Donor Aid to the Education Sector in Sri Lanka and the Achievement of Education Goals

Author(s):  
Damaris Helene Wikramanayake
2017 ◽  
Vol 18 (2) ◽  
pp. 196-218
Author(s):  
Binendri Perera

As a country that has ratified core international human rights treaties, Sri Lanka has an international obligation to ensure that its higher education sector meets the standards set out in those treaties. However, due to a lack of normative recognition accorded at constitutional, legislative and policy levels, attempts at conformity with the aforementioned standards have been ad hoc and reactive. Consequently, whereas quality assurance mechanisms pertaining to state institutions are still in formative stages, private educational institutions have sprung up in the country without any effective scrutiny as to quality. The main method of challenging the standards of private institutions has been to reject the graduates from the said institutions. This article explores the parameters of higher education as a state obligation under international human rights law, whereby the state is required simultaneously to be a provider of higher education and a facilitator of other providers to ensure that availability, accessibility, acceptability and adaptability of higher education are upheld. Establishment of a mechanism equipped to make human rights based transformations to the higher education sector of Sri Lanka is suggested to redress the deficiencies in setting standards for private higher educational institutions by the state.


Author(s):  
Halil Dundar ◽  
Benoit Millot ◽  
Michelle Riboud ◽  
Mari Shojo ◽  
Harsha Aturupane ◽  
...  

2015 ◽  
Vol 21 ◽  
pp. 114-115
Author(s):  
Kavinga Gunawardane ◽  
Noel Somasundaram ◽  
Neil Thalagala ◽  
Pubudu Chulasiri ◽  
Sudath Fernando

Crisis ◽  
2010 ◽  
Vol 31 (1) ◽  
pp. 30-35 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sudath Samaraweera ◽  
Athula Sumathipala ◽  
Sisira Siribaddana ◽  
S. Sivayogan ◽  
Dinesh Bhugra

Background: Suicidal ideation can often lead to suicide attempts and completed suicide. Studies have shown that Sri Lanka has one of the highest rates of suicide in the world but so far no studies have looked at prevalence of suicidal ideation in a general population in Sri Lanka. Aims: We wanted to determine the prevalence of suicidal ideation by randomly selecting six Divisional Secretariats (Dss) out of 17 in one district. This district is known to have higher than national average rates of suicide. Methods: 808 participants were interviewed using Sinhala versions of GHQ-30 and Beck’s Scale for Suicidal Ideation. Of these, 387 (48%) were males, and 421 (52%) were female. Results: On Beck’s Scale for Suicidal Ideation, 29 individuals (4%) had active suicidal ideation and 23 (3%) had passive suicidal ideation. The active suicidal ideators were young, physically ill and had higher levels of helplessness and hopelessness. Conclusions: The prevalence of suicidal ideation in Sri Lanka is lower than reported from the West and yet suicide rates are higher. Further work must explore cultural and religious factors.


Crisis ◽  
2002 ◽  
Vol 23 (3) ◽  
pp. 104-107 ◽  
Author(s):  
Murad M. Khan

Summary: The Indian subcontinent comprises eight countries (India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Nepal, Sri Lanka, Afghanistan, Bhutan, and the Maldives) and a collective population of more than 1.3 billion people. 10% of the world's suicides (more than 100,000 people) take place in just three of these countries, viz. India, Sri Lanka, and Pakistan. There is very little information on suicides from the other four countries. Some differences from suicides in Western countries include the high use of organophosphate insecticides, larger numbers of married women, fewer elderly subjects, and interpersonal relationship problems and life events as important causative factors. There is need for more and better information regarding suicide in the countries of the Indian subcontinent. In particular, studies must address culture-specific risk factors associated with suicide in these countries. The prevention of this important public health problem in an area of the world with myriad socio-economic problems, meager resources, and stigmatization of mental illness poses a formidable challenge to mental health professionals, policy makers, and governments of these countries.


1998 ◽  
Vol 53 (7) ◽  
pp. 771-777 ◽  
Author(s):  
John D. Rogers ◽  
Jonathan Spencer ◽  
Jayadeva Uyangoda

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