IMF reps to pay courtesy visit next week – By Uditha Kumarasinghe Source : sundayobserver The third review of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) program will continue after the new Government takes office in November. Prior to that there will be a courtesy visit by IMF representatives next week. Senior Advisor to the President on Economic Affairs and Finance, Prof. Anil Jayantha told the Sunday Observer yesterday that the Government had held an initial discussion on the current status of the IMF program on Tuesday (September 24) and Wednesday (September 25). Since we are a new Government, we sought an update from the IMF. Prof. Jayantha said as a result of those discussions, the IMF representatives will pay a courtesy visit next week. Most probably, the IMF review can be done this year. The success of the IMF agreement: most of the measures recommended by them can be achieved easily by ...

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A WONDERFUL DAY AT LAHUGALA (IN THE 1950’s) Source : island (Excerpted from Falling Leaves, anecdotal memoirs of LC Arulpragasam) I happened to be the Assistant Government Agent in the Batticaloa District in 1956. At that time, Lahugala was part of the Batticaloa District. If I may be allowed to digress a bit, I had not thought about this oddity till a chena cultivator from Lahugala came to the Batticaloa Kachcheri seeking a divorce under the Kandyan Marriages Ordinance. Fortunately, I had served in the Kandy District and knew the legal provisions of this Ordinance. I was curious as to how a Kandyan person could fall within the confines of the Batticaloa District, a Tamil/Muslim district. So I took the trouble to read the old diaries of the Government Agents of that time. What I found aroused my historical interest further, as to how boundaries – most colonial boundaries – were drawn. The Government ...

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Making mistakes in mathematics – by R N A de Silva Source : island “Anyone who has never made a mistake has not tried something new “, said Albert Einstein. Although mistakes are inevitable in life, learning mathematics can be extra challenging due to the pressure of having to come up with the ‘correct’ answer as it generally demands precision and accuracy. But recent neurological research indicates that making mistakes is actually good as it not only provides opportunities for learning but also contributes to the growth of the brain. Mistakes play a crucial role in the learning process and they can be considered as stepping stones on the path to mastery. Embracing mistakes will help students in building the persistence required for success in mathematics. Making mistakes will help enhance critical thinking and problem-solving skills as they prompt students to reconsider their approach, identify the source of the mistake and ...

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