BY EDWARD THEOPHILUS

Part one of this article focused on several significant points that have been developed in the country since the colonial era that are vital to understanding the background for reforms needed in the country. The working knowledge of English is essential to reduce the population of the country as a strategy to send them overseas in addition to other population control strategies. Sending people as permanent residents would use them to stay away from the country, for example, the Christian population was about 10% when independence was gained, but it has gradually decreased to less than 7% the major reason for this reduction was the Christian population has been migrated to Western countries. Using similar strategies the population of Sri Lanka could reduce by sending them overseas.

After the British invasion, the English language became the media of international communication, but English administrators limited the teaching  English medium to a few major schools in the urban area and rural schools where poor kids were learning ignored This was a critical reason for social division. If British administrators used English as the media of instruction in all schools many divisive problems would not arise.     

I can recollect when I was working in Sri Lanka before 1990, educated youth who were born in rural areas had been rejected by lower educated administrators, who insulted them because they have no English knowledge. However, administrators were not English well-educated experts, but the accusers were only able to write a few small sentences and loud-talking in English, sometimes they couldn’t write a grammatically correct sentence with ten words. I observed that my boss was correcting his letters with five sentences. The answer to the problem was to educate the English language than direct insulting educated rural youths.  This environment frustrated educated youth in regional areas and encourage the origin of a conflict between rich and poor (a social division), also supporting the hate of uneducated urban youth toward educated rural youths because they were educated in so-called big schools.

Big schools promoted playing cricket than providing subject knowledge, skills and values. In 1964, the government nationalized schools that were obtaining government assistance but churches were allowed to keep several schools under the church administration and manage them for wealthy people’s kids. The action was against Christianity and one reason to promote the conflict. Any religion must give priority to justice and if religions attempt to safeguard wealthy people it could not accept as a religion, but it is an organization that was formed by a demon. Christianity in Sri Lanka works against the policies of Jesus Christ.  

Administrators of the country knew that the environment in Sri Lanka should have been changed by various government policies, but they have not happened according to the size and available wealth in the country, Sri Lanka can provide education in English, Sinhala and Tamil in all schools in the country. Learning three languages by each student in schools is not a hard task and why government policymakers are reluctant to do it is a major question.       

Economic reforms are needed to consider the following points.

Expected changes by agitated youth are related to economic policies and since 1948 the change in economic policy stuck with the hidden influence of so-called rich people in the country. The purpose of changing economic policies is to increase the advantages of the macroeconomic factors of the country and the following points are significant. As people are fully aware the World Bank and other international Financial institutions promoted a worldwide campaign to a reduction of the budget deficit by reducing spending and promoting export earnings, they are fundamental to the economic reforms of Sri Lanka. The political system and corruption in the country have negatively impacted achieving the two major targets, increasing export earnings and reducing the budget deficit.  

• The population of the country seems to be higher and it should reduce to 15 million including all ethnic groups with a long-term population plan. Sri Lanka had a plan to maintain a lower level of population, but the plan has not been working during the past five decades, and the policymakers did not monitor the population controlling plan. The population control plan has not been working because too much ethnic bullshit poisoned the minds of ethnic groups. The population is a macroeconomic factor that is associated with a variety of issues, politics, ethnic problems, and religions. These groups are attempting to increase their population and the reduction of the total population to 15 million within the next 15 years must be the essential economic policy action plan.  This could be done by limiting a child to a family and allowing people to go overseas and support family planning. Limiting one child to a family may be a controversial issue among human rights people and it should be fluctuated from time to time.
• Lands should be distributed to people except for lands for large plantations and people who have no land for agriculture should be given and monitor how lands are used for production activities. In 1973, land distribution was done but it negatively impacted production in plantation areas, especially land distribution seemed it was done for political party supporters. The activities of land distribution by the Land Reform Commission negatively impacted production.  Organic fertilizer could be good for agricultural activities and it should apply without harming the production level.
• The contribution to the national income should consist of agriculture at 30%, industries at 25%, construction at 15%, service sector at 20% and others at 10% and a very good inter-industrial plan should be developed and export development in each sector should be given priority.
• Provision of employment should be based on qualifications and skills to achieve productivity and there should develop a practical plan to achieve productivity and should maintain it. Monitoring and remedial management should do based on monitoring results and the plan should be educated the people of the country.
• An investment role of 70% should give to the private sector and the government should invest only in the area where the private sector cannot find capital.
• Privatization of public enterprises needs to reduce the budget gap and give new administration to them
• Strikes and protests should be banned and the wages and other payments of employees should be monitored after the productivity of each employee, the excess labour should be transferred to other areas, and Thee-wheels and Salon culture must be stopped transferring to production areas.
• Foreign investments for various purposed need to attract and it might need to give tax and other support to investors.
• Education must be based on providing vocational skills and higher education and when students complete year 12 they should be given two certificates for general and vocational education. The media of education must be in three languages, Sinhala, Tamil and English. This means each student learning three languages and it will remove language problems.  When a kid completes education at year 12 he or she must have skills to communicate in three languages with vocational skills. The review of syllabi in education should be done once in three years.  
• Liberal policies for investment within the legal framework should be implemented and market economic policy based on a liberal environment to change the price by market forces and the government needs to subsidise   poor people
• Sri Lanka needs to get away from the provision of education and health services free to all and about 15% of the population can offer self-fund for these services
• The narcotic business has become a part of the economy and the inflation of the country is associated with the narcotics business. Many people in the country know or without knowing ally narcotic business and the government should take firm action to control.