BY RANDIMA ATTYGALLE
In an interview with the Sunday Island, Dr. Tara de Mel, the Executive Director of the Bandaranaike Academy for Leadership & Public Policy (BALPP) and the former Secretary to the Ministry of Education and Higher Education says that, ‘education is the most sensitive, emotive and even explosive subject that any government will need to manage with efficiency, professionalism and devoid of political meddling.’ Dr. de Mel- the former Vice Chairperson of the National Education Commission is also credited to the work of several Presidential Task Forces on Education she has served on.
Throughout her career she has promoted excellence and equity in education, championed child protection and in 2019 was awarded the National Honour, Sri Lanka Sikkhamani. A member of the Global Consultative Group-Mindfulness Initiative UK, she co-founded ‘Mindful Educators in Sri Lanka’ and co-authored the Manual for Mindful Educators in 2021. A medical doctor by training and a one-time senior academic at the University of Colombo’s Medical Faculty, she also drives home the message that ‘multi-disciplinary’ approach to education’ is essential to brave the contemporary global challenges.
Q: In a country such as ours where people believe that access to education can change their lives, what are the strengths the policy makers could still capitalize on in implementing the most urgent educational reforms at school, university and vocational levels to take Sri Lanka to the next level?
A: Sri Lanka is a country that has been regarding education as a fundamental ‘human right’ and a ‘public good’ for decades, and that position is easy to consolidate on, if there is sufficient political will and consequently adequate funding. Coupled with this, the innate intelligence, imagination and curiosity that most children and young people in Sri Lanka have, is a great strength. The average parent has a desire and a foremost ambition of imparting a good education to his/her children- all of these are advantages for policy makers to take stock of.
Q: What are the ‘historic mistakes’ we made to undermine the education system which was modeled on ‘quality and equity’ envisaged by minds such as C.W.W Kannangara? How can the country reverse these mistakes now?
A: Historic ‘mistakes’ made by decision-makers include weak and wavering political will to transform education to that of a world-class system. Inconsistency in policy implementation, lack of robust and forward-looking legislation supporting continuity in policy regardless of government change. Reversing such mistakes is a daunting task. Education is perhaps the most sensitive, emotive and even explosive subject that any government will need to manage with efficiency, professionalism and devoid of political meddling. Bold and visionary leaders are needed for spearheading such a transformation. The need for de-politicizing education has been spoken by many, but acted upon by very few.
Q: What is the road map you propose for Sri Lanka to embrace a more job-oriented/ industry-oriented education, commencing at school level and advancing it at undergraduate level?
A: First of all, the school system should be sufficiently geared to equip and educate students from primary school onward, on skill-sets that are imperative for today’s world of work. Such skills include not just the famous 21st Century Skills – 4 Cs (i.e. creativity, critical thinking, collaboration & communication), but advanced cognitive skills like complex problem-solving, analysis, out-of the-box thinking, and self-understanding. When seeking employment or when trying become an entrepreneur or when creating one’s own start-up, today’s school-leavers need more skills than knowledge.
The curricula need to be revised and upgraded to impart such skills, but the pedagogy needs drastic change. Delivery of the curriculum rests almost entirely with the teaching staff, and unless teachers are recognized, honoured and rewarded adequately, the service they deliver will be sub-optimal.
Teachers need to be paid well, the Teacher Service Minute needs to be revised, and the benefits should be enhanced. Teacher training needs to be well funded, regularized, made mandatory and master trainers need to be selected from experienced persons. Without equipping and upskilling teachers, curricula reform won’t be successful.
Q: In the rat race of ‘over educating’ children, (especially in the post-pandemic world as a means of compensating for the lost years), creative intelligence of children is often undermined here at home. Particularly, in settings such as ours where education is so polarised, creative and emotional intelligence is grossly overlooked. What are your thoughts and what can be done to address this issue?
A:First of all, the ‘over-education’ will automatically cease if a substantial revision and restructuring of the three national exams (Grade 5 scholarship exam, GCE O’Level and A’Level) are executed. The hugely competitive nature of all three exams and the predictability of the questions that are asked, make students flock to private tuition classes, paying massive sums of money.
Dr. Tara de Mel
If classrooms are kept small with healthy teacher-pupil ratios and if teachers are allowed to innovate imaginatively within a student-friendly curriculum, with no mad rush to ‘cover the syllabus’ and if SEL – (social-motional -learning) is made an integral component of the tutorial schedule, I am sure school would be more joyful and fun!
Q: Can you share some best practices from the region and beyond which can be replicated in our setting to promote skill-based formative years of learning?
A: Examples from the region are many and would include the Indian, Singaporean and Malaysian experience. In Singapore, primary school students engage in project-based learning, which encourages critical thinking, collaboration and problem-solving skills. Projects are often interdisciplinary, combining subjects like science, mathematics and language- arts.
ICTis integrated into the curriculum to develop digital literacy. Students learn to use software tools, coding, and basic programming through platforms like Code for Fun.
In India, Activity-Based Learning (ABL) is popular. In many Indian schools, especially in states like Tamil Nadu, ABL is employed where students engage in hands-on activities to learn concepts, fostering critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
Art-Integrated Learning is also used as a medium to teach various subjects, enabling students to explore creativity while understanding core academic concepts. For example, drawing a historical event or creating models in science.
In Malaysia – KSSR (Kurikulum Standard Sekolah Rendah) can be cited.The curriculum emphasizes student-centered learning, where students are encouraged to take an active role in their education. This includes inquiry-based learning, where students investigate topics and present their findings. STEM Education: Primary schools incorporate STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, and Mathematics) through activities like robotics, coding, and simple engineering projects. These activities develop analytical and critical thinking skills.
Q: What are the long-term social and psychological dilemmas you see regarding the local Grade 5 scholarship exam? Robbing many children of their formative years, some gain admission to better schools while many are left in the lurch. Isn’t there a more equitable alternative to this system?
A:I am mooting a simplified, student-friendly and better structured G5SE, so that a 10-year old is not stressed and burnt out. What’s wrong with reducing the load and making the two papers only one? That single paper could test simple IQ or problem solving skills. After all, the exam is meant to help identify bright students who are from under-served and rural populations so they can be allocated to better schools.
Q: You have been assisting in designing educational programs with ‘mindfulness’ as their base; initiatives which champion values, ethics, integrity and respect for diversity. How critical is it to promote inclusivity, religious and cultural tolerance early in life? Sadly, in state schools especially, regardless of the multi-ethnic student base, we hardly see any student collaborations to promote these values.
A: This is extremely critical. Mindfulness, empathy and social emotional learning should be integrated into the curriculum of every grade. When children learn these practices from an early age, a significant transformation occurs in the brain. Modern neuro-science has demonstrated with ample evidence how mindfulness-related practices alter the structure and function of the brain and the mind. A deeper sense of understanding, self awareness, compassion and resilience can result, and these could contribute towards peaceful and harmonious co-existence in multi-faith and potentially conflictual situations. Governments should give pride of place for this type of teaching, just as it happens in global education systems.
Q: In a highly-connected modern world, what are the practical collaborations that local schools, particularly less-privileged schools could forge with regional counterparts as means of sharing knowledge and technology, better teaching practices etc.?
A: ‘Twinning’ of schools has been a practice adopted on and off, where better served schools would ‘twin’ with lesser served schools, so that there could be sharing of teachers, learning experiences and other resources. This same model can be expanded into ‘twinning’ between overseas and local schools. Using technology like ICT the potential for this initiative is enormous, and could be adopted initially as pilot and later expanded in greater scale.
Q: What measures could be taken to empower local teachers and enhance their capacities so that a ‘fully-fledged’ teacher is produced, beyond subject expertise?
A: Teachers by definition need to ‘teach’ but do so in a holistic manner, without confining themselves to one-way education in class, using pencil-paper learning exercises only. A teacher is expected to be role model, a ‘parent’ in school, and much more. Empowering and encouraging teachers to be all of that is imperative. Systematic, regular and high quality teacher-training programmes are one way to make this a possibility. Overseas exposures to better systems, making available a lot of resources for teachers to upskill themselves and enabling internet/digital access to the teaching community are all important.
Q: As a professional wearing multiple hats of a doctor, educationist, administrator and more, what are your thoughts about the importance of encouraging a multi-disciplinary approach to education – both academically and professionally?
A: In today’s world, when we are grappling with poly-crises and multiple challenges in the third decade of the 21st century, I don’t think we have the luxury of having a ‘mono-disciplinary’ approach to education.
Multi-disciplinary education
involves integrating knowledge and approaches from multiple academic disciplines to provide a more comprehensive understanding of a topic or problem. In this approach, students learn to apply concepts, theories and methods from different fields to solve complex issues that cannot be adequately addressed by a single discipline. For example, a multi-disciplinary programme in Environmental Studies might include courses in biology, economics, political science and law, allowing students to understand environmental issues from various perspectives.
Mono-disciplinary education
, on the other hand, focuses on in-depth study within a single academic discipline. In this approach, students concentrate on mastering the theories, methods, and knowledge specific to one field, such as mathematics, history, or chemistry. The aim is to develop a deep and specialized understanding of that particular discipline. So, the latter is an outdated approach to the pressing problems we face and will face.
(Photo credit: BALPP)
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Publish date : 2024-08-31 13:20:00
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