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by Kushani Ratnayake

There have been several attempts to bring about a drastic change to the political culture of the country by various organisations and political parties during the past five decades.

However it has been a difficult task due to the lack of awareness among politicians about the needs of society.

As a result of this the relationship between the politicians and the common people has been affected and it sometimes leads to a situation of lawlessness.

People have lost faith in elections and the parliamentary system which has a direct impact on social and economic stability.

In order to establish democracy in Sri Lanka in its proper sense, the D. A. Rajapaksha Foundation has initiated a program to increase awareness among up and coming politicians on various areas including democratic politics, human rights and sustainable development.

The foundation has set up a Political and Leadership Training School to conduct a certificate course on applied politics.

The course is aimed at creating young politicians with a knowledge in modern political trends and improving their decision-making ability, efficiency, management skills and other aspects of politics.

The course consisting of eight modules is scheduled for a period of four months and the classes will be held during weekends.First module will consist of Political Philosophy which would cover fundamentals of Marxism, liberalism and democracy.

The second module will discuss various economic structures including the capitalist and socialist economic structures.

It will also focus on myths and modern concepts on development, environmental issues at international level and the challenges Sri Lanka should face in dealing with the World Bank, International Monetary Fund and the World Trade Organisation.

The other modules include and cover the areas of Globalisation, Devolution of Power, International Law and Sri Lanka, Political History of Sri Lanka, Leadership Qualities and Language and Information Technology training.

A board consisting of experienced university lecturers and professionals handle in the management and the assessment of the course. The institution will offer certificates to those who successfully follow the course.

The course will be conducted in the Sinhala medium but the assignments and examinations could be presented in the Sinhala or in the English medium. The organisation will provide many facilities, such as library facility, computer facilities and conference facilities in addition to the service of senior academic staff.

The course is open to politicians at the national level as well as provincial and local government levels. The school gives priority to candidates of the local government elections in selecting participants for the first course. In addition the management could decide on enroling other participants.

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