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General Educational Reforms: To what purpose? A statement by state university teachers

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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 […]

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Considerations for Higher Education Reforms

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Submitted by Udari Abeyasinghe, Farzana Haniffa, Ahilan Kadirgamar, Anushka Kahandagama, Ramya Kumar, Shamala Kumar, Hasini Lecamwasam, Kaushalya Perera, Aruni Samarakoon, Sivamohan Sumathy, Mahendran Thiruvarangan Decades of underfunding have left our education system, overall, fractured and in urgent need of rebuilding. The virtual lack of public early childhood education, the years of neglected vocational training, and

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Say no to NEPF! Say no to abolishing free education!- A statement by academics of the university system

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We are in the midst of an existentially threatening economic crisis. With an ever-increasingdebt burden and low economic prospects, we continue to grapple with uncertain economicfutures and related social and political distresses. As university teachers, we are concernedabout the multiplicity of recent proposals seeking reforms in education that threaten to bringabout a sea change in

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Press Release: Reforms are on the way! And they are not worker friendly!

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At the May Day rally of the UNP, Minister of Labour and Foreign Employment Manusha Nanayakkara presented a 11-point agenda reforming the existing regime of labour laws which propose to tilt the balance of power further in favour of employers. Nanayakara’s proposals, the most elaborate so far, are at best sketchy and, at worst, spell

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Rise Against State Repression: A Call to the People

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2022 has seen the most dramatic uprising of people against the government’s tyrannical rule since independence. Amidst a devastating economic crisis, the people raised their voices against corruption, misrule and economic mismanagement, demanding greater democracy. Instead of heeding the people’s call for change in the political culture and economic accountability, the government has responded with repression.

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The democratic moment today: A call for action and reflection

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We are witness today to events that are unprecedented in our postcolonial history. Hundreds of thousands of people are taking to the streets spontaneously in protest; in an extraordinary demonstration of democratic fervour. The calls for change are loud and spectacular. They are driven by anger at a small elite group —the Rajapaksas, who have

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A call to action against the detention of Hejaaz Hizbullah and Ahnaf Jazeem, anti-Muslim violence, and attacks on democracy

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Decades of majoritarian politics, and the more recent descent towards authoritarianism and militarisation, have eroded the foundations of our democracy. They have numbed us to the violence in our daily lives and desensitised us to how sections of our citizenry are targeted. Over a year has passed since Hejaaz Hizbullah and Ahnaf Jazeem were arrested,

A call to action against the detention of Hejaaz Hizbullah and Ahnaf Jazeem, anti-Muslim violence, and attacks on democracy Read More »