The government that came into power in 1977 started doling out far too many perquisites such as duty free luxury vehicles at concessionary rate, increased allowances and additional personal staff to Parliamentarians who were mostly from the ruling party with its 5/6 th majority. This was followed by extending such privileges to another set- the Provincial Councillors who had no specific work other than duplicating some from the central government. Already the number in Parliament was out of proportion to our small country compared to those in the region.
All this was done with the selfish motive of remaining in power with forced loyalty from party members. The architect of the Executive Presidential System will go down in Sri Lankan history as the individual who with unlimited powers bestowed upon himself had the opportunity of changing the destiny of this country for the better, but did just the opposite.
The increased perks made politics the most lucrative business attracting unscrupulous and greedy leaders of the underworld. For them winning a seat in Parliament, Provincial Council or even a local body was the opening for making money and wielding power. So they would resort to any form of lowdown tactics far from democratic ways, using thugs hoodlums and even hired killers to intimidate and eliminate their opponents. Once in power they could control the law enforcement officers, interfere with tender procedures etc.
This state of affairs continued with the two subsequent Executive Presidents from the same party and even with the change of government 21/2 years back the system prevails with the 'gun culture' thriving.
Before abolishing the Executive Presidency, with her unlimited powers it is upto the present President to prune the perquisites of the so called peoples' representatives. While maintaining the substantial emoluments paid at present, if the pension after 5 years is withdrawn, duty free vehicles not given and unlimited use of telephone and postal facilities etc. are stopped, then only the honest, respectable person with service to the nation and the motherland at heart will remain in politics. Crooks and gangsters will shun and withdraw.
Then violence will be a thing of the past. The supreme sacrifice paid by the bright young politician Nalanda Ellawala will not totally be in vain. If this is done the country will soon be out of the woods and history is sure to record the present President as the greatest leader of our time.
Every party that forms the government speaks about new educational reforms and changes in the educational system. But as the years go by students have to face the same type of examinations where the emphasis is on cramming of class room notes and their reproduction at competitive examinations. It is only students who could do this who are assured of high cut off points and aggregate marks. And this determines the so-called cream of our students who are fit enough for medicine, engineering and administration.
It is not surprising that private tuition has become absolutely necessary in such an environment. Almost all parents give their children tuition to enable them to obtain the best results in their O/Level and A/Level examinations, and that's what counts. But do they really understand what education is all about? Experts have defined education in various ways, but I really think what we should be concerned in a developing country such as Sri Lanka is to concentrate on the development aspects of education. How could our present students improve our country and society in the future?
In order to do this all our students should be trained to be thinkers and not mere parrots. Secondary and tertiary education should be a springboard for acquiring knowledge in new fields and subjects other than what they are taught in schools and perhaps a few of them might even contribute to establishing new knowledge in their fields. How many of our Lankan students in schools and universities could do this?
Various countries have adapted different methods of improving their educational systems, but in Sri Lanka the problem has become even more difficult with the introduction of a multi-language vernacular system. In the modern world access to new knowledge is almost impossible without an ability to comprehend, converse and express ideas in the English language.
What we have in Sri Lanka today is an old-colonial type of education given a vernacular flavour. My objective is to isolate this problem. It is the duty of the government and the educationists to implement the necessary changes to the system as soon as possible.
Nowadays we see in the Colombo metropolitan area a lot of road maintenance work carried out by the Road Development Authority. What I want to stress here is about the greenery of the Colombo city. There should be a responsible institution to regulate and monitor the flora in the Colombo Municipality area. Now we see many a well paved road, but we are compelled to walk under a scorching sun. Why do the authorities pay scant care to planting trees? Road construction and the planting of trees should go together.
I am alarmed at the recent significant increase in telecommunication charges. I think that this increase is in contradiction of policy statements made by the authorities recently.
The government can-not permit such an alarming increase in telecommunication charges and yet claim that it is serious about developing our country.
Telecommunications constitute a major component of today's business activities. When operational charges of communication equipment such as telephones, fax machines and computer modems are so prohibitive, could our country's business flourish?
How does a business comprehend a statement such as "the private sector will be the engine of economic growth"?
In other countries when competitors enter the telecom business the rates go down and the consumers benefit. In our country apparently this is not the case.
Are the relevant authorities aware that a neighbouring Asian country permits free telephone calls within its territory?
In neighbouring countries such as Singapore and Hong-Kong businesses have the option of using video conferencing facilities which permit two parties to communicate effectively while far apart, thus reducing the frequency of business travel and cost.
The availability and prompt delivery of high-speed data communication lines is mandatory for the growth of the Information Technology industry.
Information Technology is going to govern the way we conduct business world wide in the near future.
If we are not ready and equipped with the infrastructure requirements, we will sadly continue to remain in the "developing countries" list.
It is surprising that after Kandy's electricity service was taken over by the CEB the street lights in some areas in Kandy, specially in the by-ways, have been out of order for a long time.
For instance some public street lights on the by-road to Bowala (opposite Kings-wood College) have been out of order for almost an year and public complaints to the CEB authorities in Kandy have fallen on deaf ears.
This by-road is used by a large number of people throughout the night and today using this road has become a nightmare to the residents here. Even after several complaints were made to the Kandy CEB authorities by the public here about this urgent matter, no action has been taken to put these street lights in working order for the last several months.
It is high time the CEB Chairman took early action to provide a better service to Kandy's public who have been used to a better electricity service earlier.
Recently I happened to see some advertisements in a Sunday paper inviting applications for the Post of Instructor Grade II and Grade III at South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, Addalaichenai. I was astounded to read the basic requirements categorized for the above posts.
In the interest of the students of the universities of this country I would like to raise some questions.
(1) According to the basic requirements mentioned both a graduate with English as a subject and an English Medium Graduate are eligible to apply for the Post of Instructor Grade II. I would like to know if the knowledge of English of an English Medium Graduate is equal to that of a graduate who has a special degree with English Language as a subject.
(2) It is clear that an English Medium Graduate is entitled to apply for Grade II whereas a First Class Trained Teacher in English or a Special Trained Teacher in English is eligible to apply only for Grade III. It is an important fact to note that the English Medium graduates are supposed to have neither experience nor approved qualification in Teaching of English as a Second Language (TESL). What I would like to ask is whether the knowledge of English of an English Medium Graduate is greater than that of a First Class/Special Trained Teacher in English.
In my view, the phrase English Medium Graduates should refer to a person who has got his entire education from primary classes to university level in English Medium.
This appeal is addressed to the immediate attention of the authority, Vice Chancellor, SEUSL and to the UGC to effect necessary changes in the format particularly the qualifications of candidates.
More letters to the editor* Pensioners to the fore * Broken promises broken again * Closures will be more harmful * Are they professional managers? * Keep politics out of Eid * Where is Premadasa Stadium?
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