In Sri Lanka, pundits never get fed up reminding us the new subjects that ought to be included in the syllabi, from History to Disaster Management. Surprisingly none ever said the children should be educated about their own reproductive systems. As students we all learnt about eyes, ears, digestive system, circulatory system, pulmonary system and what not, but some of the vital organs of the body were completely ignored as if they did not exist. These were rarely illustrated in Science text books in Sri Lanka. Even if they were illustrated, the science teachers hardly bothered to get into the subject saying no questions about them would be asked in the exams.
Source :   http://www.dailynews.lk/2007/05/23/news02.asp     40,000 teachers on leave daily Dharma Sri Abeyratne COLOMBO: Around 40,000 teachers are on leave daily out of the 200,000 teachers, said Education Minister Susil Premajayantha. “The teachers have to be on duty only on 201 days per year.
Since we have discussed ‘Digital divide’ in length, let me share this concept note from my electronic annals. This is an idea a private sector IT company had few years back, but due to various reasons never implemented. They suggest a method to convert the TVs to Internet enabled PCs as a way to bridge the digital divide, using something called a ‘set top’ box. Central Bank Consumer Finance survey 2004 had found over 75% of the houses have TVs while the PC penetration level was much lower. (Specially in rural areas it was like 1-2%) So converting TVs to PCs makes lots of sense.
By Sean Coughlan BBC News education reporter Google is to ban adverts for essay writing services – following claims that plagiarism is threatening the integrity of university degrees. There have been complaints from universities about students being sold customised essays on the internet. The advert ban from the Google search engine has been “warmly welcomed” by university authorities. But it has angered essay writing firms which say this will unfairly punish legitimate businesses. From next month, Google will no longer take adverts from companies which sell essays and dissertations – and the internet company has written to advertisers to tell them about the policy.
‘Digital divide’ may be a term which came under the spotlight quite recently, but what meant by it existed in our societies for centuries, if not millennia. Significant differences between banks of knowledge possessed by different sections of society were visible probably since medieval times. The ancient Hindu society was an ideal example. In that society, the supreme right not only to protect and nurture the knowledge but also to generate the same, to some extent was solely on the hands of the Brahmins. That was how they, not the Kshathriyas – the rulers – or the Vaishyas – the rich – formed the most important, most powerful and the most honoured layer of the society.
 Startling Figures of the GCE O/L 2006 results ·  52500 candidates sit for GCE O/L. · 48.7% pass ·  51% fail · 21813 candidates fail all subjects (4128 from Colombo District), (3564 from Central province), 3404 (from Southern province) (2668 from Sabaragamuwa) (2277 from Uva) (2056 from North Central) (2039 from North Western) (773 from Eastern) and 704 from Northern province. · 47 schools and 40 pirivena institutes did not have a single student qualifying for the GCE A/L (9 schools in Colombo), (3 schools in Homagama), (3 schools in Jayawardenapura), (12 schools in Galle, (7 schools in Ambalangoda), (13 schools in Ratnapura) · Of the 258,975 who sat the English language paper 63.18% failed · Of the 259,263 who sat the Mathematics paper 57.
Disaster in Education : Case in Sri Lanka We need to address following issues 1) is this the result of so called FREE ( Free of Charge- Nomile) Education in Sri Lanka ? 2) We have a strong feeling that the 48+% who passed the GCE have attended tution classes? 3) Do examiners qualified to set papers? ( Of course they are Senior Academics). Can they or teachers answer them in examination conditions successfully?
 National Policy on Information Technology in School Education Source : http://www.unescobkk.org/index.php?id=1397 In an effort to fully utilise funding and other relevant resources, the Government of Sri Lanka established an IT Education Unit at the Ministry of Education in February 2001 and prepared a National Policy on School IT Education, approved by the Cabinet of Ministers in October 2001.
2007 World Forum on Early Care and Education May 15 – 18, 2007 Shangri-La Hotel Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia  Over 700 early childhood administrators, trainers, caregivers, public officials, and advocates from 70+ countries will gather in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, for World Forum 2007. At this seventh World Forum, delegates will exchange ideas about the quality of services for young children in diverse settings.  For more information visit : http://www.worldforumfoundation.org/wf/wf2007/ watch defending your life in divx Â
 Who Signed Tara Harrold Agreement ? Is it Dr. Tara de Mel under the President Chandrika Kumarathunga or Dr. P.B.