News
Role of parents in New Normal Education
BY Dr. RASANJALEE ABEYWICKRAMA
(DBA, M.Sc App. Gen, B.Sc BT, SSSUNFO)
COVID-19 pandemic has hit almost all countries in the world, and its impact on all sectors including education is substantial. Education helps reduce inequalities and reach gender equality, and is crucial to fostering tolerance and more peaceful societies. Education enables upward socioeconomic mobility and is a key to escaping poverty.
In September 2015, the United Nations General Assembly, including Sri Lanka, endorsed a new Development Agenda. The United Nations identified three pillars of sustainable development – Economic, Social and Environmental – and has encapsulated 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and 160 targets. The fourth among the 17 Sustainable Development Goals is to ensure inclusive and quality education for all and promote lifelong learning. COVID -19 pandemic caused by a tiny virus, which cannot be even seen by naked eyes, has disrupted achieving this goal to a great extent.
In 2020, as the COVID-19 pandemic spreads across the globe, a majority of countries announced the temporary closure of schools, impacting more than 91 per cent of students worldwide. By April 2020, close to 1.6 billion children and youth were out of school. In Sri Lanka the 1st case of coronavirus was reported on 11th March. Subsequently, the whole country was kept on a lockdown, which almost went on for a period of 2 months. During this period a considerable number of people lost their income. However, it was possible to get rid of this virus from the local community. There onwards no cases were reported within the country, until 3rd of October when a new case was reported from Minuwangoda. Since then the number affected has increased to around 2,500.
Rapid spread of COVID -19 resulted in closure of schools and other educational institutes. In view of this, many educational organizations have resorted to online education. Most challenging task we face is that there are many limiting factors in this form of education. We need to understand that all children are not privileged with high end technological facilities, including broadband Wi-Fi connections, laptops, computers or smartphones. There are many parents who are struggling to provide these to their kids, and sadly this creates a big space between children who have the privilege of using modern technology and those who do not have the same due to their financial situation. Children who have special needs are affected by these online teaching. It is highly impossible to point out exact solutions to these issues, but parents can try different teaching aids and methodologies, with more active engagement as much as possible. Those children with special needs and have the privilege of using modern technology may find on-line teaching / learning a better option, due to less physical disturbance from other students.
Parents have an important role to play during the period when their children are at home without attending schools, by resorting to homeschooling. This has become a popular topic during this lock down where most of the time parents, especially mothers, are trying to teach their sons and daughters at home. They can be taught basic facts on topics such as environmental pollution, prevention of diseases, nutrition etc. This will be of considerable importance in their future education. The best part of this situation is that, being mothers they are able to identify talents, capabilities and capacities of their own children. They will have more time to spend with their parents rather than running to a number of tuition classes. Parents need to provide support to their children to go through online schooling. If kids are very young, they need to be assisted/trained to log into systems and operate the system. This may cause problems to working parents. Our culture is still that very often grandparents are supporting family units to take care of kids, and most of them will not have necessary skills and knowledge on using modern technologies such as using computers etc. The other case is that even though parents are working from home, it will not be possible for them to log in to the school system along with their work schedule, where they might be needed online for important business meetings, at the same time the kids need them to log online. Therefore, there is a necessity to carry out evening classes.
Parents can also get their children to be involved in activities such as painting and music. Those children who have writing talents can be involved in writing essays; short stories etc. In all these activities parents have a very important role to play. It is exact that, this time we go through is temporary. Researches going around the world give us a hint of possible, effective vaccines for covid-19 will be out by January 2021. Therefore, it is needed that as adults we help our future generations to be protected and nurtured both mentally and physically during this temporary hardship.
The U.S. Embassy in Colombo welcomed the U.S. Sports Envoys to Sri Lanka, former National Basketball Association (NBA) and Women’s National Basketball Association (WNBA) players Stephen Howard and Astou Ndiaye, from June 8 through 14.
The Public Diplomacy section of the U.S. Embassy said that it would launch a weeklong basketball program intended to harness the unifying power of sports, made possible through collaboration with Foundation of Goodness and IImpact Hoop Lab.
While in Sri Lanka, Howard and Ndiaye, both retired professional basketball players, will conduct a weeklong program, Hoops for Hope: Bridging Borders through Basketball. The Sports Envoys will lead basketball clinics and exhibition matches and engage in leadership sessions in Colombo and Southern Province for youth aged 14-18 from Northern, Uva, Eastern and Western Provinces, offering skills and leadership training both on and off the court. The U.S. Envoys will also share their expertise with the Sri Lanka Basketball Federation, national coaches, and players, furthering the development of basketball in the country. Beyond the clinics, they will collaborate with Sri Lankan schoolchildren to take part in a community service project in the Colombo area.
“We are so proud to welcome Stephen and Astou as our Sports Envoys to Sri Lanka, to build on the strong people-to-people connections between the United States and Sri Lanka,” said U.S. Ambassador Julie Chung. “The lessons that will be shared by our Sports Envoys – communication, teamwork, resilience, inclusion, and conflict resolution – are essential for leadership development, community building, equality, and peace. The U.S. Sports Envoy program is a testament to our belief that sports can be a powerful tool in promoting peace and unity.”
SJB Colombo District MP Mujibur Rahuman in parliament demanded to know from the government the reasons for CEB suspending the leave of all its employees until further notice from Thursday.
MP Rahuman said that the CEB has got an acting General Manager anew and the latter yesterday morning issued a circular suspending leave of all CEB employees with immediate effect until further notice.
“We demand that Minister Kanchana Wijesekera should explain this to the House. This circular was issued while this debate on the new Electricity Amendment Bill was pending. There are many who oppose this Bill. The Minister must tell parliament the reason for the urge to cancel the leave of CEB employees,” the MP said.However, Speaker Mahinda Yapa Abeywardena prevented Minister Wijesekera responding to the query and said that the matter raised by MP Rahuman was not relevant.
The Chartered Institute of Personnel Management (CIPM) successfully concluded the 8th Annual CIPM Symposium, which took place on 31st May 2024. Themed “Nurturing the Human Element—Redefining HRM in a Rapidly Changing World,” the symposium underscored the pivotal role of human resource management (HRM) in today’s dynamic global landscape. Since its inception in 1959, CIPM has been dedicated to advancing the HR profession through education, professional development, and advocacy, solidifying its position as Sri Lanka’s leading professional body for HRM.
Ken Vijayakumar, the President of the CIPM, graced the occasion as the chief guest. The symposium commenced with the welcome address by the Chairperson, Prof. Arosha Adikaram, followed by the Web Launch of the Symposium Proceedings and Abstract Book by the CIPM President. The event featured distinguished addresses, including a speech by Chief Guest Ken Vijayakumar, President of CIPM, and an address by Guest of Honor Shakthi Ranatunga, Chief Operating Officer of MAS Holdings Pvt. Ltd., Sri Lanka.
The symposium also featured an inspiring keynote address by Prof. Mario Fernando, Professor of Management and Director of the Centre for Cross Cultural Management (CCCM) at the University of Wollongong, Australia.
Vote of Thanks of the inauguration session was delivered by Dr. Dillanjani Weeratunga, Symposium Co-chair.
The symposium served as a comprehensive platform for researchers to present their findings across a wide range of critical topics in HRM. These included Cultural Diversity and Inclusion, Talent Development and Retention, Ethical Leadership and Corporate Social Responsibility, Adapting to Technological Advancements, Mental Health and Well-being at Work, Global Workforce Challenges, Employee Empowerment, and Reskilling and Upskilling.
The plenary session was led by Prof. Wasantha Rajapakse. Certificates were awarded to the best paper presenters during the valedictory session, followed by a vote of thanks delivered by Kamani Perera, Manager of Research and Development.
The annual symposium of CIPM was a truly inclusive event, attracting a diverse audience that spanned undergraduates, graduates, working professionals, research scholars and lecturers. This widespread interest highlights the symposium’s significance in the field of HRM, offering a unique opportunity for everyone to network and learn from scholarly brains.The CIPM International Research Symposium was sponsored by Hambantota International Port, Sri Lanka Institute of Information Technology (SLIIT), E B Creasy & Co. PLC, and Print Xcel Company.
US sports envoys to Lanka to champion youth development
Rahuman questions sudden cancellation of leave of CEB employees
