Sri Lanka Olympiad Federation

Official Establishment 

Sri Lanka Olympiad Federation was established on 24^th November 2011, at the National Science Foundation. Dr .S.R D. Rosa, National Coordinator of Sri Lankan Physics Olympiad Competition and a senior lecturer at the University of Colombo was appointed as the Chairman.  

The Federation was established to fulfill the requirement of a central authoritative body to coordinate and facilitate activities among the different institutes that conduct National Olympiad competitions.

The establishment was assisted by the National Science Foundation, and other related parties.

Chinese Products

China is a rapidly developing country and it supplies large number of products to the global market. In recent years Chinese products, especially the electrical and electronics items had invaded the Sri Lankan market. Chinese products are cheaper than the products of Japan or USA therefore the sellers as well as the customers are now interested on them. However the quality and the safety of these products are not clear. This article is intended to help you to select the best Chinese products.

Mainly 3 types of products from china are available in our market

Original products of renowned brands made in China

Many world famous companies such as Nokia, HP, Sony have their factories in China under their supervision Since these products use the original technology and the quality standards they are similar to products of the originated country although sometimes they mention “Made in China” or “Product of China” on the product. These products are not very cheap and you can easily feel the quality. The product and its functions are similar world wide. Usually the buyer gets an original company warranty. There is no harm of purchasing these products.

Unauthorized copy cat products made in China

These products are produced in China by different manufacturers and look similar to the original product. However these products do not use the original technology and the quality is not maintained. The product can be changed in function. Although they are made in China the product may display the name of the country of the original product. They are comparatively very cheaper and usually do not issue a company warranty.

Please be careful when purchasing these products as the quality, safety and durability issues are not known. In case of mobile phones we don’t know the level of radiation of these products.

The below shown (1st picture) is the Apple iPod Shuffle, a product of USA, which is sold for Rs. 8000/= by the authorized dealers in Sri Lanka. The 2^nd picture shows a Copy cat product from China which is commonly available from Rs. 900/= – 3000/= in the Sri Lankan market. Although they look similar they have functional and quality differences.

http://www.apple.com

http://www.favordeals.com

Products originally from china

China has the technology to produce anything. There are products made in China using technology available to them and carry there own brand names Although the brand names are not popular there can be high quality products as well as bad and unsafe products. Please search well before purchasing these items. By testing it before purchasing you may be able to understand its quality to some extend.

Finally ask the seller about the originality; a good seller does not hide

US warns Sri Lanka on war crime charges

The above is one of the headlines of The Straits Times today.  It may be a serious condition but made me laugh due to several reasons. Why do US and western community still worried about this terrorist and serial killer Prabhakaran. We all know that Saddam and Osama had been killed and Gaddafi will also be killed or arrested soon. They are terrorists outside US but even without the permission of the relevant governments the US killed them for peace.  Do you think US army did it without killing a civilian?

Our problem was domestic and no one (US and western community) ever cared 30 –year human right violati

Do you want this to happen again?

Source: www. defence.lk

on by Prabhakaran who owned a suicide bombing squad. When innocent civilians and children of all the races in the country were killed, when the child soldiers were trained, that too was reported internationally but no one cared.  Like they did to Saddam and Osama, they had power to catch the Prabhakaran but never happened. They waited until about 100000 died and only entered the problem at the very end of the war. That is also support to the LTTE. It is a surprise to learn that the western countries haven’t seen human violation in Sri Lanka until Channel-4 showed some biased videos.

I want to ask the US, UN and the western community how you justify the killing of Saddam, Osama and arrest warrant of Gaddafi  over the defeat of well known terrorist Prabhakaran. What made westerners upset about the defeat of the LTTE leader. Is it the jealousy or what?

What is expected from the Sri Lankan government? To re-establish the LTTE again?

Now Sri Lanka is a peaceful country. Please let Prabhakaran rest in peace as Saddam and Osama.

http://www.straitstimes.com/BreakingNews/Asia/Story/STIStory_685178.html

Consumers in Sri Lanka

Are you really protected?

Today consumer market has grown in both size and variety. In urban areas due to the set up of supermarkets consumers are largely exposed to a wide range of local and imported products. Manufacturers and exporters face highly competitive environment in making a demand for their products. It is OK to compete as it leads to fair market price and high quality product, but it is also possible to sell low quality products to higher prices deceiving consumers. If they sell their products to consumers by false information or exaggeration it is not right at all.

It is not uncommon to see lot of value added products such as health food, effective fitness machines etc. in the market for a comparatively higher price. There should be several requirements to fulfill to claim a benefit and it should be well explained to the customer.

As an example if a particular noodle claimed to be a healthy food, it should have properties like high fiber, law calorie, low fat etc. and the nutritional vales should be in the label. Then the consumer can decide is it really valuable for the cost.

To increase the demand, other than providing high quality product to fair price some sellers and manufacturers use gimmicks.  One such gimmick done by the seller or the manufacturer is emphasizing a naturally occurring property as a benefit. A good example is claiming “Cholesterol Free” for vegetable oils. Though this may attract the consumer and encourage buying even at a higher price, cholesterol does not naturally occur in plant sources.

Another attempt is exaggeration. One example is slimming teas. It is true that green tea and some herbal preparations can help to reduce body fat but and obese cannot shed several kilos within days and have a slim figure shown in the label just by drinking it. Some telemarketing campaigns promote fitness products that give preferred body image by using it only few minutes a day for several days which is unrealistic in real world. Most of the soap advertisements are also unrealistic.

Some products tend to provide expected result but it also has side effects. Mercury is banned to use in cosmetics in many countries considering the potential health hazards. But it is very effective in some skin conditions such as freckles and whitening. Cosmetics containing Mercury are available in the Sri Lankan market and neither the seller nor the consumer knows about it.

The quality and the price are interdependent. As consumers we have right to obtain a reasonable product for what we pay. However lots of exported items are sold at highly varied prices and it is hard to regulate.

As a consumer to get the best thing for your money

• Read the label (a good product has most of the product details in the label)
• Details of the manufacturer should be in the label (some products only have a name)
• Compare the prices and properties of the similar products
• Sometimes you may get more information through the internet
• If you feel that the manufacturer or the seller has provided wrong or altered information you can complain to Consumer Affairs Authority (CAA) http://www.caa.gov.lk/ for appropriate action

Who killed Roshen Chanaka ?

Garment industry plays an important role in Sri Lankan export market strengthening our economy via foreign exchange. The contributors of the garment industry (employers and workers) should be thereby appreciated, supported and protected. 

However the incident that killed the youth Roshen chanaka cannot be undermined as an accident or riot. It is true that a police man has fired (or misfired) him but the story behind the incident should be evaluated widely to avoid further tragic incidents as such.

If we look from the beginning, the government’s proposed pension scheme was the motive for this demonstration. The context of the garment employment is different from other sectors to which the proposed scheme was most suitable therefore the garment workers do not benefit and an explanation is required to solve the problem. But did they really need to have a protest, should not the government listen to them if they do not protest. Who is behind the protest and what is his intention? A person or a group that really thinks about the benefit of the employees never put them in a danger.

A protest should be the action to be taken at last after failing all other efforts. But in Sri Lanka specially among some political groups the first line action is this. What the most of the people do not understand is many problems can be solved diplomatically without much trouble. Most of the protesters may not have known the full details of the proposed bill

Though the policemen open fired and killed a youth they are only partially responsible for the incident. If they are going to be punished persons who made them shoot also should be punished. The leaders of the protesters now are justifying their action as the withdrawal of the proposed bill by the government but the damaged occurred is not really justifiable.

Claim lives, Damage property, Halting manufacturing of export items which could be a great loss to our economy, wound people are really unnecessary to solve a problem which is justifiable. Any government that has a brain will not create unnecessary trouble leads to lose the faith of it voters. The leaders of the protests want to make a trouble via a potential loophole to tarnish the image of their oppositions and they do not love the employee though they try to pretend.

www.adaderana.lk

To avoid these tragic incidents the government should show their flexibility over the solutions and the public should be made aware on how to communicate with the government in much acceptable manner.

It is advisable to introduce a leadership programme not only for the university students but also for the all the school leavers including how to handle a problem diplomatically.

Leadership training for university students

University students are considered as adults, therefore they have the freedom to bear any political opinion and actively engage in political activities. However it should not ruin the university education system. Science the public money is used for the free education, university students have a responsibility to study well and contribute to the development of the country.

Source www.lankapolity.blogspot.com

However last few decades political activities inside the universities become influential beyond the limits damaging the peaceful education environment. Some radical political leaders try to transfer their political views to the new comers by force during the rag season. Although these parties pretend to respect the democracy they break the rule for the personal gain. Further they do not allow other political groups to introduce their political views. Now a day’s most of the university students are just school leavers at their early twenties. They haven’t been exposed to influential political environment earlier and that may lead them to follow what is introduced first.

Only small number of students directly involve in these destructive political activities (such as strikes, exam boycott), but the majority is afraid to raise their voice against them.

The government recently introduced a leadership training programme to the students selected for universities. The objective is to produce students, who are well disciplined, physically fit, knowledgeable and capable of conflict resolution at the end of the university life.

Although the programme is valuable and useful huge political influence against the programme goes on. Most of the protestors are not the students undergoing the training, their parents or university staff, but the people involve in politics.

The training programme is organized at different military bases due to the availability of infrastructure for large number of students such as accommodation, play grounds etc. As confirmed by the government the training does not involve military activities and completely harmless.

This training may help them to have liberal political views and avoid the physical and mental harassments at the rag and to continue university education without interruption. 

Pension scheme for the private sector in Sri Lanka

Many protests are going on these days to obstruct the implementation of the proposed pension scheme for the private sector.  Their main concern is threat to EPF and ETU. However it is timely requirement to understand the scheme well before protesting.

According to the government the objective of this scheme is to provide financial support for all the employees after retirement. This is a good idea for increasing elderly population.

The government will establish a fund for this scheme. The fund will be consisted of

• One billion rupees by the government,
• 2% of the salary from the employee,
• 2% of the salary from the employer,
• Money from the inactivated EPF accounts,
• 2% of the EPF at the time the employee obtain it etc.

The government does not halt EPF, ETF money or benefits and ETF, EPF schemes will be continued even after the establishment of new scheme.

A person needs to have a minimum of 10 year contribution to be entitled to the scheme. If the person stop contribution or die before 10 years 60% of the total contribution by the employee will be paid.

The benefits

• Employee will receive a monthly pension until his death after age of 60 years.
• Upon his death the wife will be entitled to obtained the pension until her death

What are the drawbacks?

• 10 year contribution and paying only 60% for the employees who couldn’t contribute for 10 years
• If the employee dies before 10 years no security to his family
• Age limit 60 years is too much for private sector
• Yet no clue about the amount of the pension that will be paid after retirement

To my knowledge the pension scheme is a timely requirement and people should help government to implement it minimizing drawbacks.

However most of the protesters do it without a sense for the sake of opposing the government.

What should the opposition parties and protesters do?

Come out with solutions to minimize the problems and to provide maximum (reliable) benefits to employees without trying to stop the whole process.