“Free But Not Fair”: A Critical Review of Access to Equal Education for Deaf Children in Sri Lanka

Author(s):  
Shyamani Hettiarachchi ◽  
M. Dumini K. de Silva ◽  
Thilanka Wijesinghe ◽  
Brayan Susantha ◽  
Geshani Amila ◽  
...  

The first special school for children with disabilities in Sri Lanka opened over 100 years ago, in 1912. Over the years, a number of students with disabilities have gone on to tertiary education. However, deaf sign language users appear to have been left behind: To date, no deaf learner accessing education exclusively through Sri Lankan Sign Language has entered a local university. This chapter begins with a critical review of the trajectory of educational provision for deaf children followed by an appraisal of the contributions made by the Sri Lankan deaf associations toward increasing education access for deaf children. This leads to an analysis of the audiological and speech-language therapy services available within the school context and an evaluation of the limited but growing local “insider” research on deaf education. The chapter ends with reflections and recommendations for ensuring full and equal access to education for deaf children by 2030.

2020 ◽  
Vol 1 (3) ◽  
pp. 109-121
Author(s):  
Anupama Gunawardana ◽  
F.R. Arooz ◽  
A. Peramunugamage ◽  
R.U. Halwatura

Purpose of the study: The growing emphasis on incorporating sustainability concepts in tertiary education have lead higher education institutions in developing countries to infuse sustainability content into their curricula.  The wider purpose of this study is to promote the integration of sustainability concepts within Sri Lankan Universities. The study uncover and presents the perception of university academics on integrating sustainability in higher education. Methodology: An online-survey was carried out in the month of January, 2019 in University of Moratuwa, Sri Lanka across four faculties; engineering, architecture, information and technology and business. A descriptive analysis was employed to present the perceptions of the respondents according to different faculties. The obtained data were analyzed using Microsoft excel.  Main Findings: Results revealed, 46.93% have already integrated sustainability concepts while 59.18% are willing to integrate in near future. 80% have perceived that university curriculum should improve according to country’s need while providing particular trainings. 60% felt that knowledge and skills on ICT should be developed and adequate human resources should be deployed prior to incorporate sustainability concepts. Applications of this study: This study is aimed to identify models for mainstreaming sustainability concepts across tertiary education in Sri Lanka. Novelty/Originality of this study: Analysing the perception of univeristiy lecturers on incorporating sustainability concepts acroos university curricular, has never conducted in a Sri Lankan university. This is manily conducted to identify the gaps pertaining on intergrating sustainability concepts across university curricular and to identify the barriers exciting for education for sustainable development in Sri Lankan context.    


Author(s):  
B.K.K.K. Jinadasa ◽  
S.W. Fowler

Numerous studies have shown growing information indicating the contribution of food to the dietary exposure of arsenic (As) through consumption of different food items in many different regions over the world. However, few review papers with regard to As in Sri Lankan foods are available in databases. Thus, a critical review and assessment of a number of local studies on total As concentrations has been made in rice, fish and fisheries products, vegetables, and other food products from Sri Lanka. From a limited comparison of freshwater fish with two marine species, the tuna and rays have substantially higher total As concentrations than all the freshwater species analyzed. One of the more important findings is that rice, the staple food of the country, is a major contributor to total As exposure of the population. Hence, based on the assessment of available data for total As levels in the various foods analyzed, it is suggested that a shift in a staple food diet of rice to one of maize and multi-cereal grains could lead to a reduction in total As exposure to the general population. Furthermore, important information gaps were identified such as a total lack of corresponding data for total As in Sri Lankan fruit crops, and a major one being the present lack of any information on the various inorganic and organic As species in local foods. Finally, some suggestions are made for giving guidance in agricultural practices which will lead to a reduction in As inputs to the local farmlands. This data compilation and assessment serves as an initial baseline for comparison with As results from future monitoring and research studies in Sri Lanka.


2020 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
pp. 93-100
Author(s):  
Gisa Jähnichen

The Sri Lankan Ministry of National Coexistence, Dialogue, and Official Languages published the work “People of Sri Lanka” in 2017. In this comprehensive publication, 21 invited Sri Lankan scholars introduced 19 different people’s groups to public readers in English, mainly targeted at a growing number of foreign visitors in need of understanding the cultural diversity Sri Lanka has to offer. This paper will observe the presentation of these different groups of people, the role music and allied arts play in this context. Considering the non-scholarly design of the publication, a discussion of the role of music and allied arts has to be supplemented through additional analyses based on sources mentioned by the 21 participating scholars and their fragmented application of available knowledge. In result, this paper might help improve the way facts about groups of people, the way of grouping people, and the way of presenting these groupings are displayed to the world beyond South Asia. This fieldwork and literature guided investigation should also lead to suggestions for ethical principles in teaching and presenting of culturally different music practices within Sri Lanka, thus adding an example for other case studies.


2015 ◽  
Vol 2 (3) ◽  
pp. 66-71
Author(s):  
Balasubramaniam M ◽  
◽  
Sivapalan K ◽  
Tharsha J ◽  
Sivatharushan V ◽  
...  

2013 ◽  
Vol 19 (69) ◽  
pp. 55-76
Author(s):  
Boženko Đevoić

ABSTRACT This article gives an overview of the 26 year long ethnic conflict in Sri Lanka and examines physical reconstruction and economic development as measures of conflict prevention and postconflict reconstruction. During the years of conflict, the Sri Lankan government performed some conflict prevention measures, but most of them caused counter effects, such as the attempt to provide “demilitarization”, which actually increased militarization on both sides, and “political power sharing” that was never honestly executed. Efforts in post-conflict physical reconstruction and economic development, especially after 2009, demonstrate their positive capacity as well as their conflict sensitivity. Although the Sri Lankan government initially had to be forced by international donors to include conflict sensitivity in its projects, more recently this has changed. The government now practices more conflict sensitivity in its planning and execution of physical reconstruction and economic development projects without external pressure.


ICL Journal ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 13 (3) ◽  
pp. 281-306
Author(s):  
Danushka S Medawatte

AbstractIn this paper, I attempt to examine the evolution of judicial review of legislation in Sri Lanka with a view to better understanding how it has impacted the democratic fabric and constitutional matrix of Sri Lanka. The impact that judicial review of legislation has had on rights jurisprudence, enhancement of democracy, prevention of persecution against selected groups are analysed in this paper in relation to the Ceylon Constitutional Order in Council of 1946 (‘Soulbury’ Constitution) and the two autochthonous constitutions of Sri Lanka of 1972 and 1978. The first part of the paper comprises of a descriptive analysis of judicial review of legislation under the three Constitutions. This is expected to perform a gap filling function in respect of the lacuna that exists in Sri Lankan legal literature in relation to the assessment of the trends pertaining to judicial review of legislation in Sri Lanka. In the second part of the paper, I have analysed decided cases of Sri Lanka to explore how the judiciary has responded to legislative and executive power, and has given up or maintained judicial independence. In this respect, I have also attempted to explore whether the judiciary has unduly engaged in restraint thereby impeding its own independence. The third part of the paper evaluates the differences in technique and stance the judiciary has adopted when reviewing draft enactments of the national legislature and when reviewing draft or enacted statutes of Provincial Councils. From a comparative constitutional perspective, this assessment is expected to provide the background that is essential in understanding the island nation’s current constitutional discourse, transitional justice process, and its approach to human rights.


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