Shamala Kumar This Article is formed from listening to university students from across the country for two research initiatives, one on academic freedom and another on higher education policy. In speaking with students, the fears they carry could not be ignored. Students navigate university education, with anxieties about their future and fears that they and […]
The University Student Read More »
Udari Abeyasinghe A recent panel discussion held at the University of Peradeniya discussed the implications of the Supreme Court’s recent judgement on ragging where the Court recognized that preventing ragging requires more than criminal penalties imposed after an incident occurs, but also systems and processes within universities that enable victims to speak up and receive
Supporting Victims: The Missing Link in Combating Ragging Read More »
Kaushalya Perera Time has, by and large, stood still in the business of academic staff recruitment to state universities. Qualifications have proliferated and evolved to be more interdisciplinary, but our selection processes and evaluation criteria are unchanged since at least the late 1990s. But before I delve into the problems, I describe the existing processes
Recruiting academics to state universities – beset by archaic selection processes? Read More »
Hasini Lecamwasam As the debate on educational reforms rages, I find it useful to pay as much attention to the reactions they have excited as we do to the content of the reforms. Such reactions are a reflection of how education is understood in our society, and this understanding – along with the priorities it
Unpacking public responses to educational reforms Read More »
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 »
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 »
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 »
