Back to school
During a recent visit to Germany to study migration trends and the prospects for skilled and professionalSri Lankans to work there, the first stop was at the Department of Civic Education where Frank Burgdorfer, an independent expert, briefed our group of journalists from India, Sri Lanka, Bangladesh and Nepal on demography, the skilled labour shortage and the economic transformation.
He spoke at length about migration trends in Germany starting with Polish migrants who came there many decades back, saying that without sufficient migrant workers, Germany’s economy would be unstable.
This discourse on civics and the rights and responsibilities of citizens got me thinking. Shouldn’t there be a similar department of civic education in Sri Lanka where people are informed about rights and responsibilities or was this something that we were told and advised while at school, and conveniently forgotten as adults?
In terms of the rights and obligations of a citizen, some school texts say that most if not all societies recognise a need to educate youth to be “civic-minded”; that is, to think and care about the welfare of the community and not simply about their own individual well-being.
With the development of a country also comes a disciplined society as seen in many other established economies where discipline is a sine qua non to graduate from a lower or middle income country to a developed nation.
Are Sri Lankans civic minded? Do they think only about themselves other than others in behaving in public spaces? Recently I witnessed an ambulance caught at the traffic lights and I felt ashamed realising that other drivers simply refused to clear a path for the ambulance to proceed. The ambulance may have been taking a seriously ill patient and could be someone’s mother, father, brother or sister but still our drivers refused to give way and were insensitive. It was a matter of life and death. Are we disciplined enough to progress to a developed country status if we behave this way? The other problem is that when an ambulance snakes through traffic with sirens sounding, there would be one or two other vehicles which blatantly follow the ambulance, ignoring road rules as they speed along. Utter selfishness. Furthermore bus drivers are killers on the roads.
Are we a civilized society? Do we need to go back to school to learn to become civic-minded citizens? Singapore is a classic example of bad behaviour not tolerated by the state. There are ‘eyes’ (cameras) all over the city and for example spitting on the streets or littering the street are punishable offences. Recently a group of Vietnamese tourists visiting Singapore were so afraid of littering the streets that they pocketed all their rubbish.
Do we stand in orderly queues at banks and wait patiently to be served or is there a practice of breaking the queue? The same applies at bus stations and railway stations. In Japan, passengers wait patiently in two lines with space in the middle for people to get out of the train and only after they disembark that the others get into the train. This might be difficult to handle in the Sri Lankan context as trains are crowded and it’s a ‘survival of the fittest’ game that is played all along. But this kind of decent behaviour needs to be ingrained into Sri Lankan society by the time the country progresses –maybe several decades from now – to a developed nation status.
With the advent of a new set of politicians with a clean record and prospects of clean government, this may be the best time that the new political apparatus led by President Anura Kumara Dissanayake creates the space to ensure a disciplined society. Make people behave in a civilised and inclusive approach towards each other. Train them how to walk on the streets in an orderly manner, and drive properly on the roads with due concern for other pedestrians and motorists.
As pedestrians do we walk on pavements or on the roads? This is easier said than done as most rural roads don’t have pavements and pedestrians are forced to walk in the roads with prospects of an accident happening all the time. It is nice to walk on pavements in western countries where, in the case of Germany, there are paths for everyone – pavements for pedestrians, cycle paths for cyclists (a popular mode of transport particularly in the Netherlands, Germany and other European states) and roads for motorists. Everyone follows the rules, diligently.
As we progress as a nation and pursue that elusive goal of developed country status, our behaviour should be on par with Singapore, Japan or the European states.
Sri Lankan corporates practice Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) which is a buzzword in the corporate world to prove that they are good citizens and, for example, avoid polluting the environment. Whether it’s planting new trees, helping in building infrastructure in schools or organising health camps, the business community likes to crow about being socially conscious and responsible citizens. But what about behavioural patterns – not littering or spitting on streets; caring about others on the road; as drivers making sure everyone has a right to be using the road instead of being selfish and so on…? Behaving as a good citizen is also something companies should practice as a CSR project.
We claim to have rights and freedom of expressions but what about responsibilities and civic-minded behaviour? With rights comes responsibilities which are taught in schools but tend to forget, conveniently, when we become adults.
So why this lesson today on being a civic minded citizen and what does it have to do with business or the economy? A lot … because the transformation to a developed economy comes with a lot of responsibilities and good behaviour.
Glancing through the civics textbook for grade 6 students in Sri Lanka, this is what I learnt:
“The school performs an immense service in moulding students into good citizens possessing intelligence, quality and merit. The school is an institution that contributes not only to the development of the individual but also to the development of society.”
“Students are expected to respect the principal and the staff, co-operate and maintain cordial relations with other students of the school, behave and safeguard the dignity of the school, safeguard the resources of school.”
“Singing the school anthem in a manner to show pride and respect (this should apply when singing the national anthem too) and at all times stand to attention. To be a good friend among friends and to win the hearts of your family members as a virtuous individual, you should practise polite language. Language should be used to suit the individual and place.”
“Respecting traditions, rules and regulation. Use resources economically. How to protect the environment as good citizens, for example proper disposal of garbage.”
So winding up this unusual column piece this week, I completely forgot about the trio not realising that they hadn’t assembled under the margosa tree for the weekly gossip on Thursday morning. As we head to the hustings of the November 14 election, all the politicians contesting claim to be honest, disciplined and fair. Are they?
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