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| Tuesday, 2 September 2003 |
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Letters | |
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The status of education in Sri Lanka I was moved to write about the status of education in this country from some of the recent news. It appears that our country is willing to spend more on prisons to hold people who the system has failed to educate, than it is on education to avoid such life long consequences. Its an accepted fact that all taxpayer rupees spent on education are well repaid by those with more education paying more taxes over their life time. So, even the arguments by people without children that they shouldn't pay for education are false. Education helps every one in society directly and indirectly. What disturbs me about the educational system in Sri Lanka today is that too many things are rushed into the available time slot that average student cannot internalize what is going on. To cover up, children are forced to attend tuition unless the already busy parents can provide some guidance at home. Very little preparation is seen on the part of the teachers although most teachers have the evening time for preparation. Its time that we applied what we know about teaching technology, and not only the technology of using computers. Surely educational research has developed better ways to educate and inspire children today than we had twenty or thirty years ago. That's the most important thing. Our education system serves a function as simply a holding pen for children. Its higher function should be to inspire them to a life long love of learning. The information they learn may be out of date as soon as they graduate. But we could teach basic skills like how to learn, how to read more efficiently, and how to memorize necessary facts, how to socialize with people. What about how to judge the arguments of politicians? These are life long skills that could benefit us all. M. IMTHIAZ, Dehiwela There is a need for very strict pesticide control in Sri Lanka. It is well-known that much of the locally grown vegetables that people eat today as part of their daily meal are contaminated with pesticides. Consumption of pestilential vegetables and grain including chemically treated fruit can cause a build up of toxic matter in the body which according to popular belief is one of the major underlying triggering factors for the surprisingly high incidence of several life-threatening illnesses such as cancer and serious kidney diseases today. Added to this factories and heavy industry continue to pollute our rivers and streams with toxic waste. People are bitter about the inaction of the public health authorities for their failure to provide adequate safeguards for the protection of the health of the consumer. Indeed, there is clear culpability on the part of the national health system for their negligence. NANDARATNA RAJAPAKSHA, Ambalangoda The latest economic indicators released by the Central Bank certainly is promising. Low inflation, lower interest rates, stability in exchange rates, improved trade balance and global recovery are sweet words in the ears of a nation engulfed by ethnic strike for well over two decades. But to take advantage of this promising indicators it's the people of this country who have to perform, produce and bring prosperity to everyone. As I see whatever the economists may say we just cannot lose sight of clear negative signals that are hovering around us. Most notable among them are the lightning work stoppages by critical utility sectors such as Health, Transport and Education. These work stoppages have become so common that there's not a single day that these three sectors are not in agitation. The biggest casualty of this unfortunate episode is the innocent workers and students who depend heavily on these critical sectors. Given this background can we expect economic miracles which politicians speak of often. It is so tragic that the non-academic staff of the universities decided to go on strike in the midst of university examinations throwing the cream of our youth (including future doctors) into deep frustration. Existence of justifiable grievances which need quick solutions is common not only to these sectors but also to others who are not so much in the limelight. Employees of these sectors perform their duties under very trying conditions and their remuneration adjustments are often not attended due to lethargy and inefficiency in the system. But what's wrong in the manner work is stopped, without fighting the cause through acceptable norms of negotiation. Before the strike weapon is used there are various steps these trade unions could resort to. On the other hand officials as the employers too have failed to resolve the issues successfully ultimately leaving the issues to politicians who are often does not come with workable solutions. Quite often when the grievances of one sector is resolved the following day another bigger issue develops with much inconvenience to every citizen. It's time that the Government adopts some measures to prevent strikes by implementing the remedial measures speedily and engaging experts to handle negotiations similar to what's being practised by the private sector. In the case of industrial disputes the negotiation process backed up by the legal issues are handled in great detail by the body called the Employers Federation. This unit consists of professionals with competencies in Law, Industrial Relations, negotiation etc. This apart they keep in close contact with trade unions which makes the process much easier. The issues/grievances/complaints of all the utility public sector organisations revolve around remuneration issues, if a special unit is given the task of handling negotiations together with the inputs from the relevant departments/ministries certainly better result could be anticipated than leaving it in the hands of the direct employers who lack the required skills to manage such issues. More often than not Government is forced to give in more than required to curtail public inconvenience. The strikes and the consequent disruptions are often created by mistrust and mishandling of the situations. Hence Government must treat the conflict resolution on employment issues as priority as the direct and indirect effect of the work stoppages is a tremendous blow to the economic well-being. Whether it's foreign or local investors they have to depend on a healthy workforce who can report to work places with dignity to perform their employment obligations. This cannot be achieved amidst continuing work stoppages hampering economic activities. SUNIL KARUNANAYAKE, via e-mail. Almost everyday we read and hear from the print and electronic media that innocent lives are being grabbed by road accidents. Considering all the facts and figures of the road deaths occurred in the recent past, one could estimate the intensity of this pathetic situation to which an immediate attention is needed. Much has been written and spoken about the road accidents and related deaths. Yet no permanent remedial action has been taken to combat this menace. A. Demerit Point System (DPS) has already been introduced in 1981 amendments of the Motor Traffic Act. Unfortunately it is not yet being implemented. This DPS too is not an immediate solution today, as it will take a longer period to achieve the expected result. Authorities concerned should look into this matter seriously and enforce remedial action to curb these road deaths, in view of the safety and protection of the human lives. The existing punishments and fines are not effective enough today, to prevent these accidents. hence I would like to suggest the following to be legislated and enforced, which could be a better solution to this conspicuous national problem. (i) If a driver is found guilty of killing a person in an accident committed by him/her. (a) His/her driving licence should be cancelled, and (b) He/she should be debarred from obtaining a fresh licence and (c) Impose a fine of Rs. 100,000 or a suitable period of imprisonment. (ii) If a driver caught under the influence of liquor (a) Driving licence should be suspended for a considerable period of time and (b) Impose a fine of Rs. 25,000 or a suitable period of imprisonment. K. AMARASIRI SILVA, Panadura |
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