Developing education in North

Education was one of the worst affected sectors during the conflict years in the North and East. No teachers from the South ventured out to serve in the North due to the raging war. Besides, there was no educational structure worth talking about with educational authorities in those parts at the mercy of the LTTE. Hartal and disobedience campaigns against the State were almost daily occurrences and discipline which is the watch word in the education sphere was a dead letter.

In addition, many school buildings were damaged in the fighting and those that were spared were used to house the displaced. More often classes were conducted outdoors in the most primitive conditions. There was also a severe shortage of text books and school equipment. Science laboratories were ill-equipped and schools as a whole were without their basic requirements.

Besides, the booming guns and exploding bombs did not provide the ideal psychological backdrop for students to concentrate on studies. There was also the ever present danger of being conscripted for battle duties by the LTTE. Although the regular exams were held these were conducted in far from ideal conditions with the students not being conditioned to devote their minds to study. With the North more or less cut off from the general mainstream, there was a hardly any link with Colombo to enable the educational authorities here to attend to the needs and requirements of the students in the North. The raging war obviated any chance of serious academic activity with students like the rest of the population living in mortal fear.

It is in this context that the move by the Government to allocate massive Rs.1.58 billion to provide higher education facilities to displaced students is to be commended. This follows a survey which gathered information about students who had missed their higher education due to the conflict in the North. Under this scheme linked to the Uthuru Vasanthaya program funds have already been allocated for higher education courses at the Jaffna and Vavuniya Universities and to put up a hostel for medical students at the Jaffna University.

In these columns we have often referred to the studious bent of the Jaffna student whose one ambition in life is to climb to the pinnacle in whatever field of endeavour through the medium of education. We have also dwelt on how in the past the professions and Civil Service were adorned by eminent products of the North. Education had been a fetish with the Jaffna Youth which they considered the key to achieve upward mobility overcoming all drawbacks and perceived discrimination.

We will never know how much the country has lost by way of huge talent being laid waste by a senseless war. Therefore, now is the time to redress this anomaly and provide all the facilities and wherewithal to see this dormant talents blossom out to their full potential. With plans to develop the North into a vibrant commercial hub in the near future the Government will need all the talents and expertise it could muster. It would only be fitting and appropriate that these talents emerge from local soil and later extended to the rest of the country so that in time to come we would have the best available professionals and experts reminiscent of the not too distant past.

Cultivating good food habits

Agriculture Minister Hemakumara Nanayakkara made a pertinent observation when he said at a recent function that the wrong choice of food had made a bulk of our population sick and disease ridden. Declaring open the National Food Week the Minister said "It is sad to see most people in our society are not healthy. They are suffering from various diseases. I think the main reason for this situation is bad food habits".

He also said "in the past, Sri Lankans used to eat rice for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Also they added grain to their meals. They are were lucky to eat food without poison".

The Minister could not have uttered a better truism. Today, most people tend to forget the quality and merits of their food in the mad scramble of the rat race. Not only that, parents even feed junk food to their children - who are also pressed for time - who gets hooked on to these conveyors of illness and disease.

Medical experts have attributed the rising rate of diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure to the much advertised fast foods. Interestingly, these disease are found mostly among the elite sections who are more prone to such indulgences. This and the lack of exercise - also due to lack of time and the new gadget oriented lifestyles - have seen a steep rise in the disease rate.

It was also found that in those spacious days in the past such diseases were few since people had more time in their hands for physical activity not to mention strenuous lifestyles that burned the excess calories. Even the eating patterns were simple and the choices limited to healthy food. It is hoped that National Food Week (22 to 28) would send a message to the people to revert to those nutritious foods which would not only make us a healthy nation but also help prune down on the country's massive health budget.