Pera arts undergrads boycott lectures

February 14, 2012, 12:00 pm , The Isand


by Dasun Edirisinghe

Undergraduates of the Peradeniya University’s Arts Faculty have been boycotting lectures and examinations from Monday noon demanding the lifting of the suspension order on the president of the faculty students’ union and the release of three of their colleagues who are in remand custody.

President of the Students Council Mahesh Lanka told The Island that three undergraduates of the faculty had been remanded after being accused of severe ragging.

"When we protested against the government’s move to establish private universities, the university administration suspended president of the Arts Faculty Students Union Nuwan Chameera," he said.

Lanka said that they held a protest march inside the university on Monday with the hoisting of black flags and also launched a poster campaign in the university premises.

All students had protested opposite the Senate building after the protest march.

They had dispersed after a discussion with the university administration.

"However, we are not happy with the discussion," Lanka said adding that university administration promised to call another meeting after discussing matters among themselves.

He said that they would not stop the protest against the suspension of union president and the remanding of three undergraduates.

Add parents, teachers and students to solve the maths problem

February 13, 2012, 7:58 pm , The Island.


By R.N.A. de Silva

ndesilva@osc.lk

Why do so many youngsters have problems with mathematics? Is it because they find it too much to handle or is it because they dislike it compared to the other subjects that they learn in school? It is to be expected for students to consider mathematics difficult due to the abstract nature of the subject and the challenges that it offers. But, generally young people are risk takers and they enjoy taking up challenges. Therefore, it is a concern if a student states that it is a subject that he or she dislikes. How do we create an appreciation for mathematics learning so that the students are motivated to follow the subject with interest? For this to happen, I feel that three groups of people must work in harmony: students, teachers and parents.

If the topic of mathematics is brought up in a conversation when parents get together or at a parent teacher conference, it is to be expected to hear comments such as "I was never good at mathematics", "I don’t blame my son as I hated mathematics when I was in school" or "this is one subject where we are completely clueless to help our child". Such negative comments will not help a child struggling to cultivate a positive attitude towards learning mathematics. The same parents will acknowledge the importance of the subject in the modern world. Therefore without amplifying the difficulties it is important that parents and children work together to find ways of overcoming the problems.

It will be helpful if parents join their children in solving mathematical riddles, puzzles and even filling Sudoku grids. The interest in the subject can be enhanced through these activities and students will gradually increase an awareness of the need to have good mathematical skills. Also, it would help immensely if parents show that they are willing to learn. Getting your children to teach you something that you don’t understand, but have an interest in, provides a valuable learning atmosphere. Teaching another person is one of the best ways of enhancing a skill.

We are all lifelong learners. This idea is very important for teachers. Mathematical concepts that are taught in schools may not have changed over the last few centuries, but the methods of delivery, analytical tools and processes of conceptualization have changed drastically over the last few years. It is important for teachers to remember that the students under their care enter a job market that values mathematical thinkers. Solving a problem using an algorithm is important but the ability to view a problem from different angles and choosing the right option reflecting on the constraints is much more important. It is not useful to judge a student being either good or bad in mathematics. Allen Broyles and Tom Pittard who researched on the neuro-developmental demands that mathematics places on a student beautifully analyses a situation where four students may get the same problem wrong for four completely different reasons. First student understands the process but makes a simple fact error; Second also understands the process but unable to complete due to memory deficits; Third inaccurately transcribes on paper the correct number that he is holding in his head; Fourth does not understand the concept underlying the problem. To address these errors, each one needs a different approach to teaching.

A common difficulty experienced by students is the inability to connect the abstract and conceptual aspects of mathematics with reality. Holding a model of a cube, for example, is more meaningful to a child than simply being told that a cube has six faces. All students move through a development sequence from concrete to abstract and manipulatives are an excellent form to help them through this process.

Many students are faced with the problem of finding a way to ‘study’ for mathematics. In most subjects, they could read notes, go through texts or perform experiments in preparation for lessons and examinations. But, what could you do in mathematics? Mathematical skill acquisition comes with practice. When students solve mathematical problems, it is helpful to consider it as an exploration. Sometimes you are successful and sometimes not. But, each failed attempt can provide useful hints towards the path of success, if the mistakes could be analysed. Thomas Alva Edison said "I have not failed. I have just found 10,000 ways that won’t work".

Another difficulty that the students face in mathematics classes is the inability to follow the lesson due to not being comfortable with what had been done previously. Mathematics is a subject where the conceptual understanding is built up in a ladder formation. You cannot move to the next level without stepping on the previous step. As such, it is useful for students to spend a few minutes at home going through and reflecting on what was covered in class, on a regular basis. Also, in this modern age of advanced technology, it is not too difficult to check on the topic being taught on the internet, to find out about the historical development and to check on where the applications lie, thereby enhancing the motivation to know more about the topic.

The following list is an attempt of mine to provide three important tips to the three categories of people for whom this article is intended to.

PARENTS

1. Be prepared to listen to your children when they talk to you about their academic work.

Encourage them to discuss their classroom achievements and difficulties with you. Rather than telling them what to do, discuss with them about possible solutions to their difficulties.

2. Create opportunities of demonstrating the use of mathematics at home.

You could do this by solving puzzles that may appear in newspapers or magazines that you purchase or involving your children in the calculation of paint required for a paint job or tiles required for a tiling job etc.

3. Show them that you are willing to learn from them.

In this age of such rapid technological advancement there is much that we can learn from youngsters and it is important to give them that opportunity in the sharing of knowledge. Value their opinions and discuss the feasibility of options.

TEACHERS

1. Be prepared to think as a student.

Visualising may not be as easy for your students as you think and try to use manipulatives and visual aids as far as possible. Remember that you are dealing with abstract concepts and it is necessary to move from known to the unknown in a simple way.

2. Be abreast of new developments.

It is important to be aware of current trends and the use of technology as a teaching tool. Have an attitude of learning and be not afraid to try out new teaching techniques.

3. Create an atmosphere of friendliness in your classroom.

Mathematics is a subject where much discussion is needed and therefore students should have no fear of raising their questions or initiating a discussion. Also, have courage to admit mistakes or to confess that you need time to refer to either a problem or a concept, which will be appreciated by the students.

STUDENTS

1. Be aware that success can be achieved through determination.

It is not unnatural to make mistakes in mathematics but it is important to analyse mistakes to check why they occurred. Perfection in mathematics can be achieved only through practice. Remember that the failures are the pillars of success.

2. Find means of minimizing careless errors.

Reading questions carefully and writing down what is given and what needs to be found is important in mathematics as a good number of mistakes are made due to the misunderstanding of the question. Neatness and showing steps in a logical order can also help in cutting down careless errors.

3. Be prepared to discuss your difficulties.

You will be able to spot your mistakes and improve your thinking process through discussion either with your teacher or colleagues. Try not to give up when unable to proceed. If not in a classroom, phone a friend for clues or use the internet to get ideas. If everything fails, make a note of it to discuss with your teacher on the following day.

The writer is now in the Overseas School of Colombo having returned to Sri Lanka after a long service at the United World College of Hong Kong.

Ecological footprint and sustainable human development

February 13, 2012, 12:00 pm , The Island.


By Jagath C. Savanadasa

The title above sounds abstract and even distant. But as we go on we will feel that we are on fairly familiar ground.

In early January I attended a Seminar on Cleaner Production which was an awareness programme on connected policies and regulatory measures for the benefit of officials of Chambers of Commerce. It was in the course of this learning exercise that I realized how important cleaner production and connected activity were for the sustenance of the economy and human development. Of course as far back as the 1970’s there emerged early warnings relating to the depletion of the Ozone layer caused by industrial pollution. The leading industrial nations were said to the primary cause of such depletions and there was a sustained cry by environmentalists to take measures to prevent further damage. But such protests had little effect.

From a global perspective one learns these days of depleting material resources. It seems that consumption of such resources has led to what is known as dematerialization or a decline of product output per unit.

An interesting concept linked material and natural resources with land. This concept centred on the Ecological Footprint.

Before the advent of the 1980’s for example, the total resources generated by the earth were sufficient for sustenance of the life of the world’s population. But since that time the resources have gone down to the extent that it is today difficult to meet the demands of the population. In other words, transferring this concept to the usage of land it has emerged that the total land area required for a person’s existence has gradually diminished. To put it is yet another way, the living patterns of man has led to creating a situation where the ecological footprint is currently low. And if unchecked such a situation will lead to serious problems with living and in finding the means for human survival.

It is important to note that in Sri Lanka too her resources are less than her ecological footprint. In these circumstances the fundamental aim of an Institution known as the International Footprint Network is to generate awareness worldwide of the declining bio diversity.

The National Cleaner Production Centre attached to this network (which has the support of the U.N. and which conducted the Seminar referred to) has been active in creating the ground work for cleaner production in industry.

At the introductory stage of the Seminar it was pointed out that though the world has seen huge advances in industry conferring many benefits on mankind, such benefits have been counteracted in some instances to a crippling degree by, concurrent environmental degradation.

A simple yet vital illustration related to atmospheric increases experienced in recent times. Principally such increases have been in terms of global atmospheric concentration of Carbon Dioxide (Co2) .

Mr. Sena Peiris an Engineer by profession and the Director of the National Cleaner Production Centre first addressed the Seminar on the need for a plan and strategy to create a consciousness about the importance of Cleaner Production nationally. Obviously in the effective implementation of such a task the Chamber of Commerce network, he felt, could play a useful role. Peiris added that the Centre that he headed had for sometime been engaged in raising the level of understanding of the essentials of Cleaner production with individual industrial units mostly city and suburban based.

But it was necessary to generate an awareness and also compliance, the latter through legislative measures and regulation especially in the outstations which had less access to related information. Following this introductory note the seminar proceeded with a discourse on what is now high up in the international development agenda – sustainable human development.

Yet another vital matter that emerged at this stage related to consumption. When consumption patterns continued to increase the demands on natural resources a need arose for sustainable utilization of such resources, principally centering on either preventing or minimizing environmental pollution. According to the policy strategy defined cleaner production is an integrated environmental plan for products and services so as to increase efficiency, reduce risks to humans and the surroundings in which they exist.

Pollution reduction measures

Dr. Mrs. L P Batuwitage, Adviser, Ministry of Environment, observed that it was important to implement pollution reduction measures so as to control what she called "the shrinking environmental span". This could to an extent be done through improving social responsibility. Mrs. Batuwitage emphasized the need to infuse into the minds of people the concept of cleaner production through the medium of education. Of course education and driving home the relevance of such production alone would not suffice. Of greater significance were the responses of various segments of society especially the manufacturers and industrialists to this rallying call to adhere to the production concepts outlined.

Equally, the collaboration of all segments of the community was vital to ensure sustainability of production in the manner desired so as to prevent the shrinkage of environmental assets Batuwitage said that quite apart from the gentle art of persuasion and the responses, measures needed to be taken to ensure compliance through regulation.

The Kyoto Protocol

At this point of the discussion my thoughts diverted briefly to the degradation of environment and pollution and its devastating consequences on the international scale. These had been responsible for global warming and the green house effect. Many countries had in recent times been victims of callous neglect by some of the world’s most powerful industrial nations. They had persistently ignored the cry of environmentalists of the dangers posed by the release of pollutants, the decrease of forest coverage the exploitation of land, the sea and the water in the search for short-term material gains. Surely, big industrial nations were aware of the harm that they were causing but did they heed the call to reduce industrial emissions or to adopt measures in the over exploitation of resources that would harm man’s natural habitat?. No. It would be recalled that at the first international parley leading to the agreement to introduce a universally agreed mechanism to control harmful emissions, the famous Kyoto to Protocol, the U.S during the Bush administration was not a signatory (to the protocol). Even at the latest parley at Durban major industrial nations failed to reach a consensus on vital issues and measures necessary to prevent especially atmospheric degradation. Among new industrial powers are China, India and Brazil, but are they doing enough to control the harmful impact of their surging and driving industrial expansion, which often is accompanied by pollution?.

Views of an expert

Mr. Gamini Senanayake an expert in this field, who heads a firm with sustainable and cleaner production provided an effective insight through the under mentioned illustration.

According to Senanayake the following key inputs needed to come into play to ensure sustainability of production and consumption.

Senanayake after an explanatory session in which he clarified many issues also spoke of the introduction of new international standards pertaining to production.

ISO – 50000 (EMNS) Green labeling

ISO 50000 (EMNS) it appears is the latest ISO standard in the sphere of Cleaner Production which is also alternately referred to as green labeling. This standard was introduced in January 2011. A leading manufacturer of garments, Brandix Ltd which has acquired a rightful reputation for "going green" has already entered the somewhat exclusive club of ISO, 50000.

Another rather new initiative is MBI which is a definition conforming to Cleaner Production. Senanayake finally dealt with the importance of a sustained and all round effort needed to ensure that various forms of production in addition to the way we conduct ourselves at home or on the domestic front, to ensure that society is responsive and alive to the preservation of good living within a healthy environment.

The legal framework

Some useful information was also provided by the last speaker Mrs. Himali Karunaweera, Assistant Director, Environmental Pollution Control division of the Central Environmental Authority. She brought to light that as far back as 1980 (when the J R Jayawardena regime was in power) a National Environment Act had come into force despite the fact that issues connected with environmental degradation had been not as serious as during the subsequent decades.

As a consequence activities or measures at that period of time taken to counteract debilitation of surroundings were not pronounced.

During the last decade there came into being active policies, though they were mostly of a regulatory nature. Mrs. Karunaweera opined that regulation alone was not sufficient to ensure cleaner production.

Legal standards had been established in respect of

a. Noise pollution – industry, traffic, the use of electrical equipment like loudspeakers.

b. Waste pollution

c. Air- pollution

d. Solid waste management

e. House management

She concluded that it remains to be seen how effective the laws are and whether they are applied in a way that would lead to desired results.

Conclusion

Some key features of the entirety of this valuable exercise were the discussions at the conclusive session of the seminar. Since most of the representatives came from outstation Chambers of Commerce the use of Sinhala was very helpful to elicit their participation.

A matter of particular importance was brought forth by the Head of SMED – the Small and Medium Enterprise Developers, a n arm of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL), in fact an intregal component of it which has played a highly valuable role on a national scale in the development of SME’s.

Mr. Wijekoon the head of SMED pointed out the dangers arising out of a cyanide mixed raw material in the end manufacture of copper and silver based products. Additionally in the disposal of the waste or the left over on the soil. These harmful elements needed to be controlled and the damage to workers and the environment prevented.

Wijekoon an experienced Consultant in the mechanics of rural manufacture was evidently fully aware of the ignorance on the part of small manufacturing units in especially the Kandyan Provinces (from where he hailed) and in the North Central range which are traditionally associated with craftsman who have made a name for themselves in this field. He said that importers of raw materials in Colombo too had to be made aware of the dangers inherent in the Chemicals they brought to Sri Lanka and which were distributed all over the country, particularly in the provinces mentioned.

See page 7



Wijekoon concluded that there were other options in the form of substitutes available for importation and advocated the need to eliminate this serious problem.

A lady representative from the Galle Chamber of Commerce pointed out that the refuse of fish disposed of by the fisherman in the district resulted in environmental damage. Also the manner in which the waste water after the washing of the fish is disposed of. She suggested that the local government authorities should be also made aware and regulatory measures enforced to eliminate this serious problem which apparently affected most of the Southern fishing belt.

This writer too brought to the notice of those present the problem connected to disposal of waste-water in desiccated coconut mills. The D/C industry was a traditional one which was employment oriented and has also been a source of regular foreign exchange earnings. He stressed the need to infuse better technology in the manufacturing processes and waste control in such mills. Sri Lanka had over 50 such mills.

Emerging from this thought provoking discussion the Cleaner Production Centre agreed that they would proceed to take action along with other relevant agencies in order to infuse new thinking and also compliance on Cleaner Production especially in the distant districts which at present sorely lacked commercial and industrial information that facilitates growth and even future survival. In this laudable process the Centre will definitely count on the goodwill and support of the nation’s Chamber of Commerce system.

The writer is Secretary General, Business Chamber of Commerce. Earlier he was Senior Consultant – Economic Affairs of the Federation of Chambers of Commerce and Industry of Sri Lanka (FCCISL) and Secretary – General/CEO of the National Chamber of Commerce of Sri Lanka (NCCSL)

Rote Learning, attention span and Mathermatics

February 12, 2012, 6:31 pm , The Island.


By Dr. Douglas King

The editorial in Thursday’s edition of The Island has hit the proverbial nail on the head. As a young teacher in primary school in the UK during the education revolution of the 60s. and so called Plowden Reforms, I stood out as an agent provocateur. I was in favour of many of the details of the report, although I was already implementing many of these, I argued vehemently that some aspects of rote learning had a value. The methodology of how best to teach children reading has came under the scrutiny of Plowden, and phonics was now on the back burner. I insisted on teaching multiplication tables through chanting (and other ways) and basic reading skills using simple phonics in addition to whole word and context clues. The reading levels in my classes were always high and by year 6 (grade 6) almost all children had rapid access to not only "tables" but also quick addition and subtraction mental arithmetic. I have always argued that if little children can so easily learn nursery rhymes (in UK and Sri Lanka) they can learn other more useful material.

At a recent convocation lecture I gave to degree level students, I gave them one minute to adhe consecutive numbers from 1 – 100. None of the 200 students or faculty voiced an answer, and even reducing the challenge to 1 – 20 brought forth no response. Anyone with basic arithmetic skills plus a problem solving approach will appreciate that 99+1 =100, 98+2=100, 97+3=100 and so forth. Only the middle 50 and the 100 stand alone to total 150 so there are 49 sets of 100 = 4900 plus 150 to make a total of 5050. This can be done with any set of consecutive numbers, My point is that creative problem solving skills must accompany rote learning to be of real value. Several children in my grade 6 classes discovered the quick solution to adding 1-20. The ability to recite the numerals from 1 – 100 is a prerequisite to a full understanding of their numerical values. I would have though that "Rap" and other pop music styles, lend themselves very easily to rhythmic chanting. Educators need to remember that familiarity breeds success. Several days ago in a local bookshop I bought two items costing Rs: 120 and Rs;110. These were totaled on a calculator ("just to make sure") and then change necessary from Rs: 300 also calculated the same way.

As far as attention span goes, much depends on the content of the lesson and its application by a skilled teacher. As an English teacher/advisor in Sri Lanka, some teachers may remember my demonstrations in government schools when I gave lessons lasting nearly two hours to students without using a single text book. Of course this was not in keeping with curriculum requirements at that time. However several years later, a very thoughtful and determined President quite rightly ordered "everyday conversational English" to be part of the curriculum. I had been advocating this for several years, and was criticized for my approach. President Mahinda Rajapaksa may not be a teacher but he values innovation and creativity, that may be lacking in much of the educational system. No wonder so many students are not reading high quality literature when the emphasis is not on enjoyment in either Sinhala or English, but simply getting through the examination and for teachers to complete the curriculum. With so many students starting their day for the 6am school transport, waiting for the same transport to take them home and then attending various tuition, homework and dharma classes, there is not much physical or mental energy left for an hour or more of reading for pleasure.

The times they are a changing, in the words of Bob Dylan, and education needs to reflect these changes, but at the same time not succumb to fashion or charlottes that have ready made answers. This applies to the teaching of mathematics and English language, where some traditional methods have stood the test of time. Hardly a week passes without large advertisements appearing in the Sunday newspapers with gurus promising massive intellectual growth, superb organization skills and personality development that propels you to the highest levels, obtainable in one single day’s seminar. All this for an "investment" of only Rs:10,000 to Rs:20,000. Obviously the advertisements work and hundreds avail themselves of the opportunity. Sadly, similar events are also aimed at children, and well-meaning parents are persuaded that their normal children will become intellectual giants.

I am reluctant to discuss government policy towards the teaching of English as a useful rather than academic skill. No doubt this has been done by many people with advanced qualifications and extensive experience in this area... It appears that all the decisions and changes have been made according to the wishes of President Mahinda Rajapaksa. It remains to see whether these changes will have the desired effect. However, some of the traditional teaching methods used in Colonial times, may partly account for the excellent conversational English that many elderly people use. At its basic level English has greater simplicity than most Asian languages, and this initial simplicity needs exploitation.

douglasking1939@yahoo.com

Quality Tertiary Education outside the (state) University sector at very low cost

February 12, 2012, 6:32 pm , The Island.


Prof J N Oleap Fernando, PhD
(Lond); Chartered Chemist & Chartered Scientist
(Honorary Rector & Honorary Senior Professor, College Chemical Sciences
Chairman/ Academic Board, Institute of Chemistry Ceylon
Emeritus Professor of Chemistry, Open University of Sri Lanka)

The two tertiary level programmes conducted by the College of Chemical Sciences (CCS), (which is the educational arm of the Institute of Chemistry Ceylon) over the past four decades have proved to be typical examples of the type of tertiary education that can be provided at low cost, without delay, efficiently, effectively and without the constraining effects of state bureaucracy and political interference.

The Graduateship Programme in Chemistry of the CCS today produces annually well over 40% of Sri Lanka’s Special Degree level Chemists within a four year period at an average cost of about Rs 3 lakhs which surely must be the cheapest of any such programme in any part of the world. With an average cost of well over Rs. 1 million to produce a similar graduate in the Sri Lankan University system, it should be noted that the 822 Graduate Chemists produced by the CCS through 29 batches (1983-2011)represent a human resource development (HRD) which would have otherwise cost the national exchequer, well over one billion rupees. In addition to many Scholarships, Merit Bursaries and Need Bursaries, Best Performer prizes are offered for every course which together with numerous other awards, benefits and concessions provide a salutary atmosphere and a good driving force for excellence in academic performance. About 15% of the CCS student community of about 600 are concurrently following courses in state universities (including Medical faculties and Universities in the Provinces), which they usually complete much later than ours.

Income generated from fees have been very carefully managed and savings used not for individual benefits but towards enhancing the quality and standard of the programmes and strengthening the necessary infrastructure. Though the programme commenced operations in 1979 without any office, staff or a building, the Institute of Chemistry Ceylon moved into their own premises in 2005 and now have a regular full time staff of nearly 50. Library (air-conditioned) and other facilities have been enhanced. Due to the difficulty and delay in obtaining an additional piece of land nearby, CCS, after much delay, is about to embark on a five storey building extension on the only available limited space around Adamantane House. Students can therefore expect more facilities and better services by 2013 when the extension is due to be completed. While savings are being recycled in an extremely productive and useful manner, not a single officer/official of the Institute/College has as yet gone overseas using Institute funds. If only CCS had access to additional land at a convenient place, we could have expanded further and made an even greater contribution to Human Resources Development. CCS could then have supplemented the insufficient and much more expensive production of Graduate Chemists from conventional universities at a much lower cost in larger numbers and faster.

The service/need oriented, professionally based and non-mercenary objectives and activities of the professional body of Chemists in Sri Lanka can be well gauged by the fact that the very first formal educational programme was at the Technician level and remains, even today after four decades, as the only such programme producing fully fledged Chemistry Technicians at the MLT level in Sri Lanka. That programme which commenced in 1973 at Aquinas College was the first priority of the Institute after incorporation in 1972 in order to meet a much felt need at the middle level; the Institute did not levy any fee even to issue the certificate of completion during the first decade of the Technician programme.

The College has also been able to strengthen the professional activities of the Institute as a spin off result from the unforeseen financial and academic success of its educational programmes. Training seminars, quiz competitions, debating competitions, titration competitions, exhibitions etc have been conducted with increasing regularity and professional competence. The interests of school children have remained uppermost and multi-faceted activities have been conducted to further their skills, abilities and knowledge. The Institute was also able to play a crucial and important co-coordinating role during the International Year of Chemistry (2011) as the National Secretariat with the holding of two exhibitions and in many other ways with special focus on school children and in other ways.

However, the incomes generated from the educational activities have not been used for other Institute purposes for which alternate sources of funds have usually been tapped. The several international conferences held over the past have however been very successful and possible largely due to the solid infrastructure and human resources now available at all levels available within the Institute/College through the conduct of its educational programmes. The Institute and the College from the very inception fortunately got its fundamental priorities right so that the CCS has been careful to ensure that funds generated from educational activities were utilized essentially for furthering the educational programmes with no profit making initiatives. The CCS is therefore able to confidently go ahead with the proposed building programme without serious financial problems. Educational programmes of the Institute thus become the direct beneficiaries of these pragmatic policies.

The very effective manner in which productively administered educational programmes can perform a very useful and constructive supporting role in HRD has been amply established through the academic, financial, professional and social success of the educational programmes of the CCS. It is a great pity that we note there is a general resistance to the provision of similar alternate facilities outside the state sector despite inadequate academic staff numbers in universities and reluctance to increase salaries of senior academics to an attractive level. Recent events have unequivocally proved that the state university system is clearly unable to expand any further except at great loss of quality and efficiency. This has been well illustrated in the unplanned expansion of state universities without planning and inadequate funds to serve largely political ends. It is obvious that the quality and equivalence of a university degree cannot be guaranteed merely through a UGC circular that presently states that similar degrees awarded by any university are equivalent o each other.

Therefore the government would do much better with greater productivity and less expenditure if it recognizes and supports much more alternate opportunities that could be made available outside the bureaucratic and highly politicized state sector. Broad basing Tertiary Chemical Education need not necessarily be profit oriented as it is generally believed and expected to be. Opening up educational opportunities outside the state university sector in Sri Lanka, particularly through the non bureaucratic and non politically oriented professional bodies, can in fact have a symbiotic and synergetic effect as well. The College of Chemical Sciences of the Institute of Chemistry Ceylon has convincingly proved how this could be done in order to take Sri Lanka towards making it a knowledge hub in a very practical and efficient manner.

The need for closer collaboration between universities, corporations

February 12, 2012, 5:55 pm , The Island.


Welcome

Welcome to the seventy seventh (77th ) edition of the regular column "The Catalyst".

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.

Innovation

If you have been following this column, you would remember that last week we discussed about the importance of creativity and innovation for the progress of a country. However, I think it’s evident that one column of an article does not do justice to the broad topic that is ‘creativity and innovation’.

Just to remind everyone a few snippets from last week; "Creativity is the ability to see things differently and have an original idea, and innovation is the ability to make new ideas actually happen."

One thing that was stressed and discussed was the need to develop the innovative culture within us. The feeling that ‘we can do’ needs to be injected.

Michael Porter, in his book "Competitive advantage of nations" has described the ability to innovate as one the key things for securing the well being of a nation. And that is why we have been discussing the importance of it for Sri Lanka too.

Industry-academia collaboration

Last week we touched on the topic of industry-academia collaboration. Research is a key factor driving innovation in a society. And one of the best places to carry out research is within a university. This is where industry-academia collaboration can help. Companies can work with universities to research and develop different things. The industrial body, usually funds the research either financially or through the provision of facilities. If a new innovation is born, the company takes it to the market. A win-win situation for all that’s involved. If the university students and staff discover some important new knowledge, again the company can use it for their benefit.

One of our readers took the time to write to us in detail after reading last weeks’ column, concurring with what we discussed and also adding more perspectives. I thought I will discuss some of it here as that insight reveals certain methodologies used by other countries. Of course we can and have to localise them to suit our needs, but then again these examples and models will help us in our thinking.

Ranil Jayanetti is a Sri Lankan currently living in Switzerland. He is a Research & Development Engineer for a company there.

Ranil points out that in Europe, universities and companies work together much more closely than in Sri Lanka. His personal experiences are narrated from the time he did his internship and his thesis at two leading car manufacturing companies during his Masters degree in Germany. Over there, the companies use university resources to find solutions to their technical problems.

During his two year Masters program in Polymer Technology in Germany, he was given the chance to do a six month industrial internship. His task was to identify mold technologies to make vehicle prototype parts in a cost-effective manner. Usually molds are made of steel and can produce about 200,000 parts, but are expensive. A leading car manufacturer generally makes 50-60 prototype cars; so steel molds are not very useful. The task that Ranil was given, didn’t involve development of technology itself, but to search for new technologies that are still unknown to the company. Through this process of recruiting a student to do this work, the company makes financial savings (payment of about €600 as opposed to €3500 for a qualified engineer). Additionally, the student brings new thinking and ideas. The student can also get guidance from a professor as to which direction to go, which helps both the student in his personal career and also the company.

Ranil further explained that the study program involved a thesis written over a six month period. Around the same time, another leading car manufacturer had introduced its new car series into the market and had noted a quality problem in one of the parts of its body. Ranil as a student researcher, had set up a series of activities to understand the problem, then searched for new test methods to characterize the problem, and had isolated the possible causes.

He has also given us details about an institute by the name of ‘Steinbeis’ that allows a university professor to use his lab resources and set up a centre that transfers knowledge to the industry. He needs to pay a fee to the university for using the resources and is also allowed to employ people on a salary. The academic can actually make a profit out of this business. It’s a win-win situation for all, and most importantly the industry is supported by research capabilities of the university in terms of both human resources as well as facilities. Using this method small scale companies can get easy access to the latest knowledge. Germany is a country where there are many medium scale companies which are world leaders in their respective fields. I am sure the above working models have helped in achieving that.

Sometime back we discussed about an innovative proposal by a Sri Lankan professional called Tilak Dissanayake (tilak@antsglobal.lk) that uses the strengths of existing technologies such as ICT (Information and Communications Technology), electronics, compressed air motors, and wind energy and has combined them in innovative ways to resolve the long standing issue of getting fresh produce to the market at a fair price to both producers and consumers. I am sure such ideas can be strengthened and tried in research with the support of academia and the university sector.

Even aspects like farming and agriculture can be improved and also be made attractive as a career choice if innovation is introduced in a stronger effective way. One reason that farming is considered a good career option in countries like Australia is the use of technology. Youngsters don’t necessarily feel that they live in the past as agriculture actually moves with time. We need that involvement too. If we don’t, we wouldn’t be able to compete on the production or the cost scale of the other countries anyway.

I hope these practical insights give our industry and academia a few things to think about.

Safeguarding Sri Lanka’s Oceans

An area that seems to need a lot of innovation is around protecting and safeguarding Sri Lanka’s oceans.

This is a very important subject. A few days ago some newspapers reported that Indian boats are bottom trawling our waters. Bottom trawling is about dragging fishing nets along the sea floor, which is very damaging to maritime resources since this can wipe out species in massive numbers. Illegal poaching in our waters takes place every day by illegal boats. We need to take action and protect our resources for the future generations.

Regulations, coast guard and an overall strategy are important to tackle these issues. That’s where creativity and innovation with forward thinking can be utilised practically for the betterment of the country.

In this light, the Kadirgamar Institute is organising an event with the international Fisheries and Maritime expert, Mr John Church to speak on Protecting and Safeguarding Sri Lanka’s Oceans for the Benefit of Present and Future Generations.

Mr Church will present on VMS (Vessel Monitoring Systems), MCS (Monitor Control and Surveillance of All Vessels), and FMPP (Fisheries Management Protection Programme), and discuss the technical, financial, and political aspects of such programmes.

Mr John Church, who has developed Fisheries Management Protection Programme (FMPP) propositions for Sri Lanka, has extensive experience of the consultation, background research, implementation and operation of VMS, MCS, and FMPP installations worldwide including the UK, USA, and the following countries: Cyprus, Eire, Equatorial Guinea, Falklands, Ghana, Greece, Indonesia, Liberia, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, St. Helena, Sierra Leone, Puntland State of Somalia, South Africa, Tanzania and Yemen.

The Kadirgamar Institute encourages all to participate and benefit from this presentation on this burning topic of national interest. The forum will be held at the Kadirgamar Institute in Colombo on February 13 (today) from 5:00 to 6:00pm.

Get in Touch

You may have experiences and suggestions for future discussions in this column. If you like, you can share them with us and those would add further value to our readers.

"Many ideas grow better when transplanted into another mind than in the one where they sprung up." - Oliver Wendell Holmes

The touch point to get in touch is 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). Yasas is also an Executive Council Member of the Computer Society of Sri Lanka (CSSL – www.cssl.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

Medicos refute equal status

• Written by  Srian Obeyesekere, The Nation.
• Sunday, 12 February 2012 11:30

The Graduates Association of Professional Supplementary to Medicine (GAPSM) alleged that the Health Ministry along with some unions was making unfair overtures to amalgamate 400 university qualified science graduates together with less qualified medical personnel from the scientific service on an equal salary scale.
The GAPSM President Ravi Kumudesh protested that this was grossly unfair and unacceptable by which the university diploma holders were being devalued and victimised by putting lesser qualified scientific service personnel on par with them. “By doing this, the Health Ministry is giving a raw deal to duly qualified degree holders where a section from the scientific service are being put on an equal professional status despite being lesser qualified,” the GAPSM president told The Nation.
Kumudesh added that the GAPSM was awaiting a final word on the matter following the appointment of a cabinet sub committee to go into the matter and study their grievances.  Meanwhile, the planned nurses strike by the Samastha Lanka Heda Sangamaya has been called off following a government undertaking to scrap certain irregular salary anomalies enacted under the Salary Anomalies Act 2006 which deprived nurses of their basic dues, according to the president of the Sri Lanka Nurses Federation, Ven. Muruttetuwe Ananda Thera.

Private medical college ready

• Written by  Deepal Warnakulasuriya, The Nation.
• Sunday, 12 February 2012 07:30

The Chairman of the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) and the members have been invited to examine the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) to view the facilities afforded to students, SAITM Chairman Dr. Neville Fernando said in a news release.
This request follows a meeting recently held between the SLMC and SAITM at which Dr. Carlo Fonseka had inquired about the deadline to begin clinical training at the Welivita, Malabe hospital. The release further stated the SLMC chairman was informed that it would be ready by April 2012. Prof. Carlo Fonseka had then suggested that if the hospital is not ready by April the first batch of students should be sent to a University in Russia for clinical training. However, if the hospital is completed earlier, the students can return to Sri Lanka, the release adds.  
Commenting on the remarks by the SLMC President, the Government Medical Officers’ Association (GMOA) Assistant Secretary Dr. Upul Gunasekara said the stance of the GMOA has not changed and they were still against the undue practice of establishing private medical colleges. “Prof. Carlo Fonseka as Head of the SLMC first should follow the Medical Ordinance and should not make ‘unhealthy’ remarks”, he said.
He said Health Minister Maithripala Sirisena had appointed a five member committee to look into the legality of the private medical college and the report is yet to be released. He added that the Minister should definitely take action against the SLMC Head if he makes such remarks in the future. Higher Education Minister S. B. Dissanayake issuing a gazette notification in his capacity had given recognition to the controversial private medical college in Malabe as a legitimate degree-awarding institute. It has also been empowered to award the degree of Bachelor of Medicine and Bachelor of Surgery (MBBS).  The SLMC, however, was not happy with the minister’s move and charged the Higher Education Ministry had not consulted the Medical Council or the Ministry of Health before giving the institute degree-awarding status.
Gunasekara also said that the SLMC should ascertain whether the institute is up to the standard under the Medical Ordinance, but they don’t see such a process.

Higher Education: Getting More And More Into A Mess

Sri Lankan higher education seems to be getting more and more into a mess. While the government is desperate to encourage private higher education and faltering badly in these efforts, it seems to be unable to deal with student protests and labour disputes in the Universities. The student leadership which is not totally representative of the students and unable normally to mobilise student activism is being provided with rallying points by government action. To make matters worse we have had to face the imbroglio of the GCE A/L results this year.

A protesting student

Since higher education has been the main process which permitted children from Sri Lanka’s working and rural population to break through class barriers and socially advance, it is vital that this process be protected. But what is the government doing?
The GCE A/L fiasco has caused much heartburn among students and parents in this country. When the original results had very obvious errors, the credibility of the Examinations Department built up over several decades was lost. Nothing short of a complete re-examination of the entire process would satisfy students, parents and the general public and help  rebuild confidence in the system. However the committee appointed to look into the problem claims that its mandate was restricted merely to the rankings of students. Rankings are themselves based on Z-scores and it is this which ultimately decides on who is admitted to the University. If Z-scores are wrong, even though rankings are revised to correspond to (the wrong) Z-scores, neither rankings nor Z-scores will provide a correct assessment of performance of the candidate. If the Z-scores were not to be scrutinised, there was no need for a high powered Committee.
Most statisticians agree that the method used to deal with the Z-scores of students who sat for different papers based on different syllabi has been wrong and that pooling would penalise students who sat the paper with the lower average mark. It is therefore imperative that the Z-scores be recalculated separately for the two papers and if the numbers of students taking the two papers are very different, it may even be necessary to determine different cut-off marks for the two syllabi which would ensure that the same percentage of students from both groups are selected for admission. The reluctance of the Government is incomprehensible, especially as there is no demand for re-correction of answer scripts.
In order to regain confidence in the Examinations Department, it may be necessary to conduct an audit of the marks to satisfy parents and students that marks have been entered correctly. The present attempt to insist on using the flawed Z-scores will not merely result in injustice to many students. It would further erode what little confidence they have in the Departments and its examinations.
The Bill claimed to promote Private education has been withdrawn. It was never made available for public comment and all information is from leaked copies. The Bill aimed to establish a super Quality Assurance and Accreditation Board appointed by the Minister with powers over both the University Grants Commission (appointed by the President) and a newly appointed Council for Non-State Higher Education Institutions regarding courses conducted in both state and non-state universities. The problem with much of today’s legislation including the withdrawn Bill is that no attempt is made to discuss them with stakeholders or put them up for public comments. At a time when backdoor privatisation of higher education is claimed to be part of government agenda, any surreptitious attempt at legislating on education will be looked at with suspicion. If a Bill aimed solely at ensuring quality standards in non-state Universities was presented in a transparent manner, it may have seen less opposition from University academics.
Although the position of the JVP student leadership is that any encouragement of private education will damage free education, this is not a position widely accepted by the general public. Many question how free “free education” is in a school system when bribes or donations are routinely paid to ensure admission, regular charges are made for University activities and highly priced tuition is encouraged even by schools from the early years of primary education. Almost all the students in the University system who are screaming their heads off on the need to protect free education have spent at least Rs. 1,500 per month on tuition while preparing for the GCE A/L examination.
Our output of graduates which is just a little over 14,000 per year is far too small for the country and is one reason why we cannot attract investment or improve our industrial output. If we are to match India’s output of 0.2% of its population as graduates each year, we should be producing thrice our present output. India has been able to do this because it spends 0.7% of its GDP on public sector higher education, which too has been criticised as being too low as it is much less than that of the advanced countries who spend more than 1%. Sri Lanka meanwhile spends a mere 0.25% of its GDP on public sector higher education. It is only fair to require the government to at least double this expenditure and provide places for all students qualifying at the GCE A/L examination before it tries to encourage private education. Sri Lanka’s expenditure of 1.9% of GDP on education today is less than that of most of the world including least developed countries like Bangladesh and much of sub-Saharan Africa. Further it is only half the 3.8% of GDP spent by Sri Lanka in 1998, thirteen years ago.
Students therefore have genuine issues and like students everywhere are eager to voice their opinions through demonstrations and other actions of solidarity. The government’s reaction appears to be one of repression by frightening students and parents through student arrests, home visits by security forces but so far fortunately – but for how long? – no disappearances. We all know the inevitable consequence of the use of the security forces to quell civilian protests.
Strong arm actions against ragging, which Universities have tried for several years to stop but failed, would have been popular with the general public. But having been ineffectual on the ragging issue, the use of such actions against legitimate student protest could have unforeseeable repercussions. A student leadership forced by the repressive environment to work underground will inevitably seek to build up an alternate student movement which through sabotage, collective action and even armed struggle will attempt to disrupt the Universities.
Unfortunately the JVP leadership in the Universities is unwilling to test its strength at University elections relying instead on ragging to ensure that elections are uncontested and the process works in their favour. Strongly contested elections which were a feature of student politics until 1990 should be reinstated to ensure that the student leadership is representative and responsive to students and this will not take place under the candidate list system. A change to first past the post to at least the important positions will encourage contest and gradually break the hold that the unrepresentative leadership has on the students.
*The writer is Emeritus Professor of Organic Chemistry, University of Peradeniya.
This article was originally posted by Colombo Telegraph.

Private Medical College issue settled with SLMC?

February 10, 2012, 9:39 pm , The Island.


By Don Asoka Wijewardena

South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) Chairman Dr. Neville Fernando told ‘The Island’ that they met Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) President Prof. Carlo Fonseka a few days ago and came to a settlement.

Dr. Fernando said that when Prof. Fonseka was informed about the construction of a teaching hospital for Malabe private medical college students, Prof. Fonseka was extremely happy. "He asked me when the hospital would be ready for clinical training. I told him that it would be ready by April in 2012."

Prof. Fonseka had suggested that if the teaching hospital was not ready by April 2012, the first batch of students should be sent to Nizhny Nogvorod State medical Academy of Russian federation (NNSMA) for clinical training. Prof. Bulanov – Vice Chancellor of the Academy and Prof. Vladimir Zabainov – Vascular surgeon and Dean of International Affairs agreed wholeheartedly to accommodate the students for one year and they could come back to Sri Lanka to continue their medical training, the SAITM Chairman said.

Dr. Fernando said that if the hospital was made ready earlier, students could return to Sri Lanka. SAITM invited Prof. Fonseka to visit Malabe PMC as early as possible as he would be able to see the teaching hospital which was being constructed adjoining the PMC.

According to Dr. Fernando, the SAITM delegation that met the SLMC President included Prof. Bulanov, Prof. Vladimir, Vice Chancellor of SAITIM Prof. Malkanthi Chandrasekara, Director Administration Dr. Sameera Senaratne and Dean the Faculty of Medicine Prof. Shanthi Gunawardana.