Private medical education

November 7, 2011, 6:32 pm

By Professor Sanath
P. Lamabadusuriya MBE

Emeritus Professor of Paediatrics
University of Colombo

A topic that has created much public interest through the media is private medical education in Sri Lanka. This controversial topic first emerged in the 1980s with the creation of the North Colombo Medical School in Ragama by the Sri Lanka College of General Practitioners. About 30 years later it has re-emerged with the establishment of the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine in Malabe.

The Colombo Medical School was established in 1870 and is the second oldest medical school in Asia and Australasia. However even a century later, we have not been able to establish and sustain a fully functioning Private Medical School (PMS) as yet. In 1962, the University of Peradeniya admitted the first batch of students to its newly established medical faculty. Although the reason for establishing a second medical school was to increase the manpower in the Ministry of Health (MoH), it is ironical that this same batch was not offered employment by the MoH soon after they completed their internship. Instead an allowance of a few hundred rupees was offered to each of them to attach themselves to well established family practitioners, to be trained in general practice. With the growing uncertainty of state employment, from about 1968, some of these doctors started sitting for the ECFMG examination conducted by the American Embassy in Colombo (about 75% of doctors who sat this examination in Colombo were Indians, because this examination was not conducted in India, so as to prevent brain drain!) Few months later all Peradeniya graduates were offered employment by the MoH; but by then some doctors had been offered employment in the US and the brain drain had started. By the 1970s the brain drain had increased to such an extent that a compulsory period of service for five years was imposed by the MoH. This episode highlights the need for consistency in state policy regarding employment of doctors and cadre projections for the future.

Every year over 20,000 students qualify to enter the science stream in universities by obtaining the requisite grades of three passes in Biology, Physics/Mathematics and Chemistry at one sitting at the GCE (A/L) examination; of these, there are vacancies only for about 1,200 students to enter the eight State Medical Schools (SMSs). Several years ago, a few students were admitted to a newly established medical faculty at the Sir John Kotelawela Defence University to serve in the Armed Forces after graduation. The current criteria for admission to SMSs are based on a quota system—40% on merit, 55% on a district basis and 5% reserved for educationally under privileged districts. (There are 16 such districts). The total aggregate marks at the A/L examination was the yardstick which was replaced by the Z score in 2001.The quota system was introduced to ensure social equity. However it resulted in students only with exceptional results being able to enter a medical faculty of their choice. During the last decade or so students entering the SMSs have obtained at least two credits and a pass (except for 2 students from Mullaittivu and Killinochchi)) When the quota system was initially introduced, it was envisaged that the merit quota would increase with the improvement in standards of schools island wide. Sadly, it has not happened as yet. As a result there are many students with good results such as two As and one B at the GCE (A/L) examination but they are deprived of entry to SMSs. In addition there are thousands of students in international schools sitting for the London A/L examination some of whom may wish to graduate in medicine.

Students who fail to enter the SMSs and whose parents are able to pay the fees for medical education in a foreign medical school, have the option of receiving a medical degree from abroad. Not all such parents are affluent; some have to mortgage their property to pay the fees. At present hundreds of local students travel abroad for medical studies annually. Over the years billions of rupees have been drained out of the country for this exercise. Their parents have been deprived of having their children with them for five years or so. Some of them may not return to Sri Lanka after obtaining a foreign degree aggravating brain drain.The quality of medical education in foreign medical schools varies widely as reflected in the results of the ACT 16 / ERPM examinations conducted by the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC). Some of these students fail at this examination repeatedly; their abysmal performance reflects on the quality of their foreign training. Some foreign medical schools in East European countries do not allow their foreign students to register and practise medicine in their own country, where they have been trained! Therefore, it is evident that these institutions are conducting a commercial exercise with scant respect for educational standards. Sri Lankan students who are admitted to such third grade medical schools are mostly misled by their local agents. Their parents have been ignorant of the educational standards of such institutions. Some of these poor quality medical schools have been recognised by the SLMC, based on information supplied by the individual foreign PMSs with some feedback from the WHO. Time is appropriate for the SLMC to de-recognise some of these medical schools based on the ACT 16/ ERPM results.

Our country is still very short of doctors. At present as there is no compulsory period of service for doctors, they could leave the country any time for greener pastures abroad. Many state hospitals in the Northern and Eastern Provinces are grossly understaffed. More specialists are required in many areas. According to the SLMC, there are only about 16,000 medical officers working in the country at present. Accordingly, we have about 80 doctors per 100,000 people whereas the doctor population ratio is very much higher in other countries; Cuba has about 590 doctors per 100,000 people. There are several options to fill this wide gap. Due to inadequate financial resources, more SMSs cannot be established by the government at present. We cannot possibly allow students to continue to travel abroad for private medical education for reasons stated earlier. The SMSs could admit some students on a fee-levying basis, who have missed out on the merit quota by a few marks. The quantum of fees to be levied should be estimated based on the expenditure incurred for providing free medical education on a per capita basis. These additional financial resources could be mobilised to provide better facilities for the non fee-levying students. A more viable option is to set up PMSs locally. Sri Lanka is one of the few countries in the region without PMSs. India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Malaysia etc. have well established PMSs together with SMSs. In some of these countries, twinning programmes are in place where part of the training is overseas in a well recognised university. Such a degree would receive more credibility if the twinning is to a recognised foreign university. A well established PMS with high standards of education and competitively priced will attract students from abroad.

In a scenario where the country is still short of doctors and thousands of students are deprived of entry to SMSs in spite of being eligible to do so, there is an urgent need to produce more doctors. Therefore, the ground situation is fertile to allow PMSs to be set up locally. The admission criteria should be the same as for SMSs, but without a quota system. However, for such a venture it is mandatory that adequate resources be made available in the private sector. Such resources include sufficient finances, manpower, lecture theatres, auditoriums, examination halls, tutorial rooms, audio-visual units, libraries, laboratories, museums, IT facilities, clinical skills laboratories, recreational and residential facilities. Finally, it is essential to have a private hospital with at least 250 beds for clinical training as it is not possible to have a PMS without its own teaching hospital. Currently, students are introduced to the hospital environment as early as the first year in SMSs. In most PMSs in India, the private teaching hospitals provide health care free of charge for some patients so as to attract adequate clinical teaching material for the students. Such a system should be established locally. PMSs should invite examiners from SMSs for the evaluations so as to ensure proper standards. Such ventures should be socially responsible as well. To do so, scholarships should be offered to needy students who have the requisite entry criteria but who have been deprived of admission for financial reasons. It is imperative that the SLMC monitor the standards very closely so as to prevent mushrooming of sub-standard PMSs. It is logistically far easier for the SLMC to monitor local rather than foreign PMSs.

The annual cadre expansion is about 800 to 1000 in the MoH. As about 1,165 medical students are admitted annually, there is a fear of reaching saturation point early in the state sector. However, it is well known that thousands of quacks are practising in Sri Lanka especially in rural areas. They continue to do so because of a need for medical care. With the numbers of registered doctors increasing, they would eventually replace the quacks in the future, ensuring better health care for the country at large.

There is a school of thought that in the future doctors may be deprived of employment in the state sector as the numbers keep on increasing. My personal opinion is that the state is obliged to provide internship for all medical graduates but not continuous state employment for all. Thereafter employment by the MoH should be cadre based and should be reviewed regularly with other stakeholders such as the universities, PGIM, professional colleges and GMOA. With more specialists available, quality of care would definitely improve and public satisfaction would grow.

To summarise, there is an urgent need for establishment of PMSs in Sri Lanka with the regulatory and socially accountable issues in place. Entry criteria should strictly adhere to the UGC standards and be transparent. Our country would then have sufficient well trained doctors, be able to save billions of rupees that are draining out of the country and attract foreign exchange as well.

 

Research for what?

November 7, 2011, 6:36 pm

By Dr. C.S. Weeraratna (csweera@sltnet.lk)

The World Science Day falls on 10th November. This article examines to what extent Science and Technology has been effectively used in Sri Lanka to alleviate poverty and socio-economic development of the country.

A large number of scientific organizations operate in Sri Lanka. There are 26 institutions that carry out research in hard sciences, in addition to the 14 universities, whose staff is also expected to conduct research. Among the organizations which promote research are the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Council for Agricultural Research Policy (CARP) and National Research Council (NRC). According to a report of a committee of three scientists, appointed a few years ago by a former Chairman of NSF, this foundation had funded 1725 research projects during 1970-2000. The cost of these 1275 projects is not known. During 1995-2000, NSF has funded 217 research projects involving a sum of Rs. 102 millions. The details of the research projects carried out by NSF since 2000 are not available. Council for Agricultural Research Policy (CARP), since its inception in 1988, has funded about 500 projects related to agriculture, fisheries and animal husbandry, involving around Rs. 550 million. A five member committee of senior scientists appointed in 2006 by the former Minister of Agriculture to review CARP was of the opinion that the benefits of the research output did not commensurate with the investment. There is hardly any information available on the involvement of NRC in promoting research. Hence, one may wonder whether these three institutions have contributed significantly towards economic/technological development of the country.

In Sri Lanka, during the last two decades, perhaps a few thousands of research studies, involving billions of rupees worth of scarce resources, have been conducted. Findings of these research projects were presented at numerous conferences, seminars, symposia etc. It is important that we utilize these research findings for the benefit of the country, but there is no effective system to achieve this. Instead, the authorities are concerned in conducting more and more seminars, and workshops which appear to have no significant impact on effective use of Science and Technology. Most of the seminars and conferences were mostly "talkshops". For example, the Sri Lanka Sustainable Energy Authority, in September 2008, conducted an expensive training workshop on bio-fuels at a hotel in Kandalama, Dambulla. National Science Foundation held a seminar in Nov. 2009 to discuss and decide action to be taken to promote the use of bio-fuel. A number of papers were presented at this seminar on the use of straw to produce alcohol, use of Jatropha to make bio-diesel. There appears to be no output from these workshops.

Amir Muhammed, the chief guest at the 58th annual session of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science, held in Dec. 2002, concluded his address as follows. "I would like to emphasize that judicious application of science and technology for economic development holds the key for a speedy improvement of the quality of life and reduction of poverty in our region. While a balanced development of basic, applied and adaptive research is essential for healthy development of any society, the countries of our region, suffering from major problems of poverty and low quality of life have to use S&T primarily for poverty eradication and solution of major problems, at least in the short term".

 Challenges:

The challenges which we face in Sri Lanka have increased considerably during the last five years. For example, the trade deficit which was Rs. million 253 billion in the year 2005 has doubled to Rs. billion 585 in 2010. The expenditure on food has increased considerably. In the year 2005, we spent nearly Rs. 120 billion to import food, and in 2010 it has increased to Rs.244 billion. Out of this Rs. 70 billion was on sugar and milk most of which can be produced locally using appropriate S&T. The cost of agricultural inputs such as fertilizers and pesticides run in to around Rs. 50 billions which can be reduced substantially by effective use of S&T.

The expenditure on petroleum imports has increased substantially from Rs. 68 billion in 2000 to Rs. 341 billion in 2010. The expenditure on imported fossil fuels is a major economic burden that will increase with time. The use of oil to generate electricity is increasing its cost. The total expenditure on petroleum imports is more than what we earn by exporting tea, rubber and coconut products. Hence, attention must be paid to exploit alternate energy sources in Sri Lanka, especially renewable forms in which S&T plays an important role. We have been talking about use of biomass, Gliricidia , bio-waste, bio-fuels, bio-diesel to generate energy but nothing much has happened. Two years ago there was an inert ministry committee appointed by the former Minister of Science & Technology to examine the alternatives to petroleum. A report highlighting the alternatives was submitted, but up to now action appear to have been taken on the proposals by the Ministry of Science and Technology. .

Chronic Renal Failure (CRF), a disease affecting kidneys, is widespread in some parts of the North Central Province, North Western and Uva provinces. Around 10,000 people, in the three provinces indicated above are currently undergoing treatment for this disease. Use of appropriate S&T is necessary to control this disease.

Thus, we have to face many challenges. To overcome these, the Ministry of Science and Technology should collaborate with the appropriate ministries to conduct relevant research and make use of their results effectively.

  Relevant Research

Scientists themselves have responsibilities to do research that is needed by the country. This is why the former Minister of Science & Technology, in his message to the 62nd Annual Sessions of the Sri Lanka Association for the Advancement of Science said the research effort should place more emphasis on development." Relevant research is critical for development and has a positive impact on the other development processes. For example, the increase in the average rice yields in Sri Lanka from 2,666 kg/ha in 1970 to around 4500 in 2010 can be mainly attributed to research leading to the development of new high yielding rice varieties, produced by the rice breeders of the Dept. of Agriculture.

Science and Technology need to be used to utilize locally available resources. The research efforts need to be directed more towards those aspects, which have a direct impact on the economy of the country, and to solve those problems, which affect the lives of the people. Conducting research alone will not lead to economic development. The research must be relevant to the issues the country is facing. The technologies developed by research need to be commercialized, for which appropriate investments have to made. The Board of Investments need to coordinate with the scientific organizations to attract investments on commercialization of proven technologies.

Sri Lanka is importing a large number of goods which has resulted in a wide trade gap. Producing these goods locally would not only save foreign exchange but also help to generate jobs and increase incomes, thereby increasing the standard of living of the people.

Introduction of S & T and Research & Development can bring-in cost savings and quality improvement enabling competitiveness. Some Economists are of the opinion that reducing the value of the rupee would promote our exports. Effective use of S&T would promote our exports as it would enable us to increase industrial productivity, leading to producing better quality goods and services at prices that can overcome the competition from abroad. Scientists, technologists and the decision makers need to promote the use of science and technology as an integral part of the effort to achieve rapid economic development, improved quality of life and to alleviate poverty.

 Need for a Private-Private partnership

Most of the research undertaken by Sri Lankan scientists end up as mere publications in scientific journals with very few research outputs yielding a commercial product or a process. As such, the contribution of R&D to the economy of the country is negligible. An accelerated programme to transfer the knowledge and technology generated in research laboratories to industrial enterprises capable of converting that knowledge to commercial products or processes should be initiated. These industrial enterprises are mainly in the private sector and the research capabilities lie with the state universities and research institutes. Hence, effective public private partnerships are essential for establishing strong, knowledge intensive, high tech industries in Sri Lanka. However the public R&D organizations in Sri lanka appear to be incapable of liaising effectively with the industry and researchers. Perhaps, Private –Private partnerships may be more effective.

Knowledge management: How microinsurance can best benefit low-income households

November 7, 2011, 8:13 pm

In 2010, the ILO’s Microinsurance Innovation Facility introduced a knowledge management framework, aligning its research and communication strategies and new approaches for improved capture, analysis and sharing of lessons learned from its activities. Craig Churchill, Head of the ILO’s Microinsurance Innovation Facility shares his thoughts about the benefits of the new approach.

Q:What made you go into knowledge management (KM)?

Craig Churchill: The mission of the Facility has always been about learning. As we have finished our five rounds of grants, we needed to maximize the potential of the information that our 55 grantees harvest when implementing their projects.

The goal of the KM framework is to learn how insurance can best benefit low-income households, and to use this knowledge to contribute to the development of appropriate insurance products for low income people, successful business models and effective education approaches. Concretely, we needed to have a blue print, coupled with appropriate systems and tools to capture and disseminate lessons from the field. The KM strategy is what will help us to go beyond the mere implementation of microinsurance projects that we fund and into the replication of successes and learning from failures by the greater microinsurance community.

Q:Concretely, how do you extract information and turn it into knowledge?

Craig Churchill: The Facility relies primarily on its innovation grants programme to churn out useful lessons. Each grantee implements a learning agenda that strives to answer concerns that are core to their organization. Knowledge capture is done by implementing a series of reporting and information extraction processes and tools. One of the key tools is the Learning Diary, a simple yet reflective tool used to capture lessons that a project generates while working toward its milestones.

The knowledge capture activities are supported by the KCapture component of the Facility’s Knowledge Management Portal where grantees can upload, consolidate and share information. This KCapture component, which is still in beta version and accessible only by our grantees for confidentiality reasons, enables the Facility to centralise the information in one location facilitating not only grantees reporting, but also allowing the Facility to organise, consolidate and analyse the emerging lessons and trends more effectively.

Q:What are you doing with the lessons you collect?

Craig Churchill: We have set up on our website (www.ilo.org/microinsurance) a Knowledge Center which is a comprehensive microinsurance information sharing platform that enables users not only to learn from what others are doing, but also share their own experiences, and connect with other practitioners. Moreover, the Facility uses a variety of tools to package knowledge. Grantee specific lessons are shared using the online Learning Journey documents which are chronological and narrative accounts of all lessons learned by a partner during project implementation, including challenges and successes. Lessons along thematic lines are shared in online Thematic Pages, and in publications such as the Microinsurance Papers and Briefing Notes.

Lesson alerts are also sent via email to microinsurance players in what is called the "Emerging Insights" series which provide bite-sized lessons on a variety of topics from microinsurance practitioners, such as the use of scratch cards or why targeting migrants, and not their families, makes more sense. All these tools are available in the Facility’s Knowledge Center. More engaging tools are likewise being used, including webinars (i.e. online presentations and seminars) on key microinsurance issues, videos on specific lessons available on YouTube, discussion forums for online exchanges, and other social media tools. Conferences and workshops, as well as capacity building activities are also important forums for disseminating the emerging experiences of grantees and partners.

Q:What do you want to achieve through gathering and disseminating lessons?

Craig Churchill: Generating the lessons is only half the battle. We also need to make sure that we actively promote the emerging experiences so that ‘do’s’ are replicated and ‘don’ts’ avoided. To influence microinsurance practitioners, however, it is not enough to publish a book or put information on a website. These passive knowledge dissemination methods must be complemented with efforts to proactively encourage the adoption of good practices. We are likely to have greater success in changing behaviours and practices through interactive dissemination tools. The Facility’s capacity-building activities are therefore a critical dissemination strategy for influencing the practices of microinsurance providers at large.

On the one hand, we need a larger cadre of experts who understand the lessons and are interested in a career path that enables them to propagate the findings of good and bad practices. They will act as the lessons champions. But we are also busy with setting up curriculum modules for insurance training centers, co-organizing trainings with Business schools (such as with the Gordon Institute of Business in South Africa) and using for workshop the Harvard Business case methodology to share with practitioners hands on knowledge that can help them reflect on the viability of their business and improve the value they offer to their clients. To assess the impact of the knowledge we produce is not an easy task. The point is not really to figure out how many people have used it but - more importantly - how they use it so that a greater number of low-income people benefit from quality risk mechanisms. (Courtesy ILO)

IUSF on threats to students lives

Dailymirror
The Inter University Student Federation (IUSF) today questioned why the authorities had still not investigated the assault against two Jaffna University students which took place last month and appealed to the government to protect the rights of university students.

IUSF Spokesman Sanjeewa Bandara said that several university students, including the two who were severely assaulted last month receive death threats over the phone and that there lives are constantly under threat.

“The attacks against the two students from the Jaffna University have still not been investigated. The government has remained silent on his matter but it is there responsibility to protect the rights and freedom of university students who do not have the freedom anymore to talk about their problems,” Bandara said. (By Olindhi Jayasundere)

SRM University opens campus in Sri Lanka

India’s privately-run SRM University has entered Sri Lanka, setting up its international campus in the Capital.

Welcoming the commencement of operations of the Chennai-based university, the Minister of Industry and Commerce Mr. Rishath Bathiyutheen said the arrival of international education institutions will give the students in Sri Lanka alternatives in higher education.

“SRM’s arrival will help strengthen historic relations with our neighbour India due to the knowledge transfer benefits we will have. I am given to understand that SRM has a wide range of degree qualifications to help our youth to seek more avenues including medical,” he said.

The Sri Lankan government is encouraging international universities in the country to woo foreign students despite opposition from Marxist JVP or the People’s Liberation Front student unions.

Unions claim that private universities will violate the essence of free education system in the country.

The government, however, has assured that 20 per cent seats of the international universities to be set up here would be reserved for local students.

A report in the Daily News said the university offers all facilities equivalent to any international university encompassing their own hospital for medical students, and own Hotel for the hotel management students. (Source: PTI)

Unemployed graduates demand immediate filling of govt. vacancies with them

November 6, 2011, 10:43 pm

by Dasun Edirisinghe

Unemployed graduates who had been waiting for nearly a decade for jobs, yesterday, demanded that the government fill the remaining vacancies in the public sector with them immediately.

Media Spokesman of the Combined Association of Unemployed Graduates (CAUG) Dhammika Munasinghe told The Island that they would launch a countrywide poster campaign from today (07) to make people aware as the first stage of their agitation.

"We will stage protests in each province as the second step of the campaign," he said adding that the first three protests would be held in Southern, Central and North Western provinces which were the provinces with most unemployed graduates.

The UPFA government, which came to power in 2004, provided 42,000 jobs for graduates under the then President Chandrika Kumaratunga, Munasinghe said.

He said that there were about 5,000 unemployed graduates in the country when incumbent President Mahinda Rajapaksa took over. Over the past six years, the number of unemployed graduates had since risen to 40,000.

"President Mahinda Rajapaksa’s mandate ‘Mahinda Chinthanaya’ promised 10,000 jobs for graduates, but he did not honour the promise still," Munasinghe claimed.

According to him, the Rajapaksa government also promised 8,000 jobs in the 2007 budget and 15,000 jobs in the 2008 budget. But the government has broken all such promises.

By the 2009 budget, he said, the government promised 17,500 jobs for graduates and it planned to recruit 14,500 as Jana Sabha Secretaries and 3177 as aesthetic teachers.

"But the government is yet to recruit graduates as Jana Sabha Secretaries," Munasinghe said adding but those who had external degrees had not received aesthetic teacher appointments even after being interviewed.

"The government completely forgot the issue in 2010 and 2011 budgets.

Their members are seeking a solution from this budget as there are over 19,000 state sector vacancies remaining to be filled at present", he said.

 

It’s 7 billion and counting...

November 6, 2011, 8:15 pm


Dr Mathu H Liyanage

It was indeed a matter for celebration as the world’s population passed the seven billionth milestone on October 31, 2011. It was also a symbolic day across the globe.

The first child born on this day in the enchanting, now peaceful Sri Lanka was at the state-run Castle Street Maternity Home. It was not only a symbolic day for the baby and the parents but also a day to remember and cherish throughout the child’s life as, when she grows up, she could look at the picture hung on her modest home, holding her by no less a person than the First Lady of Sri Lanka, Shiranthi Rajapaksa.

It was also reported that, in the Philippines, a new-born baby was picked to symbolise the seven billionth addition to the global population. She was born at the Jose Fabella Memorial Hospital, a public institution in Sta. Cruz, Manila.

The child and her parents were met by the UN officials and presented them with a cake and a certificate of appreciation, the symbolic gesture of the UN reported to have displayed when they visited the babies born on this day that were reported or made public. Gifts for the child from the local benefactors, including a scholarship grant and a livelihood package for the parents to set themselves up in business, were among the other gifts they received on this significant day.

Other countries too have celebrated the births of babies on this day in various forms: Zambia throwing a seven billion song contest; Russia showering gifts on selected newborns; and Ivory Coast putting on a comedy show.

Babies, like sweet-scented rose buds just opened up, are sure to win the heart of any human being. Their births are, indeed, an occasion to rejoice, and every corner of the globe has reportedly done it.

But, there looms a darker outlook to the unprecedented growth of the population over decades. The resultant pressures added to food production, housing, educational facilities, environment and infrastructure across the countries, especially in the developing countries, make the picture a bit gloomy.

It is projected that the world’s population would balloon to more than 10 billion by the end of the century. Three centuries back, in 1800, the population stood only at 1 billion.

The rapid but steady increase has created wide fluctuations in the demographic profile and the geographic distribution of people.

There is a widening gap between the younger and the old, the rich and the poor in almost every country, and between the countries themselves. There are more people now in developing countries than in developed, industrialised countries.

The high fertility rates in most developing countries have increased. The resultant increases in the population perpetuate poverty with high figures in unemployment as against the developed countries with low rates of fertility, brought about by improved birth control methods, and women putting off marriage for studies and employment. These countries, on the contrary, have come up with problems of shortage of skilled workers to sustain the growth of the economy and their social security schemes.

Cultural and religious attitudes can be attributed to the problems of developing countries, particularly in Africa, with no adequate birth control methods to add to their woes.

Most of these countries come closer to rich countries, crossing the geographical borders, as migrants or economic refugees. Migration has now become a vexed diplomatic problem. Refugees frequently make perilous journeys in dilapidated boats across wild seas to reach greener pastures.

The increase in life expectancy as a result of improved medical, sanitation and nutrition and health-consciousness of people have, no doubt, added a greater dimension to the population growth.

There is always a darker side to any problem the humanity faces. The current trend of population expansion may be slowed down by natural forces, as in the past, or by the amazing technology we now experience. It is also possible for technological developments even to overcome most of the problems as advocated by those against the Malthusian theory at the time.

Homo sapiens are clever creatures, and doomsayers often forget that mankind has a genius for adaptability and survival.

The larger the number of people the earth accommodates, the greater would be the people’s attempts to surmount the problems of over-population. Perhaps, the arrival of the world’s seven billionth human should be, as the birth of any child, a cause for celebration and rejoice.

The population bomb and the increasing tax on global resources

November 6, 2011, 7:41 pm


Welcome

Welcome to the sixty fourth edition of this regular column. Here, we discuss a wide range of topics around Information and Communications Technology (ICT), Business Process Outsourcing (BPO), many aspects of Business, SME Development, Agriculture, Education, Entrepreneurship, Creativity, Innovation and the Society at large.

Population

The world population reached the 7 billion mark last week. While it’s a milestone, it is also a thought provoking point.

The world population hit 6.5 billion in February 2006. The United Nations Population Fund designated 12 October 1999 as the approximate day on which the world population reached 6 billion. This came about 12 years after the world population reached the 5 billion point in 1987. The growth is extremely rapid.

This was not the case many thousands of years ago. Humans just like any other animal species were subject to the laws of nature. This meant that the survival of the species depended on the abundance of food and evasion of predators. It’s a cycle which regulated the population of every species. However, during the course of the history humans realised that their food can be produced; vegetables and fruits can be grown and animals can be farmed. From this point onwards the journey of the human kind took a different path from that of the other species. Abundance of food meant fewer restrictions on population growth.

Population growth increased significantly as the Industrial Revolution gathered pace from 1700 onwards. The drastic advances in medical technologies meant a significant drop in mortality and infant mortality rates. The advancement in industrial machinery resulted in substantial increases in agricultural productivity.

Let’s be happy for where we are, for all the achievements and everything else. But there are few things to be looked at to have a sustainable future.

It’s good to be able to live a secure life with the ability to produce our own food and attend to ailments with proper medical care. However in the bigger scheme of things we should not forget that there is an ever increasing tax on the scarce global resources.

Author of "The Population Bomb", Paul Ehrlich of Stanford University recently gave an interview where he emphasized that global population has more than doubled since he wrote the book in 1968. He notes that although there has been a reduction in birth rates, it is not nearly enough.

It is projected that the Earth will have to support 2 billion additional people by 2050. Regarding this he says:

"To support 2 billion more, it will be necessary to farm ever poorer lands, use more dangerous and expensive agricultural inputs, win metals from ever-poorer ores, drill wells deeper or tap increasingly remote or more contaminated sources to obtain water, and then spend more energy to transport that water ever greater distances. All this will require vastly more energy than is now used. As a result, the next 2 billion people probably will do disproportionately much more damage to our life-support systems than did the last 2 billion. Of course, if humanity got serious about protecting the environment, and now especially the atmosphere, the next 2 billion could do less damage."

In a nutshell, the increasing population need more land area for living to build houses and flats. On the other hand more land area is needed for agriculture to nurture the increasing population. And not forgetting the need to produce ever more increasing amounts of furniture and consumables among other things. All this is while sharing the limited amount of water, oil and other natural resources.

So, it’s crystal clear that we need to manage the population for our future generations to survive on mother earth. There are a few areas to that can help.

Empowering women to make their own decisions about child birth and bearing is one area. More than two in five pregnancies worldwide are unintended by the women who experience them. Women must be able to make their own decisions about childbearing free from fear of pressure from partners, family, and society.

The other main area is around consuming fewer resources and minimising waste. Humans use the finite resources of the world to unbelievable levels and they also waste large quantities of food every year. According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization, industrialized countries waste 222 million tons of food annually. If fewer resources and less food were wasted, the world would be able to feed more people and use fewer resources in producing them.

Not to forget, we are already talking of a potential famine where food could be in short supply. I am sure all of us have heard about the issues with drinking water.

Sustainable development and due attention to this is a need of the hour.

125th Anniversary of Ananda College

Quickly moving on to a different topic, last week saw the 125th anniversary of the Ananda College Colombo, the alma-mater to me and many others.

On 1st November, 1886, a daily English school was opened at No: 64, in Maliban Street, Pettah, pioneered by Ven. Hikkaduwe Sri Sumangala Thero and inspired by Col. Henry Steele Olcott. Starting with a mere student population of 37, it was soon re-located to Maradana, where it blossomed into present day pristine glory, accommodating over 6000 students.

It’s a place that helped to mould our nation and many individuals. Ananda has battled all the way for the betterment of Sri Lanka throughout its history of 125 years. The latest is the contribution of Anandians during our win over terrorists in 2009. Among them are Defence Secretary Gotabaya Rajapaksa, Former Army Commander Sarath Fonseka, Admiral Wasantha Karannagoda, Rear Admiral Sarath Weerasekara, Maj General Jagath Dias, Maj General Kamal Goonarathna, Brig Prasanna Silva and Brig Chagi Gallage.

Among notable old Anandians who have excelled in various fields are Basil Rajapaksa, Thilak Karunaratne, Deva Rodrigo, Arjuna Ranatunga, Ashok Pathirage, Imthiaz Bakeer Markar, Karu Jayasuriya, Upali Dharmadasa, Dullas Alahapperuma, Prof.Tissa Vitharana, Gomin Dayasiri, Mohan Pandithage, Kinglsly Ratnayake, Nimal Lakshapathiarchchi, Kasun Kalhara, Prof. Sampath Amaratunga, Dr. Gamini Wickremasinghe, Ossie Abeygunasekara, Ranjith Pandithage, Deepal Sooriyarachchi and Titus Thotawatte.

The key thing with Ananda culture is the ultimate love for our country, people, culture and motivation to help the society while taking up challenges.

Reader Feedback Corner

Our topic last week was about the tea sector in Sri Lanka. We discussed about opportunities that exist for Sri Lanka as well as the challenges to get over. Mr Ranjith Abeygunawardane, who has over 29 years experience in the plantation sector, has written in detail to us. Below are some of his concerns about the sector.

Quality of the tea produce is deteriorating day by day because of adulterating at the producer end and there is no proper mechanism to detect it at the factory end. Adulteration is done mainly on the black colour appearance. This takes place in most of the factories that are aiming for poor green leaf standards to increase their quantity and they do not have enough machinery to remove the stalk in the made teas.

The main cause for adulteration is the substandard green leaf accepted by the factory. There seems to be no collective agreement among the stakeholders to get rid of this problem. The high cost of production for the factories is area cause that pushes them towards this unethical practice. The capital expenditure on stalk extracting machines is very high and manufactures find it difficult to bear the cost.

This will be a black mark for our black tea in the global markets unless proper measures are not taken.

On other matters raised, the agro climatic conditions and individual factory can be better utilised in branding. Brokers seem to be not promoting our branding and value adding because of hidden agendas on their own profit.

As I also pointed out, the people factor is key for this industry and that needs attention. According to Mr Abeygunawardane, human resource management is disgraceful in the industry as it still uses manufacturing processes. This also raises the point that the sociological aspect of tea is being ignored. More can be done for estate workers. Support should be given to tea small holders as well. They are the life blood of this industry.

I agree with his comment on lapses in research. This was noted in the column last week. Research and development work is not done by the manufactures but has been handed over to the tea research institute (TRI). However, it is only a research station but not in a manufacturing environment according to Mr Abeygunawardane.

I hope this feedback from a participative reader in the sector will give some things to think about for all those who are involved in the tea industry.

If you also have any feedback or things to be raised, please drop a note to yva@lankabpoacademy.lk

See you next week!



The Columnist

Yasas Vishuddhi Abeywickrama is a professional with significant experiences. In 2011 he was recognised as one of the Ten Outstanding Young Persons (TOYP) in Sri Lanka. Yasas has a bachelor’s degree in Computer Science from University of Colombo and a Masters degree in Entrepreneurship & Innovation from Swinburne University in Australia. He has worked in the USA, UK, Sri Lanka & Australia and being trained in the USA & Malaysia. He is currently involved in the training organisation, Lanka BPO Academy (www.lankabpoacademy.lk). Apart from this column, he is a regular resource person for ‘Ape Gama’ program of FM Derana (Sunday 3-5pm). Yasas is happy to answer your relevant questions – email him at yva@lankabpoacademy.lk .

Prof Savitri Goonesekere’s whiff of grapeshot

November 5, 2011, 6:22 pm

by Rajiva Wijesinha

I was pleasantly entertained by Prof Savitri Goonasekere’s references to myself and Dayan Jayatilleke in her long critique of recent developments with regard to Higher Education. The thrust of the article is to attack the reforms proposed by the Minister, S B Dissanayake. Apart from Minister Mervyn Silva, the only two individuals referred to disparagingly by name are Dayan and myself.

I was reminded on reading this of the attack on Minister Dissanayake in the recent US review of Human Rights in Sri Lanka. Apart from Ministers Wimal Weerawansa and Douglas Devananda, two individuals the Americans in general would love to hate, S B was the only Minister mentioned by name. As I wrote at the time, there seemed no obvious reason to hate S B, so that the reason for the attack, prepared I believe by the less civilized elements in the U S Embassy, was probably the flirtation they were carrying on with the JVP. The JVP were doubtless as cynical in their reasons for accepting the advances made, though perhaps that little side-show has been suspended by other developments in the JVP now.

Saner elements in the West, as I have had proven again and again in conversation, have a much higher opinion of S B, and believe as I do that his efforts to reform the University system must be supported. They may not of course agree with all his initiatives, but by and large they recognize that he is an effective Minister with very progressive ideas, and that unless his reforms are expedited, education and thus society in Sri Lanka will not move forward as demanded by the current world situation.

Just as those who prepared the US Report on Human Rights realized that denigration of S B was a way of attacking reform, so too it would seem that Prof Goonesekere, with some intellectual confusion regrettable in one of her renown, thinks attacking Dayan and me would be useful in pursuing her ends. The gratuitous reference to Mervyn Silva, the only member of the government mentioned by name in this article, is typical of propaganda techniques unworthy of a distinguished academic.

Whilst I am sure Dayan can look after himself, and I trust he will do so in his usual incisive prose, I must point out that Prof Goonesekere is really rather childish in suggesting that what I wrote might be ‘a subtle endorsement to (sic) the creation of a para military force within universities and among youth groups’. I hope entirely innocently, she confuses two things, with no regard for either facts or chronology. First she cites a document of the Friday Forum to criticize the recent ‘much publicized leadership programme for new students’. It is a pity she did not consult, instead of the antediluvian alliance, the students of her old school who participated in the programme, or its Principal, who have made clear how successful that programme was.

Then she claimes that there is ‘a proposal for the Ministry of Defence to integrate a "cadet programme" into English teacher training for schools that come under the Ministry of Education. Since her evidence for this, as is apparent from the rest of the article, is something I wrote, it is a pity that she has not read carefully. What I mentioned was that ‘the Education Ministry seems to have put a stop to the heartening initiative of the Secretary of Defence to commission Tamil officers into the Cadet Corps through a programme of training teachers of English’. The poor woman obviously failed to register that there had been a programme previously, that it was for commissioning Tamil officers into the Cadet Corps, and that those officers were to be deployed as English teacher. For those who are not aware of this, it relates to a scheme whereby, even at the height of the conflict, the Ministry of Defence affirmed its commitment to a multi-ethnic army by recruiting Tamils into the Cadet Officer Corps. Why Prof Goonesekere confused this with a cadet programme in English teacher training for schools is incomprehensible, unless prejudice has trumped her undoubted intelligence.

She goes further lower down in her article, in attacking as possibly subtle paramilitarization, my suggestion of catch up education arranged by the military. She claims there is no explanation ‘as to why the military should undertake this work’ but I had pointed out that the idea arose from the successful pre-university course, that combined a range of skills in addition to learning. The para is worth citing in full –

‘In a practical way, such training could offer basic qualifications involving languages plus vocational and aesthetic training, with a package that would allow those who were interested to obtain the six passes at Ordinary Level that would qualify them to join various branches of government service. A more streamlined approach to catch up education can easily be devised, which would also ensure the psycho-social attention, including through cultural activities and sports, that many in the region may require. ‘

While there are doubtless other ways in which such programmes could be offered, I don’t suppose Prof Goonesekere has thought either of the problem, or of any alternatives. This is typical of an approach that criticizes efforts at reform, having singularly failed to promote any when exercising authority herself. Instead she seems determined to denigrate those who do promote much needed reforms, which she herself used to agree were needed, even though she had neither the capacity nor the determination to promote them. Her snide comments about her successor as Vice-Chancellor in Colombo, a lady who had taken the University forward in a number of ways, are characteristic of someone whose elevation to the position of Vice-Chancellor, and her dashing of the hopes of those who saw her as a breath of fresh air, exemplified Parkinson’s Law about people rising to their level of incompetence. She was of course, I have been told, a splendid Professor of Law at the Open University.

Prof Goonesekere’s confusion is apparent in her misdating of efforts at reform, and when she talks of Dr Tara de Mel and Prof R P Jayewardene being senior bureaucrats in the Ministry of Higher Education when Richard Pathirana was Minister. Richard Pathirana ceased to be a Minister in 2000. Tara headed a task force during Minister Pathirana’s time, then became Secretary of Education in 2000, and only took on Higher Education as well when the Ministries were combined again in late 2001. Prof Jayawardene was Secretary of the joint Ministry earlier, but took on Higher Education alone when the Ministries were split in 2000. The IRQUE Project was conceived in Tara’s time, but only became operational after the UNP government took over, which led to its distortion as Prof Goonesekere’s indicates.

This may just be carelessness. More worrying is Prof Goonesekere’s lack of intellectual rigour in her critique of Dayan and me as having taught in State universities and suggesting that we have forgotten the horrors of the late eighties. We have not done so and, unlike Prof Goonesekere who continued to hold office in the university system at the time, we made our opposition clear at the time. I believe Prof Goonesekere shared my view of the enormities of what the Jayewardene government was up to, but whereas I resigned from my university position and campaigned actively against the 1983 referendum, Prof Goonesekere stuck to her exalted position within the system. I make no criticism of this, for she had a young family to look after, and I have always accepted that my own resignation was not a great sacrifice since I could survive quite happily by teaching English.

But the holier than thou attitude she now adopts, scattering her grapeshot at unnamed University officers, is really rather sad for a distinguished lady who once told me, when I asked her to take a greater interest in the Board of the Bandaranaike Centre for International Studies on which she served together with Dr Jayatilleke and myself, that her grandchildren were of greater importance. She should stick to her preferred list, instead of doing down one of the most effective and imaginative Ministers we have.

CORRECTING A DISTORTION BY PROF SAVITHRI GOONASEKERE

November 5, 2011, 6:23 pm


Dr Dayan Jayatilleka

I write with extreme dismay at a reference to me in Prof Goonasekere’s article last Sunday entitled ‘Creating ‘Knowledge Hubs and Destroying University Autonomy’ (Sunday Island, October 30, 2011). She writes as follows:

"Drs. Dayan Jayatillake and Rajiva Wijesinha who were academics in the national universities have publicly supported the militarised leadership training programme. Dr. Jayatillake sees in the leadership programme an excellent model for creating what in effect will be a "para military" youth corp "trained in the use of weapons" that could "bleed to death with a thousand cuts" any outside force or puppet regime seeking to destabilise the country. [Island 31 August 2011.] Rajiva Wijesinha reinforces this view point, apparently for different reasons." (‘Creating ‘Knowledge Hubs and Destroying University Autonomy’ by Savitri Goonesekere, Sunday Island, October 30, 2011)

She should know that if one uses a phrase within inverted commas, and ends the passage with a source, i.e. citing an article, it is an indication that the phrase within inverts derives from the article. If instead, one is merely paraphrasing, one does not use inverted commas. If one uses inverts around a phrase that DOES NOT APPEAR ANYWHERE IN THE TEXT THAT IS REFERRED TO, it is, to put it mildly, misleading and is not a practice encouraged in journalism, let alone academia.

Prof Goonasekere uses within inverts, the term "para military" and says it is something that I have advocated. This is a sleight of hand. The word ‘paramilitary’ appears nowhere in my article. Furthermore, a Google search will show that I have never advocated a ‘paramilitary’ anywhere, in over three decades of published political writings.

For purposes of record, let me reproduce what I did write:

"Our deterrent capacity cannot depend upon a vastly expanded army of almost half a million, as a former commander mistakenly called for, because the economic costs would sink the country. Nor should anyone envisage compulsory national service in the form of a draft because the USA itself learnt to its bitter social cost that the best army is an all-volunteer army. However, a recent successful experiment has been conducted in Sri Lanka with the armed forces’ support, for an orientation course of university entrants. In preparation for a worst case scenario, that model could be expanded to provide a huge youth/student populace, including women, trained in the use of weapons, and which could make any invader, secessionist or irredentist puppet regime (and its army’) bleed from death by a thousand cuts. As Fidel Castro once said when Cuba was under threat of intervention, "we shall arm even the cats!"

Sri Lanka must protect itself against two erroneous schools of thought, both of which sin against Realism. One fails to comprehend the basic conflict of interest between Sri Lanka’s national interests and those states that call for so-called accountability hearings. These states are driven by Tamil Diaspora lobbies, contempt for national sovereignty (except for their own) and an emerging Cold War competition with China. The pseudo-pragmatic school of ‘professional’ capitulationists and appeasers fails to perceive the threat from this quarter and the requirement of global resistance. The other school of thought is that of those who fail to understand the imperative need for compromises and concessions on the secondary and the tactical, so that a strong protective ring can be reconstructed on our perimeter, i.e., our neighborhood, thereby protecting that which is essential: Sri Lanka’s sovereignty, unity, territorial integrity and the gains of the historic military victory.

The most durable defense against interventionism is by simultaneously changing our ‘target profile’ and ‘target hardening’. This can be done only by repairing our internal fragility; removing the discontent and disaffection of the minority at our strategically sensitive Northern periphery. But can that be done and how can it be done? The best answer is in The Fear of Barbarians by Tzventan Todorov, Director of Research at the Centre National de la Recherché Scientifique (CNRS), Paris. In this book, described by the great scholar of international relations, Prof Stanley Hoffman of Harvard and Science Po, as "more than a masterpiece, [it is] a treasure", Prof Todorov speaks of the need to replace or transform an ethnocracy into a modern democracy: "a modern democracy is to be distinguished from an ethnocracy, i.e., a state in which belonging to a particular ethnic group ensures you of privileges over the other inhabitants of a country; in a democracy, all citizens, whatever their origin, language, religion or customs enjoy the same rights." (p 67)

(‘Libyan Lessons for Lanka’, Dayan Jayatilleka, The Island, Aug 31st, 2011)

Intellectual and scholarly standards require that both ‘text’ and ‘context’ be carefully taken into account in the practice of critique. In distorting what I had written Prof Goonesekere has been unfair, lapsing on both counts.