Entrepreneurship circles are to be created in 3,000 schools in the first phase with the aim of creating entrepreneurs from the school level. Education Minister Dr. Susil Premajayantha said that with the new transformative education system, students will be given the ability to choose their career direction at the age of 14.
It has been decided that an understanding and training about entrepreneurship should be given to students from school age. The Education Minister said that under the new transformative education system, children will have the opportunity to discuss with their parents and choose their future career direction when they are in Grade 9, i.e., around the age of 14.
Accordingly, students who complete their Ordinary Level education have more opportunities in studying entrepreneurship. Also, through this transformative education system, career guidance is going to be provided from Grade 6. In the first round, entrepreneurship circles will be established in 3,000 schools conducting Advanced Level studies and knowledge and training related to this subject will be provided.
The Minister said that with the advancement of science and technology in the modern world, no country can be isolated today and the basis for the production of essential goods that can be produced in the country will emerge from this programme.
“We should work to produce the goods that can be produced in this country in accordance with high international standards in a manner suitable for the foreign market,” he said.
The Minister said that the foundation for that is based on research and invention, and in this regard, the support received from our education system should be increased. Although valuable inventions are produced from the research conducted by the university system in Sri Lanka, they are hardly improved to the level where they can be used practically and to the production levels desired.
The Minister also said that the field of education should be correlated with the field of innovation so that there will be opportunities to create new products suitable for the domestic and foreign markets through that research.
Nowadays, it is traditional to hold a ceremony on new research and give a prize and an award. However, the Minister added that we will not stop there; in the future, new products created through new research will pave the way to the market.
Dharma Sri Abeyratne
