Features

National schools, provincial schools, and international schools: A state-consented neo-caste system

Published

2 months ago

2025/01/20

Thilina Walpola

Image courtesy IPS

by Lokubanda Tillakaratne

News of outrageous and probably questionable horizontal distribution of close to 900 million rupees from the President’s Fund to factions of politicians for supposed medical treatment brought back memories of disappointment after the explanation I received from the President’s Office in March 2024 when I called to see whether it could give two million rupees to my school of 200 students in Maradankalla, in the Galenbindunuwewa Education Zone, to build a 20ft x20ft small pavilion on its playground. Section 6 of the President’s Fund Act No. 7 of 1978 allows the distribution of funding for ‘education or knowledge.’

I called after seeing a copy of a letter issued by the President’s office in December 2023 addressed to an Armed Service Head notifying him of releasing a check for 24 million rupees to build a swimming pool at a national school.

When my call got through, the person I spoke to told me that the President’s office funded only National Schools (NS), and smaller village schools, like mine, must contact the Governor of the Province for funds.

CASTE QUARTET OF OUR EDUCATION AND HISTORY

The President’s Office fund distribution practice has proved that we have an asymmetric support mechanism and education they dispense in our schools. The Ministry of Education and BOI are directing three different systems rooted in an Urban-Rural divide to educate our children. They are NSs, the PSs, i.e., rural, the mushrooming International School business (IS), and the business arm of education—the Tuition class pantheon.

This practice mimics the reviled caste systems that controlled Sri Lankan society until the mid-20th century. This thought gave me a jolt and conjured back a time way back when cold, shameful caste was the norm of the day. As a boy in the early 1950s, I remember a 6’ 8″ giant of a gentle, grandfatherly man from a neighbouring lower caste village, removing his headscarf and stepping aside on the tank bund and standing still until a group of chattering boys from this supposedly ‘higher caste’ village walked past him.

According to historian K. M. De Silva, in the 1880s, Charles Bruce, the Director of Education, argued that primary education of the village child must equip him for the “humble career which ordinarily lies before them.” The Bruce Education Code at the time imposed high tuition fees in English and Anglo-Vernacular schools to make it a barrier and challenging for those less elitist sections in the society to learn English. Limiting English education access then to village children was the policy, and it had defenders. J. P. Obeysekere, Sinhalese Representative in the Legislative Council, supported the Bruce Education Code, stating “that the children of the rural poor would be (then) forced to follow such avocations as they are fitted for by nature.” By not advancing the education of rural kids, if we are thinking of creating a labour force to work in the fields only to produce rice to feed the nation, then the present story must change to stop it from drifting back to the wrong side of history.

FAR APART MAKEUP OF THE QUARTET

This caste discussion embodies three different types of schools – NS, PS (Village Schools), and IS. These schools differ on an urban-rural divide, emulating past caste dynamics I mentioned. A village school does not have an influential past pupils’ Association, a characteristic, among other things, enshrined in the preamble in elevating a school to national status. Meanwhile, half a dozen parents form a School Development Committee to lobby for their children in a village school silently. The NS Past Pupils’ groups work with an all-out fervor on behalf of the school.

Schools and learning are two distinct things. They can be physically bigger or smaller, some with wrought iron gates with finials standing as sentinels between crenelated parapet walls representing glamour and fame. In the village school, the gate is for entry and exit and to prevent grazing cows from entering the schoolyard. But learning is the soul of any school. Therefore, it demands both school systems – NS and PS – to foster learning on equal terms, adhering to a one-size-fits-all motto.

Contrary to the PSs, NS never had a problem attracting teachers. Teachers come with vested interests and incentives, such as the privilege of admitting their kids to school (which I have no problem with), and economic opportunities associated with after-school private tuition.

It is puzzling that the same students they teach during school hours become their paying customers in the bustling warehouse-like evening tuition class, an uncontrolled monster eating into parents’ pockets. Indeed, I applaud the Western Province PC for identifying this vulgarity and becoming the bellwether to stop teachers’ after-school tuition practice.

NS facilities are top-of-the-line. Its computer lab is air-tight, climate-controlled 24/7, and built as a showpiece right as you enter the school. Former Presidents have graced them at the opening to earn political capital. Meanwhile, my village school has a small computer room; half of the computers are inoperative; there is no A/C to inject life into the remaining few.

Many NSs pride themselves in having a swimming pool, ICC-standard cricket pitches, and a playground with finery of manicured grass with sprinklers showering it with intervals of atomic accuracy. A couple of groundskeepers work diligently searching for pale-coloured turf to replace. Its pavilion is a treat to the eye. Political royalty and princely educators assemble here annually to enjoy the inter-house sports meet.

Meanwhile, in my village school, the playground is a poor child. Seasonal rain comes to sprinkle it. There are no groundskeepers here. Parents volunteer to trim the grass at the beginning of each term. Elephant droppings of various stages of healing are all over the effaced track. Teachers stand under the shade of teak trees along the barbed-wire fence as students run laps. There is no roofed structure on the playground for them to rest. The closest we have as a roofed structure here are two linear illustrations of a four-page blueprint for a ‘pavilion’, which I brought to the attention of the President’s Office without success.

We wrote to the Governor of the Province with this plan in March 2023 but have not received a response yet.

I am now trying what President Anura Kumara Dissanayake recently observed—looking to see if there is someone I know in the Governor’s Office!

What I write next may not be pretty. My school has two precious latrines for students, embellished with aged squatting pans, one of which has broken edges. The pits are packed to the brim and graciously continue to be receptive to the squatting pan output. The concrete slab inside one latrine is peeling off in a few places. In the three small schools around my village, only Kahapathwilagama (over 100 years old) and Wellaragama are open for business, but they have the same caste title––the PS. Unfortunately, the nearby Ihalagama school was abandoned over a decade ago. After the jungle had overtaken its buildings, herds of Mahakanadarawa elephants now take turns using them for night school.

Such is the background I called the President’s Office for help. Although countless provincial education officials have visited these schools, they seem oblivious or helpless to resolve these shortcomings. The officials have not considered upgrading the playground because they have many vital issues and probably funding difficulties. Furthermore, a few principals told me they would not want to bother the provincial hierarchy for fear of being labelled a nuisance.

International schools making education for profit business

Nearly 150 years later, J.P. Obeyesekeres of the world have their wish granted in the form of the International School phenomenon, replicating the memory politics of the Bruce Education Code.

Among my neo-caste quartet, IS competes intensely with rural students whose English and other subject proficiency is generally regarded as below average. Against this backdrop, in the context of securing well-paying jobs, international school students stand a better chance of representing their caste well.

Past governments have colluded with the Bureau of Investment (BOI) by interpreting secondary education as a business and approved the wholesale International School concept. This action contravenes the provisions of the Assisted Schools and Training Colleges (Supplementary Provisions) Act No. 8 of 1961, which requires that no person other than the Director of Education can establish a school for children between the ages of five and 14.

IS system is not under the oversight of the Ministry of Education but is allowed to take O/L and A/L exams with regular school students or equivalent tests offered by overseas agencies or schools. Now, they are popping up in towns like Grocery outlets. The Ministry did not study detrimental consequences and the competition they generated on PS students. Now, I see this idea has morphed into an impediment instead of an investment to equalize the cadence of these two learning environments.

Not all children who study in IS end up in foreign universities. Those who don’t then enter the local job market with English language eloquence plumaged on their caps. The inveterate disposition of employers towards the English articulation of prospective applicants makes it easy to take the first look at the plumaged candidates. Rural school candidates with a smattering of English-speaking skills get the adieu.

Without increased English-medium education opportunities, employment, or academic opportunities for the village school students decrease in inverse proportion to the distance as the school gets farther and farther from the city. If authorities do not address this imbalance soon, students without adequate English proficiency, i.e., rural students, will become irrevocably irrelevant.

However, English medium education is an indispensable idea in the present day and age. We need a reliable workforce with good English command to court foreign investors to bring their capital. I am concerned about the government’s inaction to bring this environment to rural schools. It has failed to recognize that such student preparation is a form of export stimulating an increase of inbound investment in the country. Let us add village schools’ kids to this export market, too.

After the 1956 Prime Minister S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike’s ‘Sinhala Only’ debacle, it took decades for the English language to become a factor in our children’s education. Then, in the early 21st century, President Chandrika Bandaranayake, S.W.R.D.’s daughter, proposed making English medium instruction in rural schools. However, that idea withered away sadly, leading us to the present discussion. It is encouraging and applausive that some National Schools offer English medium classes now.

Still, the PSs do not have access to such advancements yet; perhaps the education bigwigs think that those children are 5th-Grade exam failures and are not up to the challenge, or there are not enough English teachers to teach. Indeed, the latter may be accurate, but a positive sign is that the aptness of the 5th-Grade aptitude test has become the subject of discussion among educators. I know that 5th-Grade testing should not be considered an inflection point in an ‘Other School’ child’s education. I failed that exam in 1963.

(To be continued)

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Features

High govt. revenue and low foreign exchange reserves High foreign exchange reserves and low govt. revenue!

Published

4 hours ago

2025/03/21

Thilina Walpola

First shipment of vehicles imported to Sir Lank after the lifting the ban on automobile imports

Government has permitted, after several years, the import of motor cars. Imports, including cars, were cut off because the government then wisely prioritised importing other commodities vital to the everyday life of the general public. It is fair to expect that some pent-up demand for motor vehicles has developed. But at what prices? Government seems to have expected that consumers would pay much higher prices than had prevailed earlier.

The rupee price of foreign exchange had risen by about half from Rs.200 per US$ to Rs.300. In those years, the cost of production of cars also had risen. The government dearly wanted more revenue to meet increasing government expenditure. Usually, motor cars are bought by those with higher incomes or larger amounts of wealth. Taxes on the purchase of cars probably promote equity in the distribution of incomes. The collection of tax on motor cars is convenient. What better commodity to tax?

The announced price of a Toyota Camry is about Rs.34 million. Among us, a Camry is usually bought by those with a substantially higher income than the average middle-income earner. It is not a luxury car like a Mercedes Benz 500/ BMW 700i. Yes, there are some Ferrari drivers. When converted into US dollars, the market price of a Camry 2025 in Sri Lankan amounts to about $110,000. The market price of a Camry in US is about $34,000, where it is usually bought by income earners in the middle-middle class: typically assistant professors in state universities or young executives. Who in Lanka will buy a Camry at Rs.34 million or $110,000 a piece?

How did Treasury experts expect high revenue from the import of motor cars? The price of a Toyota Camry in US markets is about $34,000. GDP per person, a rough measure of income per person in US, was about $ 88,000 in 2024. That mythical ‘average person’ in US in 2024, could spend about 2.5 month’s income and buy a Toyota Camry. Income per person, in Lanka in 2024, was about $ 4,000. The market price of a Camry in Lanka is about $ 133,000. A person in Lanka must pay 33 years of annual income to buy a Toyota Camry in 2025.

Whoever imagined that with those incomes and prices, there would be any sales of Camry in Lanka? After making necessary adjustments (mutatis mutandis), Toyota Camry’s example applies to all import dues increases. Higher import duties will yield some additional revenue to government. How much they will yield cannot be answered without much more work. High import duties will deter people from buying imported goods. There will be no large drawdown of foreign exchange; nor will there be additional government revenue: result, high government foreign exchange reserves and low government revenue.

For people to buy cars at such higher prices in 2025, their incomes must rise substantially (unlikely) or they must shift their preferences for motor cars and drop their demand for other goods and services. There is no reason to believe that any of those changes have taken place. In the 2025 budget, government has an ambitious programme of expenditure. For government to implement that programme, they need high government revenue. If the high rates of duties on imports do not yield higher government revenue as hypothesised earlier, government must borrow in the domestic market. The economy is not worthy of raising funds in international capital markets yet.

If government sells large amounts of bonds, the price of all bonds will fall, i.e. interest rates will rise, with two consequences. First, expenditure on interest payments by government will rise for which they would need more revenue. Second, high interest rates may send money to banks rather than to industry. Finding out how these complexities will work out needs careful, methodically satisfactory work. It is probable that if government borrows heavily to pay for budgetary allocations, the fundamental problem arising out of heavy public debt will not be solved.

The congratulatory comments made by the Manager of IMF applied to the recent limited exercise of handling the severity of balance of payments and public debt problems. The fundamental problem of paying back debt can be solved only when the economy grows fast enough (perhaps 7.5 % annually) for several years. Of that growth, perhaps, half (say 4 % points) need to be paid back for many years to reduce the burden of external debt.

Domestic use of additional resources can increase annually by no more than 3.5 percent, even if the economy grows at 7.5 percent per year. Leaders in society, including scholars in the JJB government, university teachers and others must highlight the problems and seek solutions therefor, rather than repeat over and over again accounts of the problem itself.

Growth must not only be fast and sustained but also exports heavy. The reasoning is as follows. This economy is highly import-dependent. One percent growth in the economy required 0.31% percent increase in imports in 2012 and 0. 21 percent increase in 2024. The scarcity of imports cut down the rate of growth of the economy in 2024. Total GDP will not catch up with what it was in (say) 2017, until the ratio of imports to GDP rises above 30 percent.

The availability of imports is a binding constraint on the rate of growth of the economy. An economy that is free to grow will require much more imports (not only cement and structural steel but also intermediate imports of many kinds). I guess that the required ratio will exceed 35 percent. Import capacity is determined by the value of exports reduced by debt repayments to the rest of the world. The most important structural change in the economy is producing exports to provide adequate import capacity. (The constant chatter by IMF and the Treasury officials about another kind of structural change confuses the issue.) An annual 7.5 percent growth in the economy requires import capacity to grow by about 2.6 percent annually.

This economy needs, besides, resources to pay back accumulated foreign debt. If servicing that accumulation requires, takes 4% points of GDP, import capacity needs to grow by (about) 6.6 percent per year, for many years. Import capacity is created when the economy exports to earn foreign exchange and when persons working overseas remit substantial parts of their earnings to persons in Lanka. Both tourism and remittances from overseas have begun to grow robustly. They must continue to flow in persistently.

There are darkening clouds raised by fires in prominent markets for exports from all countries including those poor. This is a form of race to the bottom, which a prominent economist once called ‘a policy to beggar thy neighbour (even across the wide Pacific)’. Unlike the thirty years from 1995, the next 30 years now seem fraught with much danger to processes of growth aided by open international trade. East Asian economies grew phenomenally by selling in booming rich markets, using technology developed in rich countries.

Lanka weighed down with 2,500 years of high culture ignored that reality. The United States of America now is swinging with might and main a wrecking ball to destroy that structure which they had put up, one thought foolishly, with conviction. Among those storms, many container ships would rather be put to port than brave choppy seas. High rates of growth in export earnings seem a bleak prospect. There yet may be some room in the massive economies of China and India.

Consequently, it is fanciful to expect that living conditions will improve rapidly, beginning with the implementation of the 2025 budget. It will be a major achievement if the 2025 budget is fully implemented, as I have argued earlier. Remarkable efforts to cut down on extravagance, waste and the plunder of public funds will help, somewhat; but not enough. IMF or not, there is no way of paying back accumulated debt without running an export surplus sufficient to service debt obligations.

Exports are necessary to permit the economy to pay off accumulated debt and permit some increase in the standard of living. Austerity will be the order of the day for many years to come. It is most unlikely that the next five years will usher in prosperity.

By Usvatte-aratchi

Features

BLOSSOMS OF HOPE 2025

Published

4 hours ago

2025/03/21

Thilina Walpola

An Ikebana exhibition in aid of pediatric cancer patients

This Ikebana exhibition by the members of Ikebana International Sri Lanka Chapter #262, brings this ancient art form to life in support of a deeply meaningful cause: aiding the Pediatric Cancer ward of the Apeksha Cancer Hospital, Maharagama and offering hope to young warriors in their fight against illness.

Graceful, delicate, and filled with meaning—Ikebana, the Japanese art of floral arrangement, is more than just an expression of beauty; it is a reflection of life’s resilience and harmony. “Blossoms of Hope”, is a special Ikebana exhibition, on 29th March from 11a.m. to 7p.m. and 30th March from 10a.m. to 6p.m. at the Ivy Room, Cinnamon Grand Hotel and demonstrations will be from 4p.m. to 5p.m. on both days.

Each floral arrangement in this exhibition is a tribute to strength, renewal, and love. Carefully crafted by skilled Ikebana artists, who are members of the Chapter. These breathtaking displays symbolize the courage of children battling cancer, reminding us that even in adversity, beauty can bloom. The graceful lines, vibrant hues, and thoughtful compositions of Ikebana echo the journey of resilience, inspiring both reflection and compassion.

Visitors will not only experience the tranquility and elegance of Japanese floral art but will also have the opportunity to make a difference. Proceeds from “Blossoms of Hope” will go towards enhancing medical care, providing essential resources, and creating a more comforting environment for young patients and their families.

This exhibition is more than an artistic showcase—it is a gesture of kindness, a symbol of solidarity, and a reminder that hope, like a flower, can grow even in the most unexpected places. By attending and supporting “Blossoms of Hope”, you become a part of this journey, helping to bring light and joy into the lives of children who need it most.

Join in celebrating art, compassion, and the Power of Hope—one flower at a time.

Features

St. Anthony’s Church feast at Kachchativu island

Published

4 hours ago

2025/03/21

Thilina Walpola

Fort Hammenhiel

The famous St. Anthony’s Church feast this year was held on 14 and 15 March. St. Anthony, as per Catholic belief, gives protection and looks after fishermen and seafarers like me. Many Buddhist seafarers are believers in St. Anthony and they usually keep a statue of the saint in their cabins in the ship or craft.

St. Anthony died on 13th June 1231 at age of 35 years, at Padua in Holy Roman Empire and was canonized on 30 May 1232 by Pope Gregory IX.

I was unable to attend last year’s feast as I was away in Pakistan as Sri Lanka’s High Commissioner. I was more than happy to learn that Indians were also attending the feast this year and there would be 4,000 devotees.

I decided to travel to Kankesanturai (KKS) Jaffna by train and stay at my usual resting place, Fort Hammenhiel Resort, a Navy-run boutique hotel, which was once a prison, where JVP leaders, including Rohana Wijeweera were held during the 1971 insurrection. I was fortunate to turn this fort on a tiny islet in Kytes lagoon into a four-star boutique hotel and preserve Wijeweera’s handwriting in 2012, when I was the Commander Northern Naval Area.

I invite you to visit Fort Hammenhiel during your next trip to Jaffna and see Wijeweera’s handwriting.

The train left Colombo Fort Railway Station on time (0530 hrs/14th) and reached KKS at 1410 hrs. I was highly impressed with the cleanliness and quality of railway compartments and toilets. When I sent a photograph of my railway compartment to my son, he texted me asking “Dad, are you in an aircraft or in a train compartment? “

Well done Sri Lanka Railways! Please keep up your good work. No wonder foreign tourists love train rides, including the famous Ella Odyssey.

Travelling on board a train is comfortable, relaxed and stress free! As a frequent traveller on A 9 road to Jaffna, which is stressful due to oncoming heavy vehicles on. This was a new experience and I enjoyed the ride, sitting comfortably and reading a book received from my friend in New York- Senaka Senaviratne—’Hillbilly Elegy’ by US Vice President JD Vance. The book is an international best seller.

My buddy, Commodore (E) Dissanayake (Dissa), a brilliant engineer who built Reverse Osmosis Water Purification Plants for North, North Central and North Western provinces to help prevent chronic kidney disease is the Commodore Superintendent Engineering in the Northern Naval Area. He was waiting at the KKS railway station to receive me.

I enjoyed a cup of tea at Dissa’s chalet at our Northern Naval Command Headquarters in KKS and proceeded to Fort Hammenhiel at Karainagar, a 35-minute drive from KKS.

The acting Commanding Officer of Karainagar Naval Base (SLNS ELARA) Commander Jayawardena (Jaye) was there at Fort Hammenhiel Restaurant to have late lunch with me.

Jaye was a cadet at Naval and Maritime Academy, (NMA) Trincomalee, when I was Commandant in 2006, NMA was under artillery fire from LTTE twice, when those officers were cadets and until we destroyed enemy gun positions, and the army occupied Sampoor south of the Trincomalee harbour. I feel very proud of Jaye, who is a Commander now (equal to Army rank Lieutenant Colonel) and Commanding a very important Naval Base in Jaffna.

The present Navy Commander Vice Admiral Kanchana Banagoda had been in SLNS ELARA a few hours before me and he had left for the Delft Island on an inspection tour.

Commander Jaye was very happy because his Divisional Officer, when he was a cadet, was Vice Admiral Kanchana (then Lieutenant Commander). I had lunch and rested for a few hours before leaving Karainagar in an Inshore Patrol Craft heading to Kachchativu Island by1730 hrs.

The sea was very calm due to inter-monsoon weather and we reached Kachchativu Island by 1845 hrs. Devotees from both Sri Lanka and India had already reached the island. The Catholic Bishop of Sivagangai Diocese, Tamil Nadu India His Eminence Lourdu Anandam and Vicar General of Jaffna Diocese Very Rev Fr. PJ Jabaratnam were already there in Kachchativu together with more than 100 priests and nuns from Sri Lanka and India. It was a solid display of brotherhood of two neighbouring nations united together at this tiny island to worship God. They were joined by 8,000 devotees, with 4,000 from each country).

The church

All logistics—food, fresh water, medical facilities—were provided by the Sri Lanka Navy. Now, this festival has become a major annual amphibious operation for Navy’s Landing Craft fleet, led by SLNS Shakthi (Landing Ship tanks). The Navy establishes a temporary base in a remote island which does not have a drop of drinking water, and provides food and water to 8,000 persons. The event is planned and executed commendably well under Commander Northern Naval Area, Rear Admiral Thusara Karunathilake. The Sri Lankan government allocates Rs 30 million from the annual national budget for this festival, which is now considered a national religious festival.

The Indian devotees enjoy food provided by SLN. They have the highest regard for our Navy. The local devotees are from the Jaffna Diocese, mainly from the Delft Island and helped SLN. Delft Pradeshiya Sabha and AGA Delft Island. A very efficient lady supervised all administrative functions on the Island. Sri Lanka Police established a temporary police station with both male and female officers.

As usual, the Sinhalese devotees came from Negombo, Chilaw, Kurunegala and other areas, bringing food enough for them and their Catholic brothers and sisters from India! Children brought biscuits, milk toffee, kalu dodol and cakes to share with Indian and Jaffna devotees.

In his sermon on 22nd December 2016, when he declared open the new Church built by SLN from financial contributions from Navy officers and sailors, Jaffna Bishop Rt Rev Dr Justin Bernard Ganapragasam said that day “the new Church would be the Church of Reconciliation”.

The church was magnificent at night. Sitting on the beach and looking at the beautiful moon-lit sea, light breeze coming from the North East direction and listening to beautiful hymns sung by devotees praising Saint Anthony, I thanked God and remembered all my friends who patrolled those seas and were no more with us. Their dedication, and bravery out at sea brought lasting peace to our beloved country. But today WHO REMEMBERS THEM?

The rituals continued until midnight. Navy Commander and the Indian Consul General in Jaffna Sai Murali attended the Main Mass.

The following morning (15) the Main Mass was attended by Vice Admiral Kanchana Banagoda and his family. It was a great gesture by the Navy Commander to attend the feast with his family. I had a long discussion with Indian Consul General Jaffna Sai Mulari about frequent incidents of Indian trawlers engaging in bottom trawling in Sri Lankan waters and what we should do as diplomats to bring a lasting solution to this issue, as I was highly impressed with this young Indian diplomat.

The Vicar General of the Jaffna Diocese, my dear friend, Very Rev Father P J Jabarathnam also made an open appeal to all Indian and Sri Lankan fishermen to protect the environment. I was fortunate to attend yet another St. Anthony’s Church feast in Kachchativu.

By Admiral Ravindra C Wijegunaratne WV,

RWP& Bar, RSP, VSV, USP, NI (M) (Pakistan), ndc, psn,
Bsc (Hons) (War Studies) (Karachi) MPhil (Madras)
Former Navy Commander and Former Chief of Defense Staff
Former Chairman, Trincomalee Petroleum Terminals Ltd
Former Managing Director Ceylon Petroleum Corporation
Former High Commissioner to Pakistan