Opinion

Do away with waste: Give teachers their dues

Published

5 years ago

2021/08/17

I have watched with sadness how the teachers protested to obtain their just demands. I reflected on what my teachers taught, and silently prayed for them as they rendered yeoman service for students under their care, to get to where they are today in life. The first thing that struck me was to remember a great teacher telling students that for a “deed to be good and blessed with success, that the thought should be good” . This is what the Buddha said: Sabbha papassa akaranam, kuslassa upasampada satchitta pariyo dapanam, etham buddanu sasanam.

Then we were taught not to steal or acquire wealth the wrong way, and that it will not last. We were also advised to lead righteous lives, and remember that we enter the world with nothing and leave also the same way. From the young days, we were told not to attempt to pass examinations the wrong way, and if that was found, such scars will remain till you die. I am grateful to them and have in turn inculcated such noble values in my children, and emphasised that wealth accumulated the wrong way will make their children suffer.

It is indeed a tragic situation that no government placed importance on education and provided only 1.6% of GDP for education. I often wonder whether this was done on purpose, as politicians can manipulate an uneducated electorate. That is abundantly clear since our masses are so gullible that they get carried away by the fairy tales of politicians. Nelson Mandela said that one way that a country could be destroyed without bullets was to deprive people of a sound well rounded education.

I was surprised to read a news item in your issue of 6 August, quoting a minister, that the salaries and pension account was very high in the state service. He said that the government was in a bind over a massive salary and pension bill.

Perhaps politicians are unaware of or choose to ignore that the unaffordable salary bill was largely due to irresponsible politicians, who bloated the public service. Conscious of that fact they added more and more. It is an acknowledged fact that the public service can function and serve society well, with a little over half the number of the workers.

We have to look at what it costs to get a small country with limited resources governed. We have 225 members of Parliament, many unfit to be in a national legislature, drawing emoluments as Ministers, State Ministers, etc., with perks which cost the taxpayer an arm and a leg, when their basic needs are not provided.

Since the learned politician lamented, my suggestion to meet the just demands of Principals and Teachers is to:

A. The government prunes the cost of maintaining 225 in the national legislature by enforcing a 25 % reduction in salaries. Many countries had done so, as it was immoral for those who opted to serve the people, should continue to enjoy when millions are in distress.

B. Sell all the Mercedes, BMW 7 series and Range Rovers now used by ministers, as this sale will provide the necessary funds. Perhaps the doctor is aware that there are many who do not own vehicles.

C. Recover money drawn by politicians from the President’s Fund, as that was not meant for politicians to use. A name comes to mind, the man who referred to teachers as “kalakanni”, who after getting compensated by the hotel after his attempt to jump from one balcony to another, without any qualms of conscience drawing 20 million.

D. The price of five star hotel food provided when more than half the population is near starvation must be increased to be in line with what star class hotels charge for meals.

E. Sell the Mercedes that were imported by the former President on the eve of elections that cost two hundred million dollars. He must be made to vacate the sprawling mansion he made for a ruling president, taking two houses. Since the president uses his private residence, this location must be put to state use.

F . Convert the idling conference hall in Hambantota that cost billions, to a hospital to accommodate the large numbers now on the floor. This applies to the vanity tower in Colombo too.

G. Last but not the least, stop this waste on plaques since public funds are used. Certainly, the place a plaque if some philanthropist donates a facility. We note today the names of ethanol dealers, kudu karayo, chain snatchers and the dhammika peni drinkers all over.

Mr Editor, cost cutting must start from the top, since the majority now in Parliament are unworthy to be lawmakers. They are signal posts and are activated mechanically.

The teachers issue must end and the children must get back to books soon. A paediatric psychiatrist commenting on a talk show, said that the effects of separation from the teachers and a school environment will be felt in a decade or two. Sad.

JEEWAKA RANDENIYA

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Opinion

Education needed about people not feeding wildlife

Published

9 hours ago

2026/02/15

Thilina Walpola

Being wildlife enthusiasts and bird watchers we took a river “safari” during a recent family trip to Bentota. We were dismayed to see that it seems to be the standard practice to feed the monkeys, I think they were the purple faced langurs, that were encountered on the river banks. Each boat that passed by stopped with boxed fruit, coconut and other odds and ends to feed them.

We managed to stop our guy from doing so but faced derision and laughter that we shouldn’t be afraid of monkeys. We tried to explain to him that this is a plague affecting Sri Lanka; elephants being fed on road sides and even in national parks, monkeys being fed from hotel balconies and apparently during river boat rides, birds being fed on hotel terraces etc.

This was met with further mockery and amused dismissal. An effort to make them understand that this was their livelihood that they were destroying it in this manner sailed over their heads. They even have a picture of a baby crocodile on the shoulders of a tourist on their billboard.

We need to consider the following:

Educate such tour operators about the importance of not interfering with the environment and the behaviour of wild animals.

Include education and training in the hotel school, and in schools in tourist resort towns about their duty and responsibility to the environment and the ecosystem on which we all depend.

If it is not already the case such operators should have licenses that should be revoked and fined if found to be engaging in such destructive acts.

Tamara Nanayakkara

Opinion

Capt. Dinham Suhood flies West

Published

2 days ago

2026/02/13

Thilina Walpola

A few days ago, we heard the sad news of the passing on of Capt. Dinham Suhood. Born in 1929, he was the last surviving Air Ceylon Captain from the ‘old guard’.

He studied at St Joseph’s College, Colombo 10. He had his flying training in 1949 in Sydney, Australia and then joined Air Ceylon in late 1957. There he flew the DC3 (Dakota), HS748 (Avro), Nord 262 and the HS 121 (Trident).

I remember how he lent his large collection of ‘Airfix’ plastic aircraft models built to scale at S. Thomas’ College, exhibitions. That really inspired us schoolboys.

In 1971 he flew for a Singaporean Millionaire, a BAC One-Eleven and then later joined Air Siam where he flew Boeing B707 and the B747 before retiring and migrating to Australia in 1975.

Some of my captains had flown with him as First Officers. He was reputed to have been a true professional and always helpful to his colleagues.

He was an accomplished pianist and good dancer.

He passed on a few days short of his 97th birthday, after a brief illness.

May his soul rest in peace!

To fly west my friend is a test we must all take for a final check

Capt. Gihan A Fernando

RCyAF/ SLAF, Air Ceylon, Air Lanka, Singapore Airlines, SriLankan Airlines

Opinion

Global warming here to stay

Published

2 days ago

2026/02/13

Thilina Walpola

The cause of global warming, they claim, is due to ever increasing levels of CO2. This is a by-product of burning fossil fuels like oil and gas, and of course coal. Environmentalists and other ‘green’ activists are worried about rising world atmospheric levels of CO2. Now they want to stop the whole world from burning fossil fuels, especially people who use cars powered by petrol and diesel oil, because burning petrol and oil are a major source of CO2 pollution. They are bringing forward the fateful day when oil and gas are scarce and can no longer be found and we have no choice but to travel by electricity-driven cars – or go by foot. They say we must save energy now, by walking and save the planet’s atmosphere.

THE DEMON COAL

But it is coal, above all, that is hated most by the ‘green’ lobby. It is coal that is first on their list for targeting above all the other fossil fuels. The eminently logical reason is that coal is the dirtiest polluter of all. In addition to adding CO2 to the atmosphere, it pollutes the air we breathe with fine particles of ash and poisonous chemicals which also make us ill. And some claim that coal-fired power stations produce more harmful radiation than an atomic reactor.

STOP THE COAL!

Halting the use of coal for generating electricity is a priority for them. It is an action high on the Green party list.

However, no-one talks of what we can use to fill the energy gap left by coal. Some experts publicly claim that unfortunately, energy from wind or solar panels, will not be enough and cannot satisfy our demand for instant power at all times of the day or night at a reasonable price.

THE ALTERNATIVES

It seems to be a taboo to talk about energy from nuclear power, but this is misguided. Going nuclear offers tried and tested alternatives to coal. The West has got generating energy from uranium down to a fine art, but it does involve some potentially dangerous problems, which are overcome by powerful engineering designs which then must be operated safely. But an additional factor when using URANIUM is that it produces long term radioactive waste. Relocating and storage of this waste is expensive and is a big problem.

Russia in November 2020, very kindly offered to help us with this continuous generating problem by offering standard Uranium modules for generating power. They offered to handle all aspects of the fuel cycle and its disposal. In hindsight this would have been an unbelievable bargain. It can be assumed that we could have also used Russian expertise in solving the power distribution flows throughout the grid.

THORIUM

But thankfully we are blessed with a second nuclear choice – that of the mildly radioactive THORIUM, a much cheaper and safer solution to our energy needs.

News last month (January 2026) told us of how China has built a container ship that can run on Thorium for ten years without refuelling. They must have solved the corrosion problem of the main fluoride mixing container walls. China has rare earths and can use AI computers to solve their metallurgical problems – fast!

Nevertheless, Russia can equally offer Sri Lanka Thorium- powered generating stations. Here the benefits are even more obviously evident. Thorium can be a quite cheap source of energy using locally mined material plus, so importantly, the radioactive waste remains dangerous for only a few hundred years, unlike uranium waste.

Because they are relatively small, only the size of a semi-detached house, such thorium generating stations can be located near the point of use, reducing the need for UNSIGHTLY towers and power grid distribution lines.

The design and supply of standard Thorium reactor machines may be more expensive but can be obtained from Russia itself, or China – our friends in our time of need.

Priyantha Hettige