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by W. M. D. Wanninayake (Continued from Sept 26.)

Bilingual option is now being made available throughout the country unlike what was planned with the amity project which was to concentrate on Colombo and Kandy.

If it were the primary objective to bring together in the school system the children who were speaking two different languages it could have never been achieved without new schools which she failed to establish.

At that time or even now most existing schools do not have both the language streams. TDM appears to have forgotten the fact that consequent upon firstly the introduction of the 'Swabhasha Only' policy in late fifties (which reversed the Central Colleges scheme initiated by late Dr. Kannangara which at that time offered English as a medium of instruction from Grade 6 onwards - other than the schools managed by different religious denominations) and secondly the nationalisation of schools, the hardest ever blow to English education in the schools, English medium instruction was bled to death in schools and the schools were confined to one medium of instruction EITHER Sinhala OR Tamil.

Only a few schools perhaps not less than ten in number by the year 2000 had both these streams under one roof.

How on earth could TDM, as the Secretary of MOE then, have envisaged bringing students of different languages together by offering the option of learning a few subjects in English from Grade 6 onwards only she will be able to reply? Neither did she take action to amend the 1962 regulations still in force requiring admission of students to schools giving priority to observing the percentages of intake - ethnic and religious - prevailed at the time of school take-over.

Was it in fact an attempt to surreptitiously to act contrary to the above regulation succumbing to the pressure of or to placate various groups just to get the political support at the election that was forthcoming? Keeping the objectives of amity apart, Bilingual Option is currently supported as a new initiative because the MOE recognises as stated above, that the acquisition of English language skills by the schoolchildren must be a national priority in education and in the economic and social reconstruction process.

The English language skills together with ICT skills now being arranged to be purveyed at school level has the potential to transform the school education which is a kind of a blind alley at present, to be one with immense opportunities lying ahead.

Whilst the right of H.E. to look into any matter is not disputed, it should be seen as yet another attempt by some of those who were displaced as project managers and directors and also the pseudo consultants, who have appeared in Colombo after the donors announcing large packages of aid to exploit to their advantage the differences between the President and the Government. To all of them, it must be stated that they could rest assured that the promotion of English education shall be continued by the present Government and will be consolidated and further expanded.

The best that TDM could do is not to assume and or lament giving the impression that she is the only one who could look after the education in this country.

It must be reiterated that the lack of professionalism displayed in the policy initiation, formulation and the structuring of the implementation did cause much damage constraining the reformulation of the new initiative of the bilingual option.

There are lot of people who think they could dispense and envision in abstraction remedies for the ills of education but substantially incompetent in terms of delivery. In the above-mentioned NPI - 2001 (under TDM's direction) expects "introduction of English Medium instruction to all grades beginning 2002" which is a near impossibility even today. Abstractions that TDM had resorted to without knowing the ground realities.

Therefore, our position is that an ounce of action is better than tons of abstraction and that one should not try to play with the future of children just get mileage in publicity and political advantage.

(Concluded)

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