Autonomizing Education

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H G S Prematunge

In the last issue of Counterpoint, we discussed the vital role economics plays in deciding access to and the quality of the education system, which decides the country’s labour force dynamics. There is obvious correlation between the level of education and income, social mobility, economic and social status. Moreover, according to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development educated individuals make more intelligent and informed democratic political choices. Consequently, spending on education has been viewed as promoting human capital by many scholars. It was R.E ...Continued

Battle Lines In New Cold War Drawn-Up

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Dissector

A new Cold War is taking shape in the international political order but ideology would not be playing a dominant role in it, although we would be having some resonant echoes of the old Cold War in the developing situation.  On the one side, is the US and its allies world-wide, on the other, Russia, China and those making common cause with them. Over the past few months the US has been increasingly vocal about an  “Indo-Pacific strategy”,   which seemingly brings within its scope almost ...Continued

CEB Workers Get Salary Shock

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Kshama Ranawana

Nearly 12,000 employees of the Ceylon Electricity board are up in arms over their salaries being paid out as an allowance based on their net take home pay of March this year. These employees who come under the United Engineers Service have fallen victim to a legal imbroglio that stems from a 2014 CEB Board decision allowing for the creation of the afore mentioned category and an E Salary Scale. The decision was challenged in Courts by the Lanka Podu Viduli Sevaka Sangamaya for its ...Continued

Cricket’s Marketing Battles

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Spectator

The ICC Cricket World Cup has returned to England, the country that staged the first three editions of the sport’s showpiece event and the possibilities of players breaking new grounds are explored. One of the questions cricket pundits have discussed is whether any team can break the 500 run barrier. While experts discuss a whole new set of possibilities and teams put up strategies to overcome opponents, the game’s governing body – the International Cricket Council – keeps a close eye on some key aspects ...Continued

Will The Government Stem The Anti-Muslim Campaign?

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Kshama Ranawana

Even as families of victims of the Easter Sunday terror gradually pick up the pieces of their lives, and attempt to make sense of that dastardly act, a more insidious campaign is taking hold of the country. Anti-Muslim rhetoric is not new in Sri Lanka, but the Easter Sunday bomb blasts carried out by members of extremist National Thowheed Jama’ath (NTJ) has given it a new breath of life. The move to stifle Muslim owned businesses has been around for more than a decade, but ...Continued

Cricket’s Greatest Celebration

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Spectator

The participants of the ICC Cricket World Cup were welcomed to England by none other than Queen Elizabeth herself at SW1A 1AA – the postcode for Buckingham Palace. The ten captains posted for an official photograph with the Queen and Sri Lankan skipper Dimuth Karunaratne posted the picture on Instagram with the title ‘priceless’. Looking back at the tournament which is 45 years old, cricket has come a long way. The inaugural edition in 1975 generated little revenue but today the sport’s showpiece event is ...Continued

The Dangerous Rise Of The Right

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Dissector

The increasing rise of Right wing populism in the West recalls to mind the Europe of the First and Second World Wars. Nationalism was the driving force behind these wars and we are left to wonder whether the world is biting off more than it could chew by passively allowing the re-emergence of this virulent brand of politics. One of the theatres to watch most closely is Western Europe. Right wing and nationalist parties have made an impression at the recent European Parliament elections and ...Continued

Higher Education And Privatisation

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H G S Prematunge

From deciding access to quality, economics play a vital role in education. And since the education system bares the heavy burden of producing the country’s human resource that will directly affect the country’s economy, education and economics are like two sides of the same coin. The economies of countries that have large stocks of educated human resources are superior to economies of countries that have lower stocks of educated human resources. This was highlighted by E. Hanushek and L. Woessmann in their 2008 paper ‘The ...Continued

Sri Lanka In A Quandary – Extreme Religiosity And Religious...

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Dr. Prasanna Cooray

Sri Lanka is regarded as one of the most religious countries in the world. In recent times, this has become manifest not just once, but at least twice. And that again by two cutting edge independent research work. The world renowned Zurich based market research cum polling firm Worldwide Independent Network/ Gallup International Association (WIN/GIA), in its latest report on world religiosity (published in 2016), ranked Sri Lanka as the second most religious country in the world! According to the survey Sri Lanka sits only ...Continued

Can Poaching Of Wild Animals Ever Be Contained?

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Kshama Ranawana & Aanya Wipulasena

Poaching of wild animals is a lucrative business. With a kilo of fresh game meat going at anything between Rs. 400 to 800, and dried meat for about Rs. 1500 a kilo, it is not surprising that wildlife officials are hard put to successfully fight this illegal trade. Moreover, despite Sri Lanka’s supposed adherence to teachings that invoke non-violence towards all beings, illegal killing of wild animals continues unabated because there is a market for Big Game, from both area locals and visitors.  Several people ...Continued

‘A Legend In Green Blazer’

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Spectator

Watching the national cricket team being massacred at the Cricket Club of India in Bombay by the hosts was one of the toughest things the spectator has experienced on a cricket field. On day one, a 22-year-old Angelo Mathews was run out on 99. Then Virender Sehwag demolished the attack scoring 284 runs in less than a day. It was carnage as India went on to declare on day three having reached 726 for nine.  The Sri Lankans were getting a taste of their own medicine. ...Continued

Are Our Schools Really Safe?

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H G S PREMATUNGE

Security is an integral part of education, and instability and violence pose a direct threat to a child’s right to education. The prevailing bomb scare, resulting from the Easter bombings is a case in point; schools have been out for over two weeks to all intents and purposes. The second school term was to commence on April 22, but was delayed by two weeks following the Easter terrorist attack on April 21. Archbishop of Colombo Malcolm Cardinal Ranjith has requested all Catholic schools to be ...Continued