| KUALA LUMPUR - Four Malaysians and two Singaporeans were recognised today by the Commonwealth Distance Training Programme in Legislative Drafting in a ceremony held in the Attorney General's Chambers. They are among the first to fulfil the requirements of the new international programme. Certificates were presented by Dato' Professor Gajaraj Dhanarajan , President and Chief Executive Officer of the Vancouver-based Commonwealth of Learning. "This distance education course was developed jointly by The Commonwealth of Learning and the Commonwealth Secretariat to meet the needs of member jurisdictions that recognise an advantage in providing workplace training rather than having to send trainees overseas for an extended period at high cost both financially and in terms of lost productivity," says Dhanarajan. Trainees from 14 Commonwealth countries were enrolled in the pilot programme, which was administered on behalf of the Commonwealth by the Royal Institute of Public Administration (International), London. The course, print materials, audio tapes and assignments were designed specifically for independent study of the principles and practices of legislative drafting and the processes of preparing government legislation. While a course co-ordinator in England guided student progress, experienced professionals within local drafting workplaces also provided support. Certificates were presented to Ms. Chan Bee Keng, Ms. Rozita binti Ramli, Ms. Mazni binti Nawi of Malaysia and to Mr. Lee Chuan Huei and Mr. David Lim (in absentia) of Singapore. The Commonwealth of Learning was created by Commonwealth Heads of Government in 1988. With headquarters based in Vancouver, the international organisation serves the 54-member Commonwealth with a mandate to widen opportunities for learning by promoting the development and sharing of open and distance learning resources and communications technologies. |