University examinations and assessment methods — an overhaul is imperative
By Srima P. WarusawithanaUnlike the National Examinations — GCE Ordinary and Advanced Levels, which have been continuously under close scrutiny by parents, students and educationists, and also by the general public, University examinations have been totally left in the hands of the academics. They have been a monopoly of the departments and faculties of each university; enjoyed an immunity that is totally unacceptable owing to the malpractices that have seeped into the system. It is therefore timely and appropriate to delve into the system of assessments and examinations conducted by universities in Sri Lanka; opportune too, to make a clinical study as to how these malpractices have begun and thereafter multiplied with amazing rapidity casting doubts on the validity and reliability of such evaluations. Careful observations disclose serious misdeeds, anomalies and irregularities which happen almost every year in one or the other of our universities. Parents and students who are aware of such unhealthy happenings are afraid to talk or protest and in most instances indifferent or disinterested. There is also a large population of parents who are totally oblivious to these strange happenings. The aim in writing this is to create a sense of awareness among many, of the prevailing system of university examinations and assessments.
FLAWS IN UNIVERSITY EXAMINATIONS
1.1 Setting of Incorrect Questions. Often question papers are set in a hurry and not pre-tested, to ascertain whether a proper, correct and unambiguous answer is possible. A question is taken off a textbook and the words or phrases/numbers/figures, are haphazardly altered to make it appear as a new question. Students have come up against much confusion and pain of mind trying to answer such erroneous questions in an examination hall.1.2 Questions set on uncovered areas in syllabus
Question papers are naturally set in advance and a teacher hopes to cover the planned syllabus by the end of the course. Due to various factors, one of these being poor and irregular attendance of the teacher himself, the areas set out have not been covered. The teacher realises in the final weeks that a question has been set on an area that has not been done in class. Extra classes are hurriedly organised (probably to get rid of a feeling of guilt) during periods when students are on study leave. There are instances where such extra classes were not notified to some students placing them at a serious disadvantage.1.3 Marks allotted to question/part of question not indicated on paper
A well-planned question paper should indicate the quota of marks allotted to each part of each question. The student who sees the paper is clear about the importance attached to every component. None of the final year university examination papers I have observed has this feature. This omission leaves much room for manipulation by an examiner at the time marking is done. In the case of O/L and A/L examinations the marking scheme is well organised and even if the marks allocation is not indicated on the paper itself, at the time of marking there is some kind of uniformity as a number of teachers are involved headed by a controlling chief examiner.1.4 Marking schemes lacking validity and reliability: These are formulated sometimes only by one individual teacher. Often the marking scheme is worked out only after the examination. Sometimes the rigidity of the scheme does not allow credit for other feasible answers. A student who through divergent creative thinking arrives at the solution in a few steps is penalised while a rote-learner who has committed each step of the problem to memory and reproduces the lesson note of the teacher scores full marks.
1.5 Setting unbalanced Question Papers mostly to test Memory - (Memory testing is the lowest level in Bloom’s Taxonomic Classification applied to Transfer of Learning) Here lengthy answers are committed to memory by some students too obtain maximum marks. The colloquialism among university students for such questions is ‘girawa daanawa’ which means learn in parrot-like fashion. A good paper must be one that has not only questions to test memory but also other areas of learning such as the ability to analyse, synthesise and integrate and apply what has been learnt to new situations. These areas would test a student’s real intelligence and aptitude. It may be a difficult exercise for the marking examiner compared to one where only memory is tested.
1.6 Practical Examinations and Report Writing
In the case of practical work which also constitute a full examination paper, there are instances where the teacher awards marks to the students who write highly verbose, lengthy reports. These are often made up of chunks of even unrelated matter extracted from various text books and produced as part of the report to make it look large and grandiose. Many students therefore kindly oblige the teacher by giving up many pages to count. Every once in this exercise, there appears a student who carries out a practical assignment meticulously and writes a report on it with precision and care in his/her own individual style and maybe in not so many pages; what he does receive is a cold stare from the teacher and low marks for it. Thus it is very clear that in our university system there are flaws which hinder creativity and practical experience as well as self-learning. In this area of practical work, a list of the same practicals, is given to students at the beginning of a course. These practicals are carried out along the way; and reports submitted. It is a well known fact that in at least one department in the science faculty of a premier university here, the current batch of students have access to the reports of the same practicals done by the earlier batch of students in this department. This is through the demonstrators who are on temporary assignments. A covert process of rewriting the report word for word - in short ‘cribbing’, takes place under the eyes of the staff. A conscientious student would be repulsed by this exercise and would lose faith.1.7 Grading of Projects and Presentations
Students who are required to do independent work on a project are assigned a supervisor in the department. The supervisor has the advantage of using the work done by the student to acquire credit for himself as part of his own research work. So a teacher would naturally be interested in being a supervisor. Yet it is unethical for an overall project co-ordinator to be the supervisor for an individual student within this group. There are instances where such students have been awarded distinctions even though the project and presentation were lack-lustre and had many flaws. Such awards are possible when the overall co-ordinator is not only the student’s project supervisor but also the head of the Department. No member of the staff would challenge such awards. This is because the head of the department has the power to withhold if he so desires, any privileges a teacher may enjoy and even obstruct their promotional and career prospects.1.8 Absence of Continuous Evaluation contributing to Final Grade.
Final results of university students are totally based on examination performance. Much has been said about continuous evaluation. University administrators pretend there is continuous evaluation, but there is no such scheme in operation. Continuous evaluation rather than being an imaginary process as it is now, should be a dynamic component of undergraduate study. Regular tutorials, class tests, practical work, essays, if methodically included in the course work would test many areas of a student’s ability and learning skills. These would include language and writing skills, organisational skills, imaginative skills, skills in analysis and synthesis, skills in application etc. This would be a long-term assessment, more valid and more reliable than testing students at a single examination. These evaluations should constitute a good percentage of the final mark - approximately 50%. What the student writes at the final examination in the hall where it is held, should account only for around 50% of the grade. In many foreign universities it is specifically stipulated that the final examination must constitute not more than 50% of the overall mark. But apart from a few and often disorganised practical classes, and a few isolated teachers who still believe in setting tutorials, marking them and giving proper feedback to students, no effective and proper continuous assessment is evident in most of our universities. Even then, these marks are not taken into account in determining the final grade. So that all the emphasis is on the examinations held at the end of an academic year. Thus the future of a student is determined only on the performance at an examination and nothing else. There are also many instances where students have performed badly solely because the teacher has been irresponsible and not done his part of the work — teaching — properly.(Continued tomorrow)
Information technology and graduate employment
By Romesh FernandoOnce when Gau-tama Buddha was living in the monastery of Anathapindaka, near Sravasthi, a certain Angelic being came into his presence and inquired on the nature of the Highest Bles-sing. The Buddha in his reply spoke of many things including the desirability of acquiring technical skills; what educational psychologists call the psycho-motor dimension. All this is related in the Mangala Sutta of the Sutta Nipatha
"Vast learning and skill in handicraft, a highly trained technical discipline and pleasant speech - this is the Highest Bles-sing. Supporting one’s father and mother, cherishing wife and children, and peaceful occupations - this is the Highest Blessing. "The ancient Sinha-lese understood this very well and held that a sound education consisted of Nena, Guna, Sip Sathara or Shilpa Shaastraya. This is the Educational Trinity of the modern psychologists: Knowledge (Nena), Values (Guna), Skills (Sip Sathara). The unemployment problem is a peculiar phenomenon of post-colonial rule. In those days there was full employment with even the most humble villager being taught a craft or trade and organized into guilds called " baddha."
In the universities of Mahavihara, Jetha-vanarama and Abha-yagiriya, there were many faculties where students from all over Asia and the Middle East learnt highly specialized disciplines like Neuro Sur-gery, Irrigation Tech-nology, Civil Engine-ering, Mining and Metallurgy, Ayu-veda, Siddhayurveda and Yunani Medicine, Architecture, Bud-dhist Meditation, Statecraft and the like.
These Buddhist universities were modelled on the ancient academies of Nalanda and Taxila which existed in the Indian sub-continent one thousand four hundred years before Oxford and Cam-bridge and a hundred years before Plato’s Academy.
What the ancients knew and practised, many faculties of modern Sri Lankan universities do not practice, and may perhaps not even be aware of. One hopes that with the new educational reforms the national universities will produce well rounded products with professional ethics and values, appropriate knowledge and marketable technical skills. Therein lies the solution to the " graduate unemployment problem " that continues to plague Sri Lanka in epidemic proportions.
Two issues are important here. First, what of the " unemployed, under-em-ployed and unemployable graduates " numbering 8,000 to 16,000 according to various estimates? How are they to be integrated via skills training into the productive sectors of the country’s economy? Then there is the question of " curriculum reform and university reorganization "to ensure that "unemployable graduates " will not flood the job market in the coming years. To this end, if the radical restructuring suggested by the Presidential Task Force on Higher Education is properly and speedily implemented, the problem would be solved.
On this matter also, the University of Colombo (currently ranked 47th Best of Asian Universities) is in the lead in Sri Lanka. The formation of the Graduate Foun-dation in 1996 was followed by the creation of a Staff Development Centre and a Career Gui-dance Unit. The UGC has since recommended that smiler institutions be formed elsewhere though there is no evidence of this having happened.
At the ‘Job Fair’ at Colombo Univer-sity this August there were final year undergrads from all over, including Ruhuna, Kelaniya, Peradeniya and Sri Jayewardena-pura universities, who tried to get in but had to be turned away at the gate. Later they had flocked to the "Graduate Foun-dation office" and protested that such opportunities did not exist in their institutions.
Apart from the creation of CENGAP (Centre for Graduate Apprenticeship and Placement), suggested in my previous article, there is need for a Wing, a Project and a Force. First is the Market Research Wing of CENGAP that would be named TEAMORB (Tertiary Education And Mar-ket Opportunity Re-search Bureau). Second is the Graduate Training and Placement Pro-ject of CENGAP known as MECCA (Management, Eng-lish, Computer, Capa-bility Acquisition).
Third is the Specialist Task Force called ITSTF (Infor-mation Technology Specialist Task Force); "Thorathuru Thaakshana Vish-eyshagna Kaarya Balakaaya. "CENGAP working through TEAMORB, MECCA and ITSTF will make available 24,000 highly trained IT professionals for employment in Sri Lanka and abroad by December 2001. This would create the much needed technology skilled labour force that would support the new " software based industries " and take us into the 21st Century.
TEAMORB: The Wing
When the Presi-dential Commission on Youth Unrest and Rebellion appointed by the late President R. Premadasa re-leased their report in January 1990 there were two chapters devoted entirely to that vexed problem " The Mismatch bet-ween Education and Employment. "Meanwhile, the Uni-versity Grants Com-mission (UGC), blissfully unaware of this problem continues to allow the country’s public universities to produce vast numbers of Liberal Arts, Law and Commerce graduates, mostly in the Sinhala and Tamil mediums, who have a hard time getting jobs.In other fields like Medicine, Architec-ture, Engineering, Dentistry, Science and Agriculture, from the fifties right through to the nine-ties, students are taught their disciplines entirely in the English medium from their second year at University. (Ape Aan-duwa and Swabhasha Policy notwithstanding).
Sinhalese, Tamil and Muslim students from remote areas like Bibile, Kotmale, Mulkirigala, Ana-maduwa, Mankulam and Muttur, educated mostly in Madhya Maha Vidyalaya’s and Balika Maha Vidyalaya’s, came to the country’s universities, studied in the English medium and became Doctors, Arc-hitects, Dentists, Engineers, Computer Scientists, Chemists, Mathematicians, Agriculturalists and Technologists and are well employed today.
(Contd. tomorrow)
Speeding
By Dr. Kolita Weerasekera
Senior Lecturer - Open University of Sri LankaSpeeding is dangerous and it should be realised that it rarely saves time when roads are congested. It is a wrong belief among most local drivers that they can save a lot of time by speeding. In this process they take unnecessary risks and put many lives in danger. Speeding is extremely harmful when roads are narrow and a lot of pedestrian activities are taking place on the sides of the road. Speeding may have the following harmful effects.
1. It exposes all in the vehicle to danger (not only the driver but all the innocent occupants inside).
2. It exposes the pedestrians and other road users to danger.
3. Creates more air pollution by emitting harmful fumes to the environment. When acceleration to overtake takes place harmful fumes are released to the environment. The effect is more with diesel engines.
4. Creates more noise - contributing towards noisy roads.
5. Uses more fuel for achieving high speeds.
6. Strains the driver - the driver gets to a competitive and tensed mood. Driving is more relaxing and pleasant if you do it in the right way.
7. Strains the other drivers. Speeding drivers not only strain themselves but strains the other disciplined drivers as well to a great extent.
8. Speeding causes unnecessary stress on the pedestrians, road side residents and other road users even if no apparent damage is caused.
9. Causes more damage to the vehicle. Not only the threat of accidents, the undulations and poor conditions of local roads shortens the lives of vehicles.
10. Speeding leads to frequent lane changing and the use of opposite directional lanes (when overtaking) creating dangerous situations.
Speed limits
Speed limits are provided to help the people to travel safely on urban and rural roads. Speed limits indicate the safe maximum speed that is allowed on the road. This helps to provide a means of deferring those who travel at unsafe speeds. Speed limits prescribe a legal maximum speed permitted. The public should be well aware that exceeding the speed limit is an offence. Speed limits help to save lives. Road fatalities and causalities can be reduced by setting lower speed limits that are appropriate for the conditions. A speed limit of 40 km/h is ideal for urbanised areas where maximum pedestrian activities are present and other areas, and in rural roads 60 km/h is an ideal speed if the road design permits.Although on national roads the speed limit is around 60 km/h it is commonly seen local drivers speeding over 80 km/h on these roads. The statistics indicate that young drivers 18 - 25 years are the most responsible for speeding offences and this is the age which enjoy taking risks. Unfortunately it also can be seen majority of the public transport drivers fall into this category. In most of the developed countries there are probationary periods (ranging from 1 to 3 years) for young drivers to be under scrutiny. During this period although they are provided with the probationary licences they have to drive under strict conditions such as lower speed limits (50 km/h), very strict condition on alcohol, a limit to the number of passengers they are allowed to carry etc. If they violate these conditions the new drivers loose the chances of obtaining the permanent license. These types of probationary periods are becoming necessary in this country too in today’s context.
Stopping distance
At higher speed it is necessary to maintain larger gaps between vehicles. This is because at higher speeds the braking distance is more than at lower speeds. Braking distance is the distance travelled by the vehicle when the brakes are applied and the wheels locked. The driver will take some time to react towards braking to a situation once he sees a hazard. This time is the reaction time. For average humans it has been shown the reaction time may vary 0.75 seconds to 1.5 seconds. The total distance covered by the vehicles during the reaction time plus braking distance is the ‘stopping distance’. From Figure 1 it can be clearly seen that in both dry and wet conditions the stopping distance is almost doubled when speed is increased from 60 km/h to 80 km/h. This is a clear indication of the level of safety at 60 km/h compared to 80 km/h.Focussed angle of vision
Recent research has shown that vehicle speed affects the angle of vision of the driver. At high speeds the driver’s peripheral vision is narrowly focussed, but at lower speeds the driver can take in much more of what happens in the street space and respond accordingly. This can be shown by Figures 2 and 3 given below. In Figure 3 when the driver is driving at 50 km/h his field of vision is narrowly focussed and any activity outside the focussed area is a potential danger. But in Figure 2 at 25 km/h his field of vision is much broader and his effectiveness for nearby activities is much more. There is a limit to the brain’s capacity to perform according to the observations made by the eyes, higher the speed, fewer the observations that can be processed per kilometre or mile.Display of speed limits
Speed limits should be set by regulation and indicated clearly by sign-posting. In Sri Lankan arterial roads one main lapse by the highway authorities is that drivers rarely see the speed regulatory signs along the road. More speed regulatory signs should be posted along the sides of the roads and speed limits also can be painted clearly on the carriageway at regular intervals (say every kilometre interval) at-least on the main arterial roads where a high rate of accidents takes place. This will constantly remind the drivers of their speed obligations.A common occurrence on our local roads is that once a driver is overtaken by an overspeeding vehicle, the vehicle being overtaken also tries to keep pace with the vehicle in front. But if constant reminders of the speed limit is indicated along the road, this tendency may be less.
Physical devices
Speeding can be reduced through integrated strategies including education programs, and introducing physical devices such as speed humps, raised platforms, staggered sections, introduction of mini roundabouts and speed signs etc.Prevention of speeding near schools
The prevention of speeding is fundamental to road safety around schools where large numbers of children use the roads. If vehicles exceed or ignore speed limits there is less opportunity to accommodate the impulsive behavior of children, particularly at the starting and finishing times of schools when they can be excited, distracted or tired. Children learn from adults. Avoid rushing children to and from school. Urgency can transmit itself to children, prompting them to copy adults, get stressed and take risks to save time. It can be seen in the recent development of school vans. They are in a rush to pick-up the children from various points on different routes.The drivers speed and take risks and become a very bad influence on the children. The school bus days are gone, where the CTB drivers had a definite route and did not have to hurry to pick-up the students like the present day school vans. It is not an easy task to teach the children to be safe passengers, pedestrians, cyclists and drivers in the future with the present set up, unless a lot of effort is made in the right direction.
Environment
IUCN - five decades of people for nature(IUCN is the world’s largest conservation organization with over 900 governments and NGO members from 138 countries. Founded in 1948, fifty years on the world conservation community returns to Fountainbleau to debate where the movement should be going in the new millennium.)
In Africa, the Tanzanian government has launched an innovative integrated coastal management programme to enlist the cooperation of local people to save their coral reefs, which are vital to sustain their fishing industry. In South America, a meeting of some 100 organizations in Urumbamba, Peru held in May 1996 was instrumental in enabling a national committee to advocate a joint position at the Summit on Sustainable Development held in September that year. In Europe, more than 20 countries have come together to formulate a joint approach to manage protected areas through the project "Parks for Life". In Asia, the Forest Department of Sri Lanka is testing out a novel approach to forest conservation by involving people living near the Knuckles forest in conservation through buffer-zone development. This is just a glimpse of the work catalyzed around the globe by IUCN-The World Conservation Union towards conservation and sustainable use of the world’s natural resources.
Half a century ago in November 1948, IUCN - The International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources was founded in Fontainebleau, France, its mission being to ensure that mankind’s natural heritage - the world’s forests, waters, soil, air, wildlife and fisheries remain fundamentally unimpaired so that the present nor the succeeding generations are denied their share. Growing over the years to a veritable global alliance, and currently bonding 74 governments, 105 specialized agencies and over 700 non- governmental organizations spanning 134 countries, IUCN seeks to influence, encourage and assist societies throughout the world to conserve the integrity and diversity of nature and to ensure that any use of natural resources is equitable and ecologically sustainable.
Operating from its headquarters in Switzerland, IUCN coordinates its activities through seven Regional offices, 21 Country Offices and 14 Project Offices, based mostly in developing countries. Over 9000 volunteer experts offer a massive contribution to conservation through the Union’s six commissions: Ecosystem Management, Education and Communication, Environmental Economics and Social Policy, Environmental Law, Protected Areas and Species Survival.
IUCN in Sri Lanka
IUCN’s role in Sri Lanka spans a decade todate. The in- country operational relationship between IUCN and the Government of Sri Lanka commenced in August 1988, and was based on a Memorandum of Understanding between the Government of Sri Lanka and the IUCN. In recognition of the important contribution made to national conservation efforts, IUCN has been granted a status similar to that accorded to the United Nations Development Programme in Sri Lanka. IUCN’s current membership in Sri Lanka consists of eleven states, institutional and non governmental organizations with state membership being held by the Ministry of Forestry and Environment.The IUCN Sri Lanka Programme has continued to play a catalytic role in biodiversity conservation in the country, providing vital assistance in policy formulation, sustainable management of natural resources, habitat and species conservation, institutional capacity strengthening and environmental awareness, through partnership with the Sri Lanka Government, state agencies and NGOs.
Partners in Conservation
A major cornerstone in recent conservation initiatives at the national level has been IUCN’s contribution to the preparation of the National Biodiversity Conservation Action Plan at the request of the Government of Sri Lanka. The Action Plan which was formulated in response to the Convention on Biological Diversity which the Sri Lanka Government ratified in 1994, provides the policy framework for Sri Lanka’s future biodiversity Conservation initiatives. The plan setting out guiding principles and proposals for action in terms of conserving biodiversity in the country has received approval of the Cabinet of Ministers.IUCN has also carried out several important studies pertaining to various aspects of biodiversity conservation. The National Conservation Review (NCR), which has been at the ‘cutting edge’ in forestry related work in recent years, involved a biodiversity assessment of woody plants and selected faunal groups in over 200 hectares of natural forests in Sri Lanka. Esteemed as one of the most comprehensive and innovative evaluations of biodiversity and hydrological assessments ever made on a countrywide scale todate, the NCR is testimony to a fruitful partnership between IUCN’s scientific expertise and the Forest Department. This unique exercise has led to the preparation of a framework for defining a system of protected area networks in Sri Lanka.
Sri Lanka’s forestry sector received a boost in 1991 with the implementation of the Environmental Management Component of the Forestry Sector Development Project. This highly successful multi-faceted project served to enhance the capacity of the Forest Department and the then Ministry of Agriculture, Lands and Forestry to deal effectively with forestry management issues, establish an Environmental Management Division within the Forest Department, develop EIA guidelines for forestry activities, develop a training programme for Forestry Managers, and prepare management plans to minimize the serious threats faced by the biodiversity-rich wet zone forests.
In Sri Lanka, management of biodiversity using participatory management as a tool is gradually taking wing. The on-going GTZ-funded Knuckles Buffer Zone Conservation Project, which is being carried out by IUCN in collaboration with the Forest Department, is the first attempt at participatory forest management in Sri Lanka. The project involving five villages adjoining the Knuckles forest was put into operation with the help of village organizations. The project amply demonstrates how the challenge of incorporating social and economic dimensions in natural resources management is met effectively. This innovative project is being closely monitored so that lessons learned can be effectively extended in the design of future forest conservation and development programmes.
Medicinal plants signify high in Sri Lanka’s biodiversity profile. In the forefront of IUCN’s current activities is a project for the conservation and sustainable use of medicinal plants, collaboratively carried out with the Ministry of Health and Indigenous Medicine with funding from the Global Environmental Facility. This five-year project seeks to safeguard Sri Lanka’s valued medicinal plant resources, which account for about 1400 plant species of which a significant proportion is becoming increasingly rare or under threat of extinction due to overexploitation. This project has three areas of focus namely increasing populations of medicinal plants in their natural habitats; cultivating and propagating medicinal plants in a variety of sites outside their strict natural habitats and strengthening knowledge while promoting education and awareness on medicinal plants.
Awareness creation about threatened animals and plants has been an important activity that IUCN has taken up at the global level in its Red List of Threatened Species. At the national level, the Sri Lanka programme is currently engaged in finalizing a list of nationally threatened plants and animals based on criteria developed by local scientists and experts. IUCN foresees a comprehensive programme which will include programmes for various target groups in the country to enhance capacities, skills, values and attitudes for biodiversity conservation.
Working in coastal and marine ecosystems
Since its establishment IUCN Sri Lanka has been involved in marine and coastal areas, at the policy, planning and implementation levels. At the policy level IUCN Sri Lanka is a member of the Inter-Agency Co-ordinating Committee for the Sustainable Use of Coastal and Marine Resources, a committee established by the Ministry of Forestry and Environment to co-ordinate initiatives for coastal and marine conservation. At the planning level, IUCN Sri Lanka in collaboration with the Forest Department, undertook the preparation of conservation management plans for ten selected mangrove sites in the Gampaha and Puttalam districts. The preparation of conservation management plans for mangroves areas south of Colombo is currently underway.In its efforts to ensure the survival of threatened species, IUCN launched a two-year project for the conservation of dolphins in Sri Lanka’s offshore territorial waters. Although dolphins have been afforded legal protection in Sri Lanka since 1993, they continue to be exploited often deliberately harpooned, for their flesh. This has led to mounting concern, both nationally and globally, to alleviate the threat to these marine mammals. The project included a range of activities such as education and awareness creation, training of state sector officials whose work is related to the conservation of small cetaceans, holding community level workshops to increase awareness on small cetaceans conservation among fisher folk and the collection of scientific data on landing catches. The initial phase of this project funded by the Government of the Netherlands has been completed, and the second phase of the project is expected to commence shortly.
IUCN’s current activities in wetlands include work in the Bellanwila Attidiya Sanctuary. This suburban wetland, particularly rich in waterfowl is currently undergoing rapid environmental degradation from water pollution, garbage dumping, illegal land filling and settlements. The project funded by the RAMSAR bureau is being implemented in collaboration with the Department of Wildlife Conservation.
New vistas in regional co-operation
The role of IUCN Sri Lanka transcends into the regional level. The South and Southeast Asia Regional Biodiversity Programme based in IUCN Sri Lanka seeks to bring together government agencies, NGOs and other organizations across the region in support of the Convention on Biological Diversity. The programme has close links with IUCN’s global biodiversity programme in Gland, Switzerland and supports the implementation of the CBD by working in seven carefully selected thematic areas.In a world increasingly burdened with environmental problems, it is time for concerted action towards striking a balance between conservation and development, to hand over to the coming generations what has been borrowed in the past. We, at IUCN Sri Lanka, are proud to be a vital part of this effort.
Investigate the loss of national assets
Atmospheric air of the correct ambient temperature is one among other natural resources which our country is endowed with. Is atmospheric air a resource over which we could exercise rights of ownership? Consider that it is possible to extract, measure, place in storage and deal with the atmosphere in its various components as a commercial product. Thereby atmospheric air cannot be considered a ‘res nullius’.
Sri Lanka, being situated in mid-ocean, enjoys an exclusive right over a territorial limit of 200 miles. Is it possible to exercise an exclusive right over the atmosphere which has a specific limit extending outwards to the stratosphere? Can we compare a discovery of a deposit of oil within our territorial limits? The scientific discoveries which arose in this century rendered atmospheric air to be commercially exploitable as a commodity. Air consists of several identifiable component gases. Thereby, atmospheric air should be considered as a national resource which by definition belongs in the ownership of the State.
Should we examine the legality of such a claim?
One needs the legality of a licence to drill for oil or to mine for gems and plumbago. One needs a licence to take fish from the sea. In fact, we do zealously guard our air space against intrusions unless with our permission.With the private investor exploiting atmospheric air as a resource for industry, it is clear that the political decision has been made in an ignorance of its commercial value or its character as a national asset. As a developing country, we should explore every available prospect as a potential resource. Therefore, it is imperative that we should be looking at this particular resource and the privatisation deal in revision.
Consider the likelihood that the oil resources of Saudi Arabia, the North Sea or anywhere in the world being gifted without a consideration of its value to an investor. In fact, the oil reserves of the North Sea were long in dispute until they were reserved for the nations on its shore. The dispute on the oil reserves in the South China Sea is not a peaceful dialogue among the claimants. Sri Lanka alone stands easily identifiable for its political and bureaucratic ineptitude.
It is The Island alone which can pursue the matter of national concern to its proper conclusion. It is not enough to merely query these questionable deals of privatisation. Public opinion has only a very short shelf life.
Initially, it may be necessary to have a more academic and critical approach to an analysis of atmospheric air as a national resource. The equation of the legality of permitting the exploitation of the resource by an investor without taking into account its commercial value to the exclusion of the State, using it as the only raw material input in the industry should be a subject of intensive study.
Here, we are in an assessment of the loss of a valuable national resource due to the ignorance or naivette of politicians and the lack of commercial experience of public officials when dealing with robber barons of the First World.
In this particular instance of privatisation there is one internationally accepted principle that the State is the absolute owner of national resources. However, in the case of atmospheric air, this investor does not have the licence to exploit our resource as a raw material of industry. Such a licence even if it is sought at this stage should not be granted.
Therefore, our stand-point should be that the essential subject matter of the privatisation was only the G.O.B.U. of Ceylon Oxygen and not the source or the raw material itself. Indeed, the raw material was never taken into account in the procedure of valuation of the asset prior to privatisation.
The undeniable fact that we have lost a national asset which under proper safeguards, would have served the national interest is a supplementary question.
The wider question of privatisation of an set which is of vital importance to our economy is to discussed at a higher forum. It is only then that the camouflage of deceit can be lifted to reveal the misdemeanour of our own people. Few would be aware that out of the five members on the Committee of the World Bank which pressed for the privatisation and sale of Ceylon Oxygen to Norsk Hydro of Norway, three members were Norwegian nationals.
The nation will support The Island in an initiative to investigate the loss of this national asset. Only The Island will be in a position to obtain the co-operation of persons of the calibre of Prof. R. P. Gunawardene of the University of Peradeniya to gather with the assistance of a public interest lawyer such as Mr. Elm Perera, one time Surveyor General and the Chief Government Valuer to look into the matter.
The initiative will confer immortality to all concerned in the national endeavour of restoration of this unique industrial package of eternal value, to its rightful owners.
S. Wijendra
Kadawatha
Exploitation of the Eppawela rock phosphate deposit
By Prof. V. K. Samaranayake
(Continued from yesterday)
Details on how and when the ecological restoration has to be carried out should be specified. The Agreement should specifically state that the ecological restoration of the areas affected by the mining must be carried out by the prospector at his own cost progressively during the period of mining operations and as directed by the Government of Sri Lanka. The penalty for non-compliance should be severe. Mere termination of the agreement is inadequate. In the event of non-compliance, the mechanisms and costs of international litigation (which can be prohibitive) should be given due consideration.
The US $ 500,000 bond for securing environmental protection appears grossly inadequate, and should be substantially increased, based on a proper assessment.
(d) Economic and social considerations
The bare facts as regards costs and benefits are as follows:1. The gross value of the 26.1 million metric tons rock phosphate rock that will be mined over the 30 year period (which is Sri Lanka’s contribution) is estimated to be US$ 1,122 million at the current Moroccan international market price of US$ 43 per metric ton. Allowing for costs incurred in mining operations, which according to the Director General of the BOI would be in the order of US$ 43 million, the nett value of Sri Lanka’s contribution would be US$ 1079 million. It will however be considerably higher if the ore is of the high quality deducible from the work of the scientists of the Peradeniya University.
2. The company will invest US$ 425 million, being the cost of the plant, infrastructures, etc. Its income would be US$ 154.8 million from the 3.6 million metric tons mined and exported in the first 12 year period of the project and US$ 5,000.4 million which would be the gross market value of di-ammonium phosphate manufactured at the rate of 600,000 metric tons per annum in the remaining 18-year period at US$ 463 per metric ton. This adds up to a gross income of US$ 5,155 million for the company.
3. The total direct and indirect monetary benefits to Sri Lanka are estimated at US$ 479 million which includes royalty at 5.5% on Moroccan international price on all rock phosphate mined over the 30 year period (US$ 37 million), dividend on 10% free equity over 30 years (US$ 70 million), and taxes, port earnings etc. (US$ 372 million). The discounted value of the benefit over 30 years would be considerably less.
4. The nett value of the resource of mined rock phosphate foregone by Sri Lanka would be US$ 1,079.3 (after allowing US$ 43 million for costs of mining as estimated for by the Director General of BOI), which is very much lower than total monetary benefit.
5. The nett income to the company would be US$ 4,251.9 million after allowing for its investment of US$ 425 million and payment of the monetary benefits of US$ 479 to Sri Lanka.
6. The benefit/cost ratio for the foreign company would be 4251.9/425=10 while the benefit/cost ratio for Sri Lanka would be only 479/1079 =0.44. Clearly Sri Lanka is getting a very raw monetary deal, leaving aside the cost of damage to the environment the proposed project would cause. If Sri Lanka takes full responsibility for mining and marketing the rock phosphate investing US$ 43 million required for mining the benefit /cost ratio would be 1079.3/43=25.
The social benefits of the proposed project would include employment for about 1000 people, subsidised (5% below market value) employment for-ammonium phosphate to local farmers, and improved transport and communication facilities. However these may be offset by the negative impact of the displacement of up to 12000 people. It is stated that the project company will as far as possible avoid displacing households, and that those displaced would be compensated. The government should secure a sufficient bond from the project company to meet costs of resettlement and compensation.
Recommendations
1. Give highest priority to the comprehensive exploratory survey of size and quality of rock phosphate reserves which should ideally be done independently by the Geological Surveys and Mines Bureau in collaboration with other local scientists, if necessary, with aid from the ADB and/or the UN Revolving Fund for geological exploration.2. Final decisions on rate of exploitation, on value- added fertilizers to be locally manufactured and on monetary and other economic benefits to Sri Lanka should be based on the results of the comprehensive geological survey.
3. Call for reports from other relevant countries on past performance before a decision is made to select a particular company.
4. The security bond on environmental protection and cost of resettlement, and compensation for displaced persons should be substantially increased and be based on a proper assessment of the possible costs that would be involved.
5. If the Project Company does not agree to these terms, call for fresh global tenders with clear definition of our terms and requirements after the survey referred to in recommendation (1) is completed.
6. Consider mining the rock ourselves and selling it direct to the export market and to the local fertilizer factories as is done in the granite industry . Seek foreign participation for capital, marketing and technical expertise as suggested in the New Zealand Group’s proposal. According to the Director General of BOI, the capital costs of mining and crushing equipment and infrastructure development for transporting the rock ourselves at a level of 350000 to 1.2 million metric tons per annum would be about US$ 43 million. This is a modest investment considering that the market value of the mined 26.1 million metric tons of rock phosphate is US$ 1122.3 million.
(Concluded)
