Visiting Pearson MD shares insights on Edexcel qualifications in SL

By Shabiya Ali Alham

A member of the Edexcel family since 2001, Pearson Qualifications International Managing Director Manos Kapterian was in Sri Lanka for the first time since appointed as head in 2012, to ensure the quality and standard of Edexcel qualification in the region.

Commending the education standards in Sri Lanka and the exceptional capability of our students who have captured world prize in the international stage, Kapterian spoke to the Daily FT on the establishment and progress of Edexcel qualifications, in the nation while sharing few reforms on its way to the education arena.

Q: What are your impressions on Sri Lanka?

A: This is the first time I’m visiting the country on business matters, but I have visited Sri Lanka previously for leisure. In 2003 I was here for a short break and clearly since then there have been immense improvements especially in terms of infrastructure.

We had a conference in Benthota for which we had to take the Galle highway and I was highly impressed with the development I witnessed.

Q: How have you spent your stay in Sri Lanka so far?

A:There are few reasons for my visit to the island. In terms of my role as a Managing Director for Pearson which I took over last August, it is necessary for me to meet the Edexcel team in different regions. Sri Lankan is one of our most important markets where we have a long association with the schools here.

I spent few days meeting the local teams where we had fruitful discussions on the opportunities and activities we hope to do for the next 12 months. I also attended the networking event and was privileged to meet 100 or so school principals who have been successfully delivering the Edexcel qualifications.  

The networking was a big success for me since I was able to gather first hand information from our students on what their further expectations were with regard to the syllabus and the region.

Q: What is your opinion on the standard of education offered in Sri Lanka?

A: Many publications and research studies have continuously highlighted education to be an imperative factor to drive economic growth. Clearly education is important and Sri Lanka is showing keen interest in the development of this area.

For our qualification we have over 7,000 students in Sri Lanka and that shows an upward trend on persons interested in international qualifications. These as signs of two aspects; education is highly valued in Sri Lanka and learners and parents are willing to invest as they see this as a future prosperity.

Q: Where do you think Sri Lankan students stand when opting for Edexcel qualifications?

A: Our qualifications are of very high standards and are internationally benchmarked where they lead to progression to leading universities in the UK, Australia, and the US and other countries. In terms of the quality, the roots that our qualification offers are limitless as it not only extends academic skills, but life skills as well.

Q: How have the performance of Sri Lankan students in Edexcel been so far?

A:  When we have higher achievers awards, there are hundreds of students who perform exceptionally well and we have students who opt for 12 O/L subjects getting ‘A’ in all of them. This demonstrates the capability of students of Sri Lanka.

There have been cases where students perform outstandingly well across the world and we tend to track the highest achievers in the world and often they come from Sri Lanka.

Q: What are the recent changes made in the O/L and A/L syllabuses?

A: There have been changes in the UK at the moment, and few reforms have been announced that would affect both O/Ls and A/Ls. The purpose of the reforms are to ensure standards are maintained therefore leading to the improvement of the education and qualification we offer and on that basis I feel it is the right thing to do.

We are redeveloping the contents and the specifications of the study to keep it up-to-date.  We are aware that some of the changes may not be suitable for our international learners. An example of that may be the removal of the January examination series for A/L in the UK.

In the international setting the January examinations are critical as it’s the one series that leads to university. We at Edexcel and Pearson are making sure that we invest in international qualifications which continue to offer the same opportunities for the international students as well. We are ensuring that reforms made are in favour of our international students as it is for the UK students.

Q: Are there any new qualification extended by Edexcel?

A: The International Advanced Level qualifications would be launched soon which is equivalent to the existing A/L qualification. It will not be linier as A/Ls would become from 2013 onwards, instead it would remain modular and will be offered in June and January sittings.

In June 2013 we would be adding for the first time two modules to the international GCSE which are global citizenship and Hindi. Also, we are seeing the primary and secondary Edexcel qualification initiated last year to be well accepted in Sri Lanka already as 25 schools have started teaching the curriculum to the younger students, making them better equipped to face their secondary education.

Currently offered subjects are English, Math, and Science whereas we hope to add more subjects to it. These new qualifications are internationally benchmarked holding similar standards to the other qualifications we offer.

Q: From a global perspective, what are the prevailing trends in the education arena?

A:  Looking at some of the statistics mainly in the developing countries, there are large numbers of individuals who recognise education to be a route to economic prosperity and governments are making much more concerted efforts to invest in education.

Another important change witnessed is the change in the vocational piece where there is much more talk in training. Now there seems to be recognition the fact that there are different pathways learners can take and skills that were required in the 21st century were different from what was required 30 years ago.

Q: A common trend in Sri Lanka is for students to skip A/Ls and follow a six to eight months foundation program as an entry qualification that help fast-track to a degree program. What is your opinion on this?

A: In one sense, giving learners a choice is not bad. However, students leaving school after their O/Ls by passing A/Ls mean that they are doing only a bridging course. This doesn’t necessarily give an advantage in terms of time spent at a university.

Many research studies have shown that 16-year-olds do not have the maturity to fit into a university culture. Students who do A/Ls stand at an advantage of performing much better than those who opt for shortcut routes. The level of learning one gets of a two year A/L program is much different than what is done in a six or eight months program.

It makes life harder in terms of not just adjusting to university life, but also in keeping up with the content of study. We have witnessed students who are A/L qualified to have good grounding to continue higher education. My sense is that shortcuts might sound appealing but the reality is that it doesn’t get you anywhere faster.

Q: What is your message for the parents?

A: Providing your child with an education is probably the most important thing you can do as a parent, since you are offering them an opportunity for them to do better in the future. I would like to stress that shortcuts would get children to heights quickly, but would greatly slow them down later in life.  

It is important to choose a qualification that is suitable for your child. Do not get fooled by the large print advertising when it comes to education. Try and read the small print as well as the answers are usually there.

Q: Your advice for students?

A: When you are younger and going through learning, you think that you are going through the hardest phase of your life. Education is the most important element you can dedicate your time to, although it may not feel that way at times. As you make decisions around your area of study, you need to enjoy what you are learning which is very important.