In search of creativity

Are we born to imitate, follow and not lead? This is the question that props up every time you think about the state of our nation. I’m sure I am not alone in this woeful category.

We take pride in a “Little Rome” here and a “Little England” elsewhere. We want to imitate, copy not invent. It may be the Bamiyan Buddha or Mao’s Long March or anything else - we want to duplicate not improve on, for that would be blasphemy.

Or, take this new (or rather old by now) infatuation with the market. There is no alternative (TINA), said Margaret Thatcher and our politicians and economic wizards echoed in unison, TINA.

“Free market” became a sacrosanct entity. Nobody dared to question where one could find a free market. The truth is even the most “free” market is regulated

 (another dirty word in the neo-liberal lexicon). Free markets in the absolute sense could only occur in a vacuum.

Privatise

We take as gospel truth whatever the multilateral organizations dominating the world economy prescribe. “Privatise” they prescribed and we obliged in haste. Now even Western economists say that it was rushed through with no heed for consequences. Numerous examples could be given where valuable home silver were sold at rock bottom bargain prices and the country became the loser.

Take the case of technology. We never pondered on what is best and what our requirements are. Just like the naive consumers who get carried off by marketing talk of advertising agencies we import pell-mell unwanted technology.

One could recall how a few decades back we imported large four-wheel tractors and found out there was nothing that could be done with them except using them to transport construction materials for which there were already other and more suitable and less costly vehicles. It was much later that we got the wisdom to import two wheel and one-wheel tractors, more suitable to our fields.

Cultural growth

Take our public service media. They are being used merely as tools of entertainment. Even African countries that won independence much later than us have gone further in using the print and electronic media to educate the people and foster cultural growth. We have practically nothing to show the world except the number of newspapers, TV and FM radio channels.

Or now look at desk top computers idling in public offices or duplicating the task of much cheaper word-processors. It has become a prestige issue for every public servant to use a computer, even though he or she may use it to play games. Technology is not put to optimal and rational use.

Speaking of technology we shy away from invention. How many patents do we have? You cannot develop technology without developing human resources. Are we serious in developing human resources? What is the level of literacy we look forward to? Is it the plain ability to read and write (in local parlance the ability to decipher a telegram) or functional literacy in today’s knowledge economy?

We boast of our “high literacy” and ‘sound education” achievements. Yet Sri Lanka spends only a pittance on human resource development - education, health, science and technology etc. - and in this respect we are behind even most of our South Asian neighbours.

Our institutions of learning - Universities and technical education institutions- are not geared for research. Lack of resources and recognition are driving our young talents abroad. It is not enough to blame them for being “unpatriotic” and seeking greener pastures abroad.

Medium of instruction

There is a popular school of thought that the fault of our education system lies in the medium of instruction. Hence, the race for competency in English. The fault lies much deeper.

Our pedagogical system relies too much on teaching theory without practical demonstrations. A practical experiment demonstrating the Archimedes principle would enlighten the student hundred times more than a mere enunciation of it in whatever language medium.

Do we promote the spirit of inquiry, adventure and creativity in our children? No. Even at the tertiary level it is learning by rote and accepting what the teacher says with dire consequences for dissent.

Socrates would have certainly failed if he were instructed by our teachers. It is the lack of creativity, the inability to think out of the box, the hesitation to challenge orthodoxy that has stunted the intellectual growth of our nation.

Here, in Sri Lanka even the academics and the intelligentsia just follow the politician who himself is a product of an imprisoned mind. In politics it is an all out war to demolish the opponent. In the academia it should be otherwise. Only intellectual freedom could guarantee the norms of intellectual debate and controversy.