Page Four

SCARLET AND BLACK

Friday. March 4, I960

 

Life In Lenka—Parr VIII

Ceylon Becoming More Educaletl
Bul Grads Face Job Shortages

by Al Fisher

Tumor-,row Feb. 10 will maik
the end at my ﬁrth month in Sri
Lanka. Five months docs not
sound like a long time, and
maybe it isn‘t; but when oire
has completely changed his on—
vironmciit or routine,
seems to take on a new dimen-
sion 1 think a students that sc
mester at Gi-inncll exempliﬁes
what I mean

When a freshman student goes
home {oi Christmas vacation. he
01 She feels much diflciom than
when he or she left for Giinliell
three months prior. There were
no pr-evrous memories with,
which to link these ﬁrst three

months, so they stand out dis-I

tinetly from one‘s past prior to
arriving at Grmncll. Then sud.
denly one iinds liimselr going

home toi- Christmas holidays as;

a senior but without this great

awareness of so much happening‘

in three short months.

it is in this way that my
ﬁve months in Ceylon
seemed more like ﬁve years.
it is not that litc is so dull
that time drags, but that the
days are so lull or new ex-
periences, tresh encounters
and ideas that growth and
change consciously take place.
This is the thrill in traveling.

it you ever have the opportir
nity of traveling as tar as Ceys
ion, do not tail to spend at least
a week here.
point of view, Ceylon is a para~
disc or outstanding
LOO numerous to list. But that
it from a tourists point ot view,
remembering that a tourist is
an unemployed consumer.

Five months ago I talked with
Ccylonese returning to Sri Lan-

ka atter being abroad, some as‘

long as 10 years. I had traveled
from the United Kingdom on the

S, S. Canton with them, and they‘

were my only contact with Ceys
ioir. i could not quite under-
stand why some were reluctant
to be returning to their home-
land. Alter these ﬁve months I
now more fully understand their-
reasoning.

Just last night I met a
young Ccyloncse who returned
to Ceylon at the same time
that I arrived. He is 26 years
old, still unemployed even
though he spent a couple of
years in the us. studying at
the University oi North Caro»
Lina, where he received his
BA. in June, having majored
in sociology.

But there are few robs for
persons trained in sociology al-
though the need is indeed great
Ceylon's economy cannot support
a very large program or social
services and welfare in its pres-t
ent state: hence, these services
are considered non-essential. So
my friend's training goes to
waste. and he is left without a
job but with a feeling or uses
lessness. And until ‘he has a Job
with some security, he cannot
considcr marrying and settling
down.

Unfortunately, this problem or
the educated unemployed is
widespread in this area of the
world and applies to all grad-
uatcs, not only those who have
maroi-ed in non-essential areas.
In Ceylon it is Just now becom-
ing serious, but within a few
years, it may become dangerous,
especially in its political as-
pccts. The number or graduates
from the Univ ~sity of Ceylon
and those sccrii ng cxtcrnal den
grces is increasingly greater
than the number of new pos
trons open [or them in govern»
nicrit service or the private scc-
tor.

Twelve years ago when Ccys
Ion gained political independ-

timeI

have ‘

From a tourist’s‘

attractions-

-|racc does not include automatic

ence lrom the United King-
dom, Ceylon's new govern-
ment decided to develop

system oi education tor all—
universal education. Education
would be and is lrce through
the university level in the
state schools I

There still are a good num»
ber or private schools remain-
mg trom the colonial period.>
These schools, all operated by
some religious institution orig-p
lnolly as part of their mlssron-I
,ary pr-ogiams, are still consider»
ch the best in Ceylon They
have the establislicd names, good
lrcputations and old boys"
(alumni) in the loading positions
of the country. Tlicir standards
lstill are the highest in Ceylon.

A current controversy centers
around the attempts of va 'ous
political parties, the Marx t,
Communist, and antisCalholtci
Christian parties, to have tth
government assume control of
all schools. This was being diSr
cussed in Parliament just prior
to the assassination of the late]
Iprilne minister, S.W.R.D. Bans
daranaikc. The results oi the‘
general election on March 19
may decide whether the denom—
inational schools shall continue
.to be tree from state control.

Nevertheless, the children or
Ceylon are becoming more
i educated, the literacy rate is
increasing lor the Swabhasa
languages (Sinhalese and Ta.
} mil) and the expectations or

these educated have increased.
These two effects or universal
1 education have caused addi—
tional problems

Swabhasa m c a n s “mother
tongue," But what is the mother
tongue? The government says
that one’s mother tongue is
either Sinhalese or Tamil; hence,
in Tamil areas the teaching will
be in Tamil but will include
,sLudylng Sinhalese.

The tact is that the mother
tongue of the more educated
ruppcr and middle classes is.
‘Englishr The children of those
tamilies otten speak only Eng.
,llsh; Swabhasa is as toroign to
ithem as to myself, Fortunately,
{this group is small, and Swab—
hasa has been added to the res
ouired course of study.

That is due tor the children;
they learn languages very
easily. But. what about my
friend who is a radio tul-
nounccr on the English service
oi Radio Ceylon. He is, as he
says, “pure Sinhalese,”

But being a member

 

of a
Iuse of the language; one ,still
must learn it. And he never did.
He might, but with great diﬁr»
lculty. He must teach his Chile
,dren English at home it he is
going to be able to communicate
with them in the tuturc.

His problem is further compli.
catcd when we realize that a
language is more than a set ot
words describing obrects. A lan-
guage contains ideas, thought
patterns, pitch a way of lire. it
is the key to the great store of

IMoller

WiII Address
Polil‘ical Club

Young Republicans will inccti
at 8 pin in YounketI
lounge. State College Republican,
Chairman Clarence Fitz will;
speak after a short business;
meeting,

Organization of the mock can—I
vention and ot the clearing-
house workshop will be dis
cusscd and the rules tor thcl
nomination of otticers at the
convention will be announced.

language. English, besides being;
the key to a great tradition
and literature, is the most unis
vcrsal language in the world to.
day.

Though a member at the
Sinhalcsc race who is living
in Ceylon in an eastern crib
tare, this radio announcer pos»
scssas a western tongue ilnd
educationizt good example or
the sociolo ical term or “man
ginal man." His color is such
that lie tools he never could
completely become a “western-
er," so he is tor-cert to remain
in the “cast." Untortunately,
there is a lair-sized minority
oi thcsc “rimrginal” pcrsons in
Ceylon.

This predicament arose in 1950:
when the government, led by
the late Mr, Bandaranaike, made“
Sinhalese the otrrcial languagel
oi Ceylon in fulﬁllment or all
campaign promise which had
much to do with his success
at the polls. 1 think it is in
deed unfortunate that a countryi
which had such a high standardl
of English has allowed it toI
ciumble so iapidly in thc pasti
foul years.

Now back to the problem of.
the educated unemployed A dis
tinetion should be made between

,thc unemployed who are cdus

cated and those who are not.
The didcrencc is in the level:
of expectation of the two groups.
The more educated a person,
becomes, the more he expcetsl
and wants tor his lite—sort of
the opposite of “Ignorance is
Bliss,” Only when a per-son be-
comes awa of something can
hc icact posi vcly oi iiegativcly.
toward it. I

The problem or the under—
developed economy which can
not lully assimilate the yearly
crop of univers y graduates
becomes a political ﬁrecracker.
The Marxist parties had many
c. s amoirg these unhappy,
dissatisﬁed, unemployed grati-
uates. Who can blame these
persons it they take up the }
Marxist cry, for usually it is t
the lettists who actively try I
to coirvcrt others to their way ,
This situation was one ot the,
iactois in the Communist vic—
tory in the elections in Kel'ala
State, iridia, in 1957. Korala
State has the highest literacy
rate in India, but unemplnys
merit is a great problem. The
Communist party promised them
better days but tailed to pro-
duce them.

in tact, the Communist party
began to violate democratic and
constitutional processes to the
point that mass pi-otcst forced
the liidian parliament to expel
the Communist government and

 

knowledge and literature 01 (hall

Call for fresh elections which

 

Come In And
T'clbles

Chairs

Free Delivery To College

Used Furnilure Shop
827 Main St.
Phone 6-6494

‘Look Around
Lumps

Iwill be given to the top i-rldlvls
dual Scorers, one faculty rnem-'
Iher
imcnts will be served.

, workers,

Will‘ ‘Bridge" Gap

Thc Union committee is spon-
soririg a Sllldcntsfﬂcully bridge
tournament Sunday allcrnoon
train 2 to 4. All students may
sign up in the Union before toe
marrow noon.

The tounanicnt will be held in
the Union lounge, and prizes

and one student. Refresh-

took place a couple of weeks
ago, This time United People's
From. of the other thrce politi—
cal parties through a no-contest
agrccmcnt dctcatcd the Commu—
nists though the latter still
polled 40 percent of the cast
votes.

Ceylon slrnll iace the same
problem in the next tow years.
The number oi unemployed is
growing, and though all politi—
cal parties claim to have the
secret panacea which they will

apply it they are returned to
power on March 19, it is un-
likely that thcrc is any simple
solution That the economy
inust expand more rapidly in
the near inturc is agreed upon
by all, but the means to that
end is the issue, and the peo-
ple must make that choice
also in the coming election.

it is interesting to watch
preparations for the elections,
All polling in this general elCCs
tion will tor the ﬁrst time be
held on the same day. The prob-
lems this has created are many.
Another ﬁrst, postal voting has
been initiated lor the election
all who are govern-
ment workers. But many
people do not have conndcncel
that the postal department can
handle the Jul). And the burdanl
on the postal department is fur-I
tlier increased by changes in
the rules of campaigning.

The Bandaranaike government
pushed through scveral changes
in the procedure ccntcrmg
around general elections. The
one affecting the postal departs
merit was the decision to allow
ovary candidate to send one let-
tcl' free to every constituent in
his electorate,

Sonic electorates have up to(
six candidates, and, the Llll‘ced
seat Colombo-Central electorateI
has 19 candidates. This means
each voter will receive 19 lots
lel's containing election litera-
ture. There are 592 candidates
seeking one of the 151 seats inl
the new parliamcnt which willI
be summoned on March 31.

Ivoters to the polls.

IChairman Filz lSludenls, Faculty iCoIIege Gels

IScience Granl

i Council has been awarded a
Igi-arit oi $11.. 00 by the National
Science inundation to support is -
.sic research done under the di—
rcction ct William A. Ncrlrll
(Chemistry). The grant, which is
already ctlectivc, is tor a two.
yaar period.

Nevill’s rcsearch is titled
'Physlcal Properties oi Halogen-
ated Alicyclic Acids." He had an
earlier N.S.F. grant tor research
on organic mechanisms relating
to cycloliutane carboxylic acids,
which has also been supported
by grants from the Research
coi‘sz Cottrell iund.
through the post. Many oi the
villagers especially have never-
received mail so the postman
will have fun trying to locate
many or the addressces.

Another- change in the election
rules concerns the transport of
in the past,
candidates were allowed to hi e
cars, lorries (trucks) and la. s
to transport members oi tlrcir
electorate to the polls in trope
that these persons would oblige
them with their vote.

This legislation was directed
especially against the United
National party, which has al-
ways had the greatest ﬁnancial
resources of all the political
parties, But in 1956 many peo-
ple rode the U,N.P. vchicles and
then voted M.E.P. So this legrsa
lation may backﬁre on those
most interested in its enact-
merit.

The interpretation of this
law has also been very strict.
The iamily car can trhnsport‘
only members of the immedi-
ate tarnily, and taxis can only
be used by one iamily at a
time. Hence, the Ceylon Tran-
sit board is going to try to
use all available buses in all
areas of the island to trails-‘

port voters,
The problem is now increased

because for smile reason it is

-inipossible to make election day

a public holiday. Since the elec-
tion tails on Saturday, a halI~
day too all workers, the C.‘T.B.
will have more than its usual
problem or working rush hour.
And one last problem—how and
when shall the 20,000 bus driv—
ers vote? '

it is impossible to predict the
outcome at the elections, and
anything may happen betora the

results are countcd. But the
percentage of eligible voters who
will cast their ballots will be

 

Also, the poll identiﬁcation
cards

,LANKA
are being distributed lCont. p. G,

(‘01. 1

 

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