Sivamohan Sumathy The hype around educational reforms has abated slightly, but the scandal of the reforms persists. And in saying scandal, I don’t mean the error of judgement surrounding a misprinted link of an online dating site in a grade six English language text book. While that fiasco took on a nasty, undeserved attack on […]
The Call for Review of Reforms in Education: the discussion continues . . . Read More »
One of the major initiatives of the NPP government is reforming the country’s education system. Immediately after coming to power, the government started the process of bringing about “transformational” changes to general education. The budgetary allocation to education has been increased to 2% of GDP (from 1.8% in 2023). Although this increase is not sufficient, the
General Educational Reforms: To what purpose? A statement by state university teachers Read More »
Ramya Kumar A new batch arrived at our Faculty again. Students representing almost all districts of the country remind me once again of the wonderful opportunity we have for promoting social and ethnic cohesion at our universities. Sadly, however, many students do not interact with each other during the first few semesters, not only because
General education reforms: What about language and ethnicity? Read More »
Mahendran Thiruvarangan When the National People’s Power won elections in 2024, there was much hope that the country’s education sector could be made better. Besides the promise of good governance and system change that the NPP offered, this hope was fueled in part by the appointment of an academic who was at the forefront of
Educational Reforms under the NPP Government Read More »
Ramya Kumar A new batch arrived at our Faculty again. Students representing almost all districts of the country remind me once again of the wonderful opportunity we have for promoting social and ethnic cohesion at our universities. Sadly, however, many students do not interact with each other during the first few semesters, not only because
General education reforms: What about language and ethnicity? Read More »
Sumathy Sivamohan In the short span of two or three days, Cyclone Ditwah, has caused a disaster of unprecedented proportions in our midst. Lashing away at almost the entirety of the country, it has broken through the ramparts of centuries old structures and eroded into areas, once considered safe and secure. The rains may have
An awakening: Revisiting education policy after Cyclone Ditwah Read More »
Ahilan Kadirgamar The unique strength of Sri Lanka’s public education system is that it has been free up to university level. When we look at the massive level of student debt in other countries, including in the West, we realise what a great boon free university education has been for our youth. With the current
State funding of higher education and research Read More »
Shamala Kumar Chief among my concerns regarding the announced major curriculum revision to general education is the lack of a document open to public scrutiny. Public institutions must be accountable to the public. Instead, PowerPoint presentations, news snippets and casual discussions with Ministry officials are all I must go by as I put a spotlight
Psychometrics and the Curriculum for General Education Read More »
Udari Abeyasinghe Considering the range of experiences academics encounter in university environments, from collegiality to subtle hostility, it is worth asking whether higher education institutions genuinely allow their junior members to work with dignity. Do our academic environments foster fairness, respect and recognition they truly deserve, or do they continue to erode these very principles?
Working with dignity: Reflections from within academia Read More »
Hasini Lecamwasam My ongoing fieldwork on agrarian politics in Sri Lanka is teaching me many things that are not directly related to, but heavily condition what happens in agriculture. I’m learning how the dynamics of everyday domestic life impact agrarian decisions: whether or not the credit taken for agriculture purposes is always actually spent on
Survival of the fittest? The importance of context-sensitivity in education reform Read More »
