Project News

After follow the Kick-off meeting, the orientation session has conducted by Ms.Tamura at SL-CoT

Evaluation Team Member Mr. Goto and Mr.Tsujimoto inspecting the CG System at SL-CoT CG Center

The much-anticipated terminal (final) evaluation of the JSCoT Project concluded successfully on Thursday, 18 March 2010.

The team of evaluators, which comprised of three members (Mr. Ko Goto, Assistant Director, Technical and Higher Education Division, JICA) Mr. Atsushi Tsujimoto, Associate Expert, Technical and Higher Education Division, JICA) and Ms. Tomoko Tamura Amarasinghe, a consultant attached to the Sri Lankan subsidiary of the Tokyo-based Kaihatsu Management Corporation, a management consulting company) was led by Ms. Yasuko Nihshino, Senior Representative of JICA Sri Lanka office.

The evaluation, although commenced officially on 1 March 2010 at the Ministry of Vocational and Technical Training (MVTT), began its work on the first week of February, when the JSCoT Project team was requested to submit detailed responses to evaluation questionnaires designed by the team of evaluators.

Based in Sri Lanka, Ms. Amarasinghe’s role was to collect information and evidence of work through the review of project documents and through face-to-face interviews with the Acting Chief Advisor, Long Term Expert for Mechatronics, Project Coordinating Manager and the three local consultants and also by interviewing key personnel attached the Ministry, SLCoT (the Director and Career Guidance Officers, the instructors of the three Sections of ICT, Welding and Mechatronics), the Department (DTET), Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission (TVEC), the ADB-funded Technical Education Development Project (TEDP), the University of Technology (UNIVOTEC) and National Apprentice and Industrial Training Authority (NAITA) to perform the type of analyses that would help the team to develop detailed recommendations till the end of the Project.

7th meeting of the Joint Coordinating Committee (JCC)

Result of the Terminal Evaluation has signed by Ms.Nishino, Mr.W.M.C.Bandara, Mr.Thilak Hapangama and Dr.H.L.Obeyesekera (From right to left) on the 18th Mar 2010.

In addition to interviews and numerous meetings, she visited some of the employers who have either afforded an opportunity to for the past students of the ‘model’ courses to undergo in-plant training in their Companies or have employed them or continue to employ them. Ms. Amarasinghe also interviewed some of the past students and existing students of the model courses.

The third week into the evaluation (the week commencing from 15 March to 18 March 2010) proved to be extremely hectic, for the evaluation team as well as for the Project team as the evaluation team presented their draft recommendations to key stakeholders of the Project. This culminated in the convening of the 7th meeting of the Joint Coordinating Committee (JCC) on Thursday, 18 March 2010 at the Ministry from 10:00 am to 12:00 pm. Chaired by the Secretary of the Ministry, Mr. Thilak Hapangama, the meeting saw the attendance of the all the Heads of the Institutions.

Following a brief speech by the Secretary, in which he thanked JICA for a grant project of this size and complexity, Mr. W.M.C. Bandara, Director of the SLCoT assured his commitment to initiate actions to complete the recommendations.

On behalf of the evaluation team, Ms. Amarasinghe then presented the recommendations and this was followed by the signing of the minutes (to formalize the agreement of the recommendations between MVTT, JICA Sri Lanka and SLCOT). Mr. H K Geethasena, Additional Secretary (Development), MVTT delivered the vote of thanks.

The meeting also saw the awarding of NVQ Level 5 and Level 6 diploma certificates to the first batch of students from the ICT and Welding Sections who completed their course in 2007 and were successful in the final NVQ assessments conducted in March 2010.

Text: Azad Ibrahim-JSCoT Consultant (Course Know How Dissemination)
Photo: Hiroshi Saito-Acting Chief Advisor