Letters

Sri Lanka stint an eye-opening experience

LETTERS: I AM currently attached to the University of Colombo under the Asia University Alliance (AUA) Scholars Award.

Being a moral educator, when I am given such awards, I make sure that every minute I am sponsored, I give all that I can to my hosting university.

It is my first time in Sri Lanka and many negative assumptions have been crushed.

Being here for one week now, with another to go, I find the society here compassionate and helpful. The people are so peaceful and blissful in daily living. Every evening I see the devotees of different faiths going about in the practice of their own spiritual disciplines.

I am attached to the Institute of Human Resource Advancement (IHRA), which originally was the Institute of Workers Education.

IHRA was initially started with the aim of opening doors for employees who are denied, or who dropped out from formal education, especially higher education. Currently, their focus is on “Education for all throughout life”.

IHRA provides programmes which are comprehensive in nature in line with accepted standards for all types of employees, enabling them to develop work-related skills and leadership qualities to understand their responsibilities as employers and employees.

I gave a series of guest lectures to the fifth cohort of Master of Science in Service Management in IHRA. They came from all walks of life and were hoping to increase their knowledge in providing services. I found the students to be passionate and thirsty for knowledge. I also conducted a workshop for some 200 principals at the National Institute of Education (NIE) in Maharagama. After the workshop on Service Learning Across The Globe, I found the group of principals very enthusiastic .

This attitude of wanting to gain knowledge and applying in the current digital era is something very welcoming and inspiring.

For those of us who have negative assumptions about Sri Lanka, this is my advice. Assimilate with the locals. Understand their culture and learn their thoughts, emotions and actions. You might find your preconceived notions proven wrong, as I did.

The education system in Sri Lanka is developing tremendously as it has a strong philosophical and spiritual foundation, coupled with a long history of hardship and struggles.

ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR
DR VISHALACHE BALAKRISHNAN

Director, Centre for Research in International and Comparative Education Faculty of Education, University Malaya

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