Archives

The Storm's Eye by Prof.Rajiva Wijesinghe

A few weeks back I was asked by the National Education Commission to meet them as part of their public consultation programme. This was at 5 o'clock on a Monday afternoon but, typically, one of their members -the current UGC Chairman - had suddenly postponed another meeting in his office from noon to 4 o'clock, and then delayed starting it because Tara de Mel had not arrived. This was not surprising since noon had been originally fixed because Tara said she had other meetings in the afternoons.

The result was that I was late to the NEC, which was as well since they were interviewing Dharmasiri Pieris, former Secretary to the Ministry, when I got there. When I was finally called in, it was to find only two members present, namely the Chairman Prof R. P. Gunawardene, another former Secretary to the Ministry, and Prof Swarna Jayaweera, who has been a leading figure in education for several decades. She is also I believe currently a member of the Council of the National Institute of Education.

The two Professors were charming, intelligent, perceptive, and clearly aware that there was a terrific problem in education at present. They could not however respond clearly to my question why they had waited for a year without taking any action, though signs of what now seems terminal decline, in Higher Education as well as Education, had been apparent from the beginning. The impression I got was they felt they had had to give the government a chance, but indulgence over so long a period was clearly misplaced when something as important as education is being traduced.

They also seemed to feel there was nothing they could do. That represents a serious misreading of the Act, but if they sincerely feel this I cannot understand why they do not follow the example of their fellow Commissioner, Prof Sucharith Gamalath, who resigned from the Commission in protest I believe against its lack of efficacy. But I suppose people of Prof Gamalath's calibre are rare.

Apart from with regard to their general role, I had to take the Commission to task for their failure to do anything about the absurdities now affecting English and the introduction of English medium. The training programme I ran had been stopped, but they seemed to know nothing about this even though Tara had regularly reported on English activities to the Commission and had indeed occasionally discussed with me the feedback.

After my training programme stopped, the NEC had found money to start another programme but this too has been stopped. Prof Jayaweera, who initiated it, did not seem to know why, though a few days later Dr Kariyawasam, who is now in-charge of the English medium programme at the Ministry, mentioned on television that the NEC initiative had targeted the wrong grade. How and why this happened, and why much time and money were wasted when the matter is so urgent, is obviously not something to be investigated.

With regard to materials, the two Professors told me the Education Ministry Secretary V. L. Nanayakkara had assured them that all was going well. The NEC did not seem aware that Grade 6 books had been distributed only in April. Even though they are now aware they are obviously not going to be critical about this. After all Mr Nanayakkara is on the Commission and nice Sri Lankans do not criticize their colleagues unless there is a personal reason to do so.

That I could not get more Grade 7 materials out since January because the Ministry has not paid its bills for four months obviously did worry them.

Prof Gunawardena assured me that on that matter he would ensure action, even though he could do nothing about anything else. Three weeks after that assurance I am still waiting. The Treasurer of the English Association, a tough lady who nevertheless agreed to use Association Funds to pay the last bill - on the grounds that the printer could not suffer because of Ministry incompetence - may agree to advance more funds but I feel bad about persuading her. I believe she feels we should never have got involved with such institutions in the first place.

The NEC could not understand such qualms. They are from an era when the State did everything and, bless them, they were relatively competent in their day. But the running down of the system has led to an appalling hollowness now, and the radical measures needed to correct this are inconceivable to these idealists of the past.

www.crescat.com

News | Business | Features | Editorial | Security
Politics | World | Letters | Sports | Obituaries |

Produced by Lake House
Copyright 2001 The Associated Newspapers of Ceylon Ltd.
Comments and suggestions to :Web Manager