Sri Lanka’s Human Skills Gap
Dr. W.A. Wijewardena
Sri Lanka’s Human Skills Gap: Dangerously looming over the country’s future growth prospects
Unrewarding educational attainments
There are some macro numbers relating to Sri Lanka’s educational attainments and human development which should surely please everyone. The country’s literacy ratio at 92 out of 100 on average is on par with any developed country. There is a wide-spread school system with a school in every 6.5 square kilometres of land. The schools are so well staffed that a teacher has to look after on average only 18 students, an attainment about which a school administrator even in a developed country will certainly feel envious of. While 90 per cent of children at age 5 gets admitted to primary education, some 80 per cent of those in the school going age has got a state run school. The teaching is so effective that about 61 per cent of those who sit for the GCE Advanced Level Examination pass the examination becoming eligible to enter a university. Of them, about 16 per cent is annually admitted to a state university where education is free for undergraduates in all streams. Vindicating the quality of the workers, Sri Lanka has successfully beaten up the unemployment problem pushing it below 5 per cent of the labour force, a state close to what is known as the natural rate of unemployment or no-unemployment. Thus, according to these macro numbers, Sri Lanka has a well developed skills pool and there is no doubt about its ability to make an effective contribution to the country’s continued economic prosperity.
SID Conference: Sri Lanka has a serious skills-mismatch
But this was not the picture that emerged at a conference organised by the Sri Lanka chapter of the international think tank on global development issues, Society for International Development or SID, last week. The conference, attended by a selected group of invitees, was addressed by two prominent economists before it converted itself to a forum of open discussion. The two economists who addressed the conference were Dr Nisha Arunathilake, an expert on labour studies attached to the Institute of Policy Studies or IPS, and Dr Suren Batagoda, economist turned bureaucrat, presently functioning as the number two at the General Treasury.
Nisha Arunathilake: Sri Lanka’s higher education is biased toward arts graduates
No battles?
April 11, 2013
Treasury Secretary Dr. P.B. Jayasundera on Tuesday publicly set the record straight that there were no battles between him and the Central Bank Governor Nivard Cabraal.
Speaking at the launch of CB’s 2012 Annual Report with President Mahinda Rajapaksa presiding, Dr. Jayasundera emphasised that relations between him and Governor Cabraal were cordial, whilst being constructive.
“We debate, but there are no private battles. When John Exter founded the Central Bank, he had valid reasons to ensure the Finance Ministry Secretary has a seat on the Monetary Board. This was not a threat to the independence of the Central Bank but ensures better coordination and consensus,” Treasury Secretary noted.
“We debate, but there are no private battles. When John Exter founded the Central Bank, he had valid reasons to ensure the Finance Ministry Secretary has a seat on the Monetary Board. This was not a threat to the independence of the Central Bank but ensures better coordination and consensus,” Treasury Secretary noted.
