Portrait

everyone, i came across this comment left on Morquendi’s blog in retaliation to morquendi’s perspective on age old debate on the privatization of universities that’s been going on between quite a few intelligent and outspoken bloggers in the recent past. the debate has been fun as well as informative to follow, and i’ve mostly been watching it unfurl as a bystander, but this comment provokes me to say SOMETHING. that’s me. can’t keep my big mouth shut. thank goodness for that.

You are sadly mistaken. There is nothing called ‘free lunch’ and there is nothing called ‘free education’ The term ‘free education’ and its Sinhala equivalent ‘Nidasas Adyapanaya’ are highly misleading. Whatever offered free of charge in Sri Lanka should be termed as ‘Pin Adyapanaya’ as in case of ‘Pin Bath’. Why should the tax payers’ hard earned money is spent limitlessly to provide ‘Pin Adyapanaya’ to so-called poor?

Education is a right, agree but that should be only the basic primary education. If one wants to go higher one has to pay for it instead of
posted by Chanuka : 7:56 AM

ok. question one : WHO IS THIS GUY?

question two : WHAT’S HIS PROBLEM?

really, its as sad as it hard to believe that there are well educated young people out there, who you would expect possess broad minded opinions on equality and justice (being EDUCATED and all), that say things like this.

look at the sheer narrow minded-ness there. education is not a right. it is a privilege. who gave this guy the right to play god? what gives one person the right to judge another? what gives HIM the right to decide whether or not someone deserves a right to education? who gave him the right to make education a privilege for those who can afford it, as opposed to a right that every human individual is born with?

people, people. education is a RIGHT. sri lanka is only where it is due to about 60 years of free education. it took away the caste system, the class system, and created an arena in which all children, be they rich of poor, english speaking or not, from colombo or hambantota, had an equal CHANCE at a good education. and that’s what this is about. its about that chance that free education offers the kids in this country. its about the opportunity. as morquendi told me, if you’re born poor in india, you’re screwed. if you’re born poor in the united states of america, you’re pretty much screwed after 5th standard. if, however, you were to be born poor in sri lanka, thanks to the free education system, you have HOPE. there is a CHANCE that you might go to school, to university, and do well and live a good life. there is a glimmer of HOPE that you might not have to live the same stunted village life in poverty forever and ever. there is a CHANCE that you will contribute to the development of this country. there is a CHANCE that you will grow to be someone of some importance, someone who makes their parents proud.

this guy says ‘Whatever offered free of charge in Sri Lanka should be termed as ‘Pin Adyapanaya’ as in case of ‘Pin Bath’. Why should the tax payers’ hard earned money is spent limitlessly to provide ‘Pin Adyapanaya’ to so-called poor? PIN adyapanaya would basically translate into ‘charity education’. so, the state educates an entire country of young potential leaders out of CHARITY? because they want to appease THEIR guilty conscience? and NOT because the children of this country DESERVE a shot at education? the tax payer’s hard earned money is being wasted on CHARITY. oh the poor tax payers who slave away day and night, and their precious money is being WASTED on these wretched down trodden poor people. they need to wait for the tax payer’s to throw some tid bits their way while they (the tax payer’s) live in luxury, and educate all THEIR children in the best private and international schools in colombo.

what is this guy saying? it almost seems like he is saying free educations is waste of his money. for crying out loud, how can education ever be a WASTE of money? haven’t you noticed that the free education system is what allowes children from pretty much anywhere in the country, and children from various different social backgrounds to mingle and mix together and learn from each other? haven’t you noticed that it’s pretty much the kids from the out station, remote schools that top the local A Level exam? that gain entrance into university? what would happen to these children, who work their butts off to do well in school simply because their life offers them no other chance of living a fruitful life, if not for the free education system? its all very easy for you to say. if you fail you A/Ls, your daddy will pay exhorbitant amounts of money so you can pursue some course or the other in any of the leading private institutions in and around colombo. because your family has enough money, and enough social connections, and probably owns it’s own business as well, your future is determined. no matter what, you WILL have a job. you WILL have a life. but these kids have NO CHOICE. if they want to get out of where they are, and make it big, or somewhat big, they HAVE to study. they HAVE to pass.

primary education is NOT the only aspect of education that should come free. for so long, we’ve produced batch after batch of intelligent, dedicated young people from the best state universities. how can you just be OK with stunting their chances at higher education simply because YOU think YOU pay too much tax money? i know kids who walk 12 miles to school in welikanda. i know kids who study by a kerosene lamp light in batticaloa. i know kids who come from places you haven’t even heard of, who went on to pass their A/L with flying colours, and top their batches at university due to sheer determination. how can you be OK with a whole new generation of uneducated children who learnt upto 5th standard? what are you afraid of? that your servant’s kids will go to university and attain a degree and therefore that they won’t return to be the servants of your kids? that some poor kid from the mountains will do better than you in university?

it is elitist snobs like you that defeat the mere purpose of free education. it is elitist snobs like you that go to local universities and get laughed at. it is elitist snobs like you that give the entire colombo community a bad name. maybe in your fantsay world, the poor are non existent. but there is only ONE world. and that’s the REAL one. the one that we all live in, including the poor. face it, we live in a third world developing country. they are not the ’so-called poor’. they ARE the poor.

free education is one of the things, perhaps the only of it’s kind, that can erradicate poverty. it is the ONE thing that gave the poor their dignity. it the ONE thing that doesn’t judge you on how much money you have, or how much land your parent’s owned. let’s not forget how the feudal system used to work. if you didn’t have money or land, you were worthless. free education took that away, and armed everyone alike with knowledge. it only matters how intelligent you are, and how hard you’re willing to work. it DOESN’T matter who your parents are, and how many houses you have.

enough said. free eductation is not something to slammed and taken to pieces by snobbish, narrow minded people like you.

what’s that they say? ah yes. hell hath no fury like a woman scorned.

ps - leave your opinions.