Now that 2009 has been declared to be the year of English and IT, the value of Pasdunrata College of Education as the premier institution for training teachers of English cannot be overestimated. An excellent seat of learning that produced hundreds of fine young teachers during its hey day, it was sadly neglected and reduced to nothing but a concrete jungle with more and more modern building complexes coming up while the academic sphere crumbled due to typical bureaucratic ambitions gaining the upper hand.

If the authorities genuinely intend to raise the standards of the envisaged fields of learning, it would do well for them to take into account the true situation in this place of learning currently, which can in no uncertain terms be called the Sinhala proverbial drum with only one side left. However much extensive the infrastructure may be, no institution, academic or otherwise for that matter, can prosper without a dynamic programme, properly planned and implemented by true professionals.

Pasdunrata at the outset boasted an excellent phalanx of professionals with long experience in the field of teacher education, groomed in the then prestigious CDC and the HIEE (Curriculum Development Centre and the Higher Institute of English Education).

The programme there initially was so efficient that we as fresh assistant lecturers were virtually apprenticed to these experts and sent to lectures with them so that each minute strategy or tactic used by them in handling trainees was carefully imbibed by us for a period of one whole year. It is only after this ‘training’ period that all fresh lecturers were made in charge of groups armed with the skills thus gained under the masters of the craft, although even by then we had more than 10 years’ experience as teachers of English at schools.

Pasdunrata College flourished producing hundreds of excellent young teachers of English, thanks to this meticulous planning backed by a brilliant vision resulting from years of experience in the field. It is when ugly bureaucratic ends began to rule the roost and experienced professionals were made to literally leave the place in desperation, that the collapse set in.

To examine what should be done to bring this distinctive place of learning to its latent glory is the aim of this article, if the "Year of English and IT" is genuinely intended to be a reality. Recasting the curriculum or if it is thought to be up to date, revitalising of the actual performance of the personnel will be of primary importance. As it is, as I have myself discovered to my dismay in my observation rounds as the officer in charge of English in the Western Province, the trainees produced lately had very poor professional skills as classroom practitioners. Thus it is clear that either the present curriculum does not incorporate adequate latitude for the practice of vital teaching skills together with the related theoretical underpinnings, or what is prescribed does not take place in the actual implementation of the curriculum. Either new strategies with ample time to carry them out should be introduced into the programme or if they are already available, steps have to be taken to put them into practice.

There are spread all over the island several thousand young teachers passed out of the College among whom there are hundreds who have already proved to be efficient and effective senior teachers having gained experience of nearly two decades as well. A programme may be planned to make a pool of these as ‘master teachers’ who can eventually be got down to demonstrate their performance before the trainees. They can also be made to fill a sizeable vacuum of practical know-how by answering queries made by the trainees so that the latest issues in the field which even the lecturers may not be aware of can be brought to light.

A great source of professional expertise that can be tapped for the upliftment of the course are the senior lecturers already in retirement. They are by no means idle at the moment but are busy with other educational engagements, so they can only be got down for at least monthly visits to the College for a plenary session of a whole batch, a workshop from which the trainees can benefit from the repertoire of knowledge and skills of these top-level resource persons. Sri Lankan field of higher education is one notorious for a high degree of professional jealousy, so experts who leave an institution are fast and early forgotten and thrust into the Limbo of non-use. The valuable professional know-how with which these elder-academics can enrich any educational programme is thus denied to the country which in turn tends to affect the building up of the next generation of educators as well. This is an attitude that should change and respected seniors should be persuaded to contribute their rare professional expertise for the benefit of the newcomers to the field.

A board of professionals entrusted with the task of monitoring the English teacher-training programmes all over the country can make periodic visits to promote the College of Education programme as well. This kind of panel can consist of experts from the NIE, a representative from the British Council and a couple of local professional with ample experience in the sphere. If this kind of comprehensive and efficient programme was not set in motion at the outset, doing away with the very deleterious hidebound attitudes existing currently, it would only be another flop in line with other programmes typically witnessed in our field of education.