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Education reforms In Sri Lanka it has now become the modus operandi to acquaint the public on nationally important educational changes very often after or immediately before implementing them and that through the newspapers or the electronic media freely available in the country. The public comes to know of the reforms rather late, giving them no opportunity to express their views on such an important subject like national education, on the basis of which the future of generations of children will rest. Education reforms introduced from time to time since Independence in the past, followed an egalitarian procedure for people to enter into dialogue and discusion and contribute their views and suggestions that were often found to be relevant and appropriate. Such procedure prevented the coercive enforcement of changes that are fundamental. The approach generally followed had been to make public any proposals in advance by issuing a White Paper on the subject that gave the people as well as the elected representatives of the Parliament some opportunity to discuss them. Such practice made it possible for the Parliament, the Supreme policy deciding body, to make whatever desirable changes that were needed. Anything short of such procedure is likely to be a failure and even cause irremedial damage to the system. In reforming education any attempt 'to seek quick solutions to pressing problems often under political expediency' must be avoided in the interest of the country's children. With the increasing hope and desire for education evident today; parents, teachers, and the public have become more concerned about national education to recognise the value of consultation between the policy makers, administrators, teachers and the public to make the provision of education more relevant, profitable and effective. For example the 1966 White Paper on education that outlined the Proposals for Reforms in General and Technical Education expressed such a view in the following words. 'As every citizen is in one way or another concerned with education, adequate and efficient machinery should be provided for their views and observations to be made use of in educational planning, reform and organisation. Consultations with teachers educationists, administrators and general public is a sine-qua-non in educational planning'. Public opinion on any proposals of education reform is generally solicited by presenting a White Paper that outlines such reforms in advance and make such document freely available to any interested in the issue. This has not been a procedure unfamiliar to legislators as evident from the many White Papers issued in the past when introducing educational reforms in the country. All these White Papers were subject to discussion in the Parliament and there is evidence to show even the rejection of some of them into or partly after being found not suitable. The first White Paper - Government Proposals for Education Reforms in Ceylon issued in 1950 explained very clearly the government policy on the Assisted Schools of the time that remained outside the Free Education Scheme and related issues before the proposals were to be incorporated into the education enactment. The legislation as agreed on the basis of the White Paper Proposals were implemented as an amendment to the then Education (Amendment) Ordinance No. 1 of 1939 and the Education (Amendment) Ordinance No. 26 of 1947. This was followed by two other White Papers on Education, one in 1964 by the Minister of Education Dr. W. Dahanayaka and the other in 1966, by the Minister of Education, Mr. I. M. R. A. Iriyagolla. Both these White Papers proposed reforms the majority of which were not acceptable. The White Paper of 1964 'did not come for discussion in the Parliament' and the White Paper of 1966 faced a similar fate, because ' it was marred by the lack of an intelligent approach to educational problems'. The White Paper - 'Proposals for a National System of Education- 1967' was yet another White Paper that made suggestions for introducing a National System of Education in the country. This White Paper was influenced to a significant extent by the recommendations of the National Education Commission (Jayasuriya Commission) of 1960 and defined government policy on many matters related to National Education. The history of educational reforms in the country bears testimony to the fact that any changes to the existing system of education has to be considered after consultation and compromise between the government and the public so that misunderstandings, prejudices and wrong attitudes to the proposed reforms are reduced to the minimum. The purpose of issuing a White Paper before outlining reforms to any public service, be it education, health, agriculture, or management etc., is recognised in all democratic countries for the advantages such procedure brings is that reforms introduced after discussion and deliberation can check and even prevent criticisms likely to erupt later. The current educational reforms proposed by the National Education Commission are already being disputed and even challenged in some quarters as evident in the many newspaper articles, letters to editor of leading dailies and even some editorial comments on them. The reason for such criticism to appear when the reforms are being implemented is due to the fact that no opportunity had been provided for the expression of public opinion beforehand. Had a White Paper been issued before embarking on the implementation of the changes much of the controversial issues could have been settled for the better. White Papers issued from time to time since Independence attempted to introduce government proposals to meet numerous problems and issues prevalent at the time. Some of the national issues that received attention happened to be 'correcting the many imbalances that were evident in the educational system at the time,... formulating educational programmes with a new orientation in the provisions, ... providing adequate and efficient machinery for due attention to be paid to the views and observations of all citizens on relevant issues on education, ... diversification of education, É building a strong and well organised administrative setup.' These quoted from the Education White Papers of the past give some indication to the numerous educational problems a White Paper could embrace for discussion. Even after fifty years of Independence the Sri Lanka education system is yet functioning on the basis of a number of legislative enactments some proclaimed even before Independence gained in 1948. In the absence of a comprehensive legal frame work for guidance, the administration of education in the country has to depend on piecemeal enactment introduced from time to time. Some sections of the 1939 Education Ordinance No 31, the Amendment Ordinance No 61 of 1939 as well as the Education (Amendment) Ordinance No 26 of 1947 for example are still in force end valid. Also whatever education enactment that came since independence are in the form of Amendment Acts. This situation in many ways cause hardships for efficient management of a national system of education. Although there is no necessity for a White Paper to assemble the pieces of education legislation to form one comprehensive education enactment and incorporate education policies adopted from time to time, what is urgently needed is some action taken in such direction by planners of national education. In the absence of some comprehensive legislation to direct administrators in decision making, the unavoidable weakness will be the variation educational policy from time to time and from government to government. As expressed in some quarters the educational policy in Sri Lanka 'not only changes from government to government, but also from education minister to education minister of the same government when cabinet reshuffle take place. 'This is a situation that can render the system of education infirm and insecure for national development and national progress. Policy decisions taken should remain unchanged for some years at least and until such policy becomes invalid. The issue of a White Paper related to matters connected with national education is a priority that deserve, the attention of education reformers and policy makers. Without such provision for public participation prior to the introduction of reforms the education system introduced after reforms could be at default. The time is appropriate to issue a white Paper incorporating the proposals as well as any others considered as necessary, for public debate and approval by Parliament. The urgent need is a White Paper on Education before implementing any changes. Export
performance/competitiveness
(1993-Jan. to June 1998) and the South East Asian crisis Continued from yestreday However, this has not prevented the devaluation of the currencies in these countries from seriously affecting export growth and competitiveness in Sri Lanka. See Table 5.
This table examines the rate of growth of exports in 1997 vs. that of the last quarter of the same year. It will be seen, that the sectors, which have registered heavy negative growth are diamonds, coconut, gems, primary rubber, jewellery, wood and wooden products and floriculture. The sectors, which have declined include textiles and garments, electrical/electronic products and machinery, activated carbon, ceramics and rubber products. It may be noted, that some of these products are the so called value added products using local inputs. The share of the affected sectors was 66% of total exports as of 1997. One firm has already closed down and several others are incurring losses. An examination of the export performance in the first 6 months of 1998 (see table 6) reveals, that the situation has worsened. It is seen that; 1. Total exports have registered a growth rate of only 8.3% compared to 11.4% in Jan-June 1997. 2. Total exports less tea have recorded a growth rate of only 3.6% compared to 13.3%. in the same period in 1997. 3 Total exports less tea, textiles and garments have registered a negative growth rate of 7.7% for the first time compared to a positive growth rate of 6.6% in the same period in 1997. 4. Textiles and garments have managed to grow only at 12.3% compared to the growth rate of 16.9% in the first 6 months of 1997. 5. Non textile garment industrial exports have recorded a negative growth of 3.0% and 6. The redeeming feature is, that tea has grown at 34.8% compared to a rate of 9.1% in the same period in 1997. However, tea is a commodity subject to fluctuations in prices from time to time. Infact, it is already adversely affected by the rouble crisis. The Profitability of Exports 1. The return on export sales (ROS) was only 8.2% and 7.4% in 1995/96 and 1996/97 respectively. 2. The return on investment (ROI) was only 5.2% and 6.5% in these two years. Exporting being highly risky, and the present rate of inflation being around 10%, it is the general consensus, that the ROS and ROI should be at least 20% and 30% respectively. 3. Their capital: output ratio in 1996 and 1997 was only 1:0.6 and 1:0.8, whereas it should be at least 1:2 or more. These are the trends, that have manifested themselves during the last few years from 1992/93. The S. E. Asian crisis has aggravated them. Unless the situation is brought under control immediately, it is bound to do irreparable damage by way of loss of investments made and markets won so painstakingly. Above all, the loss of employment could create socio-political tensions. Recommendations 1. Improvement of macro-economic and structural policies to reduce the cost of production and increase returns; land/labour markets and the financial sector should be liberalised to release pent up market forces and give a boost to the supply side; infrastructure and education/training should be improved substantially in keeping with present day developmental needs. 2. The internal competitiveness and productivity of firms should be improved, as a matter of priority; this is a task for the private sector - with government support. 3. Incentives should be offered for improvement of productivity of firms. 4. The numerous disincentives faced by firms should be removed. In certain quarters, there is a belief, that a devaluation here and an incentive there would be sufficient to put things right. Certainly they also serve as 'pain killers', but not as permanent solutions to raise competitiveness. What is required on the part of the authorities concerned is to overhaul the macro economic and structural policies, which can be described as external determinants (to the firm) of competitiveness and productivity. There is no substitute to it. The immediate success of the reforms introduced in 1977 and in 1989 can be cited as examples. The problem with such an approach is, that it is a 'bitter pill' to swallow, as it would entail making unpleasant decisions such as reducing expenditure and raising revenue by imposing new taxes or rounding up tax evaders. Let us first discuss the macro economic reforms necessary to improve competitiveness. The annual report of the Central Bank for 1997 states, that the budget deficit as a percentage of the Gross National Product (GDP) had declined to 7.9% in 1997 compared to the deficit of 9.4% in 1996 and the rate of inflation had declined to 9.0% in 1997 from 12.0% in 1996. This is a result of good fiscal and monetary management on the part of the government. But it is not good enough. The present rate of inflation is reported to be about 10.3%. The inflation rates prevailing in most of our competitor countries in South and South East Asia are lower, except in Indonesia, as stated earlier. The objective should be to reduce the budget deficit drastically and ultimately to balance it, while curtailing the money supply at the same time. This is the best, if not the only, way to curb inflation, reduce interests rates and avoid overvaluation of the rupee. Alas, it does not happen this way in this country! The temptation to introduce supplementary estimates and get them passed by Parliament, specially to play Santa before elections is too great. The authorities should be urged to introduce a law, as in certain countries, forbidding the increase of the budget deficit beyond a set limit. Costs are compounded by the numerous taxes, that have to be paid, specially at the point of import, namely the duties and other levies, such as the GST, the national profit margin and the national security Levy, all of which could add up to nearly 45% of the Cost Insurance and Freight cost of imported raw materials, components, machinery and equipment. If the 'invisible' taxes at the point of import and export, the cost of financing, the cost of the cumbersome procedures/documentation and the resulting delays are also added, the enormity of up-front costs to investors/producers could be imagined. Enterprises, which export 100% of their production are exempted from the payment of the duties and most of the levies. But there are only a few such enterprises. The ideal is to drastically reduce or abolish such levies to prevent disorganise investment and production. The liberalisation of the labour market may involve rationalisation of the numerous labour laws and court decrees and amendment of the Termination of Employment Act to enable enterprises to lay off redundant labour during business downturns and recruit additional labour during upturns without fear of being forced to carry excess labour, when they are not required. The other alternative is to permit the employment of temporary or on call workers for an indefinite period as in the US and the UK. Such drastic but necessary measures can be implemented in a democratic set up, only if government and opposition parties reach consensus on such fundamentals so necessary to carry the country to prosperity. It is only an enlightened public, that can pressurise political parties not to oppose measures of national importance for the sake of short term political gain. It is the task of educationists and the media to enlighten the public of the areas, where such consensus is required. If such consensus were achievable, where the liberalisation of the labour market is concerned, it will be possible not only to reduce unemployment significantly, but also to reduce the cost of labour and improve productivity. The costs could decline due to the increased supply of labour consequent to the opening up of the labour market. Productivity could improve due to the realisation on the part of labour, that they should work hard to retain their jobs. This, however, does not mean, that laws to protect the rights of workers should be removed from the statute book. The liberalisation of the land market is another such issue. More than 80% of the land in Sri Lanka, specially in rural areas, where more than 70% of the people live, is owned by the state, which has been leasing out small parcels of land of around 3 acres. Although, it is not legally permitted, even these small farms have been fragmented giving rise to uneconomic lots. This is the situation in most areas of the dry zone. To make matters worse, farmers cannot obtain bank loans with land as collateral, since they do not own it. Therefore, it is no surprise that non-plantation agriculture cannot deliver significant surpluses of uniform quality for domestic consumption, agro-industries and for the export market at internationally competitive prices. Liberalisation of the land market is the answer, to make it possible for the emergence of bigger and more economic lots, which could be run as business entities to produce surpluses at lower unit costs and of high quality. Economies of scale could be heightened by encouraging the formation of clusters of small farms with or without freehold possession. They should be corporate bodies to attract capital and professionals. The problem with such an approach is, that excess labour has to make an exit from agriculture with the improvement of productivity. This excess labour could be absorbed by setting up of small and medium scale enterprises. Therefore incentives and assistance should be offered for the establishment of such enterprises at the same time. Where private lands in the wet zone are concerned, the farms are highly fragmented and have no clear titles. The government recently introduced a law to expedite the clearance of these titles. This will no doubt encourage farmers to invest in crop production. Thus liberalisation of the land market would not only ensure more and better supplies for the export market, but also would alleviate poverty, increase the purchasing power of rural people and help to relieve socio-political tensions, by raising their incomes. This measure should also help to enhance savings and investments, if appropriate programmes are implemented to promote the savings habit. According to Central Bank statistics, domestic savings in Sri Lanka were about 17.0% of GDP, whereas the relevant figures for South East Asia range from 25.0% of GDP in Taiwan and 51.0% in Singapore. Total capital formation in Sri Lanka, according to the Central bank was about 24.0% of GDP in 1997, whereas it should be nearly 40.0% for the country to achieve a GDP growth rate of about 8.0%, so that unemployment can be reduced to about 5.0% of the labour force of about 6 million persons. Savings being low, the country has to depend on foreign investments, which happens to be the medium for acquisition of modern technologies and skills and to gain access to overseas markets. It is mostly the South East Asian countries, that have been investing in Sri Lanka. However, these investments are drying up on account of the financial crisis prevailing there. It is therefore necessary to promote domestic savings and investments to increase production capacities as supplies of the right quality and price for export are inadequate. Another area to be liberalised is the financial sector to enable enterprises to obtain bank financing at internationally competitive rates. The fact, that the two leading commercial banks in the country are state owned is a barrier to greater competition among banks. The non-performing loans given to cronies at the behest of politicians by these state owned commercial banks (SCBs) have been re-capitalised by the government several times giving the impression, that loans extended by these banks are guaranteed by the former. The private banks do not enjoy such a facility and therefore may not get as much custom as the SCBs. Moreover, the intimidation costs of the SCBs are higher than those of the private banks on account of their non-performing loans, the unviable bank branches, that have been opened and the overstaffing, that has taken place due to politically motivated decisions. These costs are estimated to be as much as 6%. this is one of the reasons for the high interest rates, which range from 17% to 23%, according to a study conducted by a non governmental organisation. It is doubtful, whether the Memorandum of Understanding signed recently between the government and the two SCBs would wean away the latter from the above mentioned practices. On the other hand even part privatisation of the SCBs could go a long way to level the playing field as between public and private sector banks and make them more efficient, so that investors would get a better service at a more competitive price. Reform of the financial sector should also include measures to avoid the 'crowding out' of the private sector from the use of EPF, ETF, NSB and government owned insurance funds, which are now used to bridge the budget deficit. If these funds could be channelled to banks and the stock market, interest rates could decline and the stock market could be revitalised. Another reform, that should be pursued vigorously is the development of the debt market to enable enterprises to use more convenient debt instruments than bank loans. All these financial sector reforms should help to reduce costs by lowering interest rates and making available equity finance. Improvement of infrastructure is another element in the strategy of enhancing Sri Lanka's competitiveness. The rundown state of roads, railways, long delays in giving telephone, electricity and water supply connections and the electricity 'blackouts/brown outs' have been cited as the second major problem facing industrialists according to the survey mentioned above. This can be attributed to the reduction of the capital budget of the government from about 18.5% in 1980 to about 5.8% in 1997 and the crass inefficiency of the government institutions concerned. There is no doubt, that this problem contributes in large measure to the lack of competitiveness of Sri Lankan products due to the delays and damage caused. In contrast, our competitors specially in S.E. Asia have invested heavily to create modern physical and social infrastructure facilities, which have obviously increased their international competitiveness. The first major problem faced by industrialists under the same survey mentioned above is the dilatory and costly procedures/documentation emanating from various laws, such as the Customs Ordinance, the Ports Authority Law, the Exchange Control Law and the Import and Export Control Law and corruption in the public service. It is estimated, that these problems amount to some 10 to 15% of the costs of exporters. It is therefore clear, that the remedy for these ills is a restructuring/privatisation of the public sector, where possible, updating of the relevant laws and simplification of procedures/documentation. Any discussion on macro-economic and structural policies cannot ignore the importance of exchange rates in determining export competitiveness. The question, that should be uppermost in the minds of policy makers, investors and exporters is, whether Sri Lanka could maintain its export competitiveness in the face of devaluations of as much as 80% of the currencies of our competitors in South East Asia. The answer is that it is possible, if inflation is substantially low and if the structural problems mentioned above are continuously brought under control. Otherwise the burden of restoring competitiveness falls on ensuring a positive real exchange rate (RER) for exporters, i.e. by adjusting the nominal exchange rate (NER) by the inflation differential between the rate of inflation prevailing in Sri Lanka and those of our competitor countries. This would involve devaluation or depreciation of the rupees, if the latter is overvalued or in (RER) terms the exporter is not sufficiently compensated for the costs incurred and the investment made by him. The problem with this remedy is that costs could escalate due to the fact that imports become expensive in rupee terms as a result of a devaluation or a depreciation. However, prices of major imports such as petroleum, wheat, sugar, rice and of certain industrial materials such as fabrics have been declining. Therefore this is an opportune moment to devalue or depreciate, if there is any over valuation of the rupees. To make double sure, that the public does not suffer due to a rise in domestic prices, the budget deficit should be lowered by reducing expenditure and increasing revenue collection. Easier said than done! However, there is no easy way out to restore export competitiveness. It requires action on the part of the government by way of improving the above mentioned fundamentals, as well as action by the private sector by way of substantially improving productivity. What is improvement of productivity? Most understand it as producing more in terms of volume and value with less. This is correct. However, where the process of productivity improvement is concerned, some think, that it is only reduction of costs or it is only improvement of processes, installation of state of the art machinery and equipment and so on. The concept is much broader. It involves dynamic leadership capable of formulating the mission, goals, objectives and targets of an organisation, explaining and motivating people in the organisation to achieve the objectives and targets, while at the same time helping to realise their personal aspirations. Stephen Covey, the management guru once stated, that productivity could be improved not by 5% but by 500% by motivating people. It then involves reduction of costs. Some are not aware, that it also includes delivering an unique value by differentiation/innovation (with an eye to the specific needs of the market) not only of the products but also of all the activities of an organisation to command premium prices. There is also misunderstanding of the determinants of productivity and competitiveness. Well, the external (to a firm) determinants are none other than the macro-economic and structural policies mentioned above, for which the government should be responsible and the internal determinants, such as dynamic leadership, cost reduction and differentiation, for which the firms should be responsible. Here again the state has to nudge the firms to undertake productivity improvement, as the latter might sometimes be reluctant to do so due to the costs involved. Incentives for productivity improvement are conspicuous by their absence. Even some of the more developed newly industrialised countries are reported to have retained incentives such as double deductions in the computation of taxes or matching grants for research and development, market research, process/product development, training, marketing and overseas promotion to further improve their levels of productivity, which are already high, in their repertoire of assistance schemes. The above process of restoration of export competitiveness appears to be a long drawn out ordeal. Well, it is and mere palliative will not work. However, a start could be made with certain measures, while at the same time working on the medium to long term measures. It should be stated with emphasis, that no time should be lost on committing to implement the latter. Some of the short term measures proposed are as follows: 1. Continuing with measures to reduce the budget deficit and curbing inflation to enable producers to reduce costs; there is no substitute to this. 2. Maintaining flexible exchange rates to ensure, that rupee returns are adequate in real terms. 3. Reduction/abolition of duties and other Customs levies on raw materials, components, machinery and equipment at the point of import to reduce the prohibitive up-front costs of investment and production. 4. Simplification of the cumbersome procedures and documentation at the point of import and export to reduce the costly delays of clearing goods; computerised debit credit systems are advocated. 5. Reform of the financial sector including avoidance of the 'crowding out' of the private sector from the use of EPF, ETF, NSB and insurance funds, which are used to finance the budget deficit, restructuring/part privatisation of state banks and the development of the debt market to enable investors, producers and exporters to obtain credit at internationally competitive terms. 6. Amendment of labour legislation to permit producers to employ temporary or on call workers for an indefinite period (as in the UK and the US), so that the former could increase the labour force during business upturns and reduce it during business downturns. 7. Amendment of legislation to enable farmers, who hold land on lease from the government, to obtain bank credit using the land as collateral to increase investment on farming operations, thereby enhancing agricultural production for consumption, agro-industries and export. 8. Above all, introduction of incentives such as double deductions of taxes or matching grants for research and development, market research, product/process development/adaptation, training, marketing and overseas promotion of products and services to help the private sector to improve productivity. 9. Compensation to export firms, which are incurring losses on account of the S.E. Asian crisis and 10. Maintaining a close dialogue between the government and the private sector to resolve the many constraints of the latter, as and when they arise. The international competitiveness of the export sector has been on the decline for some time and the S.E. Asian crisis has aggravated it. Export performance has suffered so much, so that total exports less tea, textiles and garments have shrunk by 8% during the first 6 months of 1998. No time should be lost in averting this crisis. There are long term and short term measures, that could be implemented for this purpose. What is lacking is a political will to undertake them, mainly due to the absence of consensus between the government and the opposition parties in the country on the fundamentals mentioned above, as in the case of the major crisis facing the nation, the ethnic problem. What prevails now is an 'auction of resources, where the highest bidder wins and the people always lose', as stated once by Lee Kuan Yew. So it is up to the main political parties to make up their minds about the fundamentals not only to improve competitiveness but also to bring about peace, which is so necessary to create an environment for the economy to thrive, or to consign the country to poverty and disorder for ever. Concluded Kandyan
Dance This is the first book in English devoted entirely to 'Kandyan' or Udarata dance. Uda-rata Netun Kalawa the Sinhala work by that great personality of the ritual arts J. L. Sederaman preceded it. Earlier publications, from Otakar Pertold's Ceremonial Dances of the Sin-halese and Beryl de Zoete's Dance and Magic Drama in Ceylon to the works by M. D. Raghavan, C. E. Godakumbure, W. B. Makulloluwa and Anuradha Sene-viatne are concerned with all the traditional dances of this country and the space devoted to Udarata Dance is proportionate. Theja Gunawardhana's book on the Koho-mba Kankariya is not on the dance per se but could be regarded as a polemical work offering an interpretation of the Kankariya as relating to the Ravana 'dynasty.' Sicille Kotelawala covers the ground very thoroughly taking a bird's eye view of the country and the Vijayan story as her starting point. She cites the Mahavamsa reference to music, singing and drumming heard by Vijaya soon after he landed at Thambapanni. Moving to Folk Religion and the Dances of Sri Lanka she reminds the reader of the wealth of dances mentioned in 'Folklore, Literature and Poetry,' noting that while 'the beliefs of folk religion have no place in the teachings of the Buddha,' the rural people have 'lived with their myths, legends and folklore' and 'translated them into ceremonies, rituals and dances.' On this point there is the very valuable observation of Prof. Sarachchandra that: 'Though Bud-dhism is the predominant faith of the people, a great part of their lives happens to be ordered by beliefs and practices which are really not of Buddhist origin. The reason for this is that Buddhism is anti-ritualist and therefore, largely non-congregational. It aims at solving the ultimate problem of sorrow and the recurring evils of birth, old-age, disease and death. It is not directly concerned with helping man in the difficulties he is faced with in his material existence.' Hence, 'while Bud-dhism profoundly influenced the general attitude of the Sinhalese to life and its problems' it 'left them more or less free to seek other help in their day-to-day business of living. Many important events in the life of the average Buddhist are governed by ceremonies which are connected with folk-cults based on a belief in supernatural beings and the efficacy of prayer and ritual' (Sarachchandra - The Folk Drama of Ceylon, quoted by M. H. Goonetilleke in Masks and Mask Systems of Sri Lanka). Thus the Thovi1 and Bali dances, the creation of masks and the preparation of the ritual altars have a profoundly significant, essentially re1i-gious place in the everyday life besides the value of stimulating the aesthetic sense of the villager and animating the life of the countryside perceived by the artist in the scholar in Sicille Kotelawala. They tap deep into the life-experience and the collective consciousness of the Sinhalese and in this regard the author makes the very important comment that since the dance forms of Thovil and Bali are unknown in India or anywhere else they 'represent the traditions of the earliest inhabitants of Sri Lanka,' the people described as the people of Ravana by Theja Gunawar-dhana. Chapters 3 - 11 exhaustively categorize every aspect of the central matter of the book, the Kan-dyan Dance. This 'complete art form' while 'refined and polished in the field of pure Dance ('NRITTYA') and with a highly developed system of 'TALAYA' (beat)' is rooted in 'one of the most ancient folk ceremonies of Sri Lanka, the elaborate ritual known as the KOHOMBA YAK-KANKARIYA or the KOHOMBA KAN-KARIYA, presented in chapters 4 and 5. The author gives the main legend of the origin of the ritual' the healing of King Panduvasdev (there are other legends, too, as Anuradha Senevi-ratne notes) and outlines the preparations for the ritual, the altars, its constituent parts and the dance movements. The remaining chapters (6-11) are on the History of the Dance and Music, the Kandy Esala Pera-hera, the Making of a Traditional Kandyan Dancer, The Ves Costume, Vannam and Bera and are followed by a select bibliography. The steps, rhythms and hand positions, the drums and supporting instruments are carefully identified. Rhythms are given in the dance language of the ves dancer and the stages of training are outlined. The drums are described in detail, special attention being given to the principal instrument, the Geta Bere including a full-page diagram. Another such diagram identifies the 64 items of the dancer's costume, and excellent colour plates illustrate the 12 hand positions, the drums, the Pooja Dance, the salutation, the Bulat-pade and also some great performers, among them Heenbaba and Sura-sena. Reflecting on this copious material and dwelling on the illustrations the reader can scarcely fail to be struck again by the central historical irony of this noble medium, defined by the very name 'Kandyan' Dance. The original sacred Ves dance was performed by highly trained initiates, one could well say shamans or ritual priests, in a setting and atmosphere charged with religious and mythic significance. The only other performance situations were of the 'solo poetic dances ... expressing a dominant idea' which, as Sicille Kotelawala states in the chapter on these dances, the Vannam, were performed in splendour as part of the ceremonial of the King and his Court. Today the dance is packaged for display in half-hour spasms at a dozen sites in Kandy every night to bus-loads of cut-price tourists. The process reaches its climax in the vulgar quantitative extravaganza of the Kandy Perahera in its present form. The legends of origin identify the Kohomba Kankariya as a healing ritual for, in effect, an entire society since the king is its archetypal representative. For twenty centuries the Ves dances were only performed within the carefully circumscribed locations of the Kohomba Kan-kariya. Early in the present century the dancers were 'persuaded' (or browbeaten?) to parade their skills in the streets of Kandy, ostensibly to enrich the perahera of the Sacred Tooth Relic. 'Browbeaten' might indeed have been literally applicable in the early years of this century. This reviewer recalls an older relative describing the lordly near-superciliousness with which the feudal overlord acknowledged the obeisances of the dancers at a display at what was then Queen's House. The pressure now is more commonly economic, though the notion of the performers being 'low' is by no means dead - a group of us saw this at first hand. We attempted the rehabilitation of a quiet Kandyan village of dancers and drummers. We were given the use of a house belonging to one of the local gentry. The privilege was withdrawn. The reason: our group leader, himself a well-known dancer and choreographer, was quite liberal about inviting the dancers and drummers to sit with him to discuss the programme. The owner was outraged that 'such persons' who were never 'allowed to cross the threshold in his time' had been actually seated under his roof! Not surprisingly, the young people of the village were not interested in the main aim of the programme: the rehabilitation of their ancient skills. They and their parents wanted their liberation from virtual serfdom through access to the world of economic opportunity outside their secluded valley. They wanted a better school and they wanted English. Fortunately, a few masters like Sura-sena, following in the steps of Nittawela Guneya, Suramba and Heen Baba, have been committed enough and, indeed, great enough as artists, to persevere in their calling and finally to benefit from the revival of interest nationally and internationally in the arts and crafts of indigenous peoples. Their lives and work have been the vital conduit through which modern Sri Lankan dance has had access to Udarata Dance, its principal resource, on which Chitrasena and Vajira and Sicille Kotela-wala herself have built, as have their more modernistic and perhaps eclectic successors - Khema, Channa, Upekha, Ravibandu and so on. To research and describe this tradition and its sociology and to record its minutiae is to perform a work of piety requiring enormous commitment and organisational skill. Mrs. Kotelawala has carried it through most effectively to produce an attractive and valuable book. One wishes, however, that she had used her knowledge and resources to carry the work somewhat further. What I have in mind would, of course, require a huge amount of exacting and complex graphic and editorial work. This book, like all the earlier accounts by Raghavan, Makulloluwa, and Anuradha Seneviratne does not provide notations and scansions which would enable readers to make sense of the elaborate taxonomy and the lists of names. An initiate or an informed spectator would, of course, know precisely what 'Salugath Kathava' or 'Dharpana Darshaneeya Yakkama' or 'Thatheiyath' or 'Domikitha Thakadon' signify in performance terms but then anyone with such knowledge would not need the book at all. One must assume that the purpose of a detailed account is to enable an informed appreciation of actual performances and to enthuse the reader into seeking a fuller experience. Something of that inner life is captured in Nalini Jayasuriya's fine poem Sicille Dancing on p. 84. One wishes there were more such torches and clarions conveying something of the princely pure energy of the dancer in full flight, the utterly beautiful arabesques created by a group in movement (particularly seen from an upper level), the extraordinary sense of banked up energies that the great dancers exude as they promenade, the horripilating vibrancy of the drums at their full range of resonance, the occasional glimpses of chthonic intensity when a gleam from the old mythic depths shines through in despite of commercial glitz and individualistic theatricality. The photographs could have caught some of this, but while they are extremely competent the effect is documentary rather than inspired. One thinks of the indescribable fire that animates the famous photographs of Nureyev, Margot Fonteyn, Martha Graham.... It is a pity that Mrs. Kotelawala's editorial advisers did not counsel against the blurring of focus that results from the obtrusiveness of the autobiographical. But if the result is that the account of the dance in all its richness is sandwiched between images of and salutes to the author, the discerning and sympathetic reader will no doubt remember that in a sandwich it is the middle that matters most, and be indulgently appreciative of some charming stills of the author as a beautiful young danseuse. Be
Careful, Traffic Police! (Based on a speech delivered by SSP R. R. Samarakoon, Director, Traffic Administration, Road Safety and SAARC Secretariat, in a public seminar at the Institution of Engineers, Sri Lanka)
In 1967, on roads, 14, 498 accidents took place. Thirty years later, 47,321 accidents within a year. In other words, on average, 130 accidents per day in 1997. What's more, number of fatal accidents in a year grew from 546 to 1923 within this thirty-year period. Each day road accidents claim lives and property not only in Sri Lanka but also around the world. Anyway, why do they happen? * Speed, especially beyond speed limit or during rainy days * Carelessness of drivers or pedestrians * Fatigue of drivers * Bad driving * Psychological condition of drivers and pedestrians * Road condition * Vehicle condition * Alcoholic driving Today, traffic management is a world-wide problem. Road traffic consists of three components: people, vehicles and roads. To implement traffic management, three E's are needed: Engineering, Education and Enforcement. The traffic police play a major role by regulating traffic in compliance with road traffic law. Anarchy on the roads is dangerous. There's a road traffic law, and enforcement is necessary to prevent, or to at least reduce, accidents and congestion so that traffic flow would be safe and smooth. In fact enforcement is a must to protect people and property on roads. That's why, when a road user violates traffic law, he is charged in court; or for a less serious offence, a spot fine ticket only. Illegal parking is a serious offence; much more serious than one thinks. It would interfere traffic flow, cause it to be disorderly, or even worse, cause an accident. Just one illegally parked vehicle is sufficient to create a bottle neck, which would affect hundreds of vehicles. That's why tough enforcement, including towing the vehicle away. The traffic police use a range of equipment for enforcement: * Radar gun: to check speed of vehicles * Alcohol detector: to detect drunk drivers * Illuminance meter: to measure degree of light transmission (e.g. through windows of vehicles) * Smoke meter: to check exhaust gas discharged from vehicles * Tapli meter: to measure efficiency of brakes of vehicles * Scales: to weigh vehicles to check overloading * Video cameras: to prove violation of traffic regulations especially at junctions (not yet widely used in Sri Lanka) In Sri Lanka penalties for serious traffic offences are lenient. So action is already initiated to amend the Motor Traffic Act to introduce stiff penalties. The trouble is, however tough enforcement is, it alone wouldn't work. In fact the philosophy adopted by the traffic police on road safety is to educated road users through training, legislation and enforcement. That's why the traffic police balance enforcement with on-the-spot education. For example, warning against repetition of a violation. In promoting road safety public co-operation is vital. When people involve in the process, a greater commitment comes from them. So the traffic police try to maintain a balance. If too lenient, irresponsible road users would commit offences making roads dangerous; if too strict, no public co-operation. At present the Lions Club and the Rotary Club are giving a helping hand to the traffic police. In future a greater focus will be stressed on public education on road safety and courtesy. Vehicle population grows, so does demand for road space. That's why motorists and pedestrians should be more and more careful and patient when they share this limited resource. Moreover, when interacting with one another, road users should be more courteous. Why don't we get together and make roads a better place? Roadside noise - Do Sri Lankans care? It is said that noise to some people is only sound to others. I wonder whether the Sri Lankans consider their roads noisy. No legislature has yet been enacted to quieten our road users, except the old colonial rule of silence zones near hospitals and law courts. Even this rule is now obeyed more in the breach. Drivers have become so accustomed to blasting horns that most of them think that it is a part of good driving like changing gears. It is high time the authorities took the necessary steps to educate our drivers on the correct use of the horn and on how to lessen overall traffic noise. Sound and noise Sound levels are measured in decibels. As an indication, average conversation is around 60 decibels and speech can be understood fairly well with background noise levels up to 55 decibels. It has been shown by road researchers, that street traffic with 40 km/h in speed and an hourly volume of 500 vehicles per hour (without horn blasting) will create around 75 decibels at a distance of 7 metres from the road. If the same flow with 5 per cent heavy vehicles at the same speed will create around 85 decibels at a similar distance. With the average rate of blasting of horns in this country it may create a noise level of around 100 decibels under the same conditions. To the human ear an increase of 10 decibels is perceived as a doubling of loudness. Thus a noise measured as 85 decibels will sound twice as loud as which registers as 75 decibels, and so on. Therefore the level of discomfort goes up much more rapidly than the decibels. Causes of road traffic noise Traffic noise not only occurs on busy roads. Occasional heavy vehicles on quieter roads can be very annoying too. There is no doubt that container movement and trucking is a big business and in fact a big noisy business. It is very hard to shift those big loads across our towns, or across our roads without making a big noise. But if we take the appropriate steps to reduce this big noise it will be a great victory. In most of these heavy vehicles the engine and exhaust brakes make a big noise (a big unnecessary noise). The problem is that some drivers use engine or exhaust brakes all the time instead of using the primary braking system on prime mover and trailer. The drivers of these heavy vehicles should be advised not to use noisy engine or exhaust brakes in built up areas and also ensure that mufflers operate properly. As a simple rule of thumb, if the exhaust or engine brakes are noisy, turn them off before entering built up areas. Road-side noise not only originates from moving traffic but also much noise is generated by road side vendors. In this country it is common to see road side vendors such as sweep ticket sellers, music centres and record bars largely contributing to the noise pollution in busy city centres. Just imagine what the situation it would be if all the road side vendors start to promote their products by shouting through microphones, the way sweep ticket sellers do. Aren't the municipal councils or relevant local councils taking any action to stop this large scale noise pollution by the road-side vendors. If necessary action is not taken immediately, in the coming years all the road-side vendors may use these high-tech devices to promote their business. It is also common to see various religious organisations using public address systems for long hours (sometimes continuously for many days) causing tremendous nuisance to the general public. Laws should be formulated to curb these type of human inconveniences. It should be stressed that loud noise make people crazy and retards intelligent performance. Harmful effects of noise Community education OPA Annual Session - 1998 The OPA Annual Sessions were started in 1988, during Deshamanya Surath Wickramasinghe's term, as the President of the OPA. The format, that has since evolved has the OPA bringing together its considerable intellectual resource, comprising of 32 professional associations with a collective membership of over 30,000 persons, to focus on important areas of public policy. This year the theme of our Annual Sessions, the Eleventh in the series, is 'Sri Lanka at 50 - Quo VADIS?'. Professionals, by their learning, training and practice, are equipped to examine things critically, evaluate results, identify strengths and weaknesses, and prescribe corrective action. We, as professionals, on whom the nation has invested, a considerable portion of its resources to train and equip, feel that we have an ethical and moral responsibility to provide leadership in the task of nation building. We believe that we have a lot to contribute in building a nation free of strife and assured of a peaceful and contented future - a quality of life for our people that fulfils their aspirations in a free and independent Sri Lanka. We recognise that we have achieved some progress since independence in 1948. Statistically, and statistics do provide us some objective indicators in evaluating progress despite the fact that our subjective responses do not necessarily coincide with what the statistics reveal, we can be justifiably proud of some of our achievements. What are these achievements? Let me enumerate a few. A high degree of literacy? A good, 'quality of life', index which compares favourably with the developed world A life expectancy that indicates reasonably good health care and delivery systems. A democratic system of government, based on a system of governance, that allow the citizen to select political and social leaders A resilient economy, which has withstood the pressure of globalisation, insurrection, and terrorism. An independent judiciary. But we have to admit, although reluctantly, that all is not well. Consider - Sri Lanka - then and now ... At the time of independence, Sri Lanka was one of the richest countries in Asia. The country's per-capita income was second only to Japan, when compared to other Asian countries. Other countries were attempting to emulate Sri Lanka; But today, 50 years after independence, Sri Lanka is languishing as one of the less developed nations in the world. Not withstanding our achievements which I have just stated, Sri Lanka's present record is not one which will give us much to boast about, as we haveÐ (a) A considerable amount of malnutrition amongst the less privileged, particularly children (b) An Inequitable distribution of wealth leading to many social disparities (c) A Long drawn-out ethnic conflict with an ever increasing escalation of violence and terrorism (d) Unacceptable levels of poverty with nearly half the population below the poverty line (e) High levels of indiscipline in every facet of society (f) Acute politicisation of society, government and public institutions resulting in political victimisation and violence; (g) Rampant Bribery and Corruption; (h) Waste and Extravagance in public life; (i) A non-responsive Educational system, which churns out, supposedly educated persons, who are not fit for the jobs that are available (j) A poorly planned and poorly structured economy; (k) A lack of accountability in many spheres of society (l) Barring a few, a servile media which serves its masters, and not the public interest. So, we have to admit that there is so much discontent, poverty and strife in our society; Why is it, that the fruits and benefits of freedom and development, have only marginally touched the majority of our population? Why is there such intensive politicisation of our society, that a discussion on any matter of national policy, ends up in intensive confrontation that, more often than not, result in violence and destruction? It is to find answers to these vexed questions, that we decided on a theme with a question mark 'Sri Lanka at Fifty - Quo Vadis?' Who is responsible for this state of affairs? In my view every facet of society has to take the blame. Although politicians appear to be the primary culprits, there are others too, who are responsible, for the current state of affairs. We, Professionals have to take our share of the blame. For too long, the professionals have left governance of the country to politicians only and have been sitting back and criticising. In the meantime, politicians while in the opposition listen to professionals, and forget about them when in government. In the final analysis it matters little, as to who is responsible; the damage has been done, and is continuing to be done. Can something be done, to change the present direction of decline, devastation and depression? We have to, if we are to survive as a nation with our heads held high. If so, all sections of the society have to play a role. In that context the responsibility cast upon professionals is immense. Let us acknowledge that we have so far failed as a result of our own lethargy and perhaps, a lack of initiative. It is time that we responded now. Professionals have to make their voices heard individually and collectively. This Year's Annual Session is a step in that direction Tomorrow, at our technical sessions we shall be focusing on this question in great depth. Over 150 eminent professionals who have registered for the Annual Sessions will bring to bear their considerable intellectual prowess and analytical skills to define a strategy to identify and use the strengths, overcome the weakness, maximise the opportunities and counter, the threats, that we face. We have selected topics ranging from Ð Role of Professionals in achieving Peace and Harmony, Finding National Solutions to National Problems, Depoliticisation of key Institutions, Globalisation and Regionalisation, Media Freedom, Channelling Science towards development, Responsive Education, Economic Issues such as competitive and comparative advantage, Health for all Accountability To assist us in this task, we have without any political, or other bias, invited some of the most eminent professionals in this country to make their contributions. Those who have been so invited, are each in his own right, an intellectual leader whose formidable talents, are recognised nationally and internationally. These speakers are: Mr. H. L. De Silva PC Deshamanya Neville Kanakaratne Mr. Bradman Weerakoon Mr. Lakshman Hettiaratchchi Mr. Gamini Weerakoon Dr. Gamani Corea Dr. Nimal Sanderatne Dr. R. O. B. Wijesekera Dr. Saman Kelegama Dr. Godfrey Gunatillake and Prof. Carlo Fonseka. To each of these gentlemen, I wish to convey the gratitude of the OPA for being with us and so willingly agreeing to prepare and present papers. The topics would be dealt with, by the above-named eminent speakers, and the sessions will be chaired by very experienced chairmen, who would help to focus our thoughts and ideas towards the direction our country should take in the future. Therefore, I am sure that these sessions would help us to develop and suggest responses in a future national action plan. At the conclusion of the Annual Sessions, we will prepare a policy document, that will outline, a strategy, to achieve for Sri Lanka, a future that meets the aspirations of our people. On behalf of the technical committee, I thank the session chairmen, the speakers, the rapporteurs and all participants and others who are joining us in this extremely important process, for having committed their time and energy for the session. It is my fervent hope that these deliberations at our sessions would lead to effective responses which may, when implemented, be seen as having been the catalyst towards the shift of the direction which Sri Lanka has taken after a somewhat dismal first fifty years since independence. Let us join hands and move forward in search of that new direction which will bring peace and prosperity to all our people. |
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