| KOICA Initiates the Construction of National College of Education in Kuliyapitiya in collaboration with Ministry of Education KOICA, on behalf of the Korean government is supporting the project “Establishment of National College of Education and Teacher Training System for Technology” worth of 14.95 million USD to foster competent pre-service and in-service technical teachers with capacity to train students in newly rising areas such as IT, Bio-system and Engineering Technology. As a major milestone of this project, the Resumption Ceremony of Construction Works of the National College of Education on Technology was held on 13th December 2022 at the Ministry of Education. The event was graced by the presence of Nihal Ranasingha Secretary of Ministry of Education and Kim Myungjin, County Director of KOICA. KOICA together with Ministry of Education have identified a continuous demand for students with skills and qualified teachers with practical knowledge in the Technology stream to meet the needs of related industries and labour market. In order to alleviate the following difficulties, KOICA and Ministry of Education agreed on resuming the construction works of the National College of Education on Technology in collaboration with Ministry of Education using a Sri Lankan Construction Organization. The construction component of this project is planned to be completed in 2025. Under this project KOICA not only provides the infrastructure facility for the National College of Education on Technology but also the system for the sustainable functioning of the entire College including installation of technical equipment for practical exercises, curriculum development, textbooks and operation plans of the pre- and in- service teacher training for technological education. Based on the industry demand, the National College of Education on Technology will provide technical education under three majors, such as Information Technology, Engineering and Bio System Technology which will fully address the latest syllabus of GCE Advanced Level students of Sri Lanka. While delivering the Speech, Nihal Ranasingha Secretary of Ministry of Education asserted that KOICA’s engagement is important to transfer the knowledge of Korean expertise in the field of Technology to uplift the Technology sector of Sri Lanka. Kim Myungjin, the Country Director of KOICA noted that “In the long run, I believe that the Sri Lankan youth who are seeking for technically competent education system will benefit from this project and will meet the demand of technical industries and labor market not only in Sri Lanka but also any corner of this world.” KOICA believes that by strengthening the education sector along with the first ever Nation College of Education on Technology in Sri Lanka will contribute further to bringing prosperity to the Sri Lankan people to overcome the ongoing crisis. |
The Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA), the Korean government agency for grant aids under the mission of “mutual development cooperation leaving no one behind.” KOICA Sri Lanka Office has been implementing a variety of development projects and fellowship programs since 1991 and currently supporting various grant projects including COVID-19 response projects to fight against COVID-19 in Sri Lanka in conjunction with the Sri Lankan Government, Korean NGOs, and International Organizations. KOICA Sri Lanka Office is particularly keen to put more efforts to support the most vulnerable in society to overcome the current crisis.
