SL Education Inspection Service effective Dec.1 in 42 National Schools: MoE

The Sri Lanka Education Inspection Service (SLEIS) will come into effect on Dec.1, 2017, in 42 National Schools and introduced to Provincial schools by next year, the Ministry of Education ( MoE) has decided.

Initially, the MoE has recruited 15 Inspectors to serve in National Schools, with more recruitment to follow.

The SLEIS will be a legal and independent entity creating an evaluation culture in the general education system for sustainable development through qual- ity assurance and accreditation, MoE Additional Secretary ( Planning & Performance Review) S. U. Wijeratne told Education Times.

The SLEIS, once fully operational, will have the authority to audit the quality of all schools ( Govt and Non Govt, pirivenas and pre- schools), Educational InstitutionsNat i o n a l C o l l e g e s of Education, Teachers Colleges, Teacher Centers, Divisional Education Offices, Zonal Educat i o n offices and Provincial Education Depts, Dept of Exams, National Institute of Education, MoE and other relevant institutions, according to the MoE.

Under the system, a School Inspector ( SI), following an inspection, will hand over a report to the MoE within a day, and the MoE is expected to find a solution within 2 months.

"The SI, during the visit, will provide a form to be filled by the students, as well as the teachers, to identify problems within the respective school," he said.

After the evaluation of the findings, an awards scheme for the schools will also be worked out.

Among the objective of establishing the SLEIS are to support Sri Lanka's general education system in achieving standards of quality in line with the National Education Policy and the objectives of the Govt, their continuous improvement and efficient performance in line with the institutional objectives, assure responsibility and accountability of educational institutions on effective utilization of public funds and ensuring public confidence in the quality assurance and accreditation process.

In evaluating the quality of teaching in the school, the SIs will consider the extent to which teaching and planning address the national goals and find competencies in the general education , the extent to which teaching and planning considering previous knowledge, skills and understanding of all students in all lessons and activities over a time. The extent to which teachers make effective use of assessment data to improve their teaching and students’ learning and achievement, and the extent to which teachers take responsibility for self learning of students will also be taken into consideration.

Mr Wijeratne said that, once implemented islandwide, the data will be available online with a ranking system for schools, so that, the public will be able view the information.

The concept of the ‘SI’ system came into operation during the British rule in the 1840’s, while in the 1960’s the inspection was conducted by the ‘Circuit SIs’ in their respective circuits, as and when required, but was mandatory once a year.