I use the hashtag #GoHomeGota to mark this watershed moment in Sri Lanka’s postcolonial history. It is in honour of the people who have stormed the streets to demolish the Bastille of a dynastic and nepotistic political regime that has left Sri Lanka in an economic meltdown. People of every class and creed have united against a “common enemy”; the Rajapaksas.
#GoHomeGota, ‘the struggle’ and the rhetoric Read More »
Over a month ago, I wrote in this column about the way the current Quality Assurance processes, including the Qualifications framework, has little space for Humanities and Social Sciences
Where Arts Faculties should be headed – a rejoinder Read More »
A month ago, the University I am attached to, circulated an email to the faculty academics asking them to submit details of their research and publications for 2017-2021. The email mentioned that these details were required by the National Audit Office of Sri Lanka.
A crisis ‘in’ Social Sciences education or a crisis ‘of’ Social Sciences education? Read More »
This article is a continuation of views and opinions expressed in this forum on the quality assurance process in Sri Lankan university education. In this article, reflecting on my academic training and personal experiences, I mainly question the interpretation of “outcome-based education” (OBE) and the emphasis given to it in the Manuals prepared for Institutional Review and Undergraduate Study Programme Review of Sri Lankan Universities and Higher Education Institutions published by the University Grants Commission (UGC) in 2015 as part of a World Bank-funded project, currently under implementation.
Can outcome-based education get to the heart of the matter? Read More »
The Sri Lankan University system celebrated 100 years of university education in the humanities and social sciences in 2021. As part of commemorating the centenary, the UGC with the Standing Committee Head as its convenor organised a conference on the present status of Humanities and Social Science Education.
Undervaluing Social Science and Humanities teaching in the Sri Lankan University System Read More »
Just as educational institutions served to colonise subjects in colonial settings, the decolonising project also started through education. In the discipline of history, for instance, we constantly attempt to decolonise knowledge that has been created about the past
Decolonising education and critical thinking Read More »
Recently, a Panchamar caste community—a collection of five caste-based communities subjected to systemic oppression and exploitation historically and forming a significant share of Jaffna’s population today—faced severe casteist violence at Vaddukoddai in Jaffna. One person from the community lost a finger as a result;
Caste and Education in the North Read More »
UNIVERSITY GRANTS COMMISSION, COLOMBO: “Education in the margins faces a number of pedagogical issues against the backdrop of World Bank or similar donor-funded curriculum-revisions adopted by the University Grants Commission …” By Erandika de Silva It is a fact that there are disparities in access to education between the major population centres in Sri Lanka
What spaces exist for students and staff of ethnic and religious minorities, within the university? Do students and staff in these groups have the liberty and security to openly identify themselves, claim their identities, be visible? Do either university structures and policies or the culture and attitudes within the university community, ensure a lack of discrimination, with the same rights, privileges and opportunities, for such persons to live, work, and study in an environment of acceptance, without hostility or marginalisation?
Dominances, hegemonies and diversities Read More »
For many postcolonial societies, education has historically been one of the primary sites of decolonisation. This is not accidental, since education was a key instrument of colonisation – particularly British colonisation.
Decolonising education – a few critical thoughts Read More »
