Letters to the Editor

Doctors are not the only ones who get free education
The recent doctors’ strike has been subject to severe criticism by the public, the government and the media. Several editorials also condemned the strike while the government claimed that the JVP was behind it. Most of them branded the strike as a selfish act by the doctors.

It is unfortunate that doctors had to resort to strike action to win their demands from the Government. It is also unfortunate that they were subject to unfair criticisms because of their strike action.

I am not a doctor. Fortunately, I have had no major ailment so far to require medical treatment from the public health system. As an undergraduate student in the mid 1960s, I had the opportunity to get to know a few medical students at the time. I spent my four years in Marrs Hall where nearly 50% of the students were Medical students.

As an Arts student, I had plenty of free time during that four-year period. Medical students on the other hand, spent 20 out of 24 hours daily attending classes, clinics or studying. During exam times they practically spent the entire day studying. This was their daily routine for 5 to 6 years as Medical students.

It is often alleged that the public invests a lot on a doctor's education. A recent editorial in a Sinhala newspaper claimed that the cost of a medical degree would be around Rs. 1.5 million. Since the public has invested on doctors’ education, there is a general perception that they should simply serve the people even if they are subject to unfair administrative decisions affecting their incomes and living standards.

The free education argument has validity, if the doctors were the only group who were entitled to free education and more importantly, if they were also made to understand that their service is compulsory under any circumstances once they graduate. In that case the strike action cannot be justified. But free education is not a privilege given only to medical students; it is a common facility available to any student in any field of study.

There is also no restriction on any person becoming a doctor if he can secure a place in a Medical Faculty and devote himself for 5 to 6 years of rigorous training. Scholarships and bursaries are also available to any student who qualifies for such assistance. Again such facilities are not restricted only to medical students.

If the cost of medical education is used as an argument to criticize or condemn doctors who went on strike, the doctors also could argue that they are paying back the cost of education within a short period of their service to the community. In measuring cost recovery, the economic value of patients is the relevant economic benefit.

Although it is extremely difficult to measure, the value of a human being is reasonably high. If doctors treat a few serious or dying patients and if they help the patients to fully recover from their illness, the cost recovery can be achieved by treating just a few patients. Doctors, on the other hand, serve the country for many years and, therefore, if the cost of education argument is used, there is a need to consider their salaries based on the service they provide to the country as well. However, their wage structure is based on the average wage structure of the country. Unfortunately the critics don't see how much other professionals in the fields of law, engineering, science, education, management etc. also earn from private practice although they also receive free education.

Since the doctors are treated as another group of employees in this country, there is no reason why they should not take action to protest against unfair administrative decisions implemented by health officials. The health officials have made a mess of the salary structure of the health sector and it is now creating problems in all occupational groups.

Most doctors come from ordinary families. They also have families, children and other dependents and the income they receive from their profession is important to them as well. Not all doctors have a lucrative private practice. Most of the doctors whom I know are very dedicated and for most of them, the first priority is their patients. I appeal to the government to consider the medical profession as a special area and to design a special wage structure for the doctors. Only such a policy could ensure fair treatment to doctors whose service is needed by the nation.

Thank you for the clean-up
The Urban Development Authority (UDA) and a private company, Multivision have continued to show their commitment in maintaining the Parliament ground. It was in a shameful state but since this private company together with UDA began their clean- up there has been a marked improvement. Their efforts to maintain this public place-where people from all walks of life enjoy some leisure- should be commended.

I am a resident in this area and have been so even before the Parliament complex came into being. Today we see a tremendous change with food parlours for people to sit and dine in the cool of the evening. The surroundings are clean and healthy. The same concept could be applied at Galle Face Green too. Keep up the good work.

An unquenched thirst
Drinking water has become an acute problem in Arangala, a sleepy village lying on the outskirts of Kandy. Nature has never been kind to this village ever since it came into existence, and the eternal warfare between mother nature and these villagers finds expression in the number of wells sunk and abandoned in the village without water.

In this unending battle with nature, life has become a nightmare. The pitiful sight of men, women and children carrying water from remote corners of the village, in the shimmering heat of the noon-day sun is certainly heartrending.

For bathing and washing purposes they trudge all the way to the Mahaweli, carrying bundles of dirty linen with them and dip themselves in the dirt and muck that flows along the silent murky water of the river; often contaminated with pollutants that have resulted in many a skin disease in this area.

The prevailing drought in this area has played havoc with these villagers, rendering them helpless in their search for water. As most of the wells in this area have run dry, owners of water bowsers in the town are doing a brisk trade by selling a bowser of water for over thousand rupees, depending on its capacity.

This has benefited only the well-heeled few in the village and as for the rest they have sought refuge in their 'Discovery Mission' until such time the Rain God finds favour with them.

The hardest hit by this drought are those who live between Arangala junction and Yakkagahapitiya junction, a distance of about 1.4 km. where the water table is very low. Even the tube wells sunk at a depth of 50-60 feet in this area have run dry. The project that is now being carried out by the National Water Supply and Drainage Board to provide pipe-borne water to the people in this locality has benefited only those who live on both sides of this divide and as for the rest who inhabit this inhospitable terrain it is the Discovery Mission that has come to their rescue.

Such is the situation in this sequestered area where development work in this district has never touched the life of these humble folk, although successive regimes had promised to attend to their basic requirements whenever an election happened to be round the corner.

Even the Pradeshiya Saba at Mennikhinna has failed in its duty to fulfil its obligations towards these people in return for the taxes they pay.

Recognise the public servant’s hard work
Government employees have 45 days of leave with full pay in addition to the other public holidays and weekends of a given year. This is not a luxury when one considers the problems a typical employee faces in his struggle to meet the expectations of his personal and official duties. People have many burning issues varying from personal to social which require a lot of time and labour. Hence employees, willingly or unwillingly, are bound to make use of their leave even to the extent of disregarding the disruption of work at their workplace due to their absence.

The administrative system in our country has never taken effective steps to create a sense of responsibility and an atmosphere in which every government servant/employee feels obliged to make a sacrifice in avoiding leave taking and delivering more service to the workplace. As a result of this lethargy and negligence, many government employees are in the habit of using up all their leave.

It is rather a symbolic act of venting their anger or dissatisfaction towards the authorities who do not create any favourable environment for them to work happily. From time to time, false election promises are made and none of them fulfilled. Successive governments seem to have ignored the importance of a working day and the subsequent productivity that enhances national development. Ever-rising absenteeism has a detrimental effect on productivity.

But there are people who are moderate in leave taking and show a positive attitude with a high degree of commitment and dedication to work. Among us, there are so many exemplary people who take the minimum of leave a year. Yet they gain nothing in return except the loss of their personal time and labour and some criticism from others. Therefore they, too, tend to follow suit over time.

Simple tips to remedy the situation could be: At the end of each year, a special bonus preferably the number of days saved multiplied by a day's salary should be offered to the person concerned. A salary increment for each year on the basis of a full increment for zero leave, a half increment for half the rate should also be considered.

A certificate issued as an appreciation of service for future promotions and national recognition through mass media may also help.

Lack of translators adds to their daily hardships
The shortage of sworn translators is acutely felt in the Amparai District. People are undergoing insurmountable difficulties in their day-to-day- life. Those seeking jobs in the Middle Eastern countries are severely affected in this war-ravaged district.

In the interests of the people of this district, I appeal to the relevant authorities to allow a Justice of Peace (Whole Island) to certify the Certificate of Birth, which is translated into the English Language. If this facility is allowed, several thousands of people will be benefited.

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