L. Jayasooriya

Carlo Fonseka in an article in the Sunday Island of 10th January 2010, titled ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-Whom to vote for PresidentƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ says that SF has nothing but military experience and voting for him would be like voting for Adolf Hitler. Within the body of that letter was a photograph of Hitler in a military cap which gave me the feeling that he was attempting to convey the impression that Hitler was a pure military man. Though he was a military man to begin with later he got into politics and was very much involved in politics. That was why he became known to the country to be popularly elected.

This type of manipulation is what people expect from politicians who are never held in esteem by society but when such a thing comes from a member of the University Grants Commission it shows the degradation of human values in our society that did not exist before. This seems to be a new trend with the start of the 2010 presidential elections. The first one to start this was Prof. Laksiri Fernando who published a similar letter in the Asian Tribune to which I replied in the website of Lanka Web under the heading ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-The wisdom of Prof. Laksiri FernandoƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚. Then another university professor by the name of Prof. Wishwa Warnapala joined in. By doing so these three people have lowered the dignity of the professions they belong to and from now on the public associate these academic professions to be no different in respect-worthiness than common politicians.

I want to emphasize that I am not recommending anybody to vote for in preference to another because it is an insult to the readers to be told for whom to vote. I am writing this to inform Dr. Carlo Fonseka that he belongs to a failed institution that cannot provide education to students who are capable of higher education and they rot away in our society because there is no room at the universities. Also we must not forget that the mighty academics of the University Grants Commission are the inventors of the ƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ…-cut offƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ”š‚ mark system. That was the best they could come up with.

According to Google the University of Moratuwa is the only technical university to provide courses in both Agriculture and Information Technology but I do not know whether they are three year degree courses or just diplomas. The University Grants Commission (UGC) has failed to understand that the provision of space for degrees in Arts is a waste of the countryƒÆ’‚¢ƒ¢-¡‚¬ƒ¢-¾‚¢s resources that can be put to better use without creating dissatisfaction among educated youth. The basic three year degree course in Agriculture should include all knowledge pertaining to the subject and a one year training course after which they could be appointed as agricultural advisors throughout the rural areas. They should also be involved in coordinating activities to store the paddy and other produce to give a good return to the farmers with the eventual aim of eliminating the parasitic middle men some of whom come from the most unexpected sources. They should be provided a central place of residence with a large garden that they should maintain as an example to all villagers and should be given a vehicle to visit the rural areas where they will make themselves available for advice.

After all the publicity that has been given to information technology (IT) and the fact that the private sector needs such skills we still do not see or hear any demand for these subjects and agriculture that will eliminate the present situation when all those who are capable of higher education could enter university. Then there could be diplomas in commerce subjects where the private sector could use such diploma holders at a higher level than just accounts clerks. Provision should also be made for them to sit for an external degree that they could not do earlier because of entry restrictions.