There is no doubt that most of the recommendations of the National Education Commission should be implemented. That does not mean that every recommendation should be implemented without any public discussion or Parliamentary debate.
In the recent past there were instances of students entering the University with 100 marks less out of an aggregate of 400 marks in the G.C.E. A/L examination, whereas the student who obtained 100 marks more was deprived of entering the same faculty. This is because of the accepted vast difference in the educational resources available in various districts.
Often there are instances where there is a big difference between the results of two similar subjects such as Pure Mathematics and Applied Mathematics. For example, the number of "A" passes in Pure Mathematics is in the range of about 200 and the number of "A" passes in Applied Mathematics is around 800 or more.
Another discrepancy that has not been corrected so far is that in a particular subject there is a vast difference between the results given in two consecutive years. For example in one year the number of "A" passes in Accounts is in the range of 100 whereas in the following year it could be about 1000 "A" passes. Therefore two students with a similar knowledge of a subject could have different gradings in their certificates.
These differences are there, not because there is any sudden change or variation in the teaching/learning process but could be because the controlling Chief Examiner of a subject has changed, or the pattern of the question paper has changed. To my knowledge these could only be corrected by spending enormous amounts of money on research and by having permanent Boards of Examiners.
In Sri Lanka the G.C.E. A/L examination is considered to be the biggest hurdle in education and students sacrifice their leisure and everything possible to enter the University. Because of the district basis system of admission to the Universities, students' entry for Medicine, Engineering and Business Administration from the Colombo district should get an aggregate between 280 to 300 marks which is almost four "A" passes. There is a similar competition in some of the other districts. Even if a student sat for three subjects the question papers and the marking schemes of the three subjects of every student should be of the same standard. Considering the present competitive nature of the G.C.E. A/L examination, at least the students who are trying to enter for Medicine, Engineering and Business Administration faculties should be given common subjects. For example for Medicine the subjects could be Physics, Chemistry and Biology, and for Engineering - Physics, Chemistry and Mathematics. I hope the authorities will consider the public opinion voiced during the past few weeks and take an early decision without allowing the innocent students to be guinea pigs of an educational change that has been brought about without considering the opinion of the vast majority of the University Lecturers, Principals of Schools, Teachers and Parents.
The burning question of the hour is shall I convert my petrol consuming engine to LP. Gas and save 50 per cent of the fuel costs. This saving will be just enough to cut down on the daily escalating prices of food stuffs, particularly chicken, eggs and fish of which the Govt. is doing sweet nothing.
I am scared of this fuel conversion only because in the corner of an airconditioned room, there is a Professional looking gentleman, biting his finger nails and thinking, whether he could impose a Rs. 25,000 surcharge on all gas converted vehicles be it car or scooter.
Long life to him because he will be doing this to help win the war.
Representations continue to be made to the authorities and included are the TULF to the President, on the plight of the workers who have been affected by the forced closure of the Valaichchenai Paper Mill. According to the press notice, the TULF itself has not only made representations but has also pointed out the difficulties the Government has in increasing the prices of imported paper and boards or what should be done with the local paper mill.
The National Paper Company had never been an industry as such. It was opened somewhere in the 50's. It was the late Dr. N. M. Perera, who requested the late K. C. Thangarajah to take over and run the mill, which he did with remarkable progress but slowly and slowly it slid into an unprofitable venture and was added with more manpower than required.
Even though he brought it to some measure of improvement, he could not make it a viable concern. Thus, the surest way to keep it going Mr. Thangarajah thought was to have the monopoly for the import of newsprint and sell to the publishers and other printers and industrialists at an enormous price. The National Paper Corporation which was supposed to have been an industry thus became the sole importer of all kinds of paper and boards including newsprint.
I am not making a case for the closure of the National Paper Company but facts have to be faced. For a number of years, the National Paper Company had been supplying paper and boards only to the Government Printer and not so much to the public.
Another sphere to which the Government should turn its attention is the duty and taxes on newsprint paper, which, according to the P.A. Government's Manifesto, Para 1 of Page 49 promised to drastically reduce the duty and tax. Nothing seems to have been done about this.
The Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC), the statutory body for Medicine in this country, has made it compulsory for all Foreign Qualified Medical Graduates to sit an examination before being granted Internship in Sri Lanka. This decision was hailed by all segments of the medical profession as it was a well known fact that some Foreign Qualified Medical Graduates knowledge and skills were questionable.
Even though this decision was taken only in April 1997, the statutory clause that all Foreign Qualified MedicalGraduates had to be evaluated before being granted Internship was there in the Medical Ordinance (Section 30 & 32 of the Medical Ordinance as amended). The fact that such medical graduates were being granted Internship till then without being evaluated was a transgression of the Law. When the SLMC realised this anomaly, the Council took quick action to put matters straight, and began to evaluate all Foreign Qualified Medical Graduates before Internship. This move was supported by the Attorney General's Department.
It is well known that only students who do not qualify to enter Medical Faculties in Sri Lanka, go abroad for their studies. In the past there were several scholarships that were offered to students who excelled at the Advance Level examination. But these Scholarship schemes ceased in 1994, and thereafter no medical student has gone abroad on government sponsored scholarships. Now almost the entirety of the Foreign Medical Granduates are fee-paying students.
Some Foreign Qualified Medical Graduates undoubtedly have an excellent knowledge of medicine and medical skills. They will no doubt be an asset to the Health Service in this country. But unfortunately amongst them there are a minority who have gained the title Doctor, even though their knowledge of the subject is minimal. Many of them have gone abroad to study Medicine only with a minimal O/L pass. Some of them have passed out as Doctors even without sitting a single examination. Allowing such ''Doctors'' to handle patients is certainly a crime. Hence the medical establishment had to come up with a solution to weed out the ''good from the bad''.
Many students who have sat for this evaluation have passed it with flying colours. Only the basic medical skills are being evaluated, and a person with a fair knowledge of the subject could easily get through this examination. The recent uproar, by some Foreign Medical Graduates, specially by some parents is therefore unfounded. The fear of having to sit such an examination may even indicate as to what category of Foreign Medical Graduate their siblings belong to.
Hence we urge the SLMC to continue with this examination and not let the lives of the poor outstation patients be in danger.
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