Modern scientific and technological changes have enabled online education as an integral part of the education system in the contemporary world. Although online learning system was influential in the pre-Covid 19 periods to a certain extent, it has become an inevitable part of the teaching and learning process of higher education sectors during the Covid-19 era. As the Covid-19 posed enormous challenges on the traditional higher education system, there was a desperate need globally for every government to incorporate online education into their higher education system. However, online education was not given much importance in the Sri Lankan higher education sector before the Covid-19. But, the closure of universities due to Covid-19 had prompted the government of Sri Lanka to promote the online mode of education as an alternative solution to continue higher education activity during a crisis. Thus, online education has presently become an essential component of Sri Lanka's higher education sector. Nevertheless, there are many obstacles and challenges confronting the higher education sectors, particularly in the universities of Sri Lanka to perpetuate online education successfully. Against this backdrop, this study attempts to give an insight into the impact of Covid-19 on the teaching and learning process of South Eastern University of Sri Lanka, and the challenges faced by the university in perpetuating online education system during the Covid-19. The findings of the study show that the university encountered several challenges in terms of online delivery, problems related to practical test via online mode, assessment, examination and supervision of the thesis. The study further highlights issues concerning online teaching and learning environment and a lack of online teaching and learning skills among staff and students that were considered critical to the smooth functioning of teaching and learning process of the South Eastern University of Sri Lanka during the Covid-19 pandemic. The study argues that the university should focus on a hybrid education system to address the issues of online mode of education confronted by staff and students to make the teaching and learning process more effective.

Gaining mastery over the English language by undergraduates of universities has acquired much significance today because it plays a significant role in ensuring their future employability. This is highly relevant to the students of the Faculty of Arts and Culture (FAC), SEUSL, as a majority of them are from rural areas and pursue their degrees in the Tamil medium. Results of English language examinations held in recent years at the faculty indicate the poor command of English language of undergraduates, and the trend appears to be set firmly. Thus, the objective of this study is to explore the factors contributing to the poor performance of students in English language and to examine the ways in which this problem could be addressed. This is a qualitative study consisting of observation, interviews and focus group discussions employed as techniques of data collection. The study argues that the enrolment of students from rural background, psychological dimension of students, and the lack of reading habit among them are the key factors responsible for their poor level of English knowledge. Lack of physical resources such as visual aids, lack of learner centered teaching (LCT) method, and inexperienced teaching panel are also highlighted as additional factors contributing to the poor command of the language that inevitably leads to poor employment prospects for graduates after they pass out. Therefore, this study suggests that the prevailing trend can be reversed by enhancing the students’ self-confidence and changing their attitudes so they will be motivated to learn the language willingly; upgrading the physical as well as human resources available to students in the faculty will provide an additional impetus to enhance their proficiency in English language.

PurposeThere is a significant decrease in students' attendance in Zoom classes compared to traditional classes. This paper investigates the factors that affect students' attitudes, behavioral intentions and actual use of Zoom for online classes at higher educational institutions (HEIs) in Sri Lanka.Design/methodology/approachThis research uses the technology acceptance model (TAM) as a theoretical model. The data are collected from HEI students via an online survey form. The hypotheses between constructs in the model are tested using partial least squared–structural equation model.FindingsThe analysis shows that computer self-efficacy (CSE) affects perceived usefulness (PU) and perceived ease of use (PEU), which affects attitude (ATT) and behavioral intention (BI) and actual use (AU) of Zoom in a chain reaction. Further, PEU affects PU, which, in turn, affects BI. Furthermore, the effect size of PU to BI is larger than ATT to BI.Practical implicationsStudents' attendance for Zoom classes mainly depends on CSE, PU and PEU. Therefore, HEIs should promote Zoom with interactive training before teaching online. Further, officials should revise the curriculum in schools to upsurge the CSE of students.Originality/valueDuring coronavirus-19, no research was published on students' use of Zoom for online classes in the Sri Lankan context. Moreover, the TAM model has been modified by including CSE as an external variable.

Although Sri Lanka has 51% women, their participation in local governance as well as in the national parliament is 5% in total. The strong social development indicator of women in areas such as health and education has not translated into their increased political participation. As such, this study focuses on the level of women’s participation in local governance and explores why there is a low level of political participation of women in local governance. Both quantitative and qualitative methods comprising of questionnaire survey, interviews and focus group discussions were employed in this study. The findings show organized collective involvement of women was effective only in social welfare, livelihood and social security than political participation. The study also reveals that the low level of political participation by women is attributable to biological, economic, psychological, religious and political factors. Overall, it was found that although women are interested in participating in local governance, they have a lack of space for political participation.

Sri Lanka saw an unprecedented degree of anti-Muslim sentiment followed by violence perpetrated by certain extremist elements in recent years. This article primarily examines the implications of anti-Muslim violence that occurred from Aluthgama to Digana and the causes behind the violence. The article shows that anti-Muslim sentiment is manifested in several dimensions: campaigns against Halal, Muslim attire, cattle slaughter, and attacks on mosques and Muslim-owned businesses. This manifestation has resulted in violence against Muslims, causing massive damages to their properties. The study argues that fear of growing Muslim population, economic competition with Muslims, Mahavamsa mentality, and exceptionalism to Buddhist clergies, fear of Islam, and formation of ethnic-based political parties are the causes of anti-Muslim sentiment which later culminated in the form of violence. Therefore, the government needs to enforce law and order equally on all citizens and ensure a policy of multiculturalism and tolerance is strictly maintained.