Maliban held an awards ceremony recently to felicitate the schools that met the requirements of the 5S productivity program. This was a Corporate Social Responsibility project held by the company as part of its 50th anniversary last year. It is based on the company’s theme of “Inspired by Goodness”, which means moving forward through the incorporation of good values. The aim of this program is to help produce disciplined and obedient students who will one day be valuable and productive citizens of Sri Lanka. The objective of the competition was to ensure that schools from across the island met the 5S productivity standards. The 5S system, which originates from Japan, is a series of activities designed to improve organization and create discipline, leading to improved efficiency and productivity. This can be used in schools and other institutions. 5S stands for Seiri, Seiton, Seiso, Seiketsu, and Shitsuke, which mean Sort, Set in order, Shine, Standardize and Sustain respectively.
Through the incorporation of these values into the school system, it becomes easier to create an environment conducive to learning. Schools involved within this program were encouraged to remove all unneeded items within the premises, to set limits and create order within the school, to keep the environment clean, to make ensure that all items are labeled and coordinated accordingly as well as having the hands-on training and involvement of teachers and students to make the program a success. Of the many schools that applied for this program, 25 schools were selected. From this, 15 schools were short-listed based on an evaluation done by four parties comprising of an Education Ministry official, Lal Fonseka who is the 5S Consultant for this project, a representative from Ma4ban and an Advertising Agency reprentative. The top three schools – Panawala Vidyalaya, Ratnapura, Mahamathya Vidyalaya, Colombo and Herath Gunaratne Vidyalaya, Madampe were chosen through an evaluation process that was set to ensure that the school met the requirements of the 5S system. They each received Rs 75,000, Rs 50,000, and Rs 30,000 worth of school equipment respectively. The equipment will be allocated based on needs of each school. The next top 12 schools also received school equipment, as a gesture of appreciating its participation in the program. Three special awards were presented for Best Principal, Best Turnaround School and Best 5S Coordinator. These were presented to Al-Hikma College, Colombo, Kiriwaneliya Vidyalaya, Norton Bridge and Ponnilawa Maha Vidyalaya, Ma Eliya respectively. Each school also received a gift pack courtesy of Maliban. Susil Premajayantha, Minister of Education was the Chief Guest.
