this year as a collaborative measure of three Ministries - the Education Ministry, the Higher Education Ministry and the Youth Affairs and Skills Development Ministry.

“Considering the present world trends, the Technology stream will be the fifth stream,” says Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena.

Future

This is a timely proposal, because technology is the future. There will be a huge demand for software developers and other inventive persons in the technology arena from employers around the globe.

Four streams, Science, Mathematics, Commerce and Arts are now taught at Advanced Levels. Every year around 350,000 students sit the GCE Advanced Level examination, of whom around 25,000 qualify to enter universities. Thus, around 300,000 youth who sit the examination following the four streams enter the job market annually. Herein lies the problem.

A great number of these job seekers are unemployable, since the four streams are not job oriented. They are simply targeted as a pathway for university entrance.

If you fail to get through to a university and cannot find a job from the limited numbers of jobs available to A/L qualified school leavers, options are very limited. Students have to follow several more courses at great expense to find other openings in the employment market - not everyone can afford to do so.

Only a very few can afford to go abroad for higher studies, which leaves the majority of students in the lurch.

At the initial stage, the new stream will be available at 50 schools and gradually expanded to cover every secretariat division. We are told that the Education Ministry is drafting the textbooks and teacher guidance for the new stream with the assistance of educationalists, intellectuals, technologists and other resource personnel.

We do not yet know the contours of the technology stream and subjects, but we hope that the syllabi will take the latest technological trends into consideration.

The students should also be offered an opportunity to learn another foreign language apart from English (Korea, Italian, French etc) so that they will have an additional qualification for an overseas job.

There is also a need to tailor new undergraduate courses such as nanotechnology, software technology, bioengineering, aeronautical engineering, agro-technology and robotic technology aiming to meet present day trends for the benefit of those selected to universities from this stream. However, the technology stream by itself should be designed to offer a clear path to employment for those who are not selected to the universities. That is the only way to fill the vacuum in technology jobs.

The authorities must also not forget O/L drop-outs, who should also be given the option of following technology courses which can ultimately lead to degree qualifications.

The Government’s plan to set up 20 university colleges (the private sector will start five) will be a boon for these students. The Government also plans to set up a special university for technology studies.

It is also vital to open more opportunities for female students for the technology subjects. This will help produce skilled female workers who will then be in a position to seek better (and better paying) jobs here and abroad.

Training

The training of teachers for these subjects will be an onerous task, because there is no previous model.

It is a very vital cog in the wheel. If foreign expertise is called for in this regard, the authorities should not hesitate to go ahead, at least until we have a considerable number of local trainers who can take the process forward.

They should also explore the possibility of having ‘guest lectures’ by technology and industry leaders in the respective areas. Private sector technology companies can also organise ‘open days’ where students can learn about their operational aspects.

This will give the students a fair idea of the kind of opportunities available in the sector. Once the technology stream gains traction, business chambers and private sector organisations should organise technology-oriented career fairs at schools and universities island-wide. These fairs should showcase the potential of the sector to the prospective employees - students in this case. The authorities should also study the education models of developed and developing countries which have created job markets for all those passing out of secondary school and senior school. Since Sri Lanka is among the few developing countries where almost all children aged 5-15 attend school (Grades 1-9), it would be a pity if we cannot make better use of that impressive statistic.

The ideal scenario would be a job for each school leaver and graduate, but there is still some way to go before that happens.

With more emphasis on technical and technological studies, it should not be a difficult target.