Linking education to jobs in Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka is introducing technology education to secondary students
to give them a better chance at entering university or the job market,
an Asian Development Bank release said.
In a gleaming, new laboratory building at Mahinda Rajapakse College,
a secondary school on the outskirts of Sri Lanka's capital city Colombo,
a science experiment is taking place. Student Rashmi Koushalya observes
closely as her teacher creates a microbial-free environment and inserts
plant tissues into a growth medium using new, specialized equipment. It
has been only a few months since Rashmi transferred to the school to
join the first batch of students enrolled in Sri Lanka’s new technology
education stream.
“My ambition is to be a nanotechnology scientist, or work in the
weather department,” she says. “I think this subject is very important
for my future.”
So does the government. Sri Lanka’s economy has been growing rapidly
since
the end of a long and bitter civil conflict in 2009. That growth is
creating new jobs and the government wants to ensure its schools are
producing graduates that can meet the needs of private industry and
support sustainable economic growth.
A strong national commitment to education has already paid off.
Universal primary education and literacy rates are over 95% in the
country. But there is still a need to improve secondary education. The
government estimates that about a third of students still leave
secondary school without sufficient academic qualification or skills
training to enter the labor market. So while the recent economic boom
has pushed overall unemployment lower, about 18% in the 15-24 age group
still can’t find work, almost five times higher than the overall rate.
The new technology stream is one part of the government’s response.
The wide-ranging Education Sector Development Framework and Program for
2013-2017, or ESDFP, aims to modernize secondary education by deepening
curriculums; improving learning outcomes in core subjects such as
science, math, and English, and pass rates at both ordinary and advanced
levels; improving school facilities, especially in rural areas; and
developing a national student assessment framework, which integrates
school assessments with external exams.
ADB is supporting the ESDFP through a $200 million loan to the
Government of Sri Lanka approved in 2013.
Until last year, students interested in engineering or technical
sciences would choose the traditional arts and science stream at
secondary school.
That stream focuses on preparing them to enter the nation’s elite
universities. However, only a small percentage of students are admitted
to universities. Those who don’t often leave school without the skills
needed in the market.
The new technology stream emphasizes job-relevant training and the
development of career path connections to further vocational training
and employment. There is a strong focus on practical learning with
students joining frequent lab sessions and visiting local technical
colleges and vocational schools to get first-hand experience with
mechanical equipment.
Still, when the new stream was introduced some students and teachers
questioned if the practical approach would really lead to better
opportunities.
“Frankly speaking, in the beginning, the teachers weren’t confident
in what was going to happen,” says Diroshan Gunawardana, one of the
first teachers to join the technology stream faculty at Mahinda
Rajapakse
College. A particular concern was whether there would be suitable
university degree programs or certification prospects available to
graduates of the program.
The Ministry of Education has acted to address this concern and
ensure pathways for future study and qualification. Several national
universities are now introducing a Bachelor of Technology degree that
will be open to students from the technical stream. These students can
also pursue
nationally recognized vocational qualification certificates, even
while completing their secondary studies. These certificates open doors
to higher-level vocational certification upon graduation or entry-level
jobs.
The ministry is working to raise awareness of the new stream. It has
produced training materials for guidance counselors and is developing a
campaign to inform teachers, parents, and students about various career
options and how the technology stream will prepare students for them.
“I feel that with the interventions made by the Ministry of Education
and by other sectors, the gaps are being bridged,” says Diroshan. “Now
teachers feel confident encouraging students to take up this stream.”
As for Rashmi and her classmates, they feel lucky to be pioneers.
Rusiruan Thasara has always wanted to be an engineer and says he likes
the technology stream’s focus on practical skills. Kushan Thihagga
thinks the program widens his options: If he does well on the advanced
level exam, he can take the traditional route to university; if that
doesn’t work out he will have useful skills to find a technical job.
It is that added flexibility that led R. Damayanthi to enroll her son
in the new program too. “From an early age, he has been doing
experiments,” she says of her son Sachitha. “This stream will give him
the support to do what he most prefers. It will give him some skills and
the hands-on experience needed to do something on his own in the future.
Even though he may not be able to go on to greater heights in education,
he will still be able to find opportunities in the job market or through
self-employment.”
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