A commendable step
The increase in the allocations for health and
education in the present Budget is a positive development
considering the importance of these sectors to the general well
being of the country.
Opening the Budget debate for the Government in Parliament MP
Basil Rajapaksa responding to an Opposition member who
complained at the steep rise in the Defence expenditure noted
that the Education and Health Budgets too had been increased by
29.3 per cent and 23.4 per cent respectively.
The MP also said that the rise in the Defence Budget should
be viewed in the context of the achievements of the Forces
during the past two years. A rose in the Defence Budget is
inevitable given the importance of protecting the country’s
sovereignty.
That additional provisions are made for education is
indicative of the Government’s intention to raise the standards
of education in the country with a view to producing a
generation of educated citizens who could hold their own in any
environment.
A country is usually judged on the education levels of its
populace and the Government has no doubt taken this view to
heart in giving pride of place to education in its Budget.
It should now lose no time in mapping out a blueprint to
raise the quality levels of our education system keeping in mind
the changing trends in the world.
Some of the methods adopted today are moribund and there is a
need to overhaul certain school curricula which do not meet with
current requirements. It is our proud boast that we are a
country with the second highest literacy rate in Asia.
However, this is only “literarily speaking” while in the area
of skills development we are far behind other developing
countries. Our education set up still has no relevance to the
demands in the job market.
We are only producing graduates in their numbers who can
hardly fit into the present environment. There is an urgent need
to catch up with developing trends and accent laid on IT skills,
the key that would open the avenues to new frontiers of
knowledge.
True, it is difficult to change the status quo lock, stock
and barrel. Besides, there are bound to be resistance to
wholesale change in certain quarters who would want our
traditional systems retained.
Above all the Government should take the necessary steps to
improve the quality of our teachers and strive to remove
imbalances in opportunities for education by bringing all rural
schools on par with their city counterparts.
Granting extra allocations for education would be in vain if
students are compelled to seek the assistance of private tuition
negating the concept of the country’s free education.
Every endeavour should be made to remove the disparities in
the in the education sector that set some segments apart from
others. Grievances of the teaching profession too should be
looked into.
The Government should also address the downfall of University
education which has today become a slur on the entire
educational edifice of the country.
Today Universities have become hot beds of student activists
pursuing their political agendas. The Government should take
steps to remove the bad reputation earned by these institutes of
higher learning among the public which has left many talented
students shun University education.
The raising of financial allocation to the Health Sector in
Budget 2008 should also viewed in the backdrop of the
Government’s avowed policy of upgrading rural hospitals and the
accent laid on the preventive health.
While these are commendable moves that Government should also
do something about the steep rise in the prices of essential
drugs. A scheme should be devised to make it possible for
certain deserving elements such as widows or aged pensioners and
those in the low income categories to purchase drugs at
concessionary prices.
Meanwhile it should drilled into Government doctors that
their primary duty lies in the treatment of patients at
Government Hospitals rather than engage in private practice. No
amount of extra financial allocations would be of use if
patients do not receive proper care by Government doctors.
Also some of our hospitals, particularly in the rural areas,
are in need of refurbishing while some others lack even the
basic facilities. The new allocations it is hoped would be
utilised towards addressing these issues. |