Budget : Committee Stage — 8th Day

Votes of the Ministry of Vocational Training and Rural Industries

"When technical education was under the Ministry of Higher Education there was a positive difference"

Tissa Attanayaka (UNP-Kandy District) moved a cut of Rs. 10 from the votes of the Ministry of Vocational Training and Rural Industries.

He said technical education in this country is not on par with international levels. Much talked about high-tech development is not taking place. When technical education was under the Higher Education Ministry there was a positive difference.

The number of technical trainees is not adequate for the demands of the economy. The ministry is not training enough. Technical training instructors are only made use of in Colombo. Some who have been trained abroad are not made use of by the technical education department. This is in the face of shortages of instructors in technical training institutions. The first aim of the ministry should be to disperse these instructors to rural areas. Most of the irregulars in the appointments of instructors in this sector is due to political favoritism. Technical education will be vital for the next century and will be the only solution for unemployed.

The ministry should aim at job oriented training for the trainees to secure jobs here and abroad.

Laksala should be utilized to create a market for our rural small industries. There does not seem to be any coordination between marketing organisations like Laksala and training institutions and the manufacturers.

Nanda Gunasingha (PA-Galle District) said: the minsitry aims to open 500 vocational training institutions and improve the training imparted to youth. Vocational training has been given priority to train the educated youth to secure jobs.

Women who go overseas as domestic aides can now obtain a training to work with advanced kitchen implements.

There is also a need to train under water divers in our area.

Laksala should add more attractive sales services to lure the foreign market. The handicrafts industry should be given more concessions.

P. Selvarasa (TULF-Batticaloa dist.) said a multi-training institution should be established in Batticaloa to train unemployed youth.

There isn’t sufficient facilities to over 2000 students in the Batticaloa technical training college.

Ananda Kularatna (UNP-Matara dist.) said: School premises should be used after school hours for technical training as the present number of technical training institutions are not adequate. You have promised computers but we are yet to see these computers in our areas.

Laksala should be given more funds from the Treasury. Today Laksala is operating well under its chairman and staff unlike in the past. I suggest that at least 40 to 50 million rupees be given as an interest-free loan to improve its services, and for the benefit of it’s so-called small-scale suppliers.

Vocational training should be expanded to train traditional export industries.

Dinesh Dodangoda (UNP-National List) queried can the Ministry of Vocational Training satisfy itself as to the quality of the training imparted to the trainees in the many vocational training centres.

For instance a group of trainees, who had received training in advanced equipment, were unable to operate conventional equipment at Furnits. If they cannot handle conventional equipment how can they face the challenges ahead.

Chairman of Laksala Asoka Subasinghe has failed to put his house in order.

Sarath Gunawardena (UNP-Galle district) said the underwater divers who have been trained for coral mining are now facing a crisis without a means of living as their livelihood is banned now. At least take steps to provide foreign employment to these people.

Domestic industry should be developed for the foreign market. Cane manufacturers, the batik trade have been side tracked for polythene and other artificial products that destroy our environment and the once thriving domestic industry.

Facilities for vocational training are developing far below the demand.

A Director of Laksala has fraudulently taken some invaluable ebony couches to his home. He has neither paid its cost nor has he made any entry in the books of Laksala about the removal of the couches.

The Laksala is not buying articles made by local craftsmen without a bribe.

R. M. Ratnayake (UNP — Badulla District) said the technical training courses are inadequate to provide a sufficient training. The syllabuses of these courses conducted by the ministry have to be revised to suit the needs of local industries and foreign markets.

Colossal amounts are spent on these institutions and to train the instructors. Have you conducted a survey of the number of trainees who were able to obtain employment. Ninety eight percent of the student population rely on such technical training institutions.

The number of trainees of these institutions have reduced drastically becuse they can’t obtain the kind of training they aspire for. Establish a committee to rectify this situation.

T. Adaikalanathan (DPLF — Wanni District) said technical education should be promoted to boost the opportunities for our youth. I hope the minister will set up technical training institutions in Mannar and Vavuniya. Provide opportunities for their progress too.

R. Yogaraja (CWC — Colombo District) said there is confusion in the minds of the people about whom to approach for vocational training. If all aspects of vocational training is brought under one ministry this state of confusion could be reduced.

The Youth in the estate sector are trapped to their traditional mode of living as they cannot obtain skills suitable for other areas of employment.

The vocational training authority should conduct examinations and syllabi and give the trainees a certificate that will be accepted. The Industrial Development Board should be brought under this ministry.

Chandrasiri Gajadeera (Deputy Minister of Vocational Training and Rural Industries) said the members of the UNP who complained about instructors of the technical training institutions should realize that it was due to their policies. We have taken on this onerous task of revising technical education in this country. The budget has allocated rupees 50 million for tertiary & vocational training. Rupees 100 million was allocated for skills development.

This is the first time ever that such a recognition has been given for human resources development. This is a clear identification of the needs of our times.

We have linked technical training to the rural sector. We have devised a scheme to provide loans to those venturing on self-employment projects after training. They will be able to benefit from consultancy services and their future will be secured by insurance schemes.

A. H. M. Azwer (UNP, National List) said this ministry has been truncated to three. These are many areas that have to be brought under your ministry including the youth ministry.

Provide facilities for the development of rural industries.

Amarasiri Dodangoda (Minister of Vocational Training and Rural Industries) winding-up the votes of the ministry said there are over 18 ministries that perform functions relevant to this ministry. These include Telecom, Ports Higher Education, Youth Affairs etc. However the national policy on vocational training formulated by this ministry. The Vocational Training Ministry sets the standard for training that has been diversified into several ministries. The presidential committee on vocational training has been set up to direct and formulate a policy on technical education for the next century.

The ADB has granted rupees 5 million for this new technical education policy. Technical education and vocational training will be given priority under the recommendations of a committee under my directive.

We hope to start letter press and off-sets printing training courses shortly.

Those who are leaving universities do not have career related skills. That is why 32,000 graduates are still without jobs.

Votes of the Ministry of Science and Technology

"It is important to train people in information technology"

Thilak Karunaratne (UNP-Kalutara District) moved a cut of Rs. 10 from the votes of the Ministry of Science and Technology.

He said: The 1999 allocation for the Ministry has been increased by 67 percent compared to that of 1998.

I would like to know what was the tremore felt in the Dumbara Valley. The Department of Meteorology has not done much investigations into this. Officials of the Department of Mines and Minerals and the Department of Geology are still investigating.

The equipment installed to monitor any disturbances as a result of the big reservoirs in the hill country, by the Mahaweli Development Authorities have not been of use due to non-maintenance.

People in Sri Lanka are probably not aware of the gravity of the millennium. Compliance problem. The Sampath Bank which is a medium size bank has launched US$ 5 million programme to overcome the problem. But have the two big state banks taken any matching action to overcome the problem?

Sri Lanka, in my view still has not come out with the standards for most of the important products.

It is important to train people in information technology but what is more important is giving jobs to all qualifying in the subject. President’s idea of 18,000 jobs in the field is not realistic.

It is not possible to attract high tech industries to industrial parks such as that of Sithawaka, as these parks are provided with infra-structural facilities for soft industries such as plastic, rubber cubes and garments.

With regard to brain -drain it is not possible to retain our scientists here, because we are not expanding sufficiently. It is good they are going abroad because they could learn more new things.

There is no rationale to keep the Institution of Fundamental Studies under the President. Nobody knows what the institution is doing. It should have been an institution under the Ministry of Science and Technology.

Anura Priyadharshana Yapa (Deputy Minister of Posts & Telecommunication and Media) said: Computer Technology will be taken to the rural areas by the CINTEC.

At present computer education is available to those living in the cities.

Computer technology courses should be conducted in rural areas specially with the assistance of the Ministry of Education.

We don’t have any more opportunities to expand our hydro power. There is also a limit to the use of thermal power. Investigations are now on to tap the energy of sea waves to drive turbines. When conventional resources shrink we must naturally look for other available forces, such as waves.

We must give our scientists incentives through the Ministry of Science and Technology to disuade our scientists from leaving the country due to inadequate salaries.

Dixon Perera (PA-Colombo District) said: I would like to pinpoint some of the weather related problems during my contribution.

There was a tremor felt in the up-country recently. Still nobody knows what this was all above. We cannot careless because such warnings are related matters affecting the lives of the people.

We must not be content by observing the international day on the Ozone depletions once a year. We must have a concrete programme to be followed to meet the threat permanently.

M. L. A. M. Hizbullah (Deputy Minister of Posts and Telecommunications) said: More funds should be allocated to institutions actively involved in scientific training and research. I hope the government allocates more funds for the Arthur C. Clerk Institute, (INTEC), Industrial Technical Institute (CISIR), NATA Institute for the Advancement of Science & Technology. There is no computer training centre in Batticaloa. Use your resources to provide computer training to North-East area also.

I hope the government makes use of Japanese technology that is going to come into make compost out of garbage.

R. Yogarajan (CWC-Colombo District) said: There has to be more input from the general public when we formulate policies. The needs of the industry will be dealt with more realistically then.

A more regulated system of computer education is necessary. CINTEC should come out with more uniform policy to regulate these myriad institutions, then we would be better prepared to keep up with IT developments.

Rohan Abeygoonasekara (UNP-Kandy District) said: There has to be a clarification of the estimates we are passing today. There seems to be confusion in the naming of some institutions. NARESA was changed to the National Science Foundation, CISIR to Industrial Technical Institute but these institutions seem to switch back and forth from its former and present names.

Your national policy on science and technology is yet to come to light.

Are we equipped to test our atmosphere for radio activity? This is pertinent as our neighbours conducted several nuclear tests. What is the government’s stand on these nuclear tests?

Has any investigations been done on the recent tremors experienced in Kandy? What kind of assurance can you give the residents?

I don’t see any significant difference in purview, financing of the Science and Technology Ministry after its formation. The ministry has been given a minimal number of institutions. Although a lot of things have been spoken about it only appears to be a sop thrown at the LSSP.

A lot of good work has been done by the CISIR, but only some of them have been commercialized. There are certain limitations in the field of research and development in the field of science due to regulations. When the PA government took over there was an ideal base for the development of science and technology under the UNP government’s initiative, but what has been the development in this field under this government?

(To be continued)