Schools Now 2nd annual conference kicks off in Colombo

By Charumni de Silva

The British Council Sri Lanka yesterday hosted the second annual ‘Schools Now’ conference in Colombo with its Partner Schools Global Network aimed at encouraging thought leadership in the education sector through interaction, exchange of ideas and collaboration

Themed ‘Teaching, learning and life beyond school’, the two-day conference brought together education leaders from around the world, with the attendance of more than 250 participants. 

British Council Sri Lanka Country Director Keith Davies said the purpose of this year’s conference was to examine and share ideas that will deliver better teaching leading to better learning and eventually to a life beyond school. 

He pointed out that it was no surprise that teacher effectiveness had been identified as the single factor for student attainment in delivering a lifelong education for present and future generations amidst an ever-challenging external environment and the usage of new technology.

Listing out essential skills in today’s world such as critical thinking, creativity, expression, perseverance, self-discipline, adaptability and initiative, Davies said that  all of these skills had an immeasurable impact on this year’s conference theme of ‘Life beyond school’.

Partner Schools Global Network was set up by the British Council to support the ongoing development of over 1,300 partner schools in 25 countries to ensure that children get the most out of their education and reach their potential not only in the classroom but in life beyond school.

“Schools are probably the most important sectors that British Council works with, in addition to donors, in delivering consultancy and education reform programs to benefit education policy and school performance,” he added. 

Noting that the British Council has been operating in Sri Lanka for the past 65 years, Davies said it had supported the introduction of a focus on critical issues which were previously neglected such as child protection and diversity as well as the introduction of GSCEPods which was a huge success in the country.

Acknowledging that economies can no longer rely only on the Government to provide essential services such as health and education, he said that often private sector education is accused of being more business centric. However, he said that the easiest way to reflect on such criticism was to demonstrate a clear and sustained commitment to academic excellence.

Saudi Arabian Private Education Deputy Minister Dr. Saad Saud AlFahaid shared his country’s efforts in supporting the private educational sector.

“Today’s world is witnessing major societal changes that affect all aspects of life at international, regional and local levels. Due to the acceleration of these changes and their lasting impact, countries and Governments are counting on quality education and capable institutions to develop human power, in an attempt to adapt to all economic and social conditions and deal with its repercussions,” he added.

He asserted that Saudi Arabia had adopted a clear vision for 2030 and expected to align both the public and private sectors towards implementing this vision. 

“Vision 2030 also realises the importance of considering knowledge and technology as essential rather than marginal components to building a modern state, building a knowledge-based economy and enhancing competitive strength,” Dr. AlFahaid noted.

According to him the vision realises the importance of developing human capital and ensuring it becomes an efficient cornerstone in developing government institutions. It recognises the role of human capital in the private sector, whereby it may be in a position to substitute for work in partnership with the State to carry out many economic and development roles. Finally, it also realises the importance of human capital in operating small and medium-size enterprises as well as promoting industrialisation and export activities.

“In accordance with this vision and with all previous development plans, private education has contributed as a supporting partner to public education in providing educational services and reducing the cost of Government spending on public education,” he explained.

At present, private education represents nearly 14% of all education in Saudi Arabia, with the target being 25%. The country also aims to raise the quality and competitive advantage of private education through accreditation and quality assessment provided by higher education, public program evaluation and accreditation bodies. 

“We are involved in the achievement of a number of visions and ideas related to privatising some educational services, not only to raise efficiency and performance but also to ease the burden on the State,” Dr. AlFahaid stressed.

Delivering the keynote address, Ormiston Academies Trust Chief Executive Prof. Toby Salt highlighted the importance of school leadership ensuring high quality teaching and learning making sure the focus was on developing great potential citizens.

Sharing his experience in the education sector in the UK, he said that all of their Secretaries of States of Education had genuinely believed in the power of education and as a result significant structural reforms had been enacted over the past decade.

Prof. Salt said that the technological revolution which happened 16 years ago with the introduction of smartphones has led to a remarkable evolution of the entire thinking process and people’s perception.

“The ambitions of children have evolved tremendously. They no longer want to be just a doctor, teacher or an engineer. Their likings of jobs are not invented yet such as vertical farming,” he added.

With the global population expected to increase by another one billion by 2020, Prof. Salt stressed the importance of getting the education systems right and faster without making it a “political football”.

“To share leadership, there must be mutual respect between us all the time, sharing the hardest problems and tasks gathering our abilities and combining our faculties, talent and resources,” he said.

He emphasised that a timely word of encouragement always motivates, helps and strengthens, eventually resulting in the best benefits. 

“Education has never been more important. The only way we can clear the chaos and mess that we have created is by educating our younger generation. For that we need to share those sources in a fairer way, learn and share common values,” he added.

-Pix by Lasantha Kumara