First Technical University to be set up

by Lalin Fernandopulle

The National University of Vocational Technical Training, the first technical educational university in Sri Lanka will be set up under the Ministry of Vocational and Technical Training this year in Ratmalana, Director General, Department of Technical Education and Training, Dr. H.L. Obeyesekera told the Sunday Observer.

He said students seeking entrance to the technical university will have to complete the National Vocational Quality (NVQ) system level 1 and 2 at the Vocational Training Authority, level 3 and 4 at the technical college, 5 and 6 at the College of Technology and gain two years industrial experience.

Technical Colleges were conducting six months to one-year certificate courses which were not adequate to seek reasonably good employment but the three-year degree program offered at the new university will be new to the country's technical education, the Director General said .

He said so far we did not have mid career Technical Training in the technical set up but there is a huge demand in the industry for technicians in various professions. The mid career training will be provided through the Colleges of Technology in each province.

The Maradana and Galle Technical Colleges were restructured to Colleges of Technology and with the others at Ratnapura, Ampara, Badulla, Anuradhapura, Kandy, Jaffna and Kurunegala to be restructured soon there will be more scope for students to enhance their career.

The Technical College programs were upgraded under the (NVQ) system introduced to help students to fill the shortage of the skilled labour force in industries and develop their entrepreneurial skills.

He said there is a great demand for degree courses in technical education and the university program will be structured to meet local and foreign industry needs with proper knowledge, skills and attitudes.

Dr. Obeyesekera said two-year diploma courses such as mechatronics combining mechanical and electronic engineering,metal technology for all types of welding, boat repairing and manufacturing technology, food technology and ICT will be introduced to cater to industry needs.

The department also plans to set up a construction technology unit to upgrade the existing courses conducted at Technical Colleges.

"Over 25 courses on plumbing, electricity, electronics, welding and masonry have been launched to suit the industry needs. Agreements have been entered into with registered institutes of the Incorporated Institute of Engineering of Sri Lanka (IIESL) to provide technical training to meet industry needs," he said.

He said welding technicians of the Maradana College of Technology are employed at the Colombo Dockyard. Technical Colleges provide training to employees of companies seeking to enhance their career.

Marketing is done extensively at school level and a career guidance unit has been set up to promote and build awareness among students on the importance of technical education. Innovative centres have been set up in all Technical Colleges to create interest among students.

An academic audit team will monitor the progress of students and the staff. He said staff upgrading is one of the major challenges and steps will be taken to attract more professionally qualified people on the staff.

The first Technical College was set up in 1893 at Maradana and now there are over 38 colleges in the country. The number of students enrolled in 2005 was 14,500 and with new programs to enrol students after the O/L examination the intake increased to 21,000.

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