Education to benefit many

My memories of Mr. Mahinda Ranaweera are most pleasant. I feel privileged to have been asked to deliver this address in his memory. I thank the organisers for this, and also thank Mrs. Ranaweera, my friends and those who cherish his memory who are here today to share some ideas that may be consonant with Mr. Ranaweera's own ideas.

Having grown up in Peradeniya during much of my working life, Colombo was like a foreign country for me. Although I did come down now and then it was not for socialising and making friends. Therefore I did not have the good fortune to get to know Mr. Mahinda Ranaweera early in my life. Of course I had heard of him but did not learn much about him.

He came in a group to make a submission to the National education Commission and that is probably the first time we met face to face. By that time I had got the acceptance of two eminent persons with whom I had the good fortune to work very closely. They were the two Vice Chairmen of the NEC, Mr. Jinapala Alles and Mr. Vincent Pandita, two eminent persons and much senior to me. The third person whose acceptance of me I cherish is Mr. Mahinda Ranaweera. The three of them, in my opinion, knew what they were about and also were men of high integrity. Their willingness to share ideas with me and work together without questioning my credentials was reassuring and gave me self-confidence. They were streets ahead of me their grasp of public affairs and eduction did not relate to me wholeheartedly out of politeness.

Wisdom distilled

They were my Gurus because I learnt much from them not only about education and other disciplines but also about how to conduct myself. My gratitude to them is lasting because they corrected me when I was wrong. Every encounter with Mr. Ranaweera was an eduction for me, and I listened, watched and read him very attentively. What came from him was his own wisdom, distilled over the years and expressed with authority, and not some second or third hand quotes. Today I am paying a debt of gratitude and I thank the organisers of this event for affording me this opportunity.

Deep understanding

His ideas and initiatives in Science Education will stand the test of time because their source is a deep understanding of the human condition. That is why he could relate Science Education to human development and this is what impressed me most. His contributions to various deliberations came from this "enlightened" view of Science Education and ideas about how it could contribute to the well-being of people. This is the kind of thinking that we need in our country. He had both the Right View and the Right Resolve in this regard. He deliberately and actively tried his utmost to prevent education being a business pursued with narrow self-interest.

It is regrettable to note hat this is what it has become, and I venture to say publicly that it has become a sort of "road-block" to national progress. Instead of Eduction in general, and Science and Technology education in particular, becoming sources of empowerment of the many, it has become a means to perpetuate the privileges of a few.

The universities are increasingly becoming the fortresses to safeguard a group of persons who call themselves academics who are alienated in their thinking and not interested in serving the people of this country who have all contributed to educating and sustaining them. If Mahinda was with us today he would have wholeheartedly joined us in opposing the use of English as a medium of instruction of children whose mothertongue is either Tamil or Sinhala.

Before getting into the main topic of my address I would like to draw the attention of the teachers and pupils present here. Although we are commemorating a great teacher and educationist in the person of our esteemed friend Mr. Mahinda Ranaweera, the line of great educational personalities does not end with him. Each and every one of you have the potential to be like him; that is to make significant impacts on other people's lives for the better. The need is to unlock this potential. From what we had seen and heard of him, the key I believe is "enlightened self-interest" as opposed to crude and narrow selfishness. When unlocked the possibilities and opportunities are immense. The satisfaction and the peace of mind are the rewards that are greater in value than material gains that may come in its wake.

Business for enrichment

The theme selected today was inspired by Lord Buddha's exhortation to his disciples to bring satisfaction and benefit to the many (bahujana). I believe that education of the worldly kind has the potential to create the material and intellectual base in a society for the attainment of illumination, enlightenment and emancipation. The formal education systems all levels have become narrowed in their scope.

When we see the publicity material in the mass media a feeling arises that education has become a business for the enrichment of a few. This is not just a local development but a global trend in which the developed countries are exporting education to the others, as a profitable business.

If this is just another business like exporting textiles or razor blades, we need not be so concerned. However, although the products are educational programmes and foreign qualifications needed only by a few, the distortion of values, and the re-assertion of "rote-learning coupled with pen-and-paper tests" as the mainstay of education has wide-ranging negative consequences.

Privilege of the few

Even after six decades of independence Education in our country still remains a privilege of the few. Structures installed by the colonial rulers are in place and their validity in the present context is not questioned by those in authority. The political authorities and the administrators do not seem to have an overall strategic goal of making our nation a truly free one in which every member can aspire to a life of dignity, without a feeling of helplessness. Although there was an attempt by the National Education Commission about one and a half decades ago this goal was lost sight of, and education reform became a process of the privileged few entrenching themselves further with the help of politicians most of whom cannot see beyond the narrow confines of their narrow power bases demarcated by partisan interests. How a nation in which the energies of the majority of its people are sapped at the behest of foreign interests can be anyone's power base seems to be beyond their comprehension.

"Education for the benefit of the many" is the core idea of a sound national philosophy of education. It is a more powerful idea than "education for all" because in it the question of "For what purpose?" is left unanswered.

Our idea can be immediately accompanied by the question "What are the benefits to the many who are recipients of education?" thus preempting the selfish interests of investors, officials and business organizations who are in education for a profit. Education is a lifelong process that "lead out" the person who receives it, from infancy through childhood through adolescence and youth to adulthood, to enable her or him to become a fully functioning adult who is adequately equipped for living and sustaining himself or herself.

Adulthood also entails the nurturing the next generation which is also an aspect of living. Education as a lifelong process cannot leave out the leading of a person from an adult life, per se, to become one who has at least had glimpse of the nature of the human condition.

Realities of human condition

Education must also prepare a person to face and to deal with the realities of the human condition. These are: impermanence of ourselves and of what forms our world; the suffering they cause as a result of personal choices, preferences, dislikes and desires; and the lack of an essence or core that we can hold on to, and could be reassuring in a mind-scape" that is "constantly" changing. It is education that can give us alternative strategies for dealing with them rather than reacting grossly through greed to hedge against impermanence, hatred and malice towards things that cause suffering, and deluding ourselves that there is an unchanging core or spirit that survives change.

Challenge of impermanence

We face the challenge of impermanence by inducting and developing competencies in craft and technologies. Eventually there would be more durable or serviceable possessions, so that the impermanence of what we have would not give rise to despair and suffering. The challenge of suffering caused by external things and events are faced through rituals that prescribe individual and group actions that can contain and channel emotional excesses that can be harmful or damaging. Culture has mechanisms to condition our conduct towards things that have the ability or potential to cause suffering. Culture also has devices and arrangements that can relax, recuperate and please us so as to compensate for the suffering, as it were. Social arrangements and behaviours are largely determined by cultural norms. Even what appear to be personal situations such as family life, courtship, and dealing with both friends and foes are also determined by culture in a civilised society.

Laws of cause and effect

In the entirety of our personal experience what we desire and like to hold on to arises and stays with us for some time and passes away leaving only memories in contrast to the larger than life things that seem to last for ever. In dealing with situations and arrangements in both material and social contexts our ability to take action comes from believing that there are laws of cause and effect and principles of conservation that allow us to predict what could happen in the future. Laws, principles, explanations, theories, models and disciplines that constitute the sciences and humanities help us to go beyond delusion and speculation in dealing with our world and its contents.

It is education that facilitate and provides us the resources to be competent and effective in facing the challenges of human existence by transmitting craft and technologies, rituals and culture, and sciences and humanities across generations and geographical boundaries.

These are not the legacies and dynastic privileges of a few. Every Sri Lankan child should have access to these without restriction or discrimination on the basis social and class differences. Not being competent in English should not be a barrier. The present arrangements of dropping out children from school at various intermediate stages in large numbers without any consideration for how they are to face the existential realities so as to make resources available for a chosen or privileged few are untenable in a society where every person has equal rights.

Equity in education does not imply that every Sri Lankan child is educated in schools and classrooms that have identical facilities and resources. A meaningful interpretation of the principle of educational equity is that at the time he or she leaves schools every child has a comparable total investment by the State irrespective of the level at which he or she leaves. This is not unthinkable or impractical because a total notional cost of taking a person through 13 years of general eduction and 4 years of undergraduate education can be calculated. A child who leave school earlier without completing general education should be given tokens or vouchers that could be redeemed for further education and training and to defray the cost tools and implements of a preferred trade.

Another interpretation of the principles of equity, social justice and fundamental rights of children is that the choice of subjects other than those comprising the core should be left to each child. This choice should not be left to the university academics. At present there are restrictive practices that are given effect unreasonably tight specification of prerequisite subjects for admission to university. This is a advice by which the path for higher education is blocked to ensure ease of access to children coming through the so-called elite schools. It is a clear violation of the principle of education for the benefit of the many.

Obedience to teachers

In closing let us take a look at how each pupil can make the best use of the opportunities afforded by our nation to get educated for her or his benefit. Two important ideas stand out in this regard. The first is that a pupil or student should be obedient to the teachers. This can be called a necessary precondition for receiving an education. While the teacher must inspire and help every learner to be motivated, it is in the best interests of the learner to obey and follow the instructions given by the teacher with diligence. It is only then that the teacher-learner relationship becomes fruitful and rewarding for both.

The second idea is that the learner must be on the look out and be ready to gain experience in a broadest possible range of human activities that are within he or his scope. Nowadays there is a tendency for learners to confine themselves to attending school and tutoris to the exclusion of paying any attention to other human activities and things found in nature.

They seem to be having no time to pay attention to workmen engaged in some skilled activity or to engage in some practical tasks in and around their homes. Whenever one can get some hands on experience is more worthwhile than being a passive observer. To see a task being carried out from pre-preparation and beginning to the end is far more important than being a passing spectator.

You can rest assured that all experiences form a "rich" background for learning both in school and in later life.

This will help you to understand what you hear and read. This greater understanding will make it easier to remember. Since the human brain does not store things in isolation the brain with many meaningful experiences woven together would be more creative. One does not have to be so concerned about the timing and sequencing of the various experiences because the circuits in the brain will ensure that ideas and images are in the right places. In giving these ideas to you about education for the benefit of the many and about how each one of you can become a more successful learner, I am echoing the ideas of Mr. Mahinda Ranaweera who did not confine himself to any narrow field or disciplines, and always worked tirelessly for the benefit of all not only in Sri Lanka but all over the world. The best tribute we can pay him is by striving to be dedicated teachers and diligent learners; and above all being patriotic Sri Lankans.