Educational reforms are currently underway. As one of its steps, the Ministry of Education has made arrangements to commence a ‘Sri Lanka University of Education’ from next year to provide a well-educated group of teachers to the school system.
It is made up of 19 science faculties and is the only university under the Ministry of Education as other universities are under the University Grants Commission. We reached out to the Minister of Education and Higher Education lawyer Susil Premajayantha for his comments.
“The success of education depends on the quality of teachers in the classroom. In the history of our country’s education, teachers were recruited to different grades according to qualification levels. But nowadays, in view of the rapid development of knowledge, increasing the quality of teachers is an urgent need. One of these steps is to provide the means to increase the quality and educational development of teachers. The second step is to adapt the newly recruited teachers. In many countries, the basic criteria for teachers are being either graduate or post-graduate. In those countries, there are universities specialising in producing teachers. The situation is the same in India.
To create an education that is compatible with the world, a group of teachers with all-round knowledge including IT and emerging new technologies should be assigned to schools. Currently, our school system recruits graduate teachers for advanced classes. The teaching process in grades 1-11 is done by grads from science faculties based on their GCE A level Z score. However this must be changed in order to move forward.
In future, these changes are expected to be carried out under two measures, i.e. to encourage and provide opportunities for the teachers currently in the school system to obtain degrees or postgraduate degrees, and secondly, to introduce a group of graduates into teaching through the new Sri Lanka Education University that will be established. The ultimate goal is to make all teachers graduate teachers in the next few years.
Upgraded
Thus, according to the decision of the Cabinet, 19 of the existing 20 national faculties of education will be upgraded to the status of university campus and a new university named Sri Lanka University of Education will be established. Out of the 20 science faculties in Sri Lanka, all science faculties except the Maharagama National Science Faculty are included in this plan. This university will recruit students with a high Z score in the A-levels and give them higher education from the first degree to all graduate levels related to education science and then to give them appointments as teachers.
This is a university under the Ministry of Education. After the establishment of this university, students with high Z scores will be admitted competitively in the same way as students are admitted to other universities, and they will have to apply directly through the University Grants Commission.
Currently, almost 4,000 students are enrolled in science faculties, but after the establishment of this university, it is expected to recruit nearly 6,000-7,000 students. The Ministry of Education hopes to enrol a group of 2,000 students next year. This is the only university under the Ministry of Education. The main headquarters of this university is to be established at the National Faculty of Science in Maharagama, which was the 20th Faculty of Science. All the work for that is in progress.
The structure of the newly established Sri Lanka University of Education will be arranged according to the structure of a general university structure. It contains the structure of the State university such as a dean, Governing Council, Confirmation Council, faculties and so on.
Seven faculties are to be established at the Maharagama University headquarters. These faculties start for other streams including education, technology, primary sectors, languages and science subjects. A special institute for English language and an academy for aesthetic education is also to be started here.
Recruitment for this purpose is scheduled to be done from next year. The related basic concept paper has been approved by the Cabinet. Subject to the acceptance of the University Grants Commission (UGC), a bill for the establishment of this university is to be brought forthwith.
The college students who have completed the interviews will be admitted on the 12th of this month, and the admission gazette has been delayed a bit because the eligibility should be decided based on this situation.
A high Z score is expected when admitting students to this university. When graduates from this university enter the teaching profession, they will have a three-year degree and one year of teacher training. They will then be placed in teacher grades 2-11. Salaries are going to be six levels higher than normal.
This will enable those who are in the teaching profession, teacher educators, principals and private teachers to upgrade their professionalism. If you come to the teaching profession in the future, you will have to come through this university.
Universities
There are four faculties of education in Sri Lankan universities. Those colleges have been established in Colombo University, Open University, Peradeniya University and Jaffna University. Students who are currently pursuing their Master of Education degree can also enrol in this new university. Private school teachers can be admitted to this university. In the future, higher degrees such as Master of Education, Doctor, Professor can be obtained through this university.
Rs.936 million have already been earmarked for the reform of these university boards.
This is the need of the hour. This should have been started a few years ago. The Education Reform Policy framework is expected to be presented to the Cabinet and Parliament in the next few months. From the beginning of next year, administrative reforms, curriculum reforms and so on are expected to continue as planned. This new university is expected to open in January.
