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Ready to contribute towards a new political culture: Premajayantha

08 Jan 2022

By Sarah Hannan In the backdrop of a growing trend by the Government of removing public administrative officials from ministries, state ministries and other State-Owned Enterprises, the recent removal of Dr. Susil Premajayantha, who held the State Ministerial Portfolio of Education Reforms, Promotion of Open Universities and Distance Learning, shows that this wave has now reached the top seats of ministries and state ministries as well. One might argue that the President is exercising his executive powers and removing officials. However, a large portion of these removals are of professors and PhD holders, well-qualified personnel to comprehend practical difficulties that arise when haphazardly implementing policies. What actually prompted the removal of a senior and experienced politician such as Dr. Premajayantha? The Sunday Morning spoke to him over the latest development. Following are excerpts of the interview: Q: Initially you told the media that you were removed from the state ministerial post over a comment that you had made on the rising cost of goods, followed by a remark that the Agriculture Minister had failed to ensure food security. Do you believe that was the only reason behind removing you from this portfolio? A: I do not think that was the only reason. I was given the State Ministerial portfolio for Education Reforms in September 2020. I held the post for one year and three months, out of which all the schools remained closed for six to seven months due to the Covid-19 pandemic. We could not have sessions or workshops for teachers and had to settle for Zoom meetings. Before we start reforms, we need to ensure that the education system returns to normalcy.  For example, if you look at the Grade 5 scholarship exam that was scheduled for August 2021, due to the pandemic it was moved to 22 January this year. Thereafter the GCE A/L exam for 2021 will be from 7 February to 5 March this year and the GCE O/L exam of 2021 will be from 23 May to 1 June 2022. It is only after the Sinhala-Tamil New Year vacation that the academic year for 2022 will commence. So until we restore normalcy in the present education system, how can we introduce a new education system? That was my argument in Parliament. We are dealing with children here from Kindergarten to Grade 13. At the same time, we have to get ready with vocational training and at the university level reforms will be implemented to match the school curricula. This means even at the university level we will have to modify courses. To achieve all these we need to follow a holistic approach. That was my position on education reforms. On the other hand, of course, we have 247,000 teachers and 18,000 graduate teachers who are yet to undergo training and then we have teacher shortages for several subjects. Therefore, we need to address these issues before we start a new reform in education. In the present system, the syllabus can be covered by holding tuition classes. But once the education system changes entirely and classroom activities and modules are introduced which allocate 20-30% of marks on their classroom- and school-based assessments, it will result in a drop in marks at the examinations. Therefore, first we need to build confidence among parents, teachers and society to question the assessment system. When entering the university, a 0.01 difference in score can change the faculty that you are assigned to. I raised concerns with the Government, noting that we need to do this type of reform by phasing out our tiers. Then I mentioned that we have to build capacity, with the help of the Education Ministry and other state ministries to have awareness among parents, teachers and all stakeholders. This means we have to do many things. Even the Kannangara reforms introduced in 1944 were not implemented completely during his tenure as Education Minister. Still, we recognise C.W.W. Kannangara as the ‘Father of Free Education’. I expressed my views in Parliament during the last Budget debate and at the committee stage on the Education Ministry. During that speech, I highlighted some of the key points of the National Education Policy of India, then the education systems of Finland and Singapore. I was taking into consideration all policies these countries have implemented. As the State Minister in charge at the time, I should have been in a position to explain how we plan to reform education. We need to see whether these policy decisions can be implemented successfully. Moreover, improving the quality of teachers is also important; we have to introduce appraisals for teachers and so on. It is a huge task. I highlighted all these things, because ultimately, when we introduce the education reforms, the education trade unions will say that they cannot do it. That will be a waste of all our efforts. The authorities were questioning why we could not implement education reforms immediately. It is an impossible task to reform the education system overnight. This is the future generation of our country we are dealing with. For the tertiary education level, we can introduce special courses that they could do within a year instead of following the course for two entire years. With such knowledge and observing the education reforms adopted by other countries, I was preparing a document for our President’s reference. Not agreeing to implement education reforms in a short period for schools could also be the main reason that they removed me from my post. To be fair, if we are to develop a curriculum, it takes an eight-year circle. For example, in the chemistry subject for the past 15 years, the elements of the periodic table have remained the same. Now we have seen many innovations and the technology used to create such innovations needs updating. Therefore, when we develop curricula, we have to develop them on par with other countries. Therefore, if the curriculum development takes eight years, how can we do the education reforms in three years? Unfortunately, like the fertiliser issue, the other ministers do not understand what needs to be done when it comes to education reforms. I explained this briefly at the Ministry of Education committee level debate. I only had 15 minutes and I explained as much as I could. Apart from that, on several occasions I said we could not accept this type of policy. I did my first LLB degree way back in 1982; I did my banking exams also when I worked at the bank. Therefore, I know about the International Trading, Foreign Currency Banking Unit, and Letter of Credit (LC) Department. However, it is only now that some politicians are getting to know what an LC is. I learned about it about 35 years ago. I then did my Master’s Degree in Public Administration in 2004 at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura and recently I completed my PhD in Public Communication. We have some knowledge and we have a background. It is in that backdrop that we look at a policy, governance, or performance. Therefore, my position is that we are not up to those standards in policymaking and governance. This is why we face this situation in the political sphere of this country. What steps have the authorities taken to solve this shortage of gas and on the gas explosions that are being reported? Without addressing the bigger social issues at hand, the President decided to remove me from my state ministerial portfolio within 24 hours after I pointed out the failures in policy implementation by the Government. This is a joke. People need parliamentarians who speak on behalf of them; this is why we are called the people’s representatives. One could question why I have not spoken in Parliament about the social issues. I did speak about the people’s problems in Parliament. Nevertheless, since the Parliament is prorogued, we do not have a space to speak about these matters. Over the past three months, there hasn’t been a party group meeting to discuss these important issues. Whenever a Member of Parliament (MP) raises a concern, they are reminded of the limited time that is allocated for them and the group meetings to be postponed. As parliamentarians, we did not have a group meeting to express our concerns in the recent past. You know there are so many MPs who represent the rural communities; there are so many issues such as the fertiliser issue, shortage of food and gas and all that. They are unable to voice their concerns since there hasn’t been a group meeting. I know very well how to maintain a political party’s discipline, because I have been the Secretary-General of the United People’s Freedom Alliance (UPFA) under three presidents. So I know better than Johnston Fernando and Rohitha Abeygunawardena about maintaining discipline within the House. The Chief Parliamentarian Whip led the other parliamentarians to cross to the side of the Opposition, is that what you call discipline? Unfortunately, all these people are uneducated; this has been the root cause of everything. However, more unfortunately, the leaders are listening to this uneducated lot. Q: It is speculated that S.B. Dissanayake will be appointed to the state ministerial position made vacant by you. What are your thoughts on that? A: I cannot comment on the next person who will be appointed to the state ministerial portfolio. For over three months, teachers, principals, and trade unions were on the roads amid the Covid-19 pandemic. During that period, some of our politicians made several statements. So you must do such things very carefully. As a politician SB is an experienced minister and a politician; if he is appointed, we’ll see how he performs. Q: Several other ministers and state ministers have criticised the Government’s actions and several policy decisions that were made. Do you think that these ministers and state ministers too might lose their portfolios over being critical about the Government? A: I do not have any idea about that. However, my position is that I have done my Masters in Public Administration and PhD in Public Communication and I have studied the constitutions of other countries. This is the first time I saw ministries and state ministries function in a divided manner. There are so many unresolved internal issues within these ministries and state ministries. So if you want to avoid such a situation you must look at the subject combination and appoint the right person to manage the institution. Q: Will you continue to be a member of the Sri Lanka Podujana Peramuna (SLPP)? A: I was appointed to the Parliament as a representative of the SLPP. Therefore, I will continue to be a member of the party. However, I will continue to speak on behalf of the people and on the main issues that they are facing today. Q: We saw that former President Maithripala Sirisena took a stand after your removal. Were you invited by other political parties to join them? A: He made his comment independently. So many political leaders gave me phone calls to congratulate and express their views. However, we are doing politics with policies. So at this stage of course the entire country is heading for a new political culture, disregarding some politicians, some political parties, and the old political culture. People need something new. If there is a force like that on a future date, we also can contribute. Q: You have said that this was a blessing in disguise to continue your political career. What are your plans for the future, political or otherwise? A: As a professional, I have once again returned to my attorney-at-law practice. I have my office at Hulftsdorp, which continued to operate with my partners and juniors. Even today, I attended a trial case that was postponed. I will continue my practice at courts in this manner. Apart from that, in politics, of course, I will continue to be a member of the SLPP and will see how the political culture of the country is shaping up. Most probably I may engage with academics, professionals, and youth.  The youth in this country has lost all hope, as they do not have any target or aim because of the situation here. Some are trying to leave the country, that is those who can afford it, and the students who are studying abroad are facing difficulties in settling their tuition fees due to the lack of foreign reserves in the country. This is a pathetic situation.  The most affected lot in the country is the youth, according to my assessment. We do have resources, but unfortunately, we are not in a position to use the human resource for the development of this country, because people who do not have the knowledge, expertise, and professionalism are supporting or are holding key positions regardless of their inability to perform the necessary duties. A simple example is the gas issue. It has been happening frequently for the last three months. Yet the authorities have not been able to solve the issue. In the meantime, ministers are making contradictory statements. Then there is a food issue and a fertiliser issue where policy decisions are taken immediately and after six months these decisions are changed. Farmers comprise 33% of the population of this country, how are they going to continue their lives? On Monday (3) the price of paddy was increased by Rs. 35 and when a kilo of paddy is increased to Rs. 75, automatically the price of rice too will increase. I think the authorities should look at taking the necessary steps to solve these issues rather than removing politicians who are talking some sense and stating the hard truth. They should take immediate steps to arrest the situation of gas, power and energy, and food and fertiliser issues, and the rising cost of living. These are the basic needs of the people. Q: Given that you now have the liberty to continue with your political career as you see fit, are you looking to contest as a candidate at the next Presidential Election? A: We have another three years for that. Therefore, it is too soon for me to make a comment on that and I shall refrain from making any premature statements. However, if we have the opportunity to change the present political system in the country with the support of the majority of the people, I am willing to make my contribution to it. That is all that I can say now.  


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