UNESCO demonstrates confidence in Sri Lanka

The United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO) this week approved the establishment in Sri Lanka of the South Asian Teacher Development Centre under its auspices, in Paris.

The centre, which will address the needs of teacher development in the South Asian region was initially supported by all of Member States in the South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation (SAARC), namely Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Maldives and Nepal as well as Pakistan.

At the 36th session of the General Conference of UNESCO, 43 Member States from across the world joined the call for the establishment of such a centre, given its value in terms of enhancing capacity development and ensuring that the quality of the teaching cadre would be immensely improved, noting that the initiative was timely and, as it is the first of its kind under the auspices of UNESCO, could be replicated in other regions as well.At the 189th session of the Executive Board, which is currently meeting in Paris, the establishment of the South Asian Centre in Sri Lanka was approved. Member States called for the speedy commencement of operations given that the Education for All (EFA) goals had to be achieved by 2015 and this centre would play a pivotal role in the aiding the South Asian region in this endeavour.

The establishment of a Category Two Centre of this nature, under the auspices of UNESCO, demonstrates the confidence that UNESCO places on Sri Lanka’s efforts in the education sector as the country strives to serve as a regional hub in an important sphere of activity, which is a vector for development and growth.