"Speech at the Education Conference, Kandy Organized by the All Ceylon Union of Teachers on October 21, 1950"
The White Paper proposals no doubt fall short of the ideal and are in some respects not so ambitious and advanced as the proposals contained in the report of the Special Committee on Education. However we should be realistic enough to see the White Paper in its proper perspective, reminding ourselves of the difficulties of the present situation. So far without a knowledge of the educational aims of the Government we were uncertain of the future of our schools, of our students and staff and were naturally unable to plan ahead. There was indecisiveness about the future of the English language and of the status of the Assisted Schools. There was no discouragement of the uniform type of academic education that was imparted in our institutions to the fit as well as the unfit who with equal enthusiasm pursued higher academic education. The resulting chaos and confusion brought no benefit either to the state or to the schools. The White Paper gives us at least an indication of the intentions of the Government and enables us to have a glimpse of the future of our schools. Assisted schools which are invariably Denominational in Ceylon are definitely recognised as co-partners with the state and their past services given due recognition. The White Paper also confirms the definite abandonment of the block grant system which if introduced would certainly have adversely affected Education. That there has been no acrimonious controversy, in strange contrast to the past, is a testimony to the general acceptance of the White Paper and to the genuine appreciation of the free discussion that was encouraged by the Government both in the House of Representatives and outside.
Mr. Perinbanayagam has already stressed the sociological aspects of Education. He has explained to us how education is essentially “Social Philosophy in action.” Some of the duties which he entrusted to the politicians in power properly belong to the citizens in general. When we became teachers we certainly did not cease to be citizens. As we form an important section of the citizens it becomes our duty to analyse the White Paper in as broad and comprehensive a manner as possible. The ideals of Liberty and Equality with which we are familiar in the realm of the state are no less valid in the realm of Education. It therefore behoves us to see how far the White Paper has been guided by these principles.
Bureaucracy is bad enough in the realm of the state. It is worse in that of Education. The value of Denominational institutions in this context cannot be exaggerated. Their value is greater still in Ceylon where Local Authorities are still dissociated from Education. To us the value of denominational education is axiomatic; but let us not forget that there are some in Ceylon who hold that the State monopoly of Education is the best solution for all our educational evils. And one of them while professing democracy adheres yet to this policy on the basis that “Education should be the monopoly of the State; that is the monopoly of the People”. Therein we see the totalitarian identification of State and Society. It is naturally our privilege and duty to defend our Schools against such totalitarian or bureaucratic encroachments. “Eternal vigilance is the price of liberty.” And that price we should always be prepared to pay both as teachers and as citizens.
That little paragraph on page 14 of the White Paper does hold out the prospect of liberty but the promise must be fulfilled in the Amending Bill, and the Code to follow; otherwise the agents of administration may either ignore or forget the promise. I believe the Minister of Education recently quoted the saying of Clemenceau that war was too important a matter to be left to the soldiers and concluded that education is too important a matter to be left to the educationists. I would supplement it by adding that educational administration is too important a matter to be left to the group of professional administrators of education which in Ceylon comprises the various officers of the Department of Education. Uniformity, administrative tidiness and athoritarianism should have really no place in Education which should rightly stress the value of Human Individuality. "The educational purpose is to communicate the type and to provide for growth beyond the type.” There should therefore be an amplitude of freedom to the Schools to shape their future to suit the changing times and circumstances. And every clause of the new Bill and every section of the new Code restricting that freedom should be justified only on the ground of enforcing the national minimum of Education. It necessarily follows that there should be freedom for the schools to frame their syllabuses and time tables, to choose their books and materials, and develop their activities unhampered and unhindered. “Good Government is no substitute for self – government”. The liberty to preserve the individuality of every one of our Schools should be recognised by the State as an inherent democratic right and not considered as a mere concession. Such liberty should therefore be reflected in any educational scheme before it can command our assent. In this context, Advisory Councils, undominated by the official element and as widely representative of the various educational interests and cultural groups as possible, do have a special place and value. These councils should necessarily be clothed with such powers as will enable them to advise not merely on matters where their advice is officially sough but also on matters where the members feel that advice should be tendered. The English Education Act of 1944 sets us a good example in this connection. We have been familiar with Councils that seldom met and sometimes became completely atrophied from disuse. if Local Authorities cannot be given direct powers even at this stage, they could yet be adequately represented in Local Advisory Councils that could be set up in respect of Government Schools. The present undemocratic dissociation of Local Authorities from Education militates against the healthy development of Local Government and leaves a reservoir of strength untapped for education. Let us hope that these points will receive adequate consideration when the White Paper proposals are being recast in the form of a Bill.
The next is the ideal of Equality. Mr. Perinbanayagam has already referred to this aspect and contrasted the prevailing opinion of today. Education is no longer accepted as a privilege but is rightly demanded as a right. The ideal of breaking down the barrier between the “clothed” and the "trousered.” was first effectively pursued by the Special Committee on Education and its Chairman, the first Minister for Education. There is a tendency for some of us to blame them and their recommendations for many of the administrative difficulties and deficiencies that followed for which the recommendations themselves are not to blame. The ideal of Equality though emphasized as an objective has not been realized adequately in practice.
The new Educational Bill should enable the growth of Equality in Education to the maximum possible degree. Such equality is lacking so long as we have an English S.S.C. examination and a Sinhalese or Tamil S.S.C. with extreme disparity in the avenues to employment. To give them the common name of the General Certificate of Education while preserving the different media may confuse but does not solve the problem. The new Bill should recognise this and provide for a satisfactory remedy. This problem is closely connected with that of the official language and the media of instruction at the various stages of Education.
The White Paper has reassured us that in regard to the Elimination Test and the Fitness Test, our Schools will be duly consulted, that these tests will not be dominated by either simplicity or uniformity, and that instead the same test as the one in respect of the Royal pupil will not be enforced on a pupil in one of the schools in a remote and backward area in Ceylon at least during the transitional period. Similar elasticity will naturally be required in respect of the age and qualifications of the candidates if genuine Equality is to be attained. The authorities seem to be quite conscious of this aspect. And the White Paper speaks of tests at standards 5 and 8 and not at particular ages.
I do not think there can be any real objection to an adequate Fitness Test at Standard Eight. The absence of it has deprived the present free education scheme of many of its several advantages. However if only five percent of the pupils are going to be eliminated at Standard Five the necessity for such an elaborate State-conducted Test at that stage does not seem to have been established. Personally I feel this could very well be left to the Schools themselves. They will not promote the unfit to the next standard. If the elimination of a larger percentage is intended such a test cannot be justified in Ceylon on psychological or educational grounds.
It was stated by one of the Members of Parliament that Equality in schooling is not going to produce Equality in results. That is not the Equality which is aimed at. We cannot do away with the inborn inequality of our pupils; we can and should certainly make an honest attempt to do away with man-made inequality. In the words of Tawney, “differences of individual endowment are a biological phenomenon. Contrasts of environment, and inherited wealth, and educational opportunity, and economic security, with the whole sad business of snobbery and servility which such contrasts produce, are the creation, not of nature but of social convention.”. The White Paper does promise that such an attempt will be made. It is essential that the new Education Bill does contain the necessary provisions that will ensure the achievements of Equality in Education. Children specially talented but born of poor parents should naturally be provided for. Unless the State indicates in specific terms the just priority of their claims the dictates of economy at a future date may supersede the promise of Equality contained in the White Paper. It is our duty to remind the State “ Education is a major capital investment made by the Community in its own interests, and the maximum return is expected of it.”. And this is more true of an under-developed country like ours. The White Paper promises that “in order to assist the ablest children at Standard 5, a number of special places for such children will be made available up to a certain number in Government Assisted or even unaided Schools.” The interpretation to be placed on “up to a certain number” in actual practice will decide the extent to which Equality will be attained. To some of these children school places and even boarding facilities may not be adequate. Free books, stationery and maintenance allowances etc. are called for.
Unless there is adequate provision for all the boys and girls who succeed at the Standard 8 Fitness test to continue their education satisfactorily in Senior Secondary Schools, there will be no Equality. This would also apply to those who have passed the S.S.C. examination and are fit enough to proceed either to the University or to one of the Technical Schools. If the University of Ceylon is not going to provide fee boarding facilities and if the Government is going to give scholarships and bursaries only “ to a specified number in each subject, determined previously by the needs of national development” there will be a certain number of able students left who have passed the various tests but are unable to find the necessary money. As a result, the chances of Ceylon producing thinkers and writers, poets, and philosophers and men of initiative and enterprise will be diminished considerably. The abolition of the Hostel fees at the University of Ceylon would appear to be the best solution.
Without an adequate number of the various types of Schools envisaged in the White Paper there will be no Equality in practice. I believe we had legislation from about 1920 to enforce compulsory education, but owing to the want of a sufficient number of schools etc. we find that we have a literacy percentage of only 57.8. Whatever promises may be held out by the White Paper and whatever provisions may be included in the new Bill will remain inoperative till the required Schools are provided. Although Schools cannot be built overnight the necessity for planned development with set targets cannot be over emphasized.
Equality in education or the equality of educational opportunity to all children of the land irrespective of the wealth or status of the parents is not easy to achieve. It has its price and its burdens. But if we are genuine democrats, we must be prepared to pay the price and shoulder the burdens. There cannot be democratic Government without this Equality and without democratic Government there cannot be freedom or independence.
Before I conclude, I should like to say a few words on the future of the English language which is one of our most important and complicated problems. The Minister of Education was cautious indeed in his remarks when he initiated the discussion on the White Paper in Parliament. He said “bilingualism is our aim. We feel that it is best to start English at the Second Standard. Any opinion which Honourable Members may express on this question will be welcomed by me. It is a moot point and I shall be grateful for any help that Honourable Members may give me in this direction.” It may be taken as generally accepted that English cannot be and will not be the medium of instruction in the primary classes. It may also be equally accepted that for many years to come the University of Ceylon cannot have any medium other than English. Thus the Question to be answered is at what stage and to what extent should English be introduced. It is of course necessary for the majority of Government Officers and the elite of the country to be trilingual and know Sinhalese, Tamil and English at least for the next twenty five years. But for the large majority of the people would Sinhalee or Tamil do, or should it be Sinhalese and Tamil, or Sinhalese or Tamil and English? Having regard to the wealth of knowledge easily accessible to those who are literate in English, I feel that English should not be abandoned and should be introduced at the earliest possible stage. Those opposed to this view, argue that we shall thereby convert our country into a “Little England.” That danger I feel exists no longer as Ceylon is now an independent country and the medium of instruction in the primary classes is definitely Sinhalese or Tamil. It is stated that after 150 years of British rule only six percentage of the people are literate in English. And the inference is drawn that it is impossible for the majority of the people in our country to have some knowledge of English. There is a fallacy in this. There was no attempt made during the British period to make the people literate in English and as a matter of fact English Schools were confined to the privileged and the fee paying. If the national language are accorded by the State a status befitting their importance there should be no danger of English superseding or dominating them. English in the changed circumstances will be accepted as a good tool of learning and not as the language of prestige and privilege. In view of the nature and importance of the problem the State should undertake extensive research on the subject to decide the earliest stage at which English could be introduced. Schools should be given freedom to experiment in this direction. Till English spreads sufficiently the Fitness Test at Standard 8 should be so conducted as not to handicap those whose knowledge of English is inferior due to circumstances beyond their control.
The White Paper is an earnest of the determination of the Government to grapple successfully with the fundamentally important problem of Education. Liberty and Equality are given recognition there. Let us hope that they will be adequately reflected in the new Bill and the Code to follow which will help the development of a system of education that will ensure a true democracy in Ceylon.
