Colombo School of Arts addresses mismatch between school system and job market

There is a big gap and mismatch between the secondary and tertiary education sectors in Sri Lanka and the demands of the local and international job market, says Colombo School of Arts Principal Shaleeka Jayalath.

“Everyone recognises that there is a problem with our education system and the challenge of overcoming this issue to ensure the future of our children in fitting into a fiercely competitive global village and knowledge economy has been debated by many educationalists and policymakers. However hardly any private or international school has ventured out to provide the type of holistic education required to achieve this,” she added.

According to Jayalath, Colombo School of Arts (CSA) was launched with the aim of filling the gap in the market. 

Jayalath went on to discuss the need for schools in the country to reform their education curriculum according to the changing needs of the market.

She said that keeping with the requirements of a high performing school, CSA not only prepares students to face exams but also to face the needs of the workplace. They achieve this through a unique hybrid model that comprises the widest range of subjects offered by an international school with research and dissertations.   

She added: “Today we need to focus on student-centered learning and outcome-based education that  stimulate creative thinking with a disposition to always ask the question ‘why’ as well as develop an entrepreneurial culture that harnesses ‘non-cognitive skills’, which include resilience, integrity, resourcefulness, professionalism and ambition. This is the culture we cultivate at CSA, as we strongly believe that the teaching era is no more and it is instead a learning facilitation process which allows students to come up with their own ideas by providing inputs. This is one of the reasons that we believe in having only 10 to 15 students per class that will result in teachers having the capacity to cater to harnessing the individual talents of each student.”

Considering that the importance placed on soft skills has increased significantly, she also stressed that it was vital for students to acquire adequate skills beyond academic or technical knowledge. CSA therefore provides an environment for their students to gain a range of soft skills to help them adapt and be attuned to the needs of the job market.  

Jayalath said: “Over the past couple of years, employers have constantly commented on the lack of employability skills among potential recruits, including their lack of team working skills and communication skills. These are the sorts of things that are absent from the school curriculum. Hence at CSA sessions are conducted to build creativity, communication skills, critical thinking and problem solving skills amongst many other similar skill sets.”

Being the only school in the country to currently provide internships to equip children to face the work environment, Jayalath commented that schools should function as development centers and should include internships as part of their curricula. “It enhances both the quality of education and productivity, therefore much greater priority must be given to making internships an integral part of every student’s school experience,” she said. 

CSA currently offers three month internships for their students in many blue chip companies based on their career choice.

“Ultimately a school education must enable its students to discover what they need to know rather than just having static knowledge. Schools must re-examine how they could help achieve this goal by making it possible to support learning activities that will enable students to be mentally agile and adaptable by offering an effective and coherent curriculum that meets both student and societal expectations,” she concluded.