Taking It To The Streets
Last week, university dons around the country took to the streets asking people to sign a one million-signature petition demanding that the authorities safeguard the state-funded education system of the country. In Kandy, some famous professors and academics from University of Peradeniya turned up in the middle of the city and explained to people why they were asking people to sign the petition. The preamble to the petition reads:
“Education is a primary feature of all human societies today. It is a fundamental human right and a fundamental feature of our democracy. Everyone has the right to education and access to education (Article 26 – Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948). In 1945, education was established as a ‘free’ service, which should be made accessible to all persons irrespective of caste, creed, gender, ethnicity, language and region. This brought about a near social revolution in the country. Free education has provided social mobility to ordinary people; people from all parts of the country. We all need schools of quality for our children. Universities are where so many of our children aspire to go to. It brought about a renaissance in the arts creating a strong sense of belonging among its people in different ways. This system has supported artists, writers, teachers, engineers, doctors, dentists, vets, architects, agriculturalists, entrepreneurs, lawyers, accountants and many more professionals. Education supports all other professional and bureaucratic services contributing to the health of the country.”
Of course, people already knew about most of it. They, however, were visibly startled when they heard the tragic twist at the end of the tale:
“Yet, today, public education is under severe stress from many quarters. We are concerned about current government policy toward education and higher education. From 2005 onwards, government spending on education has been fast decreasing. When the current President came into office, in 2005, the government’s expenditure on education was 2.9% of GDP. Today, it has fallen to a miserable 1.9% of GDP.”
By Liyanage Amarakeerthi -
Dr.Liyanage Amarakeerthi
Last week, university dons around the country took to the streets asking people to sign a one million-signature petition demanding that the authorities safeguard the state-funded education system of the country. In Kandy, some famous professors and academics from University of Peradeniya turned up in the middle of the city and explained to people why they were asking people to sign the petition. The preamble to the petition reads:“Education is a primary feature of all human societies today. It is a fundamental human right and a fundamental feature of our democracy. Everyone has the right to education and access to education (Article 26 – Universal Declaration of Human Rights, 1948). In 1945, education was established as a ‘free’ service, which should be made accessible to all persons irrespective of caste, creed, gender, ethnicity, language and region. This brought about a near social revolution in the country. Free education has provided social mobility to ordinary people; people from all parts of the country. We all need schools of quality for our children. Universities are where so many of our children aspire to go to. It brought about a renaissance in the arts creating a strong sense of belonging among its people in different ways. This system has supported artists, writers, teachers, engineers, doctors, dentists, vets, architects, agriculturalists, entrepreneurs, lawyers, accountants and many more professionals. Education supports all other professional and bureaucratic services contributing to the health of the country.”Of course, people already knew about most of it. They, however, were visibly startled when they heard the tragic twist at the end of the tale:“Yet, today, public education is under severe stress from many quarters. We are concerned about current government policy toward education and higher education. From 2005 onwards, government spending on education has been fast decreasing. When the current President came into office, in 2005, the government’s expenditure on education was 2.9% of GDP. Today, it has fallen to a miserable 1.9% of GDP.”