Sri Lanka

According to the report, the gap in learning outcomes between wealthier and poorer students is widening – even as the nation slips in its global standings.

The Aswesuma scheme, introduced in 2023, aims to replace a decades-old programme with a new model that ostensibly uses multidimensional deprivation scores rather than just income thresholds.

The strategy sets out a roadmap for channeling climate funds into key sectors such as agriculture, tourism, energy, water and nature-based solutions.

This warning comes more than a decade of heedless spending for ‘stimulus’ advocated by macro-economists themselves. The warning also comes amid growing concern that the post-pandemic stimulus era may be giving way to a more constrained fiscal environment worldwide.

The monks contend that Sri Lanka’s existing penal code already contains sufficient safeguards to deal with abuse, and that new legislation is unnecessary and overly idealistic.

Japan’s grant for dairy development is designed to empower smallholder farmers, who form the backbone of the country’s dairy production. The funding will go towards modernising farming practices, improving milk quality and safety, and introducing sustainable methods to make dairy farming more profitable and resilient.

Using self-reported questionnaires, the survey assessed aspects such as alcohol and drug use, eating habits, physical activity levels, psychosocial wellbeing, injuries, exposure to violence and skipping meals due to food insufficiency.