AHEAD programme proving to be a success, US$ 100m in funding from WB: Prof. Kapila Perera
View(s):The World Bank’s Accelerating Higher Education Expansion and Development (AHEAD) programme aimed at providing multiple benefits for Sri Lanka’s higher education sector is proving to be a success.
The project is being implemented with a funding of US$ 100 million from the World Bank, Higher Education Ministry Secretary Kapila Perera said.
He also said the design was provided by the Education Ministry and the University Grants Commission (UGC) and is set to create a number of benefits for the higher education sector.
Prof. Perera explained that the project began in 2017 and will end in 2023, and will focus on three areas.The three areas include: increasing enrolment in higher education, improving the quality of higher education, and promoting research, development, innovation and commercialisation.
With regard to improving the quality of education, Prof. Pererasaid students will be not only be highly qualified but will also be academically and professionally prepared for employment with the needed English and socio-emotional skills that will allow them to participate in civic life.
In line with the programme, the Arts related faculties across the university system will have their undergraduate students complete the first year (Diploma in Information Technology: DIT) of the Bachelor in Information Technology (BIT) programme offered by University of Colombo’s School of Computing.
“The intention of the programme is to give a leg-up to the students in employment, where they will graduate with a degree as well as an IT qualification,” Prof. Perera said.
He also said that such a programme is currently being implemented. Venues have been selected and recruitment is taking place with possible commencement in late this year or early next year.
One of the most significant outcomes that is that 15 universities are to benefit from the Learner Centred Teaching (LCT) and Outcome Based Teaching (OBT) initiatives by the end of the project, in June 2023.
A grant of Rs 120 million each was already provided by the programme to 36 faculties to assist them with such a conversion. These faculties were selected through a competitive evaluation process, Prof. Perera said.
He added that not only the classes found in the Arts and Humanities faculties, but also the Social Sciences, Management, Science and Agriculture faculties are to be converted through such initiatives.
In terms of training the faculties in LCT and OBT, Prof. Perera explained that funding was provided for both local and international resource personnel to train lecturers in making the shift to such procedures and approaches and he mentioned that several such training programmes have actually been completed.
The training he related was related to curriculum shifts, new forms of assessment, new methods of instruction, and other related areas.
Meanwhile Prof. Perera also said that the AHEAD programme allowed for greater access to the STEM subjects of Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics and it was to support such a scheme that the World Bank had provided an investment of US$ 100 million.
(By Priyath Wijewardana)