CLASSIFIED | POLITICS | TERRORISM | OPINION | VIEWS

Education debate – Need for self reliance and change of attitude

Ben Silva

We have a good contribution, as usual, from Dilrook Kannangara. He has made extremely good points. I agree that Entrepreneurship skills are important and need priority in development. Countries such as Singapore depend on the entrepreneurial skills of its citizens, as Singapore has no natural resources. Also Asians and others in Western countries had to develop entrepreneurial skills as jobs were difficult to get. Basically entrepreneurs will have to determine what products or services are needed by the society and provide the needs and make a profit. Individuals can look at the needs and provide a service or product, without waiting for some one to give a job. Of course it is not easy but it creates many opportunities. As Dilrook pointed out, we need to get involved in Capital generation and also in High Technology industry. Getting involved in high technology industry will improve our thinking and creative skills. I have given below other useful skills and attitudes to develop.

Research and development

We need to have research and development in all fields and think of introducing new products or services to the market. Continuous quality improvement and the possibility of a continuous change should be in our mind.

Planning skills

We have to be able to project into the future and take decisions now. A very useful skill to develop.

Competitive spirit

To survive in a highly competitive world we need to develop a competitive attitude and at same time acquire team working skills.

Development of will power

Will power is needed to acquire new skills as well as overcome problems. This again is something we need to develop. Looking at our self reliance on defence, this area needs attention.

In my previous article, I used a few terms and I have clarified the meaning below.

Education – learning about what is around you

Skills – ability to do things

Learning – acquisition of knowledge or skills.

These are of course simplified meanings and broader and more accurate definitions can be found on the internet. So really, you can get educated through experience, like some of the pioneers in Japan have done. As Shenali said, Education does not mean just book knowledge. Multiple Intelligence theory by Prof. Gardner indicate that people can have multiple intelligences. http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks3/ict/multiple_int/what.cfm

Therefore persons could excel in a number fields such as music, dance, entertainment, sports etc. There are so many opportunities in Sri Lanka, only if people get off their back sides, ditch their baggage, think fresh, engage their brains and do things.

Lifelong learning

This is another area we should not neglect. Learning should not end at school, but should be a life long thing.

One of the things we notice is that information is available in abundance and is free on the internet. So internet access is important for survival, hence the need for internet access in every school. This is an area where overseas friends can help.

Paper qualifications may be less valuable in the future, as the shelf life of knowledge gets shorter. This gets very apparent in Western Countries, where in general, there is no such thing as a career for life.

The key point I wanted to get across was, be aware of what is going on around you, get off the backside and do something, or express your opinion and be counted, without depending on others. The simple message I wanted to get across was be self reliant, as the law of nature is “Survival of the fittest “ . We need to understand that there is no such thing as a free lunch. Basically, we have to stand on our two feet and fend for ourselves in a competitive and tough world. Be self reliant on defence. Do not wait for some one else to make a bullet for us. Gone are the days, when you could be ignorant about what is happening around you. Most foreign news papers have a “World news “ column that inform the readers about what is happening in the world.

India is developing fast, as they plan to send a lunar satellite next year and China is developing fast as well in all technology areas and we still rely on foreigners for our defence systems. The Indians are developing the lunar satellite project to develop their skills base, and we should use our defence industry to develop our skills base.

References for Indian Space Research

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Indian_Space_Research_Organisation
http://www.bharat-rakshak.com/SPACE/
http://www.isro.gov.in/space_science/index.htm

It is time to change our mind set and think of self reliance, as neo-colonialists such as Garath Evans may think of intervention. Sri Lanka need to develop affordable systems, developed by us with the help of friends, to defend our country.

We wish to hear from IESL, our Engineers and Technologists , as to how they can help defend the nation and develop self reliance in defence. Time for Engineers to get away from the comfort zone and come up with innovative ideas. Let us hear some views of members of IESL. and others, interested in the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka. Sri Lanka perhaps could educate the youth about the threats facing the country and perhaps equip them with skills to defend the country. There is a very serious threat now to the territorial integrity of the country with some HR groups such as HRW and ICG deliberately producing biased reports containing unsubstantiated statements.

Ethics and values

Another important point I wish to mentions is ethics, integrity and honesty. As Prof. Hudson McLean has pointed out in his article, http://www.lankaweb.com/news/items07/140807-5.html some dishonest persons with no integrity and character have robbed the donations meant for poor Tsunami victims. Many Sri Lankans and others have worked hard to alleviate the suffering of Tsunami victims and it is revolting to see some dishonest characters steeling from the poorest. I believe, it is such dishonest people that has dragged Sri Lanka down, preventing the poor lifting themselves off poverty. We need to expose them and deal with them. However, our main focus should be defeating terrorism. It is utterly immoral to steal from the poorest and the weakest and they have to be told so.

This lead to the important point that for business enterprises to be successful and sustainable, then enterprises need to operate in an environment of honesty, integrity, and good ethics.
To safeguard the weakest of the society, we need to have safety nets and systems such as soup kitchens and hostels as in USA, funded by the Govt. or private organisations. Means must be provided so that the weakest are able to develop skills to survive in society. Also opportunities need to be provided for the weakest to escape poverty. This is a complex subject and I have merely touched on it. Interesting thoughts and eradicating poverty is given by Dr Yunus, ref.
http://www.hindu.com/2007/08/19/stories/2007081955511400.htm
Dilrook gave some interesting stats which showed that Sinhalese fall behind other ethnic groups. What is the reason behind it ?

Do they need development in

· work ethics ,

· professionalism,

· Timeliness,

· attitude,

· honesty and integrity,

· hardwork and commitment,

· Money management ?.

Any weaknesses should be identified, and support needed given to all in weak areas. As in Malaysia, the Govt. may need a campaign to develop vital business skills with full force. I agree with Dilrooks comments on socialism, but there has to be safety nets to protect the weakest members of the society and opportunities given to the weakest to escape the poverty trap.

Hopefully, the wisdom of many would be better than the wisdom of one and let many contribute to this valuable discussion. Perhaps we could let the President know about our views.

A good article to read is:

http://www.lankabusinessonline.com/fullstory.php?newsID=1678030326&no_view=1&SEARCH_TERM=1

My view on religion – Survival first to defeat terrorist empire builders and overcome poverty, but have a good set of values, ethics, principles and respect and care of others.

Unethical conversion should be discouraged as it may allow a group of people to engage in mind control for their interests. Perhaps Buddhists could get themselves organised and help the poor.

Schools

Schools should promote racial integration. We should not allow segregated schools in terms of ethnicity or religion.

.We need to move away from the past, look into the future and adapt to the rapidly changing world, in order to survive. Nations such as Singapore and Malaysia have developed considerably during a short time. What is the secret of their success and why have we not achieved much ? Perhaps we need to look at our mindset and our approach.

Partnership with Foreign Universities, Schools etc

Recent newspaper article indicated that, Govt. is to build railway carriages. http://news.lk/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=3212&Itemid=44

Partnerships could be made with Indian, Chinese, or British Universities to run Railway Engineering, Rail traction and rolling stock degree courses. Of course there could be partnerships in other fields as well. I am aware that partnerships exist already in a number of fields, but areas need to expand. Emphasis is to be self reliant on various fields.
We have to think as a nation and help those in need and think of ways to eradicate poverty. We should always be grateful to our security forces for defending our country and our freedom. We should have a place in our heart for them and look after them, with adequate compensation for the disabled.

Acknowledgements to Lankaweb for keeping this important issue alive.

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