While the world recovers from the shock of the senseless slaying of 49 people at two mosques in New Zealand, a very different kind of fear seems to be haunting Sri Lanka – a fear psychosis that continues to grow among the female population of the country. On Women’s Day which was celebrated a week ago, an American tourist patronising a local restaurant in Mirissa got the shock of her life when a random male walked up to her and groped her in a very private place. The fact that the incident happened in public without the male in question thinking twice about his perverted action goes to show that such conduct is more the norm than the exception at least in that part of the country. The great majority of tourists and even local women who undergo such trauma at the hands of depraved men, suffer the humiliation in silence due to the unhelpful law enforcement apparatus. As a result, nine out of 10 incidents go unreported with the victims preferring to suffer in silence than be traumatised a second time by a system that has little pity for the victim. This was quite apparent in the case of the American tourist in Mirissa who after having chosen to report the incident to the local police, was in turn, treated like she was the criminal while the perpetrator had it easy. However, with the issue exploding on social media the Police had no choice but to arrest the perpetrator. A few days later, a video of a young male trishaw driver pointing at his private parts and making lewd gestures at a lady driver who had stopped at a traffic light in Bambalapitiya went viral on social media. The comments made therein showed how widespread the issue really is. Today, Sri Lanka has a staggering 1.2 million trishaws plying on its roads across the country. That works out to 1.2 million men, mostly in their youth, who spend the better part of the day just sitting around waiting for hires. These are the young men who should be contributing to the labour force of the country and its Gross Domestic Product but prefer to sit around, gossip, and surf the web on their mobile phones while waiting for hires. This trishaw mania has deprived the country of its next generation of farmers, mechanics, carpenters, masons, plumbers, electricians, hotel workers, etc. The problem has already assumed serious proportions and will be disastrous to the country if not addressed urgently. The Minister of Higher Education revealed in Parliament last week that nearly 2,000 of the brightest students in the country drop out of universities every year due to ragging. It is no secret that the ragging that usually takes place in our universities is of a sexual nature and students are compelled to comply if they wish to continue. The ragging is so sadistic that no self-respecting student can stay on. Having studied all through their student life to get into a university, only to drop out due to a bunch of sadists, is criminal if nothing else. These revelations within the space of a few days points to a system that needs urgent mending. The Government recently introduced some much needed reforms in the education sector, making it compulsory for every student to complete 13 years of schooling. On completion of the Ordinary Level exam, students now have the option of choosing subjects which until recently were a part of tertiary education. Therefore, students now have the opportunity of completing various vocational subjects while at school itself, giving them a head start in their chosen vocations. However, no matter what reforms are introduced or what subjects are made available, the entire enterprise will be a failure if students are not disciplined, if they have no respect for one another and do not have the right mindset to contribute to national development. It is not rocket science to figure out that something is very rotten at the core of our education system. One wonders how discipline can be taught to students when teachers themselves are undisciplined and go on strike at the drop of a hat. No country can prosper if its people are undisciplined. Inculcating this all important quality should begin in school at a very young age and thereafter maintained throughout the 13 years of school life. Sri Lankans, by and large, are an undisciplined people. One only has to look at the roads for confirmation of this reality. Even the most educated among us will not hesitate to break a road rule and then laugh it off saying “this is Sri Lanka”. That is the nature of the beast. The Government, if it is serious about reforming the education sector, must place emphasis on first training the trainers. Poor quality teachers will produce even poorer quality students. The Mirissa groper, Bambalapitiya cad, and university sadists are all products of the broken system. The progressive Education Minister, who seems to be on the right track, must realise that investing billions on school buildings will be of no use if what is produced in those buildings are of poor standard. Put another way, there is no point in having the best hardware if the right software is not installed to run the system. Therefore, it is of primary importance that a framework is put in place where disciplined teachers put discipline on top of the school agenda. The example must come from the top. Then again, when those entrusted with framing the laws are themselves failed products of the system, who engage in fisticuffs in Parliament, use the foulest language, and use holy books as missiles, it becomes clear that the solution lies elsewhere. Therefore, until such time, the people themselves realise that they are the authors of the problem and resolve to send only educated, law abiding individuals of standing to Parliament, we will have to learn to put up with the citizens produced by the system we have installed.