JET_V2_N4_RP1 Sarath B. Siyambalampitiya Journal of Educational Technology 2230 - 7125 2 4 45 51 preparation of timetables, scheduling, primary constraint, heuristic approach, secondary contraints, mathematical model, solution approach There is no doubt that the most important activity in schools and universities is conducting classes and lectures to their students. Preparation of timetables is a major task confronted by the management every year. Lot of time is spent on this exercise, yet the end result would be far from satisfactory. In this paper, we draw attention to the different approaches of solution to this problem and the need to look for new directions of research. January - March 2006 Copyright & copy; 2006 i-manager publications. All rights reserved. i-manager Publications http://www.imanagerpublications.com/Article.aspx?ArticleId=759