At the conclusion of the parliamentary election a new government has been formed under the Premiership of Hon. Ranil Wickremesinghe. It is important to emphasise the need for introducing immediate policy reforms to accelerate economic growth and development. The new government’s manifesto sets out a major reform program. In this regard, the Pathfinder Foundation (PF) has frequently highlighted the need for macro-economic policy adjustments as a pre-condition for sustained growth. While such stabilization is necessary to create a conducive growth framework, priority should be attached to implementing programs which bring about an attractive investment climate as quickly as possible. This is particularly urgent as the current set of domestic and international circumstances make it difficult to stimulate the lagging growth rate through macroeconomic policy adjustments.

Time to grasp the opportunity?
In recent days, important voices have been raised about the dangers of completing the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with India and constructing a land bridge between the two countries. It is noteworthy that the focus has not been on exploring whether the CEPA and the land bridge can be favourable for Sri Lanka. Instead, there has been a clamour to throw the baby out with the bathwater. This article seeks to make the case that both the CEPA and the land bridge are opportunities rather than threats. However, it is important that the CEPA is negotiated in a manner that furthers Sri Lanka’s interests. The article also makes the case that the land bridge should be seen in the context of a pan-Asian and sub-regional push towards greater connectivity.

Time to Stop Playing Politics with Education

The Constitution of Sri Lanka stipulates that education is a fundamental right. The population has achieved a literacy rate of 98.1%. From the time of the Kannangara Reforms in the 1940s, education at all levels has been primarily funded and administered by the government. The public school network has an enrolment of about four million students in over 10,000 schools across the nation. At tertiary level, there are 15 state universities.
Against this landscape, there is a tendency to be complacent about Sri Lanka’s achievements in the education sector despite poor learning outcomes. There are some myths which need to be exposed, if the country is to develop a competitive workforce which is sufficiently skilled to be the basis for promoting sustained prosperity. Empowering people through education, training and skills development is the means through which this prosperity can be shared.
For this to happen the following ‘myths’ need to be ‘blasted’.