Time ripe to change university education methods: Grero

From The Daily news
Dharma Sri Abeyratne

Undergraduate courses, curricula and educational methodologies at universities need to be changed to meet global trends in the higher education sector, Higher Education State Minister Mohan Lal Grero said.

"It is a timely need to change our courses, curricula and update them according to the needs of the global market since our aim is to create quality graduates," he added.

Grero made these comments at the opening of a workshop on 'Promoting University-Industry collaborations in Sri Lanka' organised by the HETC project of the World Bank in Colombo.

He said at the beginning, the country's university system mainly aimed only at academic purposes.

It was designed in accordance with the Oxbridge model of education, which was to have academics and specialists in subject specific knowledge. After sometime, with the commencement of Engineering and Science Faculties, universities started to build a linkage with industries aiming to face new challenges in the modern technological world. Therefore, universities had to update their courses and curricula to suit needs of the job market, the minister said.

"But the problem still exists with several undergraduate course including arts, humanities and aesthetic courses as these do not cater to world needs. As a result, most grduants who pass out from those faculties are lagging behind in the job market since they do not match with the needs and requirements of the job market," Grero said.

He said the unemployment rate of arts and humanities graduates is considerably high.

"It has been revealed that the current job market is seeking a graduate with soft skills, proper English knowledge, leadership skills, communication skills, computer literacy etc regardless the subject specific knowledge. The government is always working to solve issues of the country. The issues of graduates are not an exception. The government is keen on addressing those important matters related to educated youths including graduates," the minister said.

He said politicians, academics and administrators should take timely and adequate measures to bring down the unemployment rate.

Grero said universities should design job oriented undergraduate courses aiming to create employable graduates, who have a value and demand in the job market.