Dear parents of students who sat the G.C.E. O/L examination....by now you might have come across the question as to what direction your child should take after his or her O/Ls. All of us want to see our children enter universities with flying colours with their G.C.E. (A/L) examination results.

It's your responsibility to guide your child in the right direction, during the six months after your child's O/Ls, before starting the A/Ls. I am sure, for this purpose, you would have been provided with many ideas on many paths by various parties at the time I pen this article. My suggestion is that it's your duty and responsibility to get your child registered with AAT Sri Lanka, for the Foundation examination, and classes for which begin in January 2011. AAT Sri Lanka is the first step for your child to embark on in professional Accountancy education, after the G.C.E. O/L examination, as it provides a strong foundation for professional Accountancy examinations. The AAT programme will offer great support to G.C.E. A/L Commerce stream students to obtain better results, as the AAT syllabi and the A/L Commerce syllabi are similar in nature, and this has been well proved by last year's G.C.E. A/L examination results.
According to the 2010 G.C.E. A/L Commerce stream results, the All Island 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places were secured by AAT Sri Lanka students. Also, 7 out of all island first 10 places were obtained by AAT Sri Lanka students. Further, it is important to note that 51% of the all island top 100 places were secured by AAT Sri Lanka students.

It is a very good sign that all these successful students registered themselves with AAT Sri Lanka immediately after the G.C.E. O/L examinations. They did not even wait till the results were released. As parents it's your duty to guide your child through this process to make him or her one of the successful students at the G.C.E. A/L examinations in coming years, by registering them with AAT Sri Lanka, without wasting time waiting for the G.C.E. O/L results to be released.

AAT Sri Lanka examinations are held twice a year in January and July in three levels namely; Foundation, Intermediate and Final. Examinations are held in all three media Sinhala, Tamil, and English.

Examination centres are located in towns representing every province of the island. Any student who is waiting for the G.C.E. O/L results can register with AAT Sri Lanka and sit the July 2011 examination. AAT Sri Lanka is the only way forward by which you can break through the traditional thinking of going for professional studies only after the G.C.E. A/L studies. Through AAT Sri Lanka you can obtain a highly recognized professional qualification even before sitting for your G.C.E. A/L examination.

AAT Sri Lanka examinations are suitable for students of any stream, arts, commerce, bio-science, or physical science. The duration to complete all three levels of AAT Sri Lanka examinations is less than 1 ½ years. A Commerce stream student who has completed his or her A/Ls however, can complete all three levels of the AAT Sri Lanka examinations within a period of 1 year.

AAT Sri Lanka classes are conducted both in Colombo and in many parts of the island by Registered Private Educational Centres. Examinations are held in Colombo, Kandy, Matara, Jaffna, Batticaloa, Kurunegala, Gampaha, Anuradhapura, Badulla, Ampara and Ratnapura. Self study Texts, Pilot Papers and Suggested Answers in all three media Sinhala, Tamil, and English can be obtained at affordable prices from the AAT Sri Lanka head office or Information Centres which are established in many parts of the island.

Students who complete AAT Sri Lanka examinations can obtain the entitlement to use MAAT designation with membership. This qualification will give you opportunities of immediate employment. Services of qualified Accounting Technicians are a real necessity for any country. AAT Sri Lanka has a special programme to provide guidelines on practical training after the examinations and to place students for practical training and also for employment opportunities in various organizations. Therefore, every single student who passes out after completing all the examinations is no doubt a professionally trained asset to the country.

AAT Sri Lanka has more than 37,000 registered active students as at date, and it is the largest number for any professional educational body in the country. AAT Sri Lanka being an associate member of various international accountancy bodies is an internationally recognized accountancy qualification provider. AAT Sri Lanka is the fastest track to become a professionally qualified Chartered Accountant, Chartered Management Accountant or to obtain a University Degree locally or internationally. It will be much helpful to obtain the right job without any difficulties.

Therefore, as parents I suggest that you make the right choice for your child's education after his or her G.C.E. O/L examination. We are very much certain that you will have no doubts about the AAT Sri Lanka qualification as it gives numerous opportunities for better results in other examinations, employment and prosperity of the life of your child.

Joining with AAT Sri Lanka, will provide the opportunity and support to utilise your child's time most effectively in a fruitful way after his or her G.C.E. O/L examination at an affordable cost. More than 7,000 school students register annually with AAT Sri Lanka even before the releasing of the G.C.E. O/L examination results.

Without waiting any more, get your child registered with AAT Sri Lanka, as the registrations for July 2011 examinations have already commenced.

For further information, please call AAT Sri Lanka on 011-2559669 or log into www.aatsl.lk.
With seasonal greetings,

By T Dharmarajah, President, AAT Sri Lanka