Govt. to bring in entrepreneurship and finance subjects from Grade Six
There are plans in the pipeline to introduce Entrepreneurship and Finance subjects for grade six and higher from January, Minister of Education Susil Premajayantha said. The Minister stated this while attending the media briefing of the second edition of Sri Lanka’s first skills and job exhibition “Skills Expo 2024,” which took place at Lotus Lounge at Nelum Pokuna Theatre on Wednesday.
Scheduled for September 10-12, 2024 at the venues Nelum Pokuna and Ananda Coomaraswamy Mawatha (Green Path), this year’s expo carries the theme “Unlock Your Future.” The event will take place from 9 am to 9 pm.
This year a host of institutions are set to have their stalls at the expo to help the youth navigate through the task of finding the right fit for them. The Construction Industry Skills Council (CISC), Information and Communication Technology Industry Skills Council (ICTISC), Manufacturing and Engineering Industry Sector Skills Council (MESSCO), Tourism Industry Skills Council (TISC), and Agriculture Sector Skills Council (ASSC) will educate the public on the industrial training programmes available, share data related to available job vacancies within these sectors, and provide opportunities for job seekers to apply. Career keys and other professional insights, personalized career counseling and guidance will also be provided to ensure visitors find suitable employment.
The minister said, “Last year’s Skills Expo Exhibition was at BMICH with participation of over 50,000 people. It shows how enthusiastic people are in the country. Within two years, now see the change. I don’t think people expected that or not. But with the guidance and the leadership of the President, the Government turned around the situation we experienced two years ago. It is another evidence to show how the system changed. So, people needed system change, so we have done our part so far. But there is a long way to go.”
“We are going to introduce, from January, from grade six Entrepreneurship, Entrepreneurship and Finance. So those are the subjects. Accounting is also included in the subject. There will be 714 subjects for GCE O/L’s out of seven main subjects like language, second language, maths, science, religion, history like that and another several other subjects that is IT, aesthetics subject, then entrepreneurship and finance. There will be a different assessment system. And they should certificate based on Grade Point Average (GPA). Not 9 A’s or 14 A’s. Then they can select their A/L stream and at that time they can decide even before O/L’s, they can decide whether they are going to follow vocational training courses and end up at UNIVOTEC with a degree,” he said.
The minister also highlighted the importance of improving the research culture in the country. Most of the researchers are engaged with fundamental research. Not applied research. Premajayantha stressed that the younger generation should be guided and engaged with the skills sector.
“We reform the education to start career guidance from grade six, and at grade nine they can select whether they are going to sit for O/L’s and A/L’s continue their higher studies or select the skills development sector at the age of 14. By the age of 18, they are skilled people and they can serve here or go abroad,” the Minister added.
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