Moving towards high performing education sector in Sri Lanka

Introduction

Source: http://www.ips.lk

Education has a positive effect on people and society. It helps to expand the economy and reduce the poverty level. Further, education promotes the health and wellbeing of people. Countries need to have a high quality of the education system to achieve the above benefits. When the Sri Lankan education system is considered, it faces many challenges. Pertinent issues in the field are Lack of training and development for teachers, low quality of the education, lack of responsiveness to the labor market demands, less focus on technical/vocational training, outdated curriculums and low budgetary allocation, (Gnanawansa, 2017). The dismal performance of the education sector is a barrier to uplift the country to higher state and to face the challenges in the 21^st century.

Performance management

Performance management can be defined as the systemic improvement of people, team and organizational performance, (Armstrong, 2006). The objective of the performance management system is to improve the overall performance of the individuals and the business processes. Measurement of performance is important because it facilitates to identify the success areas and areas that need improvement. Further, it forms the basis for proving feedbacks, (Armstrong, 2006). 

How to upgrade the education sector to high performing culture 

It is the quality of the teacher that drives the quality of the education system. Many countries that have a high-quality education system has given attention to improve the performance of teachers. 

1. Attract the best talent as teachers 

This is the starting point. Many countries with a high-performance education system such as Singapore, have a mechanism to recruit the best people as teachers, (Arunathillake, 2014). Their selection process is stringent. They select qualified people with teaching ability and leadership qualities as teachers. Teachers’ wages are higher in parallel with other professions. Therefore, best performers tend to select teaching as their carrier, (Arunathillake, 2014).  When we look at Sri Lanka, it recruits trainees from the National Colleges of Education (with National Diploma in Teaching) and graduates from the National Universities. The selection process is not that stringent, (Abayasekara and Arunathillake, 2018). Sri Lanka also recruits teachers in an ad hoc manner sometimes without adequate qualifications, due to the political influences. Another issue is the low wages of teachers compared to other professions, therefore best performers do not select teaching as their carrier. The country needs to formulate policies to attract the best performers to the education sector by examining the best practices in the world. 

2. Training and development 

High performance cannot be achieved by merely selecting the best performers. It is essential to have continuous training and development programs to gain new knowledge and improve their skills. Multiple avenues are available for training and development such as allow adequate personal time for self-studies, mandatory continuous professional development (CPD) programs and peer reviewing of teaching activities, (Stewart, n.d.). These methods are practiced in many countries with a high-quality education system and to some degree in Sri Lanka. A systematic teacher development program shall be incorporated into the education system to ensure teachers are equipped with the skills that suit the 21st century.   

3. Performance appraisal and motivation   

Promotion based on performance is one of the key aspects of improving teacher engagement and motivation. The provision of high wages and incentives for working in remote areas will increase the engagement and the motivation of teachers. 

To conclude, there are many areas to address when focusing on improving the quality and the performance of the education sector in Sri Lanka. High performing educational culture is required to elevate Sri Lanka to a higher position in the global arena.  

References 

1. Abayasekara A & Arunatilake N., 2918. Improving the quality of education in Sri Lanka. [Online] Available at: https://www.globaldev.blog/blog/improving-quality-education-sri-lanka [Accessed 30 May 2019].

2. Armstrong M., 2006. Human resource management. 10 ed. London: Kogan Page Limited.

3. Arunatillake N., 2014. Quality of Teachers Does Matter in Sri Lanka: Lessons from the Best Education Systems. [Online] Available at: http://www.ips.lk/talkingeconomics/2014/11/17/quality-of-teachers-do-matter-in-sri-lanka-lessons-from-the-best-education-systems/ [Accessed 30 May 2019].

4. Gnanawasa M., 2017. A study of a few recognized educational issues faced by Sri Lanka at present. [Online]  Available at: https://apiar.org.au/wp-content/uploads/2017/04/6_APCAR_MAR_2017_BRR739_education-35-42.pdf
[Accessed 30 May 2019].

5. Stewart V., n.d. How Singapore developed a high-quality teacher workforce. [Online]
Available at: https://asiasociety.org/global-cities-education-network/how-singapore-developed-high-quality-teacher-workforce
[Accessed May 30, 2019].