Wednesday 2 Dec 2009 by admin |
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Education
At the recent Marga Survey on poverty it was clearly seen that households where husbands and wives who were educated ( gone through secondary education) were prone to come out of poverty faster. This is not rocket science though but it shows that access to information and knowledge about various services were high among these householders and therefore they ” knew” what to do in a given situation. Furthermore these householders valued education so much so that they provided all the facilities for their children to pursue studies. The second generation in these particular cases were educated enough to get into the formal sector and therefore brought in a stable and consistent monthly income.
However the social values must be further studied to see whether children break away from parents soon to form their own family thus leaving the ” older” family unit vulnerable to poverty . There were cases where young people who got tiertiary eduaction who couldn’t find suitable employment . So education has not helped in these situation. So the question is whether education per sae helps communities to overcome poverty. Please post your comments
Friday 21 Aug 2009 by admin |
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IDP situation
We cannot ignore the fact that the situation is grave and living conditions of the IDP’s are pathetic. Civil society groups are imploring the government to relocate over 250,000 people almost immediately. However the state of affairs in these camps are quite complex and there doesn’t seem to be a simple solution. But is there? According to the law of probabilities the authorities say that there could be a fair percentage of LTTE cadres and supporters within these camps. Even if the percentage is 10 we are looking at over 25,000 direct LTTE carders and collaborators. According to informed sources there are weapons that are buried in the jungles of Vanni. The level of frustration among the IDP’s is rising every day they are within the camp. Should they be allowed to leave immediately? How soon is soon? Are we all sitting on a time bomb here?
Friday 21 Aug 2009 by admin |
17 Comments
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Consumer rights
We say that our society has become market driven and customer dictates in the end. Slogans regarding customer care and service are often displayed at various business establishments. Yet what is the actual culture in Sri Lanka? Do you think that the rights of consumers are protected adequately? Price marking and expiry dates are closely watched by authorities. But is this sufficient to maintain the rights of consumers with regard to standards of quality of a product or service? Obviously not. What has been your experience?
Friday 21 Aug 2009 by admin |
12 Comments
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Good Governance
The principles of good governance and democracy are not totally unknown factors to the citizens of Sri Lanka. With a high literacy rate that is over 90% an average Sri Lankan is aware what good governance is. However the question remains regarding empowering the constituents. How can we hold those in office accountable? What is the exact role of civil society in Sri Lanka in this burning issue?
Friday 21 Aug 2009 by admin |
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Ethnic conflict
We have defeated the terrorists in Sri Lanka and reclaimed the land which we lost in the 1980’s and 1990’s as the result of the separatist war that raged for almost 30 years. The LTTE as we all know was supported and funded by thousands Tamils living outside the country. The aspiration to set up a separate Tamil State has not died a natural death with the death of Prabakaran. One needs to take a brief look at various websites, blogs to understand this. Peace and reconciliation must take place within and without. The question is whether we should defeat the very ideology of separatism or whether we should win them over? What do you recon the role of the civil society should be in this issue? How can we bring about peace and reconciliation with the Tamil Diaspora?
Wednesday 12 Aug 2009 by admin |
7 Comments
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Education
We live in a blessed country where every individual has the right to education despite his or her background, class or creed. University education can be obtained by anybody hailing from any part of Sri Lanka as long as they have attained the sufficient marks and Z score for entrance. However one wonders whether society in general values Free Education as it should be valued. Politicization has corrupted this very blessing today. Most of the Student Unions in universities are influenced and operated by political parties. Parents send their children to universities here in Sri Lanka where the standards are set so high that a degree from such university is recognized anywhere in the world. But all hope and aspirations are sometimes dashed on the ground when their children are caught up in the violence within universities.
Should the authorities ban “ragging” in universities? Do you think it is time for us to put pressure on the entire political party system so that they would take their hands off universities? Or will violence still prevail in other forms because it is an extension of frustrations that students are subject to? Are they bringing in a form of “problem solving” (which is violence) that they are used to even from their home? How can we stop violence at the seat of learning?