education

Free Education, Social Welfare and the IMF Programme

Kuppi Talk / By

Sri Lanka’s seventeenth IMF agreement sealed last week may well prove to be the most devastating one of them all. The reason is that the agreement comes along with Sri Lanka having defaulted on its external debt for the first time in its history. The IMF amounts to being the arbiter of the debt restructuring process with Sri Lanka’s external creditors, which will provide considerable leverage for Sri Lanka to be held accountable to IMF conditionalities.

Privatisation of education and demonising of students of Lanka

Kuppi Talk / By

Sri Lanka is trapped in debt due to decades of corruption and short-sighted economic policies. To come out of the trap or, I would say, escape the moment, the government is seeking loans from the IMF, or anybody else who is willing to lend, no matter the conditions. To this end, under the IMF’s tutelage, the government is seeking to privatise education, aware that it will face the wrath of the people.

‘My hope is necessary, but not enough’ teaching and learning Feminism at the University

Kuppi Talk / By

By Aruni Samarakoon Modern university education was introduced to Ceylon by the British colonisers in 1921 with the establishment of the Ceylon University College, which eventually developed into the public university system where academics and researchers could explore universal knowledge. In 1947, the very first University, the University of Ceylon, was established. Later, the Ceylon …

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From Opposition to alternative? – Some thoughts on the potential and the trajectory of Aragalaya

Featured, Kuppi Talk / By

By Sasindu Patabendige Aragalaya which is/can be (mis)translated to English as ‘struggle’ or ‘revolt’ is getting suppressed and appropriated in multiple ways at the time of writing this piece, ironically (perhaps), with the sanction of the de facto president who claims to be ‘liberal’ and ‘democratic’. The attempt of this column is to present some …

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Education and healthcare in crisis: Why IMF is not the solution

Featured, Kuppi Talk / By

The rally of July 9th and the events that followed are symbolic of the radical changes in governance demanded by the people of this country. We want to be informed and consulted, an end to the abuse of power, fair distribution of the country’s resources and a democratic and inclusive society. The ruling elite, for whom the current system works, are not invested in the seismic shifts that are needed to make this happen.

Solidarity and Aragalaya: A few thoughts from an educationist’s perspective

Kuppi Talk / By

Very little in Sri Lanka at the moment inspires hope. We are facing an existential crisis that was inconceivable just six months ago. Sri Lanka is also, ironically, just a year away from marking the 75th year of its independence. As we reflect on these seven decades of postcolonial nation building, and as we confront a future of extreme precarity, our scorecard as a country is not a proud one.