PARLIAMENT

The Chairman of the Committee on Public Accounts Hon. (Prof.) Tissa Vitarana directed the Ministry of Education and the relevant authorities to submit a report to the Committee on Public Accounts (COPA) governing the new National Policy on Education to be drafted by May at the COPA meeting held yesterday (23). The Chairman added that the National Education Commission should seek the support of the relevant Ministry and all parties when formulating this policy.

University Vice Chancellors emphasized that special attention should be paid to the formulation of the new National Policy on Education regarding the elimination of harassment and ragging within the university system.

Given that the general education system is an integral part of the national development process affecting the lives of all Sri Lankans, the Committee recommended yesterday that the National Policies on School Education should be revised, amended and implemented expeditiously especially at a time as such where an acceleration of the economic development is expected.

The Committee pointed out that the unemployment rate of Art’s graduates exceeding 50 percent is problematic and that appropriate remedial action should be taken. The special audit report on Propensity to tend Education under the Arts Stream and the Unemployment of Arts Graduates was taken into discussion yesterday (23) at the COPA.

Ministers Hon. Dayasiri Jayasekara, Hon. Lasantha Alagiyawanna, Hon. (Dr.) Sudarshini Fernandopulle, Hon. Prasanna Ranaweera, Members of Parliament Hon. Tissa Attanayake, Hon. Ashok Abeysinghe, Hon. Mohomad Muzammil, Hon. Niroshan Perera, Hon. (Dr.) Upul Galappaththi, Hon. Ranjith Bandara, Hon. Harini Amarasuriya, Hon. Shritharan, Hon. B. Y. G. Rathnasekara were present at the COPA chaired by Hon. (Prof.) Tissa Vitarana.

The Committee also emphasized the need to provide human and physical facilities as required in all parts of the country to promote the curriculum governing technology. Students should be provided with alternative routes and streams of choice to choose from while they are still in secondary school. The Chairman was of the view that many issues could be solved by this manner.

The Committee also brought to the attention of the educational authorities the importance of further strengthening the teaching of English in order to facilitate the development of communication skills in schools and universities.

The Committee also informed the officials that in order to make the best use of the human and physical resources available in the universities, the traditional methods of pursuing degree courses should be changed and higher education opportunities provided by those institutions should be increased to enable more students to enter higher education institutions.

Whilst utilizing the distance education system as well as the higher education opportunities provided through the online system, the importance of promoting the higher education courses through various mechanisms was also discussed.

The Committee also pointed out that the University Grants Commission should consider the possibility of establishing an authorized authority to coordinate and regulate public and private institutions in order to design degree courses offered by universities to suit the needs of the job market.

The Chairman of the Committee said that it was of paramount importance for the Government to establish a system to assess the total manpower requirement of the government, semi-government and private sectors.

Prof. Kapila Perera, Secretary of Ministry of Education, Anuradha Wijekoon, Secretary to the Ministry of Youth and Sports, Prof. Sampath Amaratunga, Chairman of the University Grants Commission, Vice Chancellors and other officials were present at the meeting held.