ABSTRACT

Universities are increasingly called upon to contribute to the development needs of a country but the nature of the contribution can vary with the mission or the resource base of the institution. University systems in most countries, by design or otherwise, consist of a diverse range of institutions. An assessment of the contribution of a university requires some means of telling apples from the oranges.

To our knowledge, the 2005 Carnegie system of classification used in the US is the most comprehensive typology available. Typology has to fit the purpose. Reflecting this reality, the newest Carnegie classification is designed as a user-driven one, but it offers a basic classification scheme where universities are distinguished as Doctoral, Masters, Bachelors or Associates institutions depending on the distribution of degrees conferred. This simple classification has the advantage that it gives some information at a glance to a prospective student or policymaker.  In contrast, university systems in other countries have nomenclature that has more to do with history that any objective criteria.

In our study, we applied the basic Carnegie classification to university systems in several countries to test the classification’s validity in other contexts. In the case of South Africa (SA), our preliminary work shows that there is some correlation between the ‘Traditional Universities’ according the SA Council of higher Education (CHE) and  the set of universities we labeled as Doctoral according to Carnegie classification. Further there is some correlation between ‘Universities of Technology’ according ot CHE and Masters and Associates categories according to the Carnegie.   The category identified as “Comprehensive Universities” by the CHE was harder to place.

More interestingly, the distribution of Doctoral to other institutions in SA is the reverse of the distribution found in the USA. For example, in USA there are about 10 bachelor or Associate level institutions for every doctoral institution; In SA the reverse is true. Is this something that is desirable for SA or should policymakers consider a reversal? What is the cost differential in producing an undergraduate at a doctoral university in SA as opposed to a university focused on Bachelors education? The Carnegie classification may not work wholesale for South Africa, but, it can provide a framework for discussion and debate.

(See www.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-07-27-cellphoneschool_N.htm?csp=34)

While schools have long been wary of students using smart phones in classrooms, arguing the device can distract and facilitate cheating, some districts are using the technology as a learning tool. St. Mary’s, Ohio, for example, launched a pilot program that loans elementary students PDAs to draw pictures, use flashcard software for spelling and math, write essays, and perform various other tasks using specialized, educational applications. The idea is to leverage the strengths of these devices while also teaching students responsible use of a technology platform that is here to stay.

Modern mysteries of education

By Dr Harsha Aturupane, Senior Economist, Human Development Unit, South Asia Region, World Bank

http://www.sundaytimes.lk/090322/FinancialTimes/ft308.html

Prof. J.E. Jayasuriya, in whose honour and memory we are meeting today, was a man of outstanding gifts of intellect and character. He laid the foundation of the academic education profession in Sri Lanka.

As a university don, he had a lasting impact on his colleagues and students. He also made wide-ranging contributions to the formulation of education policy in the country during his tenure as the Chairman of the first National Education Commission, through his publications, and through his influence on generations of students, some of whom became the academics, researchers and policy makers of the succeeding generations.

It is in the nature of time that a generation arises who knows of a giant of the past, not through personal acquaintance, but only through the prism of his publications, and the writings and the verbal lore of his colleagues and students. I represent one of the members of that generation, for I have the misfortune of not having met or known Prof. Jayasuriya. However, I have the good fortune to have read some of his publications, especially the fascinating explorations into the past contained in “ Education Policies and Progress during British Rule in Ceylon “ and in “ Education in Ceylon: Before and After Independence. “ And, of course, I have seen the high esteem in which his former pupils hold him as an academic and as an individual.

In this lecture, I would like to select one of the most impressive aspects of his many contributions: the forward-looking nature of his thinking on education policy. In that context, let me pose the question: what are the main constraints to the development of Sri Lanka’s education system, in the first decade of the twenty-first century ? And let me proceed to answer this question in terms of some stories which appear to be cardinal characteristics of our society and of our times.

Pessimistic Public

A great myth of our time and society is that the quality of education in Sri Lanka has fallen. This myth is paraded in the newspapers, on radio and TV, in the speeches of influential individuals and opinion makers, and in popular conversation. The myth, in fact, is not supported by evidence. Every indicator of education access, and nearly all the indicators of education quality, show positive progress over time. Enrolment rates have increased, survival and completion rates in basic and secondary education have risen, learning outcomes are improving, and a higher proportion of students are pursuing senior secondary and higher education. University graduates are more skilled and technically competent than the graduates of earlier generations, and in a wider and expanding range of subjects.

Education also continues to generate strong economic and social benefits. Men and women enjoy high returns to their investments in human capital. Education promotes social mobility, both within the work-cycles of individuals, and across and over the generations. Gender empowerment and development are facilitated by education. The health of families and of children are improved by the education attainments of their parents, especially their mothers. Households with educated workers are substantially less likely to be poor than households with uneducated workers. And all these economic and social benefits of education can be demonstrated, and indeed have been demonstrated, through scientific studies.

The myth of declining education, it appears, is generated by several factors. First, there are unreasonably romantic views of the scope and potential of education. If only, according to this romantic view, people are properly educated, they would be virtuous and good. A further fallacy contained within this romantic view is a reference to one or two admired individuals of the past, juxtaposed against the behaviour of the average, or even less-than-average, person of the present. “There were moral giants in those days”, says this romantic fallacy, “and today we have only moral pygmies.”

This romantic position, unfortunately, is simply not true. Education can and does make people more cultured, more competent and more skilled. But education does not, as a whole and on the average, make people more virtuous. Schools and universities cannot play the role of the temple, the kovil, the mosque and the church. And one could plausibly argue that even the temple, the kovil, the mosque, and the church, appear to have a limited impact on the fundamental moral and ethical nature of human beings.

The comparison of a few moral giants of the past, with the average or even less-than-average person of the present, is incorrect. In every age and generation there are a few exceptionally great and good men and women. But comparing the peak of past generations with the average of our times is a logical fallacy. Either we need to compare the peak of past generations with the peak of our time, or we need to compare the average of past generations with the average of our time, or we need to compare the less-than-average of past generations with the less-than-average of our time. And on any of these comparisons, there is parity between our time and the past.

A second factor that contributes to the idea of a decline in the quality and standards of education is purely the herd instinct. It has become normal, in the newspapers, on radio and TV, in the speeches of influential individuals and opinion makers, and in popular conversation, to state that the quality of education has fallen. It is what everyone seems to be saying, and hence it is what everyone says! But of course, like most ideas generated and propagated through the herd instinct, it is simply not true.
A third factor, and the only piece of empirical evidence advanced to support the notion that education quality has declined, is the widespread and growing prevalence of tuition. Ironically, though, tuition is actually the result of an education system which has improved faster than the country’s economy.

More and more individuals are being educated. But the higher education and economic opportunities available for these educated individuals are not expanding that rapidly. Hence, an increasing number of individuals are competing for a limited number of opportunities. And tuition becomes an additional resource in the competition for the limited higher education and economic opportunities. A fourth factor which contributes to the idea of a fall in the quality of education is that there has, in fact, been a decline in the relative position of the economy of the country. At the time of Independence, in 1948, Sri Lanka was one of the richest countries in Asia. Many economists at the time thought that Sri Lanka would become an economic success story and, in the due course of time, join the club of the world’s rich nations. Sadly, the country chose for many years an economic path that may have promoted a degree of equity, but sacrificed growth and performance, with the result that many nations in the developing world caught up and overtook Sri Lanka.

When a country’s relative position in the world economy declines, the interest and respect of other countries for its culture and institutions declines. We see this time after time. Intellectuals do not look at modern Greece or Rome for inspiration, in the way the world once looked at Ancient Greece and Ancient Rome. When the economy of a country declines the institutions of that country, including its education institutions, become less influential. Then, even if the quality of education is rising in absolute terms, the respect and influence accorded to the education system falls. For instance, in the heyday of the British Empire, the Universities of Oxford and Cambridge were pre-eminent in the world. Today, although these universities continue to produce great academic work, the center of intellectual gravity has largely shifted across the Atlantic to the universities of the modern superpower, the U.S.A. It is also significant that the rising economic powers of East Asia have begun to develop strategies to establish “ world-class “ universities of their own in the future.

This relative decline in the economic position of Sri Lanka has affected the perception of the country’s institutions, including her education system, in the eyes of the world. Once, when Sri Lanka was a relatively wealthy nation among the developing countries, it was possible for the University of Ceylon to be a respected and admired institution. Today, there are universities in Sri Lanka which produce scholarship equal to, and in some disciplines perhaps even better than, the University of Ceylon in the 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s. And the school system, taken as a whole and on the average, is certainly superior to the school system of the 1950’s, 1960’s and 1970’s. But the universities and schools of Sri Lanka no longer command the respect and admiration of the 1950’s and 1960’s, because the country is no longer at the forefront of even the developing nations, let alone a member of the club of developed countries.

Whatever the reasons for the perception of a declining education system, it is simply not correct. And it is important that the community of education specialists and policy makers engage with the general public to correct this delusion.

Walking Waxwork

The popular culture of the country appears to contain a curious belief in the efficacy of the state over markets to deliver economic development. This belief has several manifestations. First, it is believed that the state is a benevolent entity which works for the good of all human beings, and at all times, with the “ good “defined by each individual according to his or her own views and preferences. Second, it is believed that markets are inherently evil, perhaps due to their association with the world of commerce and business. Third, it is believed that the state has a duty to provide employment to all those who seek jobs in the public sector, particularly if they are highly educated. This seems a particularly deep-seated belief. See, for instance, the discussion about a group of Sri Lankan people in a book written over one hundred years ago.

“A little learning is a dangerous thing, and the hankering after Government employment a positive disgrace. A boy whose education has been carried beyond a certain point becomes conceited……..he prefers to lounge about the courts, taxing his family for his support, till he can get some minor Government post, the demand for which is now far in excess of the supply” [Frank Modder in Twentieth Century Impressions of Ceylon, Arnold Wright (ed.) (1907), page 297]. More than a hundred years later, the “hankering after Government employment” appears to continue with little change!

In the middle decades of the 20th century there were two rival and competing hypotheses concerning the effectiveness of states and markets in generating economic development. The hypothesis of the communists and the socialists was that their preferred economic system could generate prosperity at least comparable to the market economies, and with greater equity in the distribution of goods and services. The competing hypothesis was that the market economies could generate more prosperity due to the greater freedom and scope available for individual choice, hard work, creativity and innovation, mediated and coordinated through the “ invisible hand ‘ of incentives and information.

By the later decades of the 20th century ample evidence had accumulated that the market system was considerably superior to socialism and communism in producing prosperity and wealth. This was seen both between countries, and within countries over time. The most spectacular success stories among countries after the Second World War were initially the pro-market economies of Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan. In addition to these countries, there was the U.S.A., the economic super-power of the twentieth century, and the market economies of Western Europe. In contrast, the communist experiment in Eastern Europe and the Soviet Union could not replicate the economic success of the Asian Tigers and of Western Europe and North America.

Within countries over time, nations that had followed socialism or communism and then abandoned these policies enjoyed far greater prosperity and growth after they adopted market-oriented policies. There are many countries to serve as examples: China, India, the former communist countries of Eastern Europe and Vietnam are some of the best known. Moreover, Sri Lanka has enjoyed far greater prosperity and growth when the country practiced market-friendly policies than in the periods of socialism. The debate between market economies and socialism and communism is largely over. Socialism and Communism, as economic ideologies, belong to the museums of economic history. The socialist and communist periods in the former socialist and communist countries are preserved, like waxworks, in these museums. The very few countries left either practicing socialism or communism, or trying to implement these ideologies, are either poor and isolated, like North Korea and Cuba, or have oil wealth like Libya and Venezuela.

The economic discourse has now shifted away from the battle between the two types of economic systems. The modern discourse focuses more on the best means of maximizing the benefits of markets while also allowing the state to intervene to raise welfare and promote distributive justice. The role of the state is mainly to improve the framework of incentives and information in the economy; expand the production and supply of goods and services which are either public goods or have externality benefits, such as health, education and environmental protection; promote greater equity through re-distribution policies which have minimal negative effect on the efficient functioning of markets; and provide effective and adequate safety nets and safety ladders for the poor.

The greatest challenge before the education system is to improve the understanding of this reality among the next generation of Sri Lankans. The older adult generation, as a whole and on the average, appears to be locked in the time warp of the socialist hypothesis of the mid-twentieth century. Can the education system, through the school curriculum, and the influence of the universities on the intellectual culture of a country, bring the children and youth into the 21st century? I hope it can. If it does not, in any case the change will take place, as the younger generations of Sri Lankans are exposed to the rest of the world through travel, communications, the Internet and the global media. But it would be better for the education system to lead, accelerate and shape this process, rather than passively follow it.
The test of success, if the education system does lead and shape this process, would be the transformation of the voting population of the country to demand, not jobs in the public sector, but the creation of a sound economic environment that will produce an abundance of well-paid jobs in the private sector!

If the education system does rise to this challenge successfully, the economy of the country will benefit. If the economy benefits, and the relative position of the country in the world economy improves, the culture and institutions of the country will elicit greater international interest and respect. This, in turn, will benefit the education system. It will contribute, inter alia, to the creation of an intellectual environment in which the real and genuine achievements in the sphere of education can be properly and duly appreciated.

(These are excerpts of the J.E.Jayasuriya Memorial Lecture delivered recently by the author who says the views expressed are his and not that of the World Bank. He can be reached at Daturupane@worldbank.org).

God bless the students (Lanka-e-News, June 11, 2009, 7.20 PM; http://www.lankaenews.com/English/news.php?id=7842)

“The entire education of Sri Lanka has been politicized and collapsed. Eighty percent of the education officers are political appointees. Eight thousand of the 10,000 principals are politically chosen persons who have failed the recruitment examination. After 2005, no proper selection of principals has taken place. Although the authorities say that the 2006 gazette will be followed for the principal appointments, those who obtained 185 marks in the examination were dropped and those who obtained 115 marks were given posts. The Supreme Court ordered to cancel these wrongful appointments and to give principal posts to those who obtained over 155 marks. But it was ignored. Although 22,000 persons have been given acting principal posts, mere 1268 are qualified for the posts. The results of the 2006 competitive examination for recruiting principals are still not released.

“This is the pathetic situation of the education now.

“Education sector has become a house for elders. The age of the Secretary of the Education Ministry is 61 years. The Additional Secretary – Education Development is 63 years. The age of the Director General of National Institute of Education is 65. Can education be developed with these officials who have surpassed the retiring age?” These issues were raised by the UNP Monaragala district MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara who is also the Chairman of the National Education Workers’ Union.

Addressing a press meeting held in the office of the Opposition Leader, the MP pointed to the fact that 199 of the 200 Grade-1 Education Officers are political appointees and asked how these under qualified persons manage the education of the country.

Further showing the pathetic situation of the education under the present government, MP Ranjith Madduma Bandara said that 2900 persons are withdrawing salaries without rendering any service related to their positions. Although the number of Grade-2 Education Officer positions in the Education Department is 1783, with the political appointments 3000 persons are in the cadre. Most of them have no any qualification sans political alignments to bear the positions.

All Provincial Education Directors have been appointed considering their political links than the educational qualifications. An ordinary trained teacher is appointed as the Provincial Education Director of the North Central Province and there are 28 others in the administration who are senior to him, explained MP Madduma Bandara.

The MP said that the project to provide a nutritious meal to the students has also terminated since the suppliers have not been paid. The education must be relieved from politics, said MP Madduma Bandara.

Sri Lanka allocates mere 2.6% for education whilst Cuba allocates 18%, Malaysia 8.1% Bhuthan 5.2% and India 4.1% for education. He appealed the government to increase the allocations for the education since the war is over now.

]]> http://www.educationforum.lk/2009/06/unp-on-pathetic-state-of-education-finally/feed/ 1 http://www.educationforum.lk/2009/06/private-medical-colleges-boon-or-bane/ http://www.educationforum.lk/2009/06/private-medical-colleges-boon-or-bane/#comments Tue, 16 Jun 2009 10:13:38 +0000 malathie http://www.educationforum.lk/?p=485 Prof. Carlo Fonseka, formerly of the Medical Faculty of Colombo, is an authority on this subject. When asked as to why some people persist in the belief that Medical education should be a State monopoly and PMCs are wrong, he replied; “One reason is that it has always been a State monopoly and we have produced some of the best doctors in the world, so, something of proven value and established merit should not be changed”

By Ishara Jayawardane download I Think I Love My Wife
In the recent past, there has been much debate about the establishment of Private Medical Colleges (PMC) in Sri Lanka. A range of arguments have been put forward and the topic remains open to debate. Will the establishment of a Medical College be a boon or a mistake? Is it for the greater good of our country or is it simply unjust?

This is not merely a philosophical question. At a point in our history, this issue led to certain tragic events. According to the Final Report of the Presidential Commission on Disappearances, 263 university students were killed during the second JVP insurrection in the late 1980s. Out of this number, 45 students were from the Faculties of Medicine and Veterinary Science. One wonders why such a large number of students, belonging to prestigious faculties in the university system, got involved in the student movement. One of the major reasons, which led to the radicalisation of the student movement in the mid-1980s, was the protest campaign started against the North Colombo Private Medical College.

Much time has passed since those troubled days; however, the student movement has not changed its negative attitude at all towards PMCs in Sri Lanka. It is not only the students, but also the professionals within the GMOA who opposed it.

The need for a PMC has risen simply because the State is unable to cater to the demands for Medical studies. This is not limited only to the Medical field, but also to other fields of education. As a whole, State universities are unable to absorb all those who are eligible for university admission. According to statistics published by the University Grants Commission (UGC), in 2006, only 14.34% could enter the university out of those eligible for university admission. Dr. Tara de Mel recently pointed out during a video conference organised by the American Centre, 164 students with 3 A’s grades, the highest grade one can secure at the GCE Advanced Level, and 1,464 students with 2As and 1B grades, did not find placement in the universities.

Is it fair to leave such a large number without an alternative? The sense of deprivation is so high among these students that they may say: “What is the use of this society? I have worked so hard to come this far; my parents have worked so hard to afford me tuition classes; I have obtained marks, but I don’t have the money to go abroad and I have no place in this country. So, why should I accept this society?”

Is it realistic to expect the State to provide all the resources necessary for the expansion of university education? In 2006, the expenditure for education in Sri Lanka was 2.85% of its GDP and the share for university education was 0.51%. The expenditure for education as a percentage of government expenditure was 9.98 % and the share for university education was 1.78%. This has been the case for several years. There is a big gap between the State funds available for the expansion of higher education and the growing demand for higher education. In fact, this gap is widening. Can the private sector come in, of course, with State supervision, to fill this gap?

The organised student movement is totally against the involvement of the Private sector in education. Convenor- Inter University Student Council (IUSC), Udul Premaratne insisted that, “Education is a service and not a commodity or an article of trade; the private sector has no place in it.”

He further added: “Free Education must be there in society. The establishment of private universities will violate the principle of free education. Even those who are wealthy should be entitled to receive education free of charge. The wealthy can pay income tax and enhance the income of the government, but even they should have access to free education.”

Collapse of State Univerities?

He added that the introduction of private universities will lead to the collapse of State universities. For example, in all the areas where government has allowed the Private sector to come in, e.g. public transport, public health, oil and gas distribution, the so-called competition did not lead to betterment, but to the deterioration of services. Premaratne went on to say, “If you have a PMC, do you think that, those who have the skills, motivation, desire and talents will have a chance to get in, depending on their merits? No, Unless they have money, there is no chance. What we oppose is that.”

He says that, it is the responsibility of the government, to expand the university education, to meet the needs of the society. Refuting the argument that the State has limited resources to meet diverse needs of the society, he says that, enough and more funds could be secured by eliminating corruption and wastage.

The present reality is that there are private higher educational institutions, which award degrees in the fields of management studies and social sciences. These institutions have affiliations with foreign universities and they grant “cross border Degrees.” The student movement has grudgingly accepted this reality. However, their objections to the establishment of a PMC, remain very much the same.

At present, there are seven universities with Medical Faculties: Colombo, Peradeniya, Sri Jayewardenepura, Kelaniya, Jaffna, Ruhuna and Rajarata. During Academic year 2006/07, 1,111 students were admitted to the Medical Faculties. The most recent Medical Faculty established was Rajarata University.

Chairman- UGC, Prof. Gamini Samaranayake, categorically stated that, the government has no plan whatsoever to privatise State universities. He said that the government has been consistently trying to expand university education, even though at a slow pace. The progress made, to date, regarding the establishment of a Medical Faculty at Rajarata University has been quite satisfactory. One should bear in mind that, what is required for university expansion is not merely physical resources, but also human resources in terms of qualified academic staff and their willingness to serve in those areas. University expansion should not be done at the expense of quality.

Former Vice Chancellor- University of Colombo, Prof. Tilak Hettiarachchi, strongly defended the establishment of private universities, including a PMC. He said that he has spoken on this issue in public, particularly, when he delivered the “Lalith Athulathmudali Memorial Lecture 2008”.

“The fears of privatisation of State universities are totally unfounded, because it cannot happen. Government has had the policy of free education established in the country for the last 60 years. No government can survive, if that policy is abandoned. The need for creating private universities is to cater to another sector of the country, who are also its citizens, and who are denied of higher education, just because there are no seats in the existing universities” elaborated Prof. Hettiarachchi.

As the facts stand, more than 85% of students who qualified for university education, do not get an opportunity, because there are no seats and only a very small minority can afford to go abroad for higher education. According to our Constitution, education is a fundamental right of a citizen. Students are being denied of their fundamental rights, because there are no places at State universities and the doors are closed for other sectors to come in to fill this vacuum.

Looking back at the last 20 to 30 years, our universities have produced a larger number of Medical graduates. It would be pertinent to ask how many of them remain in this country? They get free education and then serve another country. These are the very people who protest, when that education could be obtained at a fee in your own country.

Go abroad for education

Since Sri Lanka does not have its own PMCs, students have to go abroad for Medical education. The colossal drain of foreign exchange is astounding. These students have to go to countries like Nepal and Bangladesh, which are Third World countries. “Why can’t we organise our own PMC, when we have better facilities” asks Prof. Hettiarachchi.

A PMC need not cater only to those who can afford it. There is something called “corporate social responsibility.” They can assign a certain number of vacancies to brilliant, but poor, students. The government can even impose a tax, and that money could be used to create a fund to give scholarships to needy students.
There is a fear that, PMCs would attract a large number of lecturers from State universities, because of the higher salaries offered. Prof. Hettiarachchi was adamant that this is a far-fetched argument.

“The academic staff of State universities have considerable benefits, which cannot be given by a private university. They are given 3-4 years paid leave to obtain postgraduate qualifications. They also get vacation leave, conference leave, sabbatical leave with passage for spouses, research grants etc. Doctors in Medical Faculties can also engage in private practice under certain conditions, and are also better placed. There is so much prestige attached to these Faculties, which can attract a lot of Research grants. Therefore, they would not resign, just because a PMC can offer better pay.”

Prof. Hettiarachchi explained that, “Eexcept for a very few students from SAARC countries, we do not have foreign students in our Medical Faculties, even though the medium of instruction is English. The presence of foreign students in a faculty is also a criterion to get higher ranking in the international university ratings. The income thus generated from tuition fees paid by a few foreign students, can be used to upgrade the welfare facilities of students. These possibilities are not exhausted, because of the heavy local demand on State universities.”

No doubt that, there is a lucrative market and a big attraction for a PMC in Sri Lanka. Other than local students, it will also attract foreign students from neighbouring regions, because Sri Lanka has a reputation for quality education. This potential has to be tapped, but a lot of thinking has to go into this project. It is a sensitive issue, which should be handled carefully.

If the North-Colombo Medical College became a success, there would have been several other Medical Colleges by now. What happened was that, it was later taken over by the government. There were reasons for doing that, and it was later found that, admission had been given to some unqualified students. Therefore, the credibility and reputation should be protected, and a PMC should not be started merely as a business venture. In Sri Lanka, there is organised opposition against PMCs, but hardly any organised effort to promote them.

In most countries, university education, even in State universities, is not completely free. Even in China, students are required to pay tuition fees and other expenses. But in Sri Lanka, in addition to free education, students are also given other forms of financial assistance in the form of scholarships and bursaries. You are entitled to these privileges only if you are selected for university admission. Almost 85% of the students who qualified, but not ‘good’ enough to get into the universities, are deprived of any of those facilities. This is grossly unfair. Some of these students have missed out by a narrow margin of marks. Some have scored more marks than those who got admission to the universities, on district basis. Who takes the responsibility to look after them?

Prof. Carlo Fonseka, formerly of the Medical Faculty of Colombo, is an authority on this subject. When asked as to why some people persist in the belief that Medical education should be a State monopoly and PMCs are wrong, he replied; “One reason is that it has always been a State monopoly and we have produced some of the best doctors in the world, so, something of proven value and established merit should not be changed.

When something works well, why do you want to change it? The other point is that, some people think that PMCs will not be able to produce doctors of the same level of competency. These arguments are not very convincing”

Prof. Fonseka who took part in a debate organised by the Postgraduate Institute of Medicine in 2005, on the question “Is there a role for the Private sector in Medical Education in Sri Lanka,” supported the establishment of a PMC, because he was convinced of a role for the Private sector in Medical Education in Sri Lanka.

When asked why he was in the opposition, when a PMC was established in Ragama, Prof. Fonseka explained that he opposed on one simple fact; because the PMC wanted to give these students the Degree offered by the Colombo Medical Faculty. As they did not undergo any training at the Colombo Medical Faculty, there is no logic in giving them the Colombo University Medical Degree.

The debate was published in the newspapers and one of the arguments our side proposed was the huge drain of foreign exchange involved in not allowing medical schools here. About 200 students go abroad annually, and several millions are leaked out of the country. We said that it will result in the saving of foreign exchange.

The argument put forward by students supporting the continuation of State monopoly was that, there are better ways of saving and earning foreign exchange, than starting a PMC. One is increasing the tax on tobacco and liquor or limiting the number of luxury vehicles granted to politicians. Increasing taxes on tobacco and liquor will not save foreign exchange. These kind of arguments are absurd. They don’t answer the real questions.

When asked whether it is reasonable to admit students to a PMC, simply because they can afford to pay, he said that a certain criterion should be adopted. “As I have argued elsewhere, during the five-year period from 2000 to 2004, an average of about 2,000 students had grades higher than those of the lowest achieving student selected to a State Medical Faculty. Presently, such students have nowhere to go. PMCs should absorb only from this category of high achievers.”

download Larry the Cable Guy: Health Inspector

http://www.nation.lk/2009/03/15/newsfe2.htm

The Island – 07^th April 2009

http://www.island.lk/2009/04/07/opinion2.html

Recently at very short notice I deputized for the Chairman of the University Grants Commission at the launch of “Adyapanaya 2009″, a Higher Education and Career Exhibition organized by the private sector. Obliged to speak impromptu, I made a few off the cuff remarks. I feel that Zacki Jabbar’s succinct report of what I said (The Island 28 March 2009) requires some elaboration to indicate what I meant to say on that occasion.

The basic point I attempted to make was that undergraduate education at least in technical disciplines such as medicine and engineering boils down to 3 issues.

1. What to teach (objectives).

2. How to teach it (curriculum).

3. How to ascertain whether students have learnt it (assessment).

Basic Medical Education

In basic medical education, for example, the knowledge, skills and attitudes that students must have ideally acquired on the completion of the MBBS course, have been precisely defined by medical educationists and made freely available. They can be downloaded from the internet. These are the objectives of the MBBS course.

How to teach students the content of the objectives is what the curriculum is about. Methods of instruction include lectures, practicals, clinical attachments, ward classes and so on. Just as there are more ways than one to skin a cat, there are various approaches to assisting students to achieve the specific educational objectives. In the case of abler students, for the purpose of acquiring the requisite theoretical knowledge, computer assisted learning can do much better than what hack teachers (like me) did in our time. It is mainly to learn practical skills that teachers are useful nowadays, and even in regard to this matter, skills laboratories can greatly facilitate the process. You don’t need distinguished, brilliant researchers to teach students elementary skills such as how to examine the pulse of a patient or determine his blood pressure.

Assessment

In the 21st century the critically important issue in education will be assessment i.e. judging whether students have acquired what they must know in order to be certified as competent doctors (even if they are not compassionate and caring, as doctors ought to be). A great deal of research has been done in the field of assessment (or testing) and now there are objective, reliable and valid methods of assessment that can be used. Assessment and certification of competence must be strictly regulated by the government using the best available examiners and technical resources

Summary

If the objectives of a course have been authoritatively defined and assessment is done objectively, comprehensively, reliably, validly – and honestly – it really does not matter where and how the students acquired their knowledge, skills and attitudes. The certification of competence must be a totally transparent process.

I believe that in this century universities must be essentially concerned with advancing knowledge by research and with postgraduate education. Undergraduate education for thousands of students for whom a degree is only a passport to a job, is probably not a cost effective and worthwhile university exercise.

පළමු ශ්‍රේණියට ළමුන් ඇතුළත් කරගැනීම ජාතික අර්බුදයක් කළේ කවුද?

අධ්‍යාපන පද්ධතියට අදාළ සැබෑ ගැටලූ වසා ගනිමින් කරලියට ගෙන තිබෙන පළමුවන ශ්‍රේණියට ළමුන් ඇතුළත් කරගැනීම ජාතික අර්බුදයක් ලෙස හුවා දැක්වීම අප දකින්නේ මිත්‍යාවක් ලෙස යි.  නිදහස් අධ්‍යාපනය රටට හඳුන්වා දී අඩ සියවසකටත් වඩා කල් ගත වී ඇතත්, අධ්‍යාපනයට වගකියන ඇත්තන් මෙම තත්ත්වය වටහා නොගැනීම ජාතියේ අවාසනාවකි.  දේශපාලකයන්ගේ හා නිලධාරින්ගේ සැබෑ වගකීම වන්නේ සමාජ විෂමතා හැකිතාක් අවම කිරීම යි.  නමුත් පළමුවන ශ්‍රේණියේ ගැටලූව අර්බුදයක් දක්වා වර්ධනය වී ඇත්තේ ඔවුන්ට මේ සැබෑ උවමනාව නොමැති නිසා බව පෙනේ.  මෙවැන්නක් නිර්මාණය වීමට පසුබිම සකස් වී ඇත්තේ,

• අවිද්‍යාත්ම්ක පාසල් වර්ගීකරණය
• පහසුකම් බෙදීයාමේ අසමතුලිතතාව
• මානව සම්පත් කළමනාකරණයේ දුබලතා
• භෞතික සම්පත් බෙදීයාමේ විෂමතා
• ජාතික ප‍්‍රතිපත්ති කි‍්‍රයාත්මක නොකිරීම
• සුදුසුකම් ලත් විදුහල්පතිවරුන් නොමැතිකම
• අනවශ්‍ය දේශපාලන මැදිහත්වීම්
• නිලධාරින්ගේ අකාර්යක්ෂමතාව
• පොදු වැඩපිළිවෙකට යාමේ අකමැත්ත
• ගැටලූව දෙස දරුවන්ගේ දෘෂ්ටිකෝණයෙන් නොබැලීම
• ප‍්‍රාදේශීය විෂමතා

ආදී කරුණු හේතුවෙනි.  13 වන අණ්ඩුක‍්‍රම ව්‍යවස්ථා සංශෝධනය සිදු කරන ලද්දේ සමාජ අසාධාරණය අවම කොට බලය බෙදාහැරීම සඳහා ය.  ලංකාවේ පාසල් පද්ධතිය සම්බන්ධයෙන් වන පළමු හා ප‍්‍රබල කුල භේදය ඇති කෙළේ මෙම සංශෝධන මගිනි.  සමාජ අසාධාරණයට පිළියම් ලෙස ඉදිරිත් කළ ව්‍යවස්ථා සංශෝධනය මගින් පළමුවරට මෙරටට ජාතික පාසල් සංකල්පය හඳුන්වාදීමෙන් මෙම කුල භේදය ඇති කරන ලදි.

එතැන් පටන් විදුහල්පතිවරු අතර ද, ගුරුවන් අතර ද, දරුවන් අතර ද, දෙමාපියන් හා ආදි සිසුන් අතර ද මෙම කුල භේදය ලිය ළා වැඩුණි.  නිලධාරින්ගේ හා දේශපාලකයන්ගේ ආශිර්වාදය මේ සඳහා නොමඳ ව ලැබුණි.  රේඛීය අමාත්‍යංශය තමන්ගේ ගොඩ වැඩිකර ගැනීමට හිතුමතේ ජාතික පාසල්  නම් කළ අතර, මහ ඇමතිවරුන් තමන්ගේ විශාල පාසල් රේඛීය අමාත්‍යංශයේ ඩැහැගැනීමෙන් රැුකගැනීමට නොගත් තැතක් නැත.  ලංකා ඉතිහාසයේ පළමු වතාවට සමහර ජාතික පාසල් විදුහල්පතිවරු හා ගුරුවරු කලාප, කොට්ඨාශ පමණක් නොව පළාත් අධ්‍යාපන අධ්‍යක්ෂවරු ද නොසළකා හැරීමේ තත්ත්්වයක් දක්වා තල්ලූ වී යාම කිසිවෙකුටත් නවතාලිය නොහැකි විය.

අනෙක් අතට සම්පත් බෙදීයාමේ අසමතුලිතතාව ද වඩාත් තීව‍්‍ර කිරීමට මෙම ඊනියා ජාතික පාසල් සංකල්පය ඉවහල් විය.  ජාතික පාසලට සියලූම පහසුකම් රේඛීය අමාත්‍යංශය මගින් සැපයුනු අතර, පළාත් සභා පාසල් වලට කුඩම්මාගෙ සැළකිල්ල හිමි විය.  මහ ඇමතිවරුන්ගේ ආශිර්වාදය දිනාගත් පාසල් නවතම කුළ භේදයක් නිර්මාණය කරමින් ජනපි‍්‍රය පාසල් ලෙස වර්ග කෙරිණි.  (වර්තමානයේ දේශපාලකයන් හා නිලධාරින් මෙම ඊනියා වර්ගවාදී වචනය ම යොදා ගනිමින් චක‍්‍රලේඛ පවා නිකුත් කරනු පෙනේ.*

ජාතික මට්ටමේ පහසුකම් සහිත පාසල ජාතික පාසල වූ අතර, පළාත් මට්ටමේ ඉහළ අනුග‍්‍රාහකයන් සහිත පාසල ජනපි‍්‍රය පාසල විය.  මේ දෙවර්ගයට ම දුප්පත් හා නොසළකා හැරීමට ලක් වූ ගම්බද පාසලෙන් වෙන් වී කැපී පෙනීම සඳහා වූ අර්ථපති දායකත්වය සැපයීමෙන් ඉසුරුමත් පාසල් රැුකබලා ගැනීමට සුභපතන්නන් යනුවෙන් කොටසක් ද බිහි විය.  ඊට ම කොටස්කරුවන් ලෙස රට වටා විසිරී සිටින ආදි ශිෂ්‍යයන් ද ඉසුරුමත් පාසල් වල ආරක්ෂාව හා සමෘද්ධිමත්භාවය පතා කඳවුරු බැඳ ගත්හ.  ගම්බද දුප්පතාගේ පාසල ද නාගරික කුඩා පාසල ද ලජ්ජාවෙන් හැකිළී, නැති බැරි කමෙන් මිරිකී, නොසැළකිල්ලෙන් හෙම්බත් වී පද්ධතියෙන් ගිලිහී යාමට පටන් ගත්තේ ය.  දුප්පත්කමින් එතෙරවීමේ එකම මග ලෙස දුප්පතුන් අතර පිළිගැනීමට ලක් වූ අධ්‍යාපනය ලැබීමේ වරප‍්‍රසාදය  මෙම ක‍්‍රමය මගින් තව තවත් ඔවුන්ගෙන් ඈත් කරන ලදි.  අන්ත දුප්පතුන්ගේ දරුවන් අධ්‍යාපනයෙන් හැලී ගිය අතර, පහළ මධ්‍යම පන්තියට අධ්‍යාපනය දරාගත නොහැකි වැය බරක් විය.  ඉහළ මධ්‍යම පන්තිය තම තත්ත්වය රැුකගැනීමට මහත් වෙහෙසක් ගත් අතර, ධනපති සුළුතරය ඉසුරුමත් පාසල් වේගයෙන් ආක‍්‍රමණය කෙළේ ය.  තමන්ගේ දරුවන් සුපිරි පාසලකට ඇතුළත් කරගැනීමට නොහැකි වූ ඉහළ පැළැන්තිය හා මැද පන්තිය ඊට විකල්ප ලෙස  තම ධනය වැය කොට, ප‍්‍රසිද්ධ සුපුරි පාසන්වල ගුරුවරුන් හා දක්ෂ විදුහල්පතිවරුන් (බොහෝ විට විශ‍්‍රාමික* මිලයට ගනිමින් ව්‍යාපාරික පරමාර්ථයෙන් ජාත්‍යන්තර පාසල් පිහිටුවන ලදි.

මෙම තත්වය තුළ නව ආදායම් මාර්ග හා රැුකියා රාශියක් ද බිහි වී තිබේ.   සමාජයේ මෙතෙක් පැවති හර හා වටිනාකම් අතරට අළුත් සංකල්පයක් ද එක් වීය.  ගම්බද පාරම්පරික දේපල විකුණා නගරයේ සුපිරි පාසල් අසල නිවාස හා දේපල මිලයට ගැනීම, විවාහයේ දී සුපිරි පාසල් අසල පදිංචි වූවන් කෙරෙහි වැඩි අවධානය යොමු කිරීම, සුපිරි පාසල් අසල ඉඩකඩම් හා දේපලවලට අධික මිලක් නියමවීම, විවාහයට පෙර සිට ම දරුවන්ට සුදුසු පාසලක් සෙවීම, කූට ලේඛන සකස් කිරීම රැුකියාවක් ලෙස හා අමතර ආදායම් මාර්ගයක් ලෙස පිළිගැනීම, තමන්ගේ ළමුන් අනුන්ගේ දරුවන් ලෙස කුළවැද්දීම, කෙතරම් අනතුරුදායක වුවත් ජාතික හා ජනපි‍්‍රය පාසල් වලට තම දරුවන් ඇතුළත් කරගැනීම සඳහා විවිධ රැුකියාවන් තෝරා ගැනීම, අතීත සමාජය විසින් පිළිකුල් සහගත ලෙස ප‍්‍රතික්ෂේප කරන  ලද මුදල්, දේපල හා ශරීර මාංශ අල්ලස පාසල් වලට දරුවන් ඇතුළත් කරවා ගැනීමේ උපක‍්‍රම ලෙස භාවිතා කිරිම ආදී වශයෙන් වූ නව සංස්කෘතියක් මෙම ක‍්‍රමය තුළින් සමාජයේ ප‍්‍රතිශ්ඨාපනය කරන ලදි.  මෙයට හොඳ ම නිදසුන නම්, මෑතක දී ප‍්‍රසිද්ධියට පත් කළ අල්ලස් හෝ ¥ෂණ විමර්ශන කොමිෂන් සභා වාර්තාවකට අනුව වැඩි ම අල්ලස්කරුවන් පිරිසක් සිටින්නේ අධ්‍යාපන ක්ෂේත‍්‍රයේ බව ප‍්‍රකාශයට පත්වීම ය.!

කල්යත් ම පළමු ශ්‍රේණියට දරුවන් ඇතුළත් කිරීමේ තරගයෙන් පහළ මධ්‍යම පන්තිය විසි වී ගිය අතර, පන්ති වෛරය දරුවන්ගේ හදවත් තුළ ද දල්වමින් සුපිරි පාසල් සිහිනය පස්වන ශ්‍රේණියේ ශිෂ්‍යත්ව පරීක්ෂණය දක්වා කල් දැමීමට ඔවුන්ට සිදු වීය.  මේ  තුළින් පෙර නොවූ විරූ ඉල්ලූමක් එම පරීක්ෂණයට ඇති වීමෙන් දරුවා නොසළකා හැර දෙමාපිය තරගය දෙස  බලා ප‍්‍රශ්න පත‍්‍ර සකස් කිරීමේ තත්ත්වය දක්වා ම මෙය වර්ධනය වීය.  මීට හොඳ ම නිදසුන 2008 වසරේ ශිෂ්‍යත්ව පරීක්ෂණ ප‍්‍රශ්න පත‍්‍රය යි.  (මෙය වෙනම සාකච්ඡුා කළ යුතු ගැටළුවකි.*

සමස්ත අධ්‍යාපන පද්ධතියට ම නීතියක් නොමැති හෙයින් පළමු  ශ්‍රේණියට සිසුන් ඇතුළත් කරගැනීම දිගින් දිගටම ම සිදු කළේ චක‍්‍රලේඛ මගිනි.  අධ්‍යාපන විද්‍යාත්මක පසුබිම, දරුවාගේ කායික මානසික අවශ්‍යතා, දෙමාපියන්ගේ පහසුව, සැමට අධ්‍යාපනයක් ලැබීමේ මූලික අයිතිය ආදී සියලූ කාරණා ද, තමන්ට ජනතාව වෙනුවෙන් පැවරී ඇති රාජකාරිමය වගකීම ද අමතක කළ කලින් කල පහළ වූ නිලධාරින් හා දේශපාලකයන් අත්තනෝමතික රෙගුලාසි පනවමින් මෙම චක‍්‍රලේඛ සකස් කළහ.  වාර්ෂිකව මෙම චක‍්‍රලේඛ නිකුත් කිරීම අමාත්‍යංශයේ  ප‍්‍රමුඛ කාර්යයක් වූ අතර, ඒ සඳහා එක් චක‍්‍රලේඛයක් සකස් කර ගැනීමට වසර විස්සක් ගතවීත් අමාත්‍යංශයට නොහැකි විය.!  2007 චක‍්‍රලේඛය පුස්තකයක් වූ අතර, නිකුත් කිරීමෙන් අනතුරුව මාස දෙකක් ඇතුළත වාර කිහිපයක දීම සංශෝධනය කරන ලදි.  අවසානයේ දී ද එය නිකුත් කරන ලද්දේ පළමුවන ශ්‍රේණියට ළමුන් ඇතුළත් කරගැනීම සඳහා වන ජාතික ප‍්‍රතිපත්තිය ලෙස දක්වමිනි.  (එකී චක‍්‍රලේඛයට අනුව අමාත්‍යංශය ජාතික ප‍්‍රතිපත්ති සකස් කිරීමට ද අත ගසා තිබේ.!* විවිධ පුද්ගල කණ්ඩායම් සහ රැුකියාවන් සඳහා පළමු ශ්‍රේණියේ ඉඩකඩ ප‍්‍රතිශතය වෙන් කළ අතර, ඒවායේ තිබූ පරස්පරතා, අසාධාරණ හා පුද්ගලික අභිමතාර්ථ හා මානව අයිතීන් අභිබවා යාම හේතුවෙන් ඉතිහාසයේ ප‍්‍රථමවරට ශ්‍රේෂ්ඨාධිකරණය මූලික වී 2007 වසරේ පළමු වසරට සිසුන් ඇතුළත් කරගැනීමේ චක‍්‍රලේඛය සකස් කෙරිණි.

තත්ත්වය මෙසේ වීමෙන් පළමු වසරට සිසුන් ගැනීම ජාතික අර්බුදයක් සේ හුවා දක්වන්නට බොහෝ අය පෙළැඹුණු අතර, ජනමාධ්‍ය විසින් පළමු වසරට සිසුන් ගැනීම පුවත් මවන යන්තරයක් බවට පත් කරන ලදි.  නමුත්, දේශපාලන යාන්ත‍්‍රණය දශක තුනක් තිස්සේ මෙම ශෝචනීය තත්ත්වයට බල පා ඇති පසුබිම් කරුණු වලට විසඳුම් ලබාදීම වෙනුවට කළේ ගැටළුව උග‍්‍ර සමාජ ප‍්‍රශ්නයක් බවට පත් කිරීම යි.  තමන්ට අවනත නොවන විදුහල්පතිවරුන්, අධ්‍යක්ෂවරුන්, ගුරුවරුන් වෙනුවට වෙනත් අය පත් කිරීම ද, පාසල් සංවර්ධන සමිති, ආදි ශිෂ්‍ය සංගම් හරහා තම අභිලාෂයන් ඉටු කරවා ගැනීම ද, දක්වා මෙකී තත්ත්වයන් වර්ධනය වීය.   නාගරික සුපිරි පාසල් මෙසේ පිම්බෙද්දී ග‍්‍රාමීය කුඩා පාසල් හැකිලී පද්ධතියෙන් වියැකී ගියේ ය.  ඒවායේ් විදුහල්පතිවරුන් හා ගුරුවරුන් අදක්ෂ. අකාර්යක්ෂම හා පසුගාමී තත්ත්වයට ඇද වැටුණි.  දරුවාගේ අත්‍යවශ්‍ය මූලික සැපයුම් වන, පානීය ජලය, වැසිකිලි, පෙළපොත පවා නොලැබී යාමෙන් ඒවා අන්ත අසරණයන්ගේ නවාතැන් බවට පත් වීය.

ග‍්‍රාමීය  කුඩා පාසල් වැසී යන්නේ  යැයි හඬ තලන නිලධාරින් හා දේශපාලකයන් එහි සැබෑ තත්ත්වය නොදකිති.  ගමේ පාසලට කුඩම්මාගේ සැළකිලි  දක්වමින් කිඹුල් කඳුළු හෙළති.  ජනපි‍්‍රය පාසලේ සමාන්තර පන්ති වැඩි කරන විට අවට ඇති කුඩා පාසල් වැසී
යන බව වත් ඔවුහු නොදකිති.  වනය දකින ගස් නොදකින මෙම පුද්ගලයන් නිසා පළමු ශ්‍රේ්ණියට සිසුන් ගැනීම ජාතික අර්බුදයක් වීම වැළැක්විය නොහැකි ය.

ජන ඝණත්වය අනුව පාසල්වල සමාන්තර පන්ති තීරණය වන්නේ නම් කොලඹ නගර මධ්‍යයේ පිහිටි සමහර සුපිරි පාසල්වල පළමු ශ්‍රේණිය සඳහා පන්තියක් පැවැත්වීම ද දුෂ්කර වනු ඇත.  එබැවිනි, ජාතික අධ්‍යාපන කොමිෂන් සභාව විසින් නව පාසල් වර්ගීකරණයක් කළයුතු බවට 2007 වසරේ දී යෝජනා කරන ලද්දේ.  ඒ අනුව, ප‍්‍රාථමික පාසල උසස් පාසලෙන් වෙන් කළ යුතු අතර, හයවන ශ්‍රේණියෙන් ද්විතීයික පාසල ඇරඹේ.  ප‍්‍රාථමික අධ්‍යපනය මිශ‍්‍ර විය යුතු අතර, එය වෙන ම විදුහල්පතිවරයෙකු යටතේ පාලනය විය යුතු  ය.  එවැනි ප‍්‍රගතිශීලි ප‍්‍රතිපත්තියක් කි‍්‍රයාත්මක කිරීමට නම්, ආත්ම ශක්තියක් හා ධෛර්යයක් සහිත දේශපාලකයන් හා නිලධාරින් පද්ධතියට අවශ්‍ය ය.  එවැනි දැඩි තීරණයකින් පමණි, මෙම ප්‍රෝඩාව ජයගත හැක්කේ.

මෙහි ඇති මිථ්‍යාව පැහැදිළි කරගැනීම පිණිස 2008 වසර සඳහා පළමු ශ්‍රේණියට ළමුන් ඇතුළත් කරගැනීම පිණිස බස්නාහිර පළාතේ ප‍්‍රසිද්ධ හා ජනපි‍්‍රය පාසල් කිහිපයකට ලැබුණු අයදුම්පත් ප‍්‍රමාණයන් හා පාසලේ ඇති සමාන්තර පන්ති ප‍්‍රමාණය පහත දක්වමු.

පාසලේ නම අයදුම්පත් ප‍්‍රමාණය    සමාන්තර පන්ති ඇතුළත්කරගත් ප‍්‍රමාණය
ඞී.එස්.සේනානායක ම.වි., කොළඹ    2980      7    280
ධර්මපාල විද්‍යාලය, පන්නිපිටිය            2343      6    240
ආනන්ද විද්‍යාලය, කොළඹ                    2196      6    240
අනුලා විද්‍යාලය, නුගේගොඩ            1906      6    240
නාලන්දා විද්‍යාලය, කොළඹ            1803      5    200
විශාඛා විද්‍යාලය, කොළඹ                    1788      5    200
කොළඹ රාජකීය විද්‍යාලය                    1750  10    400
සංඝමිත්තා බා.ම.වි., කොළඹ 10            1520      7    280
සිරිමාවෝ බණ්ඩාරනායක ම. වි.            1406      4    160
තක්ෂිලා ප‍්‍රාථමික විද්‍යාලය, හොරණ    1322      9    360
තර්ස්ටන් විද්‍යාලය, කොළඹ            1200      3    120
වේල්ස් කුමර විදුහල, මොරටුව            1097      6    240
සමුද්‍රදේවි බා.ම.වි., නුගේගොඩ            1020      5    200
මහනාම විද්‍යාලය, කොළඹ                    848      5    200
මුස්ලිම් කාන්තා විද්‍යාලය, කොළඹ    596      5    200
කළුතර බාලිකා මහ විද්‍යාලය            592      5    200
හින්දු විද්‍යාලය, කොළඹ                    528      6    240
ලින්ඞ්සේ බාලිකා , කොළඹ            376      3    120
රාමනාදන් හින්දු කාන්තා වි., කොළඹ    304      3    120
ඉහත සංඛ්‍යා ලේඛන ස්වල්යෙන් පෙනේනේ කොළඹ ජන ඝණත්වයේ සැබෑ ස්වරූපය ද?  මෙහි දැක්වෙන සමහර පාසල් අවට ඇත්තේ කී‍්‍රඩාංගණ, රජයේ ගොඩනැගිලි, පොලිස් ස්ථාන, විශ්ව විද්‍යාල, කර්මාන්ත ශාලා, උද්‍යාන හා වෙළඳසැල් ආදිය යි.  නමුත් ලැබී ඇති අයදුම්පත් සංඛ්‍යාවෙන් පෙනෙන්නේ ලංකාවේ වැඩි ම සාඵල්‍යතා අනුපාතය ඇත්තේ කොළඹ නගර මධ්‍යයේ බව ය.  පුදුමය නම් සෑම වසරක ම පාහේ මෙම බොහෝ නිවැසියන් අදාළ පාසලේ පළමු ශ්‍රේණියට දරුවන් ඇතුළත් කරවීම යි.

ඉහත සංඛ්‍යා ලේඛනයේ ඇතුළත් කරවාගත් ප‍්‍රමාණය ලෙස දක්වා ඇත්තේ පන්තියකට ළමුන් 40 බැගින් ගතයුතු ය යන අමාත්‍යංශ නියෝගයට අනුව ගණනය කරන ලද ප‍්‍රමාණය යි.  නමුත්, ලේඛනයේ ඇති පාසල් දෙකක හැර අනෙකුත් සියලූ පාසල් වල එක් පන්තියක ළමුන් 50 කට ආසන්න සංඛ්‍යාවක් සිටිති.  ඒ, බලධාරින්ගේ හා දේශපාලනඥයින්ගේ ලිපි වලට පින්සිදු වන්නට ය.!

මෙයින් පෙනීයන්නේ ලංකාවේ පාසල් ප්දධතියට බරවා රෝග ලක්ෂණ පහළ වී ඇති බව නොවේ ද?  ඉදිමුණු බරවා කකුල දේශපාලකයන්ට  හා නිලධාරින්ට පෙනී ඇත්තේ පෝෂණය නිසා මහත් වු කකුලක් ලෙස ය.  අනෙක් අවයව වල දුබලතාව ඔවුන් දකින්නේ දෙමාපියන්ගේ වරදක් ලෙස මිස ඔවුන්ගේ හෝ සමාජ අසාධාරණයේ කොටසක් ලෙස නොවේ.

මෙම අසාධාරණ හා අතාත්වික සවභාවය නිසා පාසල් පද්ධතිය ක‍්‍රම ක‍්‍රමයෙන් සෑම අතින් ම පිරිහෙමින් පවතින බව සමාජයට නොරහසකි.  එය රහසක් වන්නේ දෑස නොපෙනෙන නිලධාරින්ට හා දේශපාලකයන්ට පමණි.  මෙම තත්ත්වයට වහා වහා පිළියම් නොයෙදුව හොත්, 1991 එළි දැක්වූ තරුණයන් පිළිබඳ ජනාධිපති කොමිෂන් සභා වාර්තාවේ දැක්වෙන ඊළඟ කැරැුල්ලට මුහුණදීමට අපට සිදුවනු ඇත.  එසේ නොවීමට නම්, ගැටළු දකින දේශපාලකයන්, නිලධාරින් වෙනුවට ගැටළු දෙස බලන, ඒවා විශ්ලේෂණය කොට තාර්කික විසඳුම් යෝජනා කරන දේශපාලකයන් හා නිලධාරින් රටට අත්‍යාවශ්‍ය ය.  පැළැඳ සිටින විවිධ පාට කණ්නාඩි ඉවත ලා පද්ධතිය දෙස සංවර්ධනාත්මකව විමර්ෂණාක්ෂිය යොමු කළ හැකි එවැනි මානව හිතවාදී සත්පුරුෂයන් හෙට දවසේ බිහිවන දරුවන්ගේ අනාගතය යහපත් කරනු ඇත.  කුංකුණාවේ හිමියන්ගේ සුප‍්‍රසිද්ධ කවියක කොටසකින් මෙම ලිපිය අවසන් කිරීම යෙහෙකැයි මට සිතේ.

අනේ කූඹින්නේ  -  තොපටත් රජෙක් ඉන්නේ
අපට නැත ඉන්නේ  -  ඒ නිසාවෙනි අප තැවෙන්නේ

එස්.එම්.ආරියරත්න ද අල්විස්,
සහකාර ලේකම්,
ජාතික අධ්‍යපන කොමිෂන් සභාව.

(මෙම ලිපියේ අන්තර්ගතය ලේඛකයාගේ පුද්ගලික අදහස් වන අතර, ඒවා කිසිසේත් ම ජාතික අධ්‍යාපන කොමිෂන් සභාවේ අදහස් නොවන බව සැළකිය යුතු ය.*

ඇතුල් වීමේ ගාස්තු ලෙස රු. 6500 ක් ගෙවීම ප‍්‍රතික්ෂේප කළ ගම්පොළ සහිරා විදුහලේ දෙමව්පියෙකු පාසල් පරිශ‍්‍රයේදී පහරදීමකට ලක්වූ බව ලංකාදීප පුවත් පතේ පළවූ ප‍්‍රවෘත්තියක දැක්වේ. පහර දෙනු ලැබූවකු පවසා තිබුණේ ඔහු නිසා පාසලට අවශ්‍ය මුදල් ලබාගත නොහැකි වූ බවයි.

පාසල් සංවර්ධන සමිතිය විසින් අළුතින් පාසලට ඇතුළුවන සෑම 1 වසර සිසුවෙකුගෙන්ම රු.6500 ක් අය කිරීමට තීරණය කර ඇති බවයි, පෙනෙන්නට තිබෙන්්නේ. පහසුකම් ගාස්තු වශයෙන් රු. 36 ක් පමණක් අය කළ යුතු බවට උසස් අධිකාරීන් නියම කර තිබූ බවට අර්බුදයේ සිටින දෙමාපියා චෝදනාකරයි.

අනෙක් පාසල් වල ඇතුළත් වීමේ ගාස්තු අය කිරීම කෙබඳු ද? ගම්පොළ සහිරා විදුහලට වඩා නියමිත ඇතුළත් වීමේ ගාස්තුවක් අන් පාසල්වලට අමාත්‍යවරයා හා අමාත්‍යාංශය විසින් නියම කරයි ද? මේ අමාත්‍යාංශය විසින් සත්‍ය සොයා යා යුතු කාලයයි.

සත්‍ය කතාව නම් පාසල් වලට ප‍්‍රමාණවත් මුදල් දීමට රජයට හැකියාවක් නොමැති බවයි. විදහල්පිතවරුන්ට හා දෙමාපියන්ට අවශ්‍ය පරිදි නොයෙක් ක‍්‍රම වලින් අවශ්‍ය මුදල් රැස් කිරීමට බළධාරීන් ඉඩ හැර ඇත. වැදගත්ම කාරණය වන්නේ මේ සඳහා පළමු වසරට ඇතුළත් වන සිසුන්ගේ දෙමාපියන්ගෙන් බදු අය කිරීමයි. දෙමාපියන් නිහඬවම ගෙවීම් කරද්දි, මෙහි දූෂණයක් හො දූෂිත දේශපාලනයක් නොවන බව පෙන්වාදීමට බළධාරීන් උත්සාහ දරයි. එක් දෙමාපියෙකු හෝ ගෙවීම ප‍්‍රතික්ෂේප කළ විට ගරා වැටෙන නිදහස් අධ්‍යාපනයේ නිරුවත මොනවට පැහැදිලි වේ. පාසල් තුළ මේ තත්ත්වය තව දුරටත් රැුඳීම සම්බන්ධයෙන් අමාත්‍යාංශය වගකිව යුතු ය.

මේ සඳහා මම විසඳුම් දෙකක් යෝජනා කරමි.

1. පළවෙනි කාරණය හරිම සරලයි. සියළුම ජ්‍යෙෂ්ඨ පාසල් වලින් ප‍්‍රාථමිකය වෙන් කළ යුතු ය. ද්ව්තිකි අධ්‍යාපනයේ යෙදෙන දරුවන්ගේ අවශ්‍යතා සඳශා ප‍්‍රාථමික අධ්‍යාපනයේ යෙදෙන දරුවන්ගේ දෙමාපියන්ගෙන් බදු අය නොකළ යුතු ය.

2. දෙවෙනි කාරණය – අධ්‍යාපනය යනු කේන්ද්‍රීය විෂයයකි. අධ්‍යාපනය සඳහා අමාත්‍යවරයෙක් හා කොළඹට කේන්ද්‍රගත වී සිටින විශාල පරිපාලන පද්ධතියක් අපට අවශ්‍ය වන්නේ ඇයි? මධ්‍යම ආණ්ඩුවෙන් සිටින බළධාරී මණ්ඩලය වහාම අඩු කළ යුතු අතර ඔවුන් වෙනුවෙන් වැයකරන මුදල් ද්වීතික අධ්‍යාපන අවශ්‍යතා වර්ධනය සඳහා යොමු කළ යුතු ය.