Amidst concerns of parents on evaluating children on their intelligence and aptitude when seeking admission to schools, the Education Ministry declared no mechanism had yet been formulated for use in evaluating the child. Education Minister Susil Premjayantha said the Ministry was yet to receive instructions from the Presidential Secretariat on evaluating children’s intelligence and aptitude, though applications for Grade 1 will be called from August 15 onwards as ordered by the Supreme Court. “All 9,000 Government schools will be following the new system when admitting children to schools though semi-government and private schools are free to choose whatever scheme they prefer,†the Minister said. Sri Lanka Teachers’ Service Union secretary Mahinda Jayasinghe said it was difficult to gauge a child’s intelligence and aptitude at the age of 4½ without imparting a properly guided primary education to the child. Source: http://www.
University Students should not think that they could topple the government by getting involved in political agitation. They should study well and contribute to the well being of the country. They must be equipped with knowledge needed to live in the technological world, said Minister of Higher Education, Professor W. A. Wiswa Warnapala at a ceremony held at Kegalle St.
The phenomena of unemployment has historically been a fashionable theme relentlessly subjected to dialogue in academic spheres and by almost all political parties that intended to gain power since post independence. One may construe this as a beggar’s wound universally exploited by politicians to gain political mileage especially in the epoch of frenzied presidential polls.In a way, what is wrong in it when even President Bill Clinton sang the same old song to advance himself from being the Governor of remote Arkansas to be the 42nd President of United States? Like many Sri Lankan politicians who find the non-alignment between education and unemployment extremely mesmerising, even the U.S President pledged that by year 2000 the American students will be made competent in subjects such as Mathematics, Science and English, so that they may be well-equipped to be productively employed in the modern economy.
The Government has decided to allocate Rs. 360 million to provide hostel facilities to undergraduates of the Rajarata University.Accordingly, two hostel buildings capable of providing accommodation to 800 students will be constructed for the university. “A proposal submitted by Higher Education Minister Prof. Wishwa Warnapala to this effect received the nod of the Cabinet on Wednesday,†Cabinet spokesman and Minister Anura Priyadarshana Yapa told the media yesterday.
Teachers in UK have called for websites such as YouTube to be shut down as part of efforts to prevent pupils and staff being bullied. Delegates at the conference of the Professional Association of Teachers (PAT) said bullying can continue outside school and work hours. They said bullies can send abusive text messages or e-mails to victims. A spokesman for the website YouTube said the vast majority of people used the site responsibly. At the PAT annual conference in Harrogate, delegates heard that bullies have posted mobile phone videos on websites, showing teachers as well as pupils being attacked or humiliated.
A protest conducted by students of the University of the Visual and Performing Arts, was dispersed by police using tear gas at Ward Place yesterday.The police used tear gas and water cannons when the protestors tried to enter the Higher Education Ministry premises to hand over a document to the Higher Education Minister Prof. Wiswa Warnapala. According to university sources the students have conducted this protest against the Higher Education Ministry and the University Grants Commission demanding the granting of several demands including hostel facilities, inadequate academic and non-academic staff, educational equipment deficiency, facilities for libraries and lecture rooms etc. Finally the Higher Education Minister held a discussion with the student’ representatives and the Minister promised to fulfil some of the demands with immediate effect.
We Sri Lankans boast about a literacy rate of over 90%. Yes, statistically it’s true. But, just get out of your statistical frame of mind, and look at the stark reality. Most of our schools are not fit to be called schools in the true sense of the word.Those schools are so appalling that they simply cannot contribute towards sustaining a high literacy rate.
The Tenth death anniversary of the late Professor Nandadasa Kodagoda falls tomorrow. Emeritus senior Professor in Forensic Medicine, Professor Nandadasa Kodagoda was a former Dean of the Faculty of Medicine of the University of Colombo, and was later appointed its Vice Chancellor. He was the Chairman of the National Dangerous Drugs Control Board and the Chairman of the Alcohol and Drug Information Centre. Professor Kodagoda was a popular public health communicator through the print and electronic media. At the public commemoration meeting which will be held Tomorrow, at 5.
The last computer literacy survey done by the Census and Statistics Department in 2004 puts the IT literacy of the 5-69 yrs population in Sri Lanka less than 10%. (See graph) Of course, one has to take these figures with a pinch of salt. The life expectance in Sri Lanka is not 69 years (It is 72 for males and 77 for females) so the figures are skewed more towards the younger population. Also it is noteworthy that the ‘IT literacy’ was defined in this survey as the ‘ability to operate a computer’ – even for a basic task like copying a file or playing games. So the 10% IT literacy rate does not mean much.
University students in Sri Lanka have accused the government of secretly working on agenda to privatise state universities.  Duminda Nagamuva, convenor of Inter University Student Union (IUSU), accused President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s government of gradually reducing budget allocation for state universities. “The allocation was reduced by 20 per cent in January. Another 50 per cent was recently reduced announced,” he told BBC Sandeshaya. Commenting on a recent report by government auditors, Nagamuva said the government has lost Rs.