Emergence vs Emergency
Many people in the international community are now waking up to the realization that Sri Lanka is experiencing an unprecedented phenomenon. And unfortunately, due to the media’s predilection for sensational news, the…
Education
Tackling Access to Education During Covid-19
Sri Lanka can be justly proud of its educated population and high literacy rate due to decades of free education up to university level. Universal access to primary education has been achieved…
A Migrant’s View
I was born in 1990, a time when Sri Lanka was still going through its 30-year civil war which ultimately ended in 2009. I lived in greater Colombo, and I went to…
Digital Education During COVID-19
Photo courtesy of Centre for Poverty Analysis Education is often seen as a way out of poverty, increasing opportunities to earn, contribute to society and improve one’s status. Sri Lanka’s education sector,…
Protecting, Educating and Empowering the Girl Child
While the lives of young girls in most countries around the world have certainly improved over the past few decades, there are still critical concerns that are unique to girls under the…
Ensuring Access to Education in Difficult Circumstances
Today is International Day to Protect Education from Attack The United Nations General Assembly by Resolution 74/275 established the International Day to Protect Education from Attack, which falls annually on 9 September.…
Literacy and the Dimensions of the Digital Divide
Literacy rates in Sri Lanka have hovered in the high 90s for the past decade or so, impressive figures no doubt; enough for the country to be publicised in official publications as…
A Diseased State of Affairs
About 10 days ago, a video surfaced online of an unmasked and ungloved policeman stopping and arresting some men in a trishaw on a road in the dead of night. Among these…
Living on the Edge: Children of Cemetery Dwellers
Their playground is a graveyard; their toys are sticks and stones. They run in the sand and dirt, flying kites and joking, fighting and laughing. They are Tamil children living on the…
The Need of the Hour – Twitter Poll
Groundviews currently has a poll running on its Twitter handle to assess which one of two pressing matters requires the public’s attention the most. With the Delta variant of SARS-CoV-2 sweeping across…
With Militarization and Marketization KNDU Bill Sounds Death Knell for Higher Education
“The character of an educational system depends upon the character of the society for which it is designed. In a totalitarian system the education system is designed to establish among all sections…
Killing Free Education with the Kotelawala National Defence University Bill
The debate over the Kotelawala National Defence University (KNDU) Bill has become a scorching issue in the past few weeks. It has been heated not only due to the resistance from civil…
COVID-19 is an Opportunity to Break Rigid Schooling Systems
Although they overlap, there are some crucial differences between rigid schooling systems and education. Rigid schooling prepares children for exams and qualifies them for employment. Education equips children with values and prepares…
Celebrating Inspiring Women: An Interview with Theshini Perera
For Women’s Day 2021, Groundviews interviewed Dr. Theshini Perera, a professional in the field of science who has broken stigmas held against women, proving that not only can women drive change and…
Sri Lanka’s Education System Needs an Overhaul
Achieving a 92 per cent literacy rate, universal primary education, gender parity and free education including at the tertiary level, Sri Lanka should have literate, numerate and confident young people ready to…