Up against the odds

“More youths use technology than ever before. But the problem is they dangle with it for recreation purposes rather than reading and other serious habits. One major obstacle for reading on palm-held devices is that books in the vernacular medium are not available in e-format,” Sunil reasoned. The libraries are also gradually gathering dust with the essential triad of parents, teachers and children, losing interest. For teachers, the library is merely a place to send away the young ‘brats’ when they become a nuisance. As the NLDSB DG explained, hardly any teaching-learning takes place in the library now.

The pandemic is now the new cliché generously dished out in the essays written and speeches delivered. Well, the term is not ready to leave us alone as yet. On the contrary, the term forces us to adapt to its environs and adopt a new lifestyle.

It is against this background that Commonwealth of Learning (COL), an intergovernmental organisation committed to improving the livelihood conditions of people across the Commonwealth, has formed a partnership with Coursera, a worldwide online learning platform, to make a difference in the lives of people whose immediate need is to acquire skills for regaining employment.

The National Library and Documentation Services Board (NLDSB) finds the Commonwealth of Learning’s approach to skill development among unemployed citizens very appropriate and has partnered with Canada based COL to implement this initiative in Sri Lanka.

The initiative, named Skills Online Sri Lanka Programme will offer scholarships to 1000 Sri Lankans through a competitive application process.

Applications will be accepted until September 30 on the first come first serve basis. The applicants thereafter will be able to complete any of the courses by December 31 and obtain the certificate.

Daily News meets with the NLDSB Director General W Sunil to find out more on promoting and encouraging e-learning.

“Each learner will be required to complete at least two courses. They have access to the e-learning courses until December 2020. The learner has to respond to the email invitation to sign up for Coursera portal within three days of receiving. The student also has to enrol in a course or two within a week of accepting the invitation,” Sunil explained the process.

The learner has to show enough progress with learning. That means at least three hours of learning within the first two weeks of joining. One course minimum must be completed within four weeks of availing the scholarship. The scholarship will be withdrawn if the learner fails to demonstrate sufficient commitment and willingness to take advantage of the scholarship.

A helpdesk facility is available to help facilitate learning.

Skills Online Sri Lanka is a skill development program implemented in Sri Lanka by the NLDSB in partnership with the Commonwealth of Learning. The Skills Online Sri Lanka works with local organizations, private training centres, educational institutions and employers to close skill gaps for in-demand jobs responding to employer and industry needs through directly supporting youth and adult to participate and complete skill and professional development courses offered by online learning platform Coursera.

Hosted by the Canadian Government and headquartered in Burnaby, Canada, the Commonwealth of Learning (COL) is the world’s only intergovernmental organisation solely concerned with the promotion and development of distance education and open learning. COL was created by Commonwealth Heads of Government to encourage the development and sharing of open learning/distance education knowledge, resources and technologies. COL is helping developing nations improve access to quality education and training. More information about COL is available on https://www.col.org.

Coursera was founded in 2012 by Stanford University computer science professors Andrew Ng and Daphne Koller. Ng and Koller were inspired by their experiences offering their Stanford courses online in fall 2011, and soon after left Stanford to launch Coursera.

Princeton, Stanford, the University of Michigan and the University of Pennsylvania were the first universities to offer content on the platform. Offerings have since expanded to include specializations – collections of courses that build skills in a specific subject – as well as degrees and a workforce development product for businesses and government organizations. - https://about.coursera.org/

The NLDSB maintains a well-knit network of libraries across the country. The network is an umbrella of 1200 public libraries and 6800 established school libraries.

“The schools without a library will at least have a book corner. They at least have a bookshelf. Or what you can call a library. The schools provide us with the best approach to take the book-reading to the provincial level. Also, we have 15 universities with good libraries. We have around 80 piriven libraries too. Then there are government institution libraries,” Sunil added.

The National Library plays the mediator role of these libraries. Connected to this network, the NLDSB attracts the readers. The reader and book clubs are one example. Most public libraries, even in the north and the east, have a reader club. They conduct various readership programmes in the month to provide enthusiasm and encouragement to the schoolchildren. The programmes are held by way of lectures, seminars and workshops. How is Sri Lanka’s young generation getting ready for serious reading in the technological environment?

“More youths use technology than ever before. But the problem is they dangle with it for recreation purposes rather than reading and other serious habits. One major obstacle for reading on palm-held devices is that books in the vernacular medium are not available in e-format,” Sunil reasoned. The libraries are also gradually gathering dust with the essential triad of parents, teachers and children, losing interest. For teachers, the library is merely a place to send away the young ‘brats’ when they become a nuisance. As the NLDSB DG explained, hardly any teaching-learning takes place in the library now.

“Tuition classes are devouring the children’s time. It reduces the time for reading. They have homework given by both schools and tuitions. Even though they are keen to read, they are pressed for time. Plus, they are exhausted when all is said and done. On the other hand, parents are keener to encourage children to studies than reading. With reading becoming lesser and lesser, the young generation has become mechanical,” Sunil said. In a survey carried out in a rural school, the NLDSB has found out how reading affects the children’s skills. The children who read naturally generate more soft skills than their peers who do not. The well-read children have more than one solutions to natural issues springing up in life. Those who do not read tend to be quite aggressive in taking decisions.