Archive for the ‘Education’

Beyond Nostalgia: ‘Children of Olcott’ Must Revisit History

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Review of: Mahinde Thamai Iskole (Mahinda is the School!) by Sundara Nihathamani de Mel (Suratha Publishers, Mt Lavinia, Sri Lanka; 220 pages; LKR 600 I have never been able to understand why apparently grown Lankan men instantly turn so nostalgic — and sometimes completely incoherent — at the mere mention of their primary or secondary school. Old school tie is evidently very strong among most of our men, often hilariously so. Thankfully women, many of who are just as loyal and grateful to their former schools, don’t descend to such immature behaviour. As one with no emotional attachment to any of his old schools, I almost ignored Mahinde Thamai Iskole (Mahinda is the School). The book, released in mid 2012 and already into its fourth edition (wonder why?), is ostensibly a collection of its journalist-author’s reminiscences about Mahinda College, a leading boys’ school in Galle founded in 1892 as part of the Buddhist educational and cultural revival in 19th century…

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Strengthening innovation in Sri Lanka: In conversation with Anushka Wijesinha

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Anushka Wijesinha is a Research Economist at the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka and is one of the most prominent voices in Sri Lanka today championing innovation. We begin by Anushka explaining what innovation means to him in a Sri Lankan context, and why it is so important to support it in post-war Sri Lanka. In talking about innovation as a system, he talks about the differences between Research and Development and innovation. Anushka is then asked whether he sees enough of that which he champions and sees as innovative policies, products and practices in Sri Lanka today. We then talk about the nature and indeed crisis within Sri Lanka’s tertiary education system – from ossified curricula to outdated pedagogy – as stymieing the growth and potential of innovation. Anushka then looks at how failure can be instructive for innovation, and whether cultures and countries that embrace failure are more innovative than those, like Sri Lanka, which censure…

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Colonizing Childhood and Zionist Pedagogy: Interview With Prof. Nurit Peled-Elhanan

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Nurit Peled-Elhanan is a professor of language and education at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, peace educator and activist and co-laureate along with late Prof. Izzat Gazzawi of the 2001 Sakharov Prize for Human Rights and the Freedom of Speech awarded by the European parliament. Peled-Elhanan has translated Albert Memmi‘s Le Racisme (1982) and Marguerite Duras‘ Écrire (1993) into Hebrew. In 1997, her daughter Smadar, aged 13, was killed in a suicide bomb attack in Jerusalem. “Terrorist attacks like this are the direct consequence of the oppression, slavery, humiliation and state of siege imposed on the Palestinians”, she told reporters in the aftermath of Smadar’s death. She and her family work with the Palestinian and Israeli Bereaved Families for Peace. Professor Peled has critically dissected the ideological content of Israeli schoolbooks for the past five years. She considers children as victims of Israel’s militaristic, settler-colonial culture. Her radical views have exacted a professional cost. “University professors have stopped inviting me…

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  • 26 Mar, 2013
  • 1 Comment
  • Colombo,
    Education,
    Features,
    Peace and Conflict,
    Youth

The State of the Free Education System in Sri Lanka: Confessions of a Disgruntled Student

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Image courtesy The Nation I am one of the 243,876 lucky students who sat for the Advanced Level Examinations in 2011. It has been almost one-and-a-half-years since then, and I received my university registration form only yesterday (6 – 4 – 2012). I was privileged enough to receive A/L results four times in the space of ten months. For this, I am eternally indebted to the Examinations Department. The possibilities for further delay, once I start university are endless: the FUTA might decide to call for another trade union action; minor-staff may decide their wages are insufficient; fellow students may decide to oppose private universities by boycotting classes; and so on. The thought of how old I will be when I graduate is not entertaining[1]. Grand Promises and Disconcerting Realities All state school textbooks carry an excerpt from a speech made by President Rajapaksa in 2010: “Beloved Sons and Daughters, Many countries that lagged behind us at the time we…

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Updates on ground situation in Jaffna

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After the violent unrest that started late November in Jaffna, (for photos and background, read The death of Freedom of Assembly, Expression and Religion in the North of Sri Lanka), Groundviews has continuously received updates on the ground situation. In addition to forwarding these updates via email, we have decided to post them on the site for increased awareness and greater public debate on the disturbing situation in and around post-war Jaffna today. The updates are posted as we received them and as accounts open t0 contestation. We also strongly welcome further verification and corroboration by readers in the area or familiar with what’s going on. We will continue to update this blog post as we receive new updates. Please follow @groundviews on Twitter for notifications and also see our Facebook page. Situation Update as at 3.55pm, 12 February, 2013 President Mahinda Rajapaksa, who is currently on an official visit to Jaffna, is reported to have ordered the release of the…

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Challenges for a Sustainable Economic Development in Sri Lanka

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Image courtesy Norwegian Embassy, Sri Lanka First of all, I would like to define sustainable development.  According to the Brundtland report it is “a development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” But it is important to go further in the definition: “Sustainable development has 2 concepts: the first one is the needs, particularly the needs of the poor, to whom priority should be given. The second is the idea that the actual state of technology and social organization impose limitations to the capacity of the environment to satisfy present and future needs.” This definition is an invitation to think differently. Sri Lanka has to thrive by following this path for a sustainable development, which is taking care of poverty, and economic development while taking into account environmental constraints. Sri Lankan growth rate is high (8%), true story, but if we dig a little further, we can see…

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A Review of Quotas in University Admissions

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Photo courtesy Vikalpa My good friend Somapala Gunadheera has made some thoughtful observations (The Island, 10 Sept 2012) on the problems of University admissions, and noted that in my “ Tamil Language Rights in Sri Lanka”( CPA, April 2012) I had not suggested ways and means of solving them. My analysis and suggestions were expressed in some publications way back in the 90s, and that is why I chose not to repeat them. But since my friend has raised the question, I will( belatedly) retrace some of what I had written then, supplemented with an outline of the historical back ground. Jaffna youth have traditionally depended on education for employment since other avenues have been lacking in comparison with other districts. Since Sinhala Only in 1956, Tamil speakers have had even more problems than previously in finding employment. They have responded with even greater focus on education and on acquiring superior academic and professional qualifications, especially in fields such as…

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FUTA and Free Education in Sri Lanka: Question of Social Justice and Democracy in an Oligarchy

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Photo courtesy Vikalpa The results of the so-called ‘mother’s examination’, or the year five scholarship examination of this year, have once again sturdily testified for the importance and significance of preservation and continuation of the free education system of this country. The two students who have achieved the first places hail from two divergently opposing social classes, but the duo being educated in the same, state sponsored, free education system. When the boy student from socially affluent strata, attending a high ranked school scored the highest marks, the girl student attending a low ranked, poorly facilitated rural school could produce the same result under more difficult conditions than the conditions the boy student had to face. Both of them have made their schools proud and won the hearts and mind of the people equally; but if it weren’t for the free education would the underprivileged rural student ever have got that opportunity to be equal among unequal? I have just…

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“Inventors are like artists – we must celebrate and nurture them!”

Deepal Sooriyaarachchi, photo courtesy Business Today

Nalaka Gunawardene in conversation with Deepal Sooriyaarachchi, Commissioner, Sri Lanka Inventors Commission For over two decades, Deepal Sooriyaarachchi made a name for himself as an innovative Chartered Marketer and Management Development Consultant. While holding top executive positions in leading companies, he also excelled as a corporate trainer and author on entrepreneurship, especially in Sinhala language. He has been a pioneer in taking business knowledge to the grassroots, nurturing a culture of enterprise. In mid 2011, he was appointed as Commissioner (chair) of Sri Lanka Inventors Commission (SLIC), the state agency dedicated to promoting innovation and supporting inventors. One year into this appointment, and on the eve of the first major national exhibition of inventions, Deepal spoke to science writer Nalaka Gunawardene, who has been chronicling innovation in print and broadcast media for many years. Nalaka currently hosts a biweekly show on innovation on Sri Lanka’s national TV broadcaster, Rupavahini. Nalaka: What are the main objectives of Sahasak Nimawum (“A Thousand…

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FUTA’s “6 percent for Education” in Sri Lanka: Sensible or Sensational?

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Original photo courtesy Vikalpa “It was mainly symbolic”, is how FUTA President Dr. Ranjith Dewaisiri characterized the group’s demand of “6 percent of GDP for education”, which has now gained national attention. This was in response to a question posed by an audience member during ‘THE FORUM with Eran’ held this week (26th) featuring Dr. Ranjith Dewasiri, Prof. Rajiva Wijesinha (M.P.) and Eran Wickramaratne (M.P.). The FUTA President’s comments were quite revealing, and in a sense alarming. Much has been written already about the strike action of the FUTA and the trade union’s demands of wage hikes but also higher government spending on education (i.e., “6 percent of GDP”, according to FUTA). Questions were raised from Dewasiri on, “how did you come up with the 6 percent number, and what are FUTA’s thoughts on how to spend it?”. For both, the answer was quite non-specific and non-committal and this is disconcerting. It is clear that FUTA has now assumed moral…

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Higher Education and its Disjunctures: An Interview with Professor Sasanka Perera

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The following is an interview with Professor Sasanka Perera of the South Asian University conducted by Mr. Ranjit Perera of the Social Scientists Association of Sri Lanka via Skype on 18th August 2012. Ranjit Perera: Cyberspace and virtual reality are intertwined in the context of today’s communication technology; this came to my mind while conducting this interview. Any thoughts on that before we get down to more serious issues? Sasanka Perera: Well, I am hesitant to get into a philosophical discussion on these matters in an interview meant for popular consumption. I guess we can have this chat separately. But briefly, yes. This interview would not have taken place across national borders if not for the internet and the fact that technology within it is accessible, cheap and democratic in its reach. But this is not virtual; you are there asking questions. I am here trying to answer them. The only issue is that the physical distance between us have…

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Video on Mediated: Hard data on Sri Lanka, through art

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Mediated is an art project that essentially seeks to create greater awareness around and engagement with aspects of post-war Sri Lanka’s ideational, constitutional, economic, social and religious challenges. Four individuals – a researcher, an economist, a constitutional theorist and an award winning novelist – were invited to give submissions that were anchored to issues vital to a greater and deeper social and political understanding of Sri Lanka today. Four artists were invited to engage with this primary resource material and interpret it so that it through what they produced, attention was focused on the inconvenient, critical engagement expanded and public apathy challenged. The Gallery is open daily from 18:00 – 20:00 and the exhibition closes on 15 September 2012. Young Asia Television was present to cover the opening of Mediated. This segment is from their Connections programme of 10 September 2012, which can be viewed here. Mediated – Opening Night from Centre for Policy Alternatives on Vimeo. Repost This Article

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Mullikulam: The continuing occupation of a school by the Sri Lankan Navy

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[UPDATED: 2200hrs, Colombo: A keen reader, Mike Horgan, flagged the erroneous positioning of Mullikulam on Google Maps. The correct location is now shown.] “This is my home, this is my sister’s home, this is my neighbour’s home…and now we’re not even permitted to enter our own land,” says *Rajan, a villager living at the Malankaadu temporary resettlement camp, pointing to their homes, where Navy families currently reside. Since their eviction by the Sri Lanka Navy (SLN) in 2007, people like Rajan have been made into “strangers” looking at their beloved homes and farmlands from afar. “We don’t want anything else from the Government, we just want to go back home,” is the recurring lament[1] of the Mullikulam people from June, 2012, when they were resettled just outside their village, which is currently home to the SLN’s sprawling North Western Command Headquarters. View Larger Map When the Navy first occupied the village, following the eviction of its villagers by the Army…

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The Z-score imbroglio: Towards a fair and simple solution

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Image courtesy Tharunaya I will assume in this article the general acceptance of two principles of fairness with regard to university admission. Fairness principle 1: That, apart from any affirmative action criteria used, admission should be based on merit rankings. Fairness principle 2: That affirmative action criteria and the merit ranking scheme should not be arbitrary, but must follow fixed transparent principles or past precedence. It is possible to show that the current solutions being debated to the Z-score imbroglio fails to meet these principles. An explanation and solution is given in the twenty numbered paragraphs below. 1. The G.C.E A’level exams: in 2011 were administered under two syllabi. One set of students sat papers set according to the new syllabus; another set (presumed to be repeaters) according to the old syllabus. 2. Admission to university: is based on a national merit ranking of all students who sit the exams, and a long standing affirmative action criterion which creates quotas…

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In conversation with Chandraguptha Thenuwara: Art, politics and education in Sri Lanka

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Chandragupta Thenuwara is one of Sri Lanka’s best known artists. As noted online, he is the director of the Vibhavi Academy of Fine Arts in Colombo, a not-for-profit art school which he founded in 1993 as an independent alternative to state-run art institutions, with the aim of teaching young and marginalied artists the basic tenets of fine art practice under the instruction of practicing artists. In this programme we start by discussing the enduring ethnic divides and identity politics in Sri Lanka through the frame of Thenuwara’s son, and his naming. We use this as an entry point a discussion about the artist’s own identity and how it developed, growing up as he did in the East of Sri Lanka, having being born in the South and after his studies, returning to live in Colombo. Thenuwara’s speaks about his father’s early influence in becoming an artist, and how even from a very modest household, he always had the opportunity to…

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About Groundviews

Located at the Centre for Policy Alternatives in Colombo, Sri Lanka, Groundviews is a citizen journalism website that uses a range of genres and media to highlight critical perspectives on governance, reconciliation, human rights, the arts and literature, democracy and other issues. The site has won two international awards, including the prestigious Manthan Award South Asia in 2009. The grand jury's evaluation of the site noted, "What no media dares to report, Groundviews publicly exposes. It's a new age media for a new Sri Lanka... Free media at it's very best!"

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