Features

Survival of the fittest? The importance of context-sensitivity in education reform

Published

3 months ago

2025/10/14

My ongoing fieldwork on agrarian politics in Sri Lanka is teaching me many things that are not directly related to, but heavily condition what happens in agriculture. I’m learning how the dynamics of everyday domestic life impact agrarian decisions: whether or not the credit taken for agriculture purposes is always actually spent on it; how intimate relationships impact farming activities (who is entering into or refusing labour exchange relations with whom, for instance); and how decisions about children – their nutrition, education, prospects – condition decisions people make about what to cultivate and when, among other things. It is in this context that I noticed many things about Sri Lanka’s school education system as it unfolds in the peripheries. My aim in today’s piece is to make the case for more inclusive consultative processes and context-specific responses in education reform, in light of these realities.

Most of my fieldwork is conducted in Welikanda (Polonnaruwa) and Siyambalanduwa (Moneragala). I also paid some visits to Weli Oya (Mullaitivu). Of these, Welikanda and Weli Oya were created under the Mahaweli Development Scheme explicitly for the purpose of forming a ‘human shield’ against LTTE encroachment. Siyambalanduwa, even though bordering the East (Ampara), is less of a ‘border’ area in that sense, although it, too, was exposed to the violence of war. Siyambalanduwa is also largely made up of resettled communities, but most of them had come well before the onset of the war, as part of development projects which were also Sinhala colonisation schemes. All of them, however, are replete with resource scarcity issues, in education and outside of it.

These remote areas are hardly a first choice for teachers looking for placements, resulting in a perennial staff squeeze. Poor infrastructure (water scarcity, dilapidated quarters, etc.) and physical security concerns (elephants, reptiles, etc.) do little to incentivise applicants. A retired principal I spoke to in one of these areas said they had to mostly rely on those with only O/L qualifications to discharge teaching duties at her school because people didn’t want to come there, despite it being a national school. Those who do come, she said, seek transfers immediately after the mandatory service period is up.

Resource scarcity in schools also seems to exacerbate the impact of domestic crises, because schools are not equipped to effectively respond to their spillovers. For example, in many of these locations, people spoke of the breakdown of families as a pervasive problem. My interlocutor in one such area shared how her mother leaving the family had resulted in her younger brother going into depression. In desperation, she had gone to his class teacher to request her to pay him additional attention given the situation. In two-three months when her brother had refused to go to school altogether, she had gone back to the teacher, who could not remember her or her brother.

Far from blaming the teacher in this instance, I see two larger issues: 1) There simply aren’t enough teachers to respond to such requests for individual attention. In border areas where the breakdown of families seems to be the rule rather than the exception, even the usual numbers of staff typical of a school might be inadequate. 2) There has been no investment in training (in counselling, for example) the teachers who do service these schools. Seeing as there’s not enough of them to even discharge regular teaching duties, this may already be too much to ask.

There were two other issues that also circled back to resource scarcity. The first is the appointment of teachers to primary school without first providing them with sufficient training in formative education. As is well known by now, the importance of formative education cannot be emphasised enough. The Sri Lankan system does not seem to have realised this, however, as evidence by its lack of investment in primary education. A primary school teacher I spoke with lamented that she herself felt that she was doing grave injustice by the students, and that the one-week training on formative education they received was singularly inadequate. An upper school appointment where she could teach Political Science, the subject she is qualified to teach, does not seem forthcoming. Hers is not an isolated case. The ‘unemployable graduate’ is the result of wrong placements: when people are given jobs they’re not equipped to deliver, they become redundant, while those in need of their services have to make do with whatever service providers are capable of giving. It is not so much that the civil service is inflated, but that wrong appointments are made to wrong places, when right appointments can make all the world’s difference to those most in need of public services.

The second issue concerns special needs children, which has an amplified impact in resource-scarce contexts. According to the same primary school teacher, there are not enough facilities to respond to the needs of such children. She shared that the special needs section previously instituted in many schools was dismantled in the interest of full integration of children with special needs to wider society, as a means of protecting their rights. However, in a context of serious underfunding, this simply translates into neglect as teachers struggle with classrooms that are big enough as it is. In 99% of the cases, there has also been no investment in special needs education that would have enabled these teachers to effectively engage with such students. Very few well-endowed schools in the entire country have a system in place to make this transition work – special needs units staffed by trained teachers, and a couple of hours every day in other classrooms – while teachers in the vast majority of schools have to make do with keeping special needs children occupied enough to not ‘annoy’ other children. Needless to say, this undermines the very purpose of dismantling special needs sections.

Given these realities, all of which are well known, I found President Dissanayake’s claim that “some schools may need to be closed, some merged, and in certain areas, new schools must be established” (available at https://www.newsfirst.lk/2025/07/25/%E2%80%9Cno-child-left-behind%E2%80%9D-president-calls-for-overhaul-of-school-dropout-crisis) not only problematic, but also in serious misalignment with his own educational reform package. According to the President, the reforms seek to ensure “no child is left behind”. Dr. Harini Amarasuriya, the Prime Minister and Minister of Education, also said in a recent interview in this connection that the government’s intention is to make sure that the students who go to underprivileged schools will get a better education than they do at present (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UjmPunkM80A). How this is to be achieved by closing down or merging schools that are not doing so well is unclear.

In what is now becoming an increasingly evident neoliberal bend, the NPP government is framing its case for reform in terms of the performance records of individual schools – dropout rates, number of students, etc. (available at https://www.newsfirst.lk/2025/07/25/%E2%80%9Cno-child-left-behind%E2%80%9D-president-calls-for-overhaul-of-school-dropout-crisis), casting them as ‘unviable’ without due regard to systemic issues that render the situation so: these include factors such as economic hardships of families, lack of attention of successive governments, teachers (and in fact others in the public service) attempting to avoid working in such ‘difficult’ areas, their remoteness increasing as a result, and each of these factors feeding the others in cyclical fashion. In such a context, individualisation of responsibility paves the way for the “survival of the fittest”: schools that are ‘viable’ because they are already doing well, to whom whether or not reforms are introduced makes very little difference.

To avert disastrous failure, educational reforms need to be consultative and inclusive in the most substantive sense possible. Rather than being just an exercise to tick the boxes, the government needs to really invest the time and energy to go to communities that cannot come to Colombo for meetings; communities that are likely to be unaware of such a process in the first place. This alone would steer the government away from ‘national’ reforms, committing instead to ones that are responsive to varied local needs.

(Hasini Lecamwasam is attached to the Department of Political Science at the University of Peradeniya)

Kuppi is a politics and pedagogy happening on the margins of the lecture hall that parodies, subverts, and simultaneously reaffirms social hierarchies.

by Hasini Lecamwasam

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Features

Acid test emerges for US-EU ties

Published

14 hours ago

2026/01/22

Sahan Weerasooriya

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen

European Commission President Ursula von der Leyen addressing the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland on Tuesday put forward the EU’s viewpoint on current questions in international politics with a clarity, coherence and eloquence that was noteworthy. Essentially, she aimed to leave no one in doubt that a ‘new form of European independence’ had emerged and that European solidarity was at a peak.

These comments emerge against the backdrop of speculation in some international quarters that the Post-World War Two global political and economic order is unraveling. For example, if there was a general tacit presumption that US- Western European ties in particular were more or less rock-solid, that proposition apparently could no longer be taken for granted.

For instance, while US President Donald Trump is on record that he would bring Greenland under US administrative control even by using force against any opposition, if necessary, the EU Commission President was forthright that the EU stood for Greenland’s continued sovereignty and independence.

In fact at the time of writing, small military contingents from France, Germany, Sweden, Norway and the Netherlands are reportedly already in Greenland’s capital of Nook for what are described as limited reconnaissance operations. Such moves acquire added importance in view of a further comment by von der Leyen to the effect that the EU would be acting ‘in full solidarity with Greenland and Denmark’; the latter being the current governing entity of Greenland.

It is also of note that the EU Commission President went on to say that the ‘EU has an unwavering commitment to UK’s independence.’ The immediate backdrop to this observation was a UK decision to hand over administrative control over the strategically important Indian Ocean island of Diego Garcia to Mauritius in the face of opposition by the Trump administration. That is, European unity in the face of present controversial moves by the US with regard to Greenland and other matters of contention is an unshakable ‘given’.

It is probably the fact that some prominent EU members, who also hold membership of NATO, are firmly behind the EU in its current stand-offs with the US that is prompting the view that the Post-World War Two order is beginning to unravel. This is, however, a matter for the future. It will be in the interests of the contending quarters concerned and probably the world to ensure that the present tensions do not degenerate into an armed confrontation which would have implications for world peace.

However, it is quite some time since the Post-World War Two order began to face challenges. Observers need to take their minds back to the Balkan crisis and the subsequent US invasions of Afghanistan and Iraq in the immediate Post-Cold War years, for example, to trace the basic historic contours of how the challenges emerged. In the above developments the seeds of global ‘disorder’ were sown.

Such ‘disorder’ was further aggravated by the Russian invasion of Ukraine four years ago. Now it may seem that the world is reaping the proverbial whirlwind. It is relevant to also note that the EU Commission President was on record as pledging to extend material and financial support to Ukraine in its travails.

Currently, the international law and order situation is such that sections of the world cannot be faulted for seeing the Post World War Two international order as relentlessly unraveling, as it were. It will be in the interests of all concerned for negotiated solutions to be found to these global tangles. In fact von der Leyen has committed the EU to finding diplomatic solutions to the issues at hand, including the US-inspired tariff-related squabbles.

Given the apparent helplessness of the UN system, a pre-World War Two situation seems to be unfolding, with those states wielding the most armed might trying to mould international power relations in their favour. In the lead-up to the Second World War, the Hitlerian regime in Germany invaded unopposed one Eastern European country after another as the League of Nations stood idly by. World War Two was the result of the Allied Powers finally jerking themselves out of their complacency and taking on Germany and its allies in a full-blown world war.

However, unlike in the late thirties of the last century, the seeming number one aggressor, which is the US this time around, is not going unchallenged. The EU which has within its fold the foremost of Western democracies has done well to indicate to the US that its power games in Europe are not going unmonitored and unchecked. If the US’ designs to take control of Greenland and Denmark, for instance, are not defeated the world could very well be having on its hands, sooner rather than later, a pre-World War Two type situation.

Ironically, it is the ‘World’s Mightiest Democracy’ which is today allowing itself to be seen as the prime aggressor in the present round of global tensions. In the current confrontations, democratic opinion the world over is obliged to back the EU, since it has emerged as the principal opponent of the US, which is allowing itself to be seen as a fascist power.

Hopefully sane counsel would prevail among the chief antagonists in the present standoff growing, once again, out of uncontainable territorial ambitions. The EU is obliged to lead from the front in resolving the current crisis by diplomatic means since a region-wide armed conflict, for instance, could lead to unbearable ill-consequences for the world.

It does not follow that the UN has no role to play currently. Given the existing power realities within the UN Security Council, the UN cannot be faulted for coming to be seen as helpless in the face of the present tensions. However, it will need to continue with and build on its worldwide development activities since the global South in particular needs them very badly.

The UN needs to strive in the latter directions more than ever before since multi-billionaires are now in the seats of power in the principle state of the global North, the US. As the charity Oxfam has pointed out, such financially all-powerful persons and allied institutions are multiplying virtually incalculably. It follows from these realities that the poor of the world would suffer continuous neglect. The UN would need to redouble its efforts to help these needy sections before widespread poverty leads to hemispheric discontent.

Features

Brighten up your skin …

Published

14 hours ago

2026/01/22

Sahan Weerasooriya

Hi! This week I’ve come up with tips to brighten up your skin.

* Turmeric and Yoghurt Face Pack:

You will need 01 teaspoon of turmeric powder and 02 tablespoons of fresh yoghurt.

Mix the turmeric and yoghurt into a smooth paste and apply evenly on clean skin. Leave it for 15–20 minutes and then rinse with lukewarm water

Benefits:

Reduces pigmentation, brightens dull skin and fights acne-causing bacteria.

* Lemon and Honey Glow Pack:

Mix 01teaspoon lemon juice and 01 tablespoon honey and apply it gently to the face. Leave for 10–15 minutes and then wash off with cool water.

Benefits:

Lightens dark spots, improves skin tone and deeply moisturises. By the way, use only 01–02 times a week and avoid sun exposure after use.

* Aloe Vera Gel Treatment:

All you need is fresh aloe vera gel which you can extract from an aloe leaf. Apply a thin layer, before bedtime, leave it overnight, and then wash face in the morning.

Benefits:

Repairs damaged skin, lightens pigmentation and adds natural glow.

* Rice Flour and Milk Scrub:

You will need 01 tablespoon rice flour and 02 tablespoons fresh milk.

Mix the rice flour and milk into a thick paste and then massage gently in circular motions. Leave for 10 minutes and then rinse with water.

Benefits:

Removes dead skin cells, improves complexion, and smoothens skin.

* Tomato Pulp Mask:

Apply the tomato pulp directly, leave for 15 minutes, and then rinse with cool water

Benefits:

Controls excess oil, reduces tan, and brightens skin naturally.

Features

Shooting for the stars …

Published

14 hours ago

2026/01/22

Sahan Weerasooriya

That’s precisely what 25-year-old Hansana Balasuriya has in mind – shooting for the stars – when she was selected to represent Sri Lanka on the international stage at Miss Intercontinental 2025, in Sahl Hasheesh, Egypt.

The grand finale is next Thursday, 29th January, and Hansana is all geared up to make her presence felt in a big way.

Her journey is a testament to her fearless spirit and multifaceted talents … yes, her life is a whirlwind of passion, purpose, and pageantry.

Raised in a family of water babies (Director of The Deep End and Glory Swim Shop), Hansana’s love affair with swimming began in childhood and then she branched out to master the “art of 8 limbs” as a Muay Thai fighter, nailed Karate and Kickboxing (3-time black belt holder), and even threw herself into athletics (literally!), especially throwing events, and netball, as well.

A proud Bishop’s College alumna, Hansana’s leadership skills also shone bright as Senior Choir Leader.

She earned a BA (Hons) in Business Administration from Esoft Metropolitan University, and then the world became her playground.

Before long, modelling and pageantry also came into her scene.

She says she took to part-time modelling, as a hobby, and that led to pageants, grabbing 2nd Runner-up titles at Miss Nature Queen and Miss World Sri Lanka 2025.

When she’s not ruling the stage, or pool, Hansana’s belting tunes with Soul Sounds, Sri Lanka’s largest female ensemble.

What’s more, her artistry extends to drawing, and she loves hitting the open road for long drives, she says.

This water warrior is also on a mission – as Founder of Wave of Safety,

Hansana happens to be the youngest Executive Committee Member of the Sri Lanka Aquatic Sports Union (SLASU) and, as founder of Wave of Safety, she’s spreading water safety awareness and saving lives.

Today is Hansana’s ninth day in Egypt and the itinerary for today, says National Director for Sri Lanka, Brian Kerkoven, is ‘Jeep Safari and Sunset at the Desert.’

And … the all-important day at Miss Intercontinental 2025 is next Thursday, 29th January.

Well, good luck to Hansana.