Student Refuses To Bow To Education Minister
Schoolgirl carrying books, surrounded by garbage. Vihara Maha Devi, before they started fixing it.
I recently read two education stories. One was about a 13 year old student beaten in front of the whole class. The other was about a scholarship student who refused to bow to the Education Minister (literally). The last story is much more heartening.
I studied in Mullaitivu under great difficulties. I had to study while staying in camps. I don’t want to fall at the feet of anybody except my parents” he said to the news reporters who questioned him about the incident. (Daily Mirror)
Note that bowing is not unusual. I still bow to my grandmother and many people still bow to their parents. It’s generally a sign of respect which I think is fine, in that spirit. I’ve never bowed before anyone but family or monks or people that I wanted to bow to and I think young Parameswaran Sethuragavan has a point.
Sri Lankan education, founded on the British system, often terrorizes students. Watch The Report (a short film by students at the Jaffna Film Camp) for an idea of the fear associated with education. A teacher also recently told me that the Sri Lankan student suicide rate is off the already high charts. This seems to be true.
Sri Lanka had an extraordinarily high suicide rate in the 15-19 age group: at 46.5/100,000, it was more than six times the mean rate. (World Psychiatry)
The social contract is also broken in that, even if you pass the gauntlet, study and pass O/Levels, A/Levels and University, all you get is higher unemployment.
The overall rate of unemployment has decreased from double digit levels of the 1970s to a moderate level of 4.5 per cent at the end of last year. However, unemployment among those who had GCE Advanced Level or above was more than double at 10.8 per cent. Graduate unemployment is high and female graduate unemployment is higher than that of males. The highest unemployment rate was reported from the G.C.E (A/L) and above group which was about 10.8 per cent. (Sunday Times
This is obviously backwards of the way it should be. I and many people say that the non-war plagued youth can rebuild the country, but to put that responsibility on them, we really need to educate them properly. Until then, I don’t see why Sri Lankan students need to bow to anyone but their parents.
I was at the book fair recently, looking at all the kids filling up the “Master Guide” exam revision book store. Brought back very unpleasant memories of how stressful secondary education was. Thankfully things got better after I opted out of the local syllabus for my A/Ls.
I honestly don’t know if I could do it. In America I worked and read throughout my education, but for the major exam (the SAT’s) I just rolled out of bed and took them. I didn’t study at all and did pretty well, mainly cause they just test general intelligence, which is not a product of cramming.
I don’t know what the hell they were doing with the syllabus, but they managed to make even subjects like Math and Science about cramming. O_o The contrast with the London A/Ls was stunning really: those text books and course contents really made us *learn* and figure out new things instead of mindlessly cramming everything.
most local A/L kids who go to university skip the first year of science & maths. London A/L kids can’t do that.
Not if you go to local uni. ;) Also, uni is a lot less stressful than school education, or maybe I just found a niche that I’m really good at. :D
I should have been more precise this only applies to people who go to american universities after going to school here. Well you can’t get into local uni’s with london ALs.
True. But then again, the first two years of American uni (before they pick a major) are kinda random.
I think that has changed now. The first two years were the toughest for me, and the last last year i did virtually nothing.
Actually GCE A-levels allow you to get credit, up to one semester in Columbia (http://www.college.columbia.edu/bulletin/programs_of_study). This doesn’t look to be any different for London or local A-levels.
SATs was bit of a joke back when i took it. But the GRE subject tests were very difficult.
That ten year-old sounds mature for his age. Bowing to a teacher is OK. No one should be forced to bow to a politician.
I think it’s a leap to imply particular causality between the education system and a suicide rate without more data. For example, I have heard from multiple sources about kids being abused on an industrial scale by family members and others in villages outside of Colombo. This doesn’t get talked about much, so it goes on.
If we are honest about it, lots of Sri Lankan kids suffer very much from the deferential ‘bow to their parents’ attitude.
It was more than bowing right? The article read that they wanted him to touch the minister’s feet. The servile attitude bred into our kids is part of the issue in this country where no-one questions authority and those in authority itself have no experience in being questioned so constructive debate and criticism is a difficult concept to grasp here. At least one kid has more brains and balls than the majority of the country. Lets hope he doesn’t have his results revoked or something like that.
I have studied all over the world, including home schooling. I even spent about half an year at a prominent Colombo school. Eventually, like Indi, I followed the US system, sailed through the high school, aced SAT and stuff and got in to the campus and never left, yet.
With my Japanese half, where my mother bow to everyone and everything, I have developed and adopted bowing, like a half Japanese, and do it without thinking. But bowing and touching feet of someone is not for me. And do that to a Sri Lankan minister Ha Ha! This kid deserves a medal!
the local education system is severely flawed and puts an unreasonable amount of stress on students. the o level and a level examinations are insanely difficult and are directly responsible for a large number of teen suicides. the curriculums do not facilitate autonomous learning or teach the students to think and research independently.
our schools don’t equip students with basic life skills. it is no wonder that after university, most graduates feel that they are owed something by the government. it is such a hard slog.
the education ministry’s pig-headedness means that many good local schools are now unable to compete with international schools, which are poaching more and more of the best scholars, athletes etc from schools that are excellent but are bound by unreasonable educational policies.
by what rationale is one unpatriotic if one does not study history in sinhalese? the words ‘culture’ and ‘tradition’ seem to be the govt.’s favourite scapegoats for justifying just about everything, including the stubborn adherence to an archaic system of education.
The ironic if telling thing is that most of the ministers/politico’s kids are in international schools…