Sri Lanka’s SACTD Emerges as UNESCO’s Promising South Asian Teacher Development Hub
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While the South Asian flags hoisted in the lush green yard were fluttering softly in the cool breeze, the distinctive blue and yellow secretariat building of the South Asia Centre for Teacher Development (SACTD) in Meepe, was abuzz on the morning of December 20th. The Centre, a United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO)-designated Category 2 Institute (C2C), was launching a flagship initiative—marking another step in its remarkable resurgence unfolded since year 2023. After a period of five years of uncertainty, SACTD, under new leadership of Director General H.T. Kamal Pathmasiri, a veteran administrator, has solidified its standing as a beacon of educational excellence and regional collaboration.
SERSA 2025: The Regional Educational Research Forum for teachers and educators.
The Symposium on Educational Research in South Asia (SERSA) embodied this renewal. Building on its inaugural session, SERSA has evolved to a dynamic platform elevating interest in research and critical thinking among educators. This year’s event featured over 20 extended abstracts from teachers and educators, which were reviewed by a regional panel of experts from India, Nepal, Australia, and Sri Lanka. Research themes spanned across a broader spectrum ranging from effective use of AI in teaching, inclusive and greening education, teacher wellbeing, and professional development. Over 50 participants joined virtually from Nepal, Bhutan, Pakistan, India, the Maldives and Sri Lanka.
Welcoming the participants, Director General Kamal Pathmasiri outlined the seminal transformations undertaken over a short span of two years since 2023, in advancing the Governance, human resources & management, Academic programs and outreach of the Centre. The momentum generated elevated SACTD as a promising hub of educational excellence under the auspices of UNESCO. It was evident with the recent Decision of the 46th Session of the UNESCO General Conference held in November 2025, which endorsed the recommendation of the 222nd Executive Board to renew the C2C status of SACTD for another eight years from 2026. The Cabinet of Ministers in November 2025 approved entering into a new Tripartite Agreement between UNESCO, the Government of Sri Lanka and SACTD in this regard, while reiterating the Government’s financial or in-kind commitment to support SACTD as a UNESCO C2C.
The Hon. Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, Dr Harini Amarasuriya, who has closely guided SACTD, congratulating the Symposium, expressed hope that, ‘as Sri Lanka prepares to implement the next phase of educational reforms, research will play a central role in guiding the process’. Emeritus Professor Lakshman Samaranayake, from the University of Hong Kong, gracing the occasion as the Chief Guest, delivered the keynote speech, eloquently establishing the overarching theme of the Symposium “Reimagining Education: Innovation, Inclusion and Impact”. With over several decades of international expertise as a renowned researcher, academician, editor and public speaker on education, Professor Samaranayake highlighted the importance of educational research in augmenting teaching and learning processes.
Addressing the Symposium virtually, Mr. Carlos Vergas, the Head of the Teacher Development Unit at the UNESCO Headquarters in Paris, shared international perspectives and valuable insights on UNESCO’s pioneering work on teacher capacity development, while addressing challenges such as shortages and professional competencies. Sri Lanka’s Ambassador and Permanent Delegate to UNESCO in Paris, Ambassador and Permanent Delegate H.E Manisha Gunasekera, commended SACTD’s initiatives like the new Research Fund and Endowment Chair, as pathways for actively reimagining education to foster innovation, deepen inclusion, and deliver transformative impact, to empower teachers and shape the future of education in South Asia.
Recognising Excellence & Paving the Way for a Culture of Educational Research
The Board of Directors of SACTD, chaired by the Secretary of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education Mr. Nalaka Kaluwewe, gave the green light for the establishment of the SACTD-UNESCO C2C Endowment Chair, in recognition of the outstanding contributions to the field of research and education by Professor Samaranayake. The SACTD unveiled the Endowment Chair to honuor the exemplary pro-bono services rendered by Professor Samaranayake to support teacher professional capacity development through SACTD. He has been involved in sharing his expertise in Research writing, publishing and problem-based learning through a series of workshops at SACTD. With the motto of “Teaching Teachers to Teach”, he has been keen to express his gratitude to the country for the free education. It was his brainchild that SACTD established a Research Fund to promote educational research among teachers and educators. “Research is key to transforming education”, he opines. Taking forward these noble ideas, the Professor Samaranayake launched with an inaugural generous donation of LKR one million from his personal funds. SACTD’s Board of Directors has put in place the required legal and administrative frame to govern and grow the Fund in a transparent and accountable manner. It is expected that the Fund will catalyzes engagement of high-profile academics, researchers with SACTD in time to come. Donors and well-wishes interested in contributing to a transformation in educational research now can support augmenting the Research Fund.
SACTD in the Limelight
Having established in 2014 under the legal framework of the National Institute of Education (NIE), the South Asian Centre for Teacher Development saw a significant investment from the Government to the tune of over one billion rupees. It enabled building a residential complex with 50 rooms of international standard, an IT lab and a secretarial building with auditorium facilities. However, the Centre’s mandate of teacher professional development, setting standards and promoting educational research criticised for having an overly domestic focus. As a regional Centre of UNESCO, its regional mandate, governance structures, legal autonomy, finances, as well as human resource capacity remained under close scrutiny for a period of five years between 2019 to 2023. The Centre was at stake of losing its UNESCO designation.
However, towards the end of the year 2023, with a renewed Government commitment to support the Centre, a substantial reform agenda has been set and executed by the incumbent management.
On the front of improving governance, A Board of Management was established with the participation of a representative of UNESCO, three South Asian Governments, and key local stakeholders such as the Sri Lanka National Commission for UNESCO, NIE, etc. To ensure institutional autonomy, SACTD was incorporated as a company limited by Guarantee under the Ministry of Education. The Board of Directors, comprising ex officio members, manages and directs the administrative decisions of SACTD. An agile and layered structure of distribution of authority ensures transparency and accountability of the Centre.
Through the Academic initiatives, SACTD was able to disseminate several in-demand programmes aimed the teacher educators from the region, such as problem-based learning, media, & information literacy, Language and cultural exchange, and research writing. The World Teacher’s Day and the Global MIL Day events promoted UNESCO ideals and enabled SACTD to effectively contribute to disseminate awareness.
SACTD’s credentials as a C2C saw a clear enhancement with the networks it established, ranging from all South Asian diplomatic Missions, UNESCO Offices in Paris to Delhi, over 100 Teacher education institutions in South Asia, as well as the other C2Cs in Education. This broader outreach helps to share best practices and also to formalise relations. In this context, the Memoranda signed with Indira Gandhi National Open University and UNESCO Regional Office in South Asia will facilitate a MIL course targeting teacher educators. Similarly, the Agreement with Mahatma Gandhi Institute on Education for Peace (MGIEP) initiated a national rollout program on Social Emotional Learning (SEL). SACTD is also collaborating with several other projects in the area of inclusive education and greening education.
SACTD envisions launching its Research Journal (JERSA) by early next year as a further step in promoting research. The digital transformation of the Centre has also begun with a robust website (www.sactd.edu.lk) and social media portals updated regularly. It has also established an LMS linked to UNESCO. An ambitious project on the development of a teacher’s Continuous Professional Development (CPD) framework is underway with the financial and technical support of UNESCO. This National CPD framework, once approved and adopted, will have the potential of enhancing the quality standards of teacher profession and attributes.
SACTD welcomes the year ahead with renewed vigor to realise its mandate and amplify the ongoing teacher capacity development support, which will facilitate the reform agenda of the Government. A team small in number, magnanimous in commitment and dedication to move forward, quality education for all is, in fact, the driving force behind the Centre. From an ailing institution, SACTD has transformed into not only a functioning body, but a leading and innovating body in teacher development.
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