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| National
Institure of Education (NIE) Colombo, Sri Lanka |
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General
mandate and functions |
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The
NIE was established in 1985 by a parliamentary act of the Democratic
Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka. It brought together different existing
institutions into a new global structure. Its main objectives are
to:
• advise the Minister of Education;
• provide and promote post-graduate education;
• conduct and promote studies on the education system;
• initiate and promote innovative practices;
• develop the professional and managerial competence of education
staff.
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General Organisation |
The
NEE is governed by a council, which is empowered to take all policy
decisions and high level administrative decisions coming under
its purview. The Academic Affairs Board, functioning under the
Council, decides on standards, contents, curricula and evaluation
processes of the Institute's programme.
The Institute is considered the professional arm of the Ministry
of Education. It comprises eight divisions, each consisting of
several departments. The department, which represents the NIE
in ANTRIEP, is the Department of Education Management Development
(DEMD). It forms part of the Professional Development Division.
The DEMD has its origin in the Sri Lanka Staff College for Educational
Administration, established in 1976, but became part of the NIE
at its creation. Its main responsibility is to provide staff development
opportunities to a wide clientele ranging from primary school
principals to senior administrative personnel in the Ministry.
Its staff consists of some twenty professionals and some ten support
staff. It is structured on the one hand, in five academic faculties
and, on the other hand, in nine projects.
The faculties are:
education policy and planning
organisational behaviour / management studies
curriculum studies and evaluation
finance and education law
education research.
The nine projects reflect the department's main programme activities.
The DEMD is financed mainly by the national government. A block
grant is received each year from the national government for staff
salaries and implementation of projects. Special projects are
carried by grants from SIDA, UNICEF, World Bank and ADB.library.
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Main
Activities |
The
DEMD, which is still at times referred to as the Staff College,
is mainly involved in training. In order to cater for diverse
groups, it has developed different training strategies:
(a) provision of long-term specialized training and full-time
academic courses (e.g. Post Graduate diploma and Masters degree
in Education Management);
(b) distance education programmes in education management, one
specially designed for principals of small schools, another for
secondary school principals;
(c) short (two-week) intensive residential seminars, e.g. for
head teachers of secondary schools;
(d) one-or two-day workshops on selected current issues for different
educationists;
(e) training for personnel of the Sri Lanka Educational Administrative
Service, adapted to the specific needs of this staff.
The DEMD also conducts some small-scale research studies, the
results of which are published mainly through the NIE's official
biennial journal: Adyapana Kalamana. It finally provides consultancy
services to national and international organizations, to provincial
education departments and to the Ministry of Education.
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Prospects
for the future |
DEMD
staff, through its continuous deliberations, responds to emerging
needs of its clientele and determines the department's strategic
direction. In the recent past, the DEMD has widened the scope
of its activities and has adopted a more strategic role hi order
to improve the quality of its services. It is moving towards strengthening
its links with other Asian institutions.
National Institute of Education (ME)
Maharagama
COLOMBO
Sri Lanka
Tel: (94-1) 851301 / 840613-9
Fax: (94-1) 851230 / 851300
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