Opinion

Free education: A mythical dimension

Published

5 years ago

2021/08/2

By I. P.C. MENDIS

We in Sri Lanka tend to very loosely refer always to the scheme of Free Education in the country. As for Free Education in proper perspective, nothing seems further from the truth, in the context of the open prevalence of private schools, both fee- levying and non-fee-levying, International schools, private Montessori schools, private tuition centres, private universities represented by agents of numerous foreign universities, and institutions, etc. Truly, aren’t we really consciously duping ourselves?

So, what indeed is all this fuss and fury about the Kotelawala National Defence University Bill? As at present, is there any assurance for any student entering University that he or she would be free of any harassment through excessive or indecent ragging; that he or she would be out of the University at the end of the prescribed term without the term being compulsorily extended by reason of closures due to student unrest? Could there be any assurance that students from recognized or reputed schools will not be discriminated against by others? Or those well versed in English are not ill-treated through the “Kaduwa ” mentality? Could there be any assurance that they are not compelled to beg on the streets and in public transport, for causes initiated by revolutionary parties or participate in demonstrations politically motivated? Could there be any safeguards against doing menial assignments as punishments for not doing the bidding of seniors or those of a particular political persuasion?

Could there be any guarantee that students enrolled under the free education scheme will be given preference over others for employment purposes in the private sector? What about those outside the free education scheme who are, in any case, free to sit for public examinations? Isn’t that privilege eating into the Free Education system? Could there be a dire need for private fee-levying educational institutions run by some teachers themselves (possibly now vociferously in the forefront against the KDU Bill), if the same effort is available in the school classroom? These are only a few of the obstacles and disadvantages faced by those under the jurisdiction of the University system presently under the UGC.

Free education per se is a misnomer. Yes, indeed, no fees are levied but charges like facilities and other fees are in place, accompanied by rampant corruption in admissions, etc., in vogue in many places. Tuition has become a ‘sine qua non’. Free Education did lose its glamour in its early stages, prompting Collette the cartoonist of yester-year to baptise it as the ‘Pearl of Great Price”! Regrettably, the Free Education Scheme as of now is a long shot from what was envisaged by the late Dr. C.W.W. Kannangara !

First things first, and the government has a sacred duty and responsibility of instilling discipline in Universities, which has been grossly neglected by successive governments. The present government feels that the KDU will be the ideal institution to make a start with its strict code of conduct, not necessarily of the military variety applicable to recruits to the armed forces. The government itself appears to have unnecessarily forced the pace to introduce the KDU Bill during this particular time of unrest among the Teachers’ Unions for a completely different cause. It has afforded an impetus to the likes of IUSF, influenced jointly by the JVP and FLSP, and the JVP itself in their protest campaign.

It seems prudent to take the wind off their sails and postpone the introduction of the KDU Bill till after the settlement of the problem with teachers. The FUTA which spear-headed the campaign against the Rajapaksa regime (pre 2015), demanding a funding of 6% of GDP for education and in virtual slumber during yahapalana, has awoken now like Rip-Van-Winkle, to oppose the KDU Bill. One would have expected the professorial types not to act selectively with bias in terms of personal political choices or preferences, but be consistent, independent and fair in their outlook.

Teachers’ Demands

Indeed, on the face of it, teachers seem to have a genuine grievance that an agreement reached some 24 years ago has still not been implemented by successive governments. It is a matter for conjecture as to why and how they were content to be at rest for over two decades, without agitation for implementation. Our law clearly stipulates that one cannot sleep over one’s rights and any responsible group of workers will not be patiently bearing up for over two decades unless there was a hitch. It would be interesting and indeed relevant to examine whether the said Agreement had been arrived at after due consultation with the Ministry of Public Administration, the General Treasury and the Department of Management Services. If not, deep trouble will result. There could possibly be a hitch in the solutions offered then as otherwise successive governments and the unions will not be bearing up for over two decades. Be that as it may, it may affect decisions taken subsequently in many other services, without such an Agreement being on the table, in which case ad hoc implementation at this stage sans examination of the effect it would have on the overall salary structure of the public service, would be disastrous for a trouble-free management and more-so for the tottering economy.

The government needs to tread extremely cautiously, not surrendering to blackmail and threats, if it is to act with due care and responsibility. Let what is immediately possible be granted and compromise solutions found for others. It is a moot point whether the teacher services could bear comparison directly with certain other public services, with glaring differences such as in hours of work, term holidays, time for private tuition etc. There is no doubt whatsoever that the demonstrations are politicized and interested parties seek to strike when the iron is hot.

Innocence Personified

It is well known that the unions, sponsored and backed by the JVP and Front-line Socialist Party, are in the fore-front of the demonstrations and much in sympathy with the demands. Their ‘modus operandi’ is to make political capital, embarrassing the government. It is an accepted fact that trade unions are a necessary, useful adjunct or concomitant of any political party. It has been so with the then more recognised political parties, such as the LSSP, CP and SLFP. The UNP being a rightist capitalist outfit realised it much later, and formed the JSS and even began celebrating May Day! There is, therefore , nothing to hide. Yet the JVP and FLSP seem to be unready to admit their influence and power over the IUSF and certain other outfits. A leader of a teachers’ union strongly in the fray appeared on the Swarnavahini talk-show ‘RATHU IRA” on Thursday, 29th July 2021, and while admitting his JVP connections dissociated himself with any influence or power over the union he was leading. One was tempted to tell him – “Tell it to the Marines”! Media interviews with the leader of the FLSP was no better. The “Iscole” teledrama on Derana TV depicts beautifully a JVP type teacher who trots about the school doing the minimum but upsetting the efforts of others, by always harping on “system change” derailing the equilibrium. They tend to use the unions to pressurize governments and achieve political ends. Most of the membership are unaware of these moves, as they tag hidden motives to wage or service demands, and the membership remains none the wiser, but elated at the support!

Political Advantage

It seems, according to what the teachers ’unions say, that 24 years ago certain assurances had been given but not implemented by successive governments. The law of the land says that one cannot sleep over one’s rights. Much water has flowed under the bridge since then, and the particular demands have to be considered in terms of current contexts if the demands are to be conceded, without up-setting the overall salary structures in the public service as a whole. Be that as it may, even to concede some, any responsible government has to be mindful of the effect on other services and the overall economy. Coming as it does from ” gurus” who are respected as “Gods” and who should know better, it is pure selfish and irresponsible for them to time their demand at this particular time, when everybody is worried about the raging pandemic, the economy is in a shambles, and on the edge of the cliff about to nose-dive into the depth of bankruptcy. Like in the Health sector where there was a chain reaction when nurses were given hand-outs, one can be certain as night follows day, there will be unrest among other categories as well. It is dangerous to make piece-meal adjustments which only a Salaries Commission could be equipped to do, after due careful overall examination and study. Let wiser counsel prevail!

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Opinion

Shutting roof top solar panels – a crime

Published

20 hours ago

2026/04/20

Thilina Walpola

The Island newspaper’s lead news item on the 12th of April 2026 was on the CEB request to shut down rooftop solar power during the low demand periods. Their argument is that rooftop solar panels produce about 300 MW power during the day and there is no procedure to balance the grid with such a load.

We as well as a large academic and industrial consortium members have been trying to promote solar energy as a viable and sustainable power source since the early 1990’s. We formed the Solar Energy Society and made representations to Government politicians about the need to have solar power generation. This continuous promotional work contributed to the rapid increase in PV solar companies from three in the early 1990’s to over 650 active PV solar companies established today in the country. These companies have created tens of thousands of high-quality jobs, as well as moving in the right direction for sustainable development.

However, all these efforts appear to have been in vain since the CEB policy makers have continuously rejected solar energy as a viable alternative. Their power generation plans at that time did not include solar energy at all but only relied on imported coal power plants and diesel power generation. Even at the meetings where CEB senior staff were present, we emphasised the importance of installation of battery storage facilities and grid balancing for which they have done nothing at all over the past three decades. Now they have grudgingly accepted the need to include solar energy, which was an election promise of the present government. The government policy is that Sri Lanka should go for renewables to satisfy 70% of its energy needs by 2030 and soon move towards the green hydrogen technology by using solar and wind energy.

The question is why the diesel generators and hydropower stations cannot be shut off one by one to accommodate the solar power generated during the daytime. Unlike a coal-fired plant, diesel generators and hydro power plants can be shut off in a relatively shorter period of time. Norochchalai Lakvijaya power plant produces around 900 MW of power while the total country requirement is 2500 MW on a daily basis. The remainder is provided by diesel generators, hydro and other renewable energy sources.

The need for work to achieve this goal of grid balancing should be the primary responsibility of the CEB. Modern grid balancing systems are in operation in countries such as Germany where around 56% of its energy come from renewable sources. They also plan to increase this to reach 80% of the energy required through renewables by 2030. Our CEB is hell bent on diesel power plants. Who benefits from such emergency power purchases is anybody’s guess?

The Government and the CEB should realise that all roof top solar plants are privately financed through personal funds or bank loans with no financial burden on the Government. It is a crime to request them not to operate these solar panels and get the necessary credits for the power transmitted to the national grid. It appears that the results of CEB’s lack of grid balancing experience and unwillingness to learn over three decades have now passed to the privately-funded rooftop solar panel owners. It is unfortunate that the Government is not considering the contributions of ordinary individuals who provide clean power to the national grid at no cost to the Government. Over 150,000 rooftop solar panels owners are severely affected by these ruthless decisions by the CEB, and this will lead to the un-popularity of this new government in the end.

by Professors Oliver Ileperuma and I M Dharmadasa

Opinion

Nilanthi Jayasinghe – An Appreciation

Published

2 days ago

2026/04/19

Thilina Walpola

It was with shock that I realized that the article in the Sunday Island of April 5 about the winsome graduate gazing serenely at her surroundings was, in fact, an obituary about Nilanthi Jayasinghe, a former colleague who I had held in high esteem. I had lost touch with Nilanthi since my retirement and this news that she had passed away, saddened me deeply

I knew and had worked with Nilanthi – Mrs Jayasinghe as we used to call her – at the Open University of Sri Lanka in the 1990s. As Director, Operations, she was a figure that we as heads of academic departments, relied on; a central bastion of the complex structure that underpinned academic activities at Sri Lanka’s major distance education provider. Few people realize what it takes to provide distance education in an environment not geared to this form of teaching/learning – the volume of Information that has to be created, printed and delivered; the variety of timetables that have to be scheduled; the massive amount of continuous assessment assignments and tests that have to be prepared and sent out; the organization of a multitude of face-to face teaching sessions; the complex scheduling of examinations and tests – all this needed to be attended to for a student population of more than 20,000 and for 23 centres of study dotted across Sri Lanka.

It was an unenviable task but Nilanthi Jayasinghe with her flair for organization, handled it all with aplomb and a deep sense of commitment. If there were delays and inconclusive action on our part, she never reprimanded but would work with us to sort things out. Her work as Director, Operations brought her into contact with staff across the spectrum-from the Vice-Chancellor to the apprentice in the Open University’s Printing Press. Nilanthi treated everyone with dignity and as a result, was respected by all at the university. She was sensitive, kind-hearted, a good friend who would readily share problems and help to solve them. The year NIlanthi retired, I was out of the island. When I came back to the Open University, I felt bereft without the steadfast support of her stalwart presence .

The article in the ‘Sunday Island’ describes her life after retirement, looking after family members and enjoying the presence of a granddaughter.

After a lifetime of commitment to others, Nilanthi Jayasinghe truly deserved this happiness.

May she be blessed with peace.

Ryhana Raheem

Professor Emeritus
Open University of Sri Lanka.

Opinion

James Selvanathan Mather

Published

2 days ago

2026/04/19

Thilina Walpola

James Mather (Selvan to all of us) who passed away recently at the age of 95 was one of the leading Chartered Accountants in the country. He was the senior partner of Ernst and Young for long years, and the mentor for a generation of chartered accountants. He was confidante and adviser to many of the leading businessmen of his time. His career spanned over six decades. A man who never sought the limelight, he was very influential in Ceylon/Sri Lanka’s business world.

Selvan Mather was born in 1930 to a well-known Christian family in Jaffna. His father, Rev. James Mather was Head of the Methodist Church in Ceylon. Selvan was educated at Trinity College Kandy, and he had a life-long connection with the school. He entered the University of Ceylon in the late 1940s, at a time when Ivor Jennings was Vice-Chancellor.

He read economics and passed out with an honours degree. For short periods he was in the Department of Income Tax and with the newly established Central Bank of Ceylon. The Central Bank facilitated him to go to England to qualify as a chartered accountant. His two referees, when seeking admission to an accountancy firm in the U.K. were M.D.H. Jayawardena, then Minister of Finance and the Auditor General of Ceylon, L.A. Weerasinghe. Being a chartered accountant was a rare event those days.

On his return from England, his career was with Ernst and Young where he became senior partner. He was close advisor and confidante to many of the leading businessmen. He was admitted to its Hall of Fame by the Institute of Chartered Accountants.

To strike a personal note, I got to know him 50 years ago when he applied for a fellowship given by the Asian Productivity Organisation (APO) in Tokyo. I was in the Ministry of Planning and Economic Affairs at the time, and the Ministry was handling APO affairs in Colombo. He told me later that he enjoyed his time in Tokyo. From that time, we kept up a friendship with him and Nelun, which lasted 50 years.

My wife, Rukmal, and I lived in Windsor England, for about 25 years. During that time, Nelun and Selvan were regular visitors to England. I remember taking him for long walks in Windsor Great Park, and on the grounds of Eton College which were nearby. We went on long car tours in England covering the Cotswolds, the Peak districts and the Potteries. I remember celebrating Selvan’s 70th birthday in London at a Greek restaurant, along with his great friends, Nihal and Doreen Vitarana. Memories remain, although Selvan is no more.

In the last decades of his life we saw Nelun and him often. A few of us, Manik de Silva, Nihal and Srima Seneviratne and a few others met regulsrly for lunch. We will all miss Selvan who was mine of his life and times very much.

Selvan leaves his wife Nelun and three children and their husbands – Rohan, Shyamala and Indi, and Rehana and Akram. It was a close-knit family and they will miss him.

Leelananda De Silva.