Project SEARCH and ‘leading without license’

Thank you for your article featuring the SEARCH Project (‘Legends give up leisure time’ – Friday 20 August) launched by some distinguished old boys of Royal College. As one of the local contributors to this endeavour, I found enthusiasm of the children being coached humbling and rewarding.

This is an example of ‘leading without license’. The pioneers hold no positions in the school or the old boy’s union but have embarked on a project born out of the courage of their convictions. The numbers are expanding steadily with tutors volunteering from the USA, Britain and Australia. 

I wish to make use of your newspaper to bring to the notice of the public another initiative that might be of national interest. 

Bilingual education has been one of the boldest and most far-sighted moves that has been instituted by a modern-day Sri Lankan government. The demand is growing, as evinced by the introduction of bilingual classes in government schools in the outstations and mushrooming of international schools all over the country. 

However, the availability of teachers who can teach in English has been a bottleneck. Even at Royal College, Colombo, the demand is not being met. Although 300 applicants are expected for the bilingual stream, places are available only for 180.

Royal College attracts students who score the highest marks at the Year 5 Scholarship examination. These are some of the brightest children in our country, some of whom have overcome massive odds to achieve their positions. We have a duty to ensure that they are given every opportunity to blossom into their fullest potential. 

Many of them will choose to enter Royal College with the desire of receiving a bilingual education. We have heard heart-wrenching stories from parents of children who had this dream shattered due to the lack of places. Some of them say they would have had access to bilingual education in their original school had they continued there. 

I can only explain the massive hardships that some of these children and their parents go through to continue their education at the hallowed school by Barak Obama’s slogan ‘the audacity of hope’. Bilingual education is very much part of this hope. 

In yet another initiative demonstrating ‘leading without license,’ a group of alumni and parents have launched a campaign to ensure that no student who wishes to enter the bilingual stream is turned away due to lack of resources.

While the Ministry of Education and the current Principal Samantha Gunathilaka were mobilising the available teachers within and outside the school, a group of volunteers collected over Rs. 2 million to fund recruitment of teachers on a contract basis to meet the shortfall. The project will be supervised by the Academic Advisory Committee of the Royal College Union.

At present, children are enrolled to the bilingual stream after an aptitude test. One could have a reasonable concern that increasing the numbers may result in a higher number of students who would find receiving instructions in an alien language a challenge.

I would quote an example from my experience as a student and later as a teacher at the Colombo Medical Faculty. When we entered the faculty as students, we had received our education entirely in our mother tongue. While I, for one, may be considered privileged to have been exposed to English to a fair extent, some of my colleagues were finding it hard to cope with receiving instructions in English. Just like the scholars who enter Royal College, these were the cream of our students. With constant usage, they overcame these difficulties and as we went along, many of them performed brilliantly. 

Similarly, in the case of the children who may have had limited exposure to the English language, I believe that their ability and keenness will see them through. 

I believe these projects are great examples of citizens taking the initiative to do things that would have a lasting impact. Indeed, it is leading without a license. However, we need to be cautious about sustainability of such projects and the quality of the lessons delivered. 

People embarking on such projects must build in appropriate checks and balances to ensure these. Also, judging from the experience of these projects, one must remember that success will come only on the back of battles and massive sacrifices. We are grateful that we had someone of the calibre of Padmasena Dissanayake to pioneer and drive this project forward.  

As beneficiaries of free education, we have a duty to give back to the system that gave us so much. This is only a small measure in comparison. However, the benefits of these initiatives to the students will be immeasurable. This model could serve as a template for other schools as well. It will contribute immensely towards helping every Sri Lankan child to achieve his or her full potential. 

Hemantha Senanayake

Emeritus Professor, University of Colombo