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| Sunday, 15 August 2004 |
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Editorial |  |
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Editor, Sunday Observer. E-mail: [email protected] Snail mail : Sunday Observer, 35, D.R.Wijewardana Mawatha, Colombo, Sri Lanka. Telephone : 94 11 2429239 / 2331181 Fax : 94 11 2429230 Some heretical thoughts on education There is much to be desired in the present education set-up in the country. A re-thinking is needed as to its objectives and goals. Its infrastructure needs a complete overhaul. Its management is archaic and outmoded. All stakeholders - parents, teachers and students -are dissatisfied with the present system. To make matters worse, there is political interference, corruption and mismanagement. Successive governments have considered education their private domain and initiated experiments more for personal prestige or political gain. Certain reforms were initiated at the insistence of donor agencies and multilateral financial institutions, much to the detriment of national interests. It is time to think anew. Since education is a subject that affects the future of the country, it should be freed from partisan politics. A national consensus should be reached after a healthy public debate where all stakeholders could air their views openly. Unfortunately too few educationists are articulate and sycophants parade as know-alls and prescribe various remedies to please their masters, local or foreign. What is wanted is a holistic approach to education. It should not only encompass all levels of education - primary, secondary and tertiary including vocational education but also be placed in the context of an overall economic and cultural development plan for the country. The fact that nearly half a dozen ministers are entrusted with matters relating to education proves that our approach has been more due to political exigencies than student welfare or the country's needs. There are various criticisms levelled against the present education system. The main charge is that it does not produce manpower that could be gainfully employed in the economy. There is a mismatch between the needs of the economy and education goals. While this is true, should the objective of education be the production of individuals that could be absorbed by the market economy? This poses the question what is education. The purpose of education is a moot point even among educationists. One could generally say it is the development of knowledge, skills and character that is required by the individual to meet the challenges he or she would face in society in this age of globalization. According to some the fault lies in the medium of instruction. They claim that the introduction of the Swabasha medium did irreparable damage. Hence, the enthusiastic drive for going back to the English medium. While the importance of learning an international language like English cannot be underestimated, the fault lies deeper, in the system of teaching practised. The school system is more teacher-oriented than student-oriented. Students are taught to learn by rote and the teacher's word is supposed to be the Gospel truth that cannot be challenged. There is no room for thinking, creativity or innovation. We must teach the children how to think and act creatively. Even if students learn in Esperanto, they would not be able to meet today's challenges unless they learn how to think and act creatively. The system of examinations at every level breeds unhealthy competition and does not favour the development of harmonious relations among the student community. There is no teamwork and individual assessments often leave the weak students weaker and neglected. Our University system is anachronistic. There is rigid departmentalization as against the inter-disciplinary education that is currently practised worldwide. This limits the student's growth and inhibits his or her cognition. The syllabi used, in certain cases are the same used by grandparents of present students. Universities have become glorified tuition institutes where independent learning and research by students are unheard of. The proliferation of Universities has also taken place more due to political considerations and there is no rational division of labour among them. They are understaffed and infrastructure facilities, especially for research are shockingly absent. Expenditure in education is dismally low. Ours is the lowest in the region in terms of percentage of GDP spent on education. It stands at a little below 3 percent. All countries that have developed including China and the Asian Tigers had spent about 10 percent of the GDP in the early phases. Education expenditure has to be considered as an investment, investment for development of human capital. Without proper development of human capital it is not possible to increase productivity of labour, which is the only means of achieving sustainable development. Referendum in Venezuela Today voters in distant Venezuela go to the polls in a presidential recall referendum. This is the first time in the world an incumbent President has faced a recall referendum. President Chavez has antagonized the elite sections of the Venezuelan society for implementing a series of measures to uplift the poor. They include a massive land reform that gave land to millions of poor peasants, a literacy campaign which made a million people literate in an year and a massive health project with the assistance of 10,000 Cuban doctors that treat slum dwellers. These welfare measures have earned the wrath of Washington and ever since several attempts have been made to oust Chavez from power. This recall referendum is also an attempt to oust him. The US Ambassador in Venezuela has openly admitted that the US is funding the Opposition. The outcome of the election will have far- reaching consequences not only for Venezuela but also for the world. Venezuela is the fifth largest oil exporter and a Chavez victory would provide stability that could lead to lowering of oil prices. |
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