From: muttiah@thistle.ecn.purdue.edu (Ranjan S Muttiah)
Subject: Re: Education and Jobs in SL
Organization: Purdue University Engineering Computer Network
Date: Mon, 14 Dec 1992 16:34:02 GMT

Sarath has asked me to post this to this newsgroup.

From sarath@hydra.cis.mcmaster.ca Mon Dec 14 06:46:05 1992
>You are absolutely right of course.  Standard should be brought up in all 
>the disadvantaged regions of the country.  Some of the looney politicians
>think that by getting a few doctors here, and then some engineers over
>there that that would settle the problem of "backwardness."  What
>moronic thought.  Just the opposite happens. 
	I just don't understand what you are saying here. Have you ever
	considered the performance of students from ``backward'' 
	in the university. I have seen lots of students from Colombo
	who have A's Bs and do really badly in the university. I thought
	they get high grades from cram schools (``tuition'') and then
	when they come to the university they are all worn out.
	In my class the guy who failed all three subjects in the first
	year had 3As in AL and he was from Thirsten (sp), the guy who got highest
	grades was from Trinco and he had 3S and 1C. 

My comments weren't particulary targetted at people who get into
universities. That would just be a side benefit of bringing all the
districts a higher standard of education.  Yes, it has been reinforced
on me (by many) that some of those who do well in the ALs do horribly
in universities (and are even some of those who create trouble in
the universities).  But my point is that the university admissions is
overblown out of proportions and the large majority get neglected.

>more backward.  And guess what happend to those doctors and engineers
>from the backward regions ?  Did they go back to their own home towns ?
>Rarely if ever.  Most of them are driving BMWs and one even has
access
                                    ^^^^^^^^^^
	Whats wrong with it? (I still drive an INTEGRA may be a BMW in a
	few years :-) Do you expect them to go back and serve the
	country? My point: if they do not have a quota system then even
	the very few people who were fortunate to come out of the hell
	(any small town in SL) would be still stuck in a some sort of
	clerical job.
	Besides, as the original poster said the people around colombo
	could afford to come to developed countries and study.
	So the politicians at least give a chance to a few of them from
	the hell,isn't it better than killing them(JVP or joining the army).

	I have a suggestion, abolsih all the cram schools!!!
	When I left SL, the AL pure math was really good, it was not
	helping the students from cram schools, I really hope it is
	still the same.
	******
	Sarath

I was just trying to make a point about the BMWs to make a point (hell, no
one reading this newsgroup would take notice otherwise :-).  The professionals
will do whatever it takes to enhance their profession as well as their personal
wealth (I'm talking from my own personal experiences of course :).

You see, the folks who join the JVP, the army, the LTTE are precisely the
people the policy makers should be addressing. They seem to think that by
addressing mute points like university admissions that everything will
be fine and dandy.  They university entrants are not the vast majority.  By 
bringing education and technology to the disadvanteaged regions there would 
be _incentives_ for the best and the brightest to return to their home towns 
and make those towns better places to live in.  Otherwise, it just gets 
recursively bad: people feel powerless (an immediate symptom: 45/100,000 
suicide rate), and power and wealth gets concentrated in the hands of the few).