Said the Minister of Higher Education unveiling the “Strategic Plan For Higher Education: Laying The Foundation Beyond 2020â€, medium to long term plan and the National Higher Education Action Plan 2007-2010 is a short-term plan. No it was not minister Wiswa Warnapala on the occasion of fifty years since independence of Sri Lanka. It was Datuk Mustapa Mohamed, Minister of Higher Education for Malaysia. On the launch of the National Higher Education Strategic and Action Plans, Minister Mohamed said that the plans are comprehensive and involved the public and private sectors. “The outcome of these plans will become the foundation of the efforts in building a model of first-class individuals and making Malaysia a progressive, prosperous and competitive country by 2020,†he added.
Jinushika Chalindi Saluwadana, a student of St. John Bosco College, Kaluaggala who secured the second place at the year 5 scholarship examination says her dedication and perseverance towards the studies and obedience to parents helped to achieve success.She secured the one of the second places by scoring 196 marks. “My parents and teachers were the constant source of inspiration, she said. My father helped me immensely by providing additional reading materials and model question papers.
The accused in the Bingiriya Mola-Eliya primary school rape case, the Principal was imposed a sentence of 15 years rigorous imprisonment, Rs. 10,000 fine and ordered to pay Rs. 100,000 as compensation by the Provincial High Court Judge Tudor Gunaratne yesterday.The Principal was found guilty of sexually abusing a nine-year-old girl of the same school on January 1, 1989. The accused fainted in the Court House before the verdict.
The cover story on Montage Magazine(Sep/Oct) is the Worsening Crisis in Education. This monthly news magazine does a good job Of picking the right theme at the right time and hitting hard where it should. The contributors to the latest issue are: Victor Ivan (The Travails of School and Free Education), Kabir Hashim, MP (The Mess Gets Worse); Sunil Jayanthe Navaratne (University Education: An Obsolete System) and; Prof Lal Perera (School Admissions: A New Crisis in Education) Overall it is a good read covering the current state of affairs, although I felt the higher education piece could have been a little more than an extract from a management text book, and Kabir Hashim could have given us a sneak preview of what education policies would be like in a UNP government, but those shortcomings should not take away the value of this issue. Please buy the magazine, read it and tell us what you think.
A Grade five student of Sri Lanka scored 200 marks out of 200 total for the first time in the history in highly competitive Grade Five Scholarship examination, said the Examination Commissioner Anura Edirisinghe. The young brilliant student Chagi Basuru Weerakoon is from Horana Thakshila College in the Kalutara district. Two students who scored 196 each from Hanwella John Bosco and Galle Wathugedara schools gained second place. The third place went to a student from Divulapitiya Horagasmulla School. All the students in top ranks this year are from schools in outstation areas, said the Examination Commissioner.
The results of Grade Five Scholarship Examination is out today.The Department of Examinations said the results have been released to school Principals who came to the Department. The Commissioner of Examinations Anura Edirisinghe said, the “cut off†mark this year has gone up to 150. About 302,000 children sat for this year’s exam held on September 19. Schools outside Colombo have reportedly secured the first, second and third places with Chagi Basuru Weerakoon, a student from Thakshila College, Horana of the Kalutara District scoring 200 marks out of 200 total for the first time in the history of Grade Five Scholarship Examinations.
Mr. Donald Gaminitialke, who needs no introduction to Sri Lankan blogsphere, recently posted a comment about TOEIC in another blog. Â TOEIC, is a test like TOEFL, he tells but more relevant for those who want to use English in their working environments. We are sure many Sri Lankan students want to prove their English knowledge to prospective employees. So we thought of introducing this to our readers with some additional information cut and pasted from Wikipedia.
MORE people are getting degrees than ever before. From 1995-2005 the graduation rate in rich countries increased by 12%, according to the OECD’s “Education at a Glance†report, published on Tuesday September 18th. Australians are the keenest students, with over 80% of young people entering university in 2005. Australia also had a high graduation rate. Around three-quarters of young people in Nordic countries and Poland attend university, much higher than Germany or Austria.
The Examinations Department will release Advanced Level Examination 2007 results without delay, Commissioner General of Examinations Anura Edirisinghe said.The evaluation of A/L answer scripts commenced on September 15 at 54 marking centres and will end on September 30. Examinations Department sources said the scrutiny of answer papers is being carried out as scheduled at all marking centres since evaluators are reporting for duty. Evaluation had earlier been scheduled to commence on August 20 at 27 marking centres. However, many teachers did not report for duty due to the trade union action of five teacher trade unions.
The confusion and the controversy over admissions to Grade 1 of schools has taken a new turn with Presidential Advisor Vasudeva Nanayakkara now seeking intervention by the United Nations to prevent discrimination against poor children. In a letter to the UN Children’s Organisation UNICEF, Mr.Nanayakkara says: “You are the UN arm to protect children. The children of our country (Sri Lanka) are to be subjected to an unwarranted exercise of being tested for their abilities for admission to Year One in State schools. This implies that private schools can admit children without such a test.