EFSL Press Release #13: Let’s resolve to keep our children engaged in learning in 2022 | EFSL මාධ්ය ප්රකාශන #13: එළඹුනු 2022 වසරේ අපේ දරුවන් නොනවත්වා අධ්යාපනයේ රඳවා ගැනීමට අධිෂ්ඨානය කර ගනිමු. January 1, 2022 Greetings for 2022 and thank you for staying with us during the last two years when the forum earnestly engaged in its core mission of catalyzing policy reforms in education. The onset of the pandemic in March 2020 shaped our work. We carried out nineteen policy dialogues during that period and shared our findings through press releases. We looked at curricular reform, examinations, education funding, but the focus has been on keeping the school open during the pandemic.
EFSL PRESS RELEASE #12Access to low-cost testing kits is essential is to keep schools openedNovember 10, 2021 Perils of keeping schools closed are now universally acknowledged. In fact, the Worldwide Commission to Educate All Kids (post-pandemic) is calling for an international treaty that would be binding on countries to not close schools except during extreme natural disasters or war. Countries around the world have reopened schools after 20 months but the challenge of keeping them open remains. After evaluating the strategies adopted by countries across the world, we propose the following set of actions for the Government of Sri Lanka. To minimize infections: • Complete vaccinating all eligible children, teachers, and other adults in schools • Continue to emphasize sanitation and distancing requirements • Make available a stock of low-cost, rapid antigen test kits for self-testing • Allow school level decision making with oversight by the divisional Medical Officer of Health (MoH) Many countries like India, Singapore, the UK, Israel, Canada are routinely using self-test antigen kits.
විභාග: අද හා ඉදිරිය | தேர்வுகள்: இன்று மற்றும் எதிர்காலம் A policy dialogue on “ Examinations: Present and Future”‘ was held by the Education Forum Sri Lanka (EFSL) on 16th, October 2021, via Zoom. LINKS: PD #19 (In Sinhala) PRESENTATIONS: National Student Assessment Framework – Commissioner-General Examinations, Mr. Sanath Pujitha (15-20 minutes) Assessments & Examinations during the Pandemic· Mr. Harshana Perera, Principal, Asian International School – (15 min)· Mr. Lal Dissanyake, Director, Matugama Education Zone· Mr.
The urgency of getting children back to school at the first opportunity is accepted worldwide, but Covid-19 has also brought three other issues to the fore internationally – (1) Ethics of conducting competitive examinations when significant portions of the students have been left out of education (2) Wisdom of continuing same old education when a full return to normalcy is not in sight (3) The need for combining face-2-face and distance mode of teaching and learning as the new normal. Meanwhile here in Sri Lanka, our Ministry of Education goes about as if it is business as usual. Dates for exams are scheduled, postponed, and rescheduled. There seems to be no intention of seeking alternatives to the “covering the syllabus to prepare children for exams” approach to education. While we appreciate the government’s initiatives in the health front to reopen schools, we cannot be happy about the pedagogical aspects.
September 04, 2021 HE the President, Gotabhaya Rajapakse Hon Prime Minister, Mahinda Rajapakse, MP Hon Minister of Education, Mr. Dinesh Gunewardene, MP Hon Leader of the Opposition, Sajith Premadasa, MP The urgent need to prepare for the opening of schools This is in reference to the previous letter we wrote in July 2021 signed by several academics, educationists, and health sector personnel. (https://educationforum.lk/2021/07/press-release-6-a-letter-to-authorities-about-the-covid-education-crisis/). With a teacher strike or not, schools in Sri Lanka have been closed for over 18 months due to the ongoing pandemic.
Pfizer vaccine to schoolchildren after health authority approves Source: Dailynews The Pfizer vaccine will be given to the schoolchildren of the relevant age groups as soon as the medical approval is received, President Gotabaya Rajapaksa said. He made this observation at the meeting of the Special Committee on COVID-19 Control held through online technology under the chair of President Gotabaya Rajapaksa this morning (3). Read more: https://www.dailynews.lk/2021/09/03/local/258415/pfizer-vaccine-schoolchildren-after-health-authority-approves Education Debacle by Dr.
Teacher Crisis Q&A Press Release, August 18, 2021 (a) Is this salary issue truly a ‘crisis’ as portrayed by the teachers? Yes, because for about two decades, on average, all teachers have been paid a basic or starting salary of less than ~ Rs 35,000 per month. This is important because the education sector, on which future generations & socio-economic advancement of this country rests, depends almost exclusively on the contentment of 241,000 teachers. A fruitful teacher-student interaction is an answer to educational advancement at least in part. Due to this crisis students have been without any substantial education for the last several months.
ගුරු වැටුප් ප්රශ්නය: එදා, අද සහ ඉදිරිය |ஆசிரியர் சம்பள கேள்வி: பிறகு, இப்போது மற்றும் எதிர்காலம் | A policy dialogue on “ Teacher Salary Issues: Past, Present and the Future ” was held by the Education Forum Sri Lanka (EFSL) on Aug 14th, 2021, via Zoom. LINKS:Full Video: PD#18 (In Sinhala) PRESENTATIONS
Principal: Mr W. A. JanakaBelummahara Rahula Vidyalaya is a small school in Gampaha district in Sri Lanka. It has 375 students studying under a small group of academic, management and support staff. Currently classes are held from year 1 to 11 where 36 students are getting ready to face the GCE OL exam this year.
Teachers deserve respect and recognition | ගුරුවරුන්ට හිමි ගෞරවය හා පිළිගැනීම වහාම ලබා දෙන්න Press Release, July 22, 2021 (Please scroll down for Sinhala and Tamil versions | සිංහල හා දෙමළ නිවේදන සඳහා පහලට යන්න) We are dismayed to see that the teachers and principals had to launch a strike at this difficult time, but their grievances are understandable. Whilst we endorse their claim for higher wages, what we we wish to highlight here is the lack of trust and respect shown towards our teachers by authorities. The latest is a news item which said that the Ministry has established a program which calls on teachers and principals to issue weekly reports after evaluating students and appoints education instructors to supervise teacher performance on a regular basis. This kind of scrutiny on teachers is totally unnecessary and unacceptable. Teachers have been reaching out to students on their own since March 2020 without being recognized, rewarded or guided by the authorities.