- Disparity in Sri Lanka H.R. Anulawathie Menike Senior Lecturer, Department of Economics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka ABSTRACT This study is mainly based on rural and urban areas. To represent these areas I selected the poorest and the richest areas from two districts namely Colombo and Rathnapura in Sri Lanka. The paper highlights on disparities existing rural and urban area with the help of selected indicators. The study revealed that a vast unbalanced expansion of the development between the rural and urban sectors in the country. Among that, there is a wide gap can be identified with respect to income, savings, expenditure, level of education, language literacy and computer knowledge etc. However, the health situation of the people in both sectors was in a satisfactory level. But the majority of the people are suffering from a few diseases, such as heart diseases, high blood pressure, rheumatism, diabetes etc. are in the front and it was noted that such ailments were plentiful in the urban areas. As the rural sector personnel get engaged in work related to physical strain, there can be seen a decline of vulnerability of such diseases. Although both the sectors spend the maximum amount out of their income for consumer food, the amount of the families in the rural sector spend a very low figure relatively to that of the urban sector. The reason for this situation is that they do not get a sufficient income to eke out their living. Under such circumstances, it is clearly seen that the personnel in the rural sector do not gain at least the required amount of calories for a day. Key words:, urban, disparity, development, Sri Lanka 1.INTRODUCTION urban disparities, particularly in post-colonial countries, have for long been one of the causes of concern for the policy makers. The extent of disparities in rural and urban areas differ from country to country (Das and Pathak, 2012). Sri Lanka is a small island with the land area of 65,610 square kilometer located in the Indian Ocean close to the Southern end of the sub-continent of India. Sri Lanka was basically an agricultural country whose people were dependent on paddy cultivation. As well as island nation s economy was heavily depending on the export oriented plantation sector, Tea, Rubber and Coconut plantation. Post the adoption of open economic policy in 1977, private sector has been growing significantly with considerable contribution to the country s economy (Samayajulu, Abeyasuriya and Mukherji, 2005). Also, in the Island 83% of the total population live in rural areas, of which 5% referred to as the estate sector working and residing at plantation estates that include tea, rubber and coconut. The remaining 17% of the population of Sri Lanka live in urban areas (Department of Census and Statistics, 2013). The most developed core region in the country lies in the Western province. Most of the economic activities such as industry, trade, commerce and services take place within this region. According to Dudley Seers, "the development is imposing required conditions for the development of human personality". He considered such conditions as reducing poverty, reducing unemployment and reducing social inequality. Accordingly, even if there is a speedy economic growth in a country, when these conditions are not fulfilled, there won t be a development (De Silva, 2004). When a country leads towards development, there should be a growth in all sectors. Therefore, the development is not only the growth of the national income, but also it is a collective effort exercised relevant to various features such as reducing poverty, reducing unemployment and under employment, equal distribution of the income, development in education, enhancing health facilities, advancement of nutritional prospects and attitudes (Lakshman, 1997). It clearly illustrates that the development should be qualitative as well as quantitative. The economic growth and development of any country will entirely depend on the practices of the economic policies actively by the governments in power and on the success or failures on such efforts. Since Sri Lanka political independence in 1948, the inward-looking policy has been introduced and after 1977, it changed into an outwardlooking policy (Dunham and Kelegama, 2005). Though various kind of development strategies have been implemented aiming at regional development, Sri Lanka is still experiencing increasing disparities and widening income inequalities between regions (Uduporuwa, 2007). Therefore, identifying such imbalance through selected several socio-economic indicators are expected by this study. The Objective To identify rural urban disparity on the basis of selected socio-economic indicators. Data and Methodology This study mainly based on primary data. Primary data were collected through household survey. The interview method, discussion method and observation method were adopted in this research. A structured questionnaire used at Volume 3, Issue 3, March 2015 Page 1
the interviews. The data collected such as, level of education, employment, health, income, expenditure and savings. Statistical techniques such as tables, graphs, percentages etc. have been used to analyze the data. Selecting the study area. To represent the rural and urban areas, Colombo and Rathnapure districts were selected respectively. 125 families were picked up from each area for the survey and 250 families which were selected from both areas using Simple Random Sampling Techniques. Comparison of socio-economic development in the rural and urban sector was conducted in association with Two Divisional Secretariat Divisions (DSDs) in Colombo and Ratnapura Districts. Thimbirigasyaya DSD in Colombo district was chosen to represent the urban area and Elapatha DSD in Ratnapura District was selected to represent the rural area. The cities were selected based on urbanization, in this study. The city of Colombo, which is the capital of Sri Lanka, has undergone urbanization rapidly. In Sri Lanka, rural sector is geographically demarcated as the area outside the boundaries of local administrative authorities of municipal councils and urban councils. (Wickramasinghe, 2010). For administrative purposes, Sri Lanka is divided into 9 Provinces and 25 Districts (Sri Lanka Human Development Report, 2012). The district of Colombo is the most populous district with 12% of the total population. Also, the Department of census and statistics in Sri Lanka has identified three districts in the island namely, Monaragala, Badulla and Ratnapura as the most poverty stricken environments. Out of them, Ratnapura was selected to represent the rural area for the purpose. In Ratnapura district Elapatha DSD was taken for the survey as it appears to be the poorest area in the Ratnapura District. Basic Information of the Households Sample Population The entire sample associated with the study consists of a population of 601 from the urban sector and 533 of the same from the rural sector, making a total population of 1,134. Out of the total population 55.6% are females while 44.4% are males. When considered the entire population in Sri Lanka, the number of females surpasses that of males. It is clearly depicted from the sample population. Out of the 250 families under scrutiny, 86% appears to be males as heads of the households while 14% remain as female heads of the households. This situation clearly illustrates that patriarchal society still exists which was in practice from the ancient times. Level of Education and Professional Qualifications The level of education of the people has a close relationship with the main economic activities such as earning of income, consumption, savings etc. At present education can be treated as a key factor which controls the lives of the people. It also can be identified as one's successful way towards economic liberty similar to the employment. As per Table 1 it would be easily possible to grasp knowledge about the level of education of children over 5 years of age in the sample. Table 1 Level of Education of the Family (5 years and over) Sector Total count % count % count % Level No 23 4% 25 5% 48 5% of schooling Education 1-5 68 12% 101 20% 169 16% 6-10 104 18% 145 29% 249 23% O/L pass 142 25% 135 27% 277 26% Up to A/L 59 10% 50 10% 109 10% A/L pass 86 15% 33 7% 119 11% Degree 70 12% 11 2% 81 8% Post Graduate 13 2% 0 0% 13 1% Total 565 500 1,065 According to Table 1, school dropout of children over 5 years of age is 5 %. It shows that 95% of the population has attained some level of education. There were 1,065 children over 5 years in the sample and 16% of them have reached the primary education (studied from Grade 1-5). Out of them 60% represent the rural sector while 40% are from the urban sector. Most of the people who have gain primary education belong to the age group of 55 60 or more. The reason for this situation is they were unable to enjoy the free education benefits as they have been born much before the Volume 3, Issue 3, March 2015 Page 2
introduction of the free education. As a result, they have been deprived of reaching secondary or tertiary educational levels. Another reason is before the introduction of free education, the facilities of education has spread to the urban areas and the rural areas could enjoy it only after the free education came into operation. However, on the overall, the educational facilities remained at a lower level at that time and schooling was not compulsory as at present. The highest percentage of the sample population viz. 26% is recorded as students who had passed General Certificate of Education/Ordinary Level (G.C.E. O/L) Examination. There is no much of difference as rural and urban sector. 70% of the entire sample is student who have passed G.C.E (O/L) Examination or with lesser educational Qualifications. Only 30% is with higher educational qualifications than above. Although 11% who had passed General Certificate of Education/Advanced Level G.C.E (A/L) Examination, 72% of them is from urban areas. Only 28% from the rural areas have passed G.C.E (A/L) Examination. Similarly, although there is 12% graduates, only 2% is from the rural areas. There are none with Post Graduate Qualifications from the rural areas. But there are 2% of them from the urban areas. It becomes clear from the above although 95% of the entire sample population is literate, there is a sharp difference between the rural and urban areas. The national level of literacy is 92%, but the above literacy rate being 95%; it shows a higher level than the national level. The reason for the same is that, the national literacy rate is calculated in combination with both rural and urban areas. The national level includes represent mostly difficult areas of the island. But, this study doesn't include many difficult areas. On the other hand, Colombo city is place where all types of educational facilities are available. Owing to this reason, the literacy rate of the sample area remains at a higher level than the national literacy level. As a whole, although there is 30% of the population from the urban areas is with G.C.E (A/L) Examination or above qualifications, only 9% is from the rural areas. The main reason for this situation is that, education facilities are much more in urban areas while the rural environment is familiar with agricultural lives and the interest for education is in a lower level. Further, as the population in the rural areas does suffer from economic difficulties, they are barred from gaining education. A special factor noticed at the sample survey was that the educational level of females, remain lower than that of males on the overall. But, the educational level of the females in the urban areas, were higher than that of females in the rural areas. The educational level in the urban areas is of a higher degree and the populations who gain education according to urban social moralities are regarded with a higher value. Higher educational qualifications lead to better employment opportunities. A person with a higher status of employment qualifies to live respectfully in the society. Therefore, parents living in the urban areas strive to offer a better education their children and as a result of the same, the educational level of the females of urban areas remains higher. There are several factors caused for the lower educational level of the females in the rural areas. According to traditional customs the role of the female is confined to the domestic affairs. Still there are people who believe in conventional customs in the rural society. Many people do not encourage females to take up employment. Therefore, the parents in the rural areas bear a conventional opinion that females need not go far in education. This fact was confirmed through our discussions conducted deeply. But, the present generation appears to be very far from these ideas. However, it seems that the situation of the educational level in rural areas relatively to that of the urban areas is not satisfactory. As the population in the rural areas is confronted with economic difficulties in their life styles, has an impact on generating income, consumption and savings. Several special features emerge when the competence of Sinhala, Tamil and English languages are taken into consideration. It becomes clear table 2, that the literacy level of these three languages is lesser in rural sector than that of in the urban sector. Table 2 Literacy Level of Three Languages Literacy Level Sinhala Tamil English Sinhala Tamil English non-literacy 4% 55% 23% 5% 85% 47% quite literacy 8% 2% 10% 13% 7% 24% fairly literacy 6% 3% 7% 19% 0% 11% very good literacy 75% 38% 53% 46% 2% 5% ability to read & write 3% 1% 4% 16% 5% 13% reading only 4% 1% 3% 1% 1% 0% Total 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% 100% In both these sectors, the very good literacy prevails in the Sinhala language. The reason for this is that Sinhala language is the mother tongue of Sri Lankan. It takes a higher value of 75% in the urban sector as against 46% in the rural sector. A higher proficiency in all three languages is shown in the urban sector as a result of residing all types of races, availability of wide educational facilities and the higher economic level in the urban sector. Population with Volume 3, Issue 3, March 2015 Page 3
higher literacy in English and Tamil languages remains at 38% and 53% respectively. But in the rural sector it appears as a very low value of 2% and 5% respectively. It is due to the position of only 2% of Tamils live in the selected rural areas. But the Tamil nationals live in the urban area is 26%. All the nationals namely, Sinhala, Tamil, Muslim and Burgher live in the urban areas process an excellent knowledge in the English Language. Therefore more than half (53%) of the urban populations possess a very good literacy in the English Language. Similarly, the population in the rural sector does not have any literacy of Tamil and English Languages rates at 85% and 47% respectively. It makes clear that, the facilities for education of English and Tamil Languages are at a very low level in rural areas. It is clear that, the importance and the requirements for these two languages in the rural sector remain very low. Most of these people do labour work for on daily wage basis for their means of living. Although the young generation wishes to learn these languages there are no facilities for the same in rural areas as in towns. Parents who possess a fair capability of getting their children educated in tuition classes send them to the nearest town viz. Ratnapura for English education. But there are no facilities whatsoever for Tamil education. In government schools in the area have only a limited number of teachers for Tamil and English. In this area, there is not a single teacher for Tamil while there are only a limited number of teachers for the English Language in few government schools. Most of them are also on voluntary basis and not trained teachers. Therefore, the knowledge of these languages by the population of this area is very little. Income of the Households It appears from Figure 1 that the income of the families in the rural area shows a lower level than that of the urban area when considered about the income levels of the families in the study area. Household income is defined as the income received by all the members of the household from various sources. Obtaining income information from individuals and households is a difficult task. People do not prefer to give complete and real information on income. Therefore to gather more accurate and reliable data, income information declared by the household members were collected in seven separate sections. The mean household income per month in the households of the study area was formulated. Accordingly, the mean monthly income of the households in the study area stands between the ranges of Rs.15,000-25,000 which in comparison with the national level becomes as Rs.26,286, being lesser than the national level. That is, the mean of the above range is Rs.20,000. The Mode or the group earning the maximum income becomes Rs.25,000-50,000. The maximum of this group represents the urban sector. Although the entire mean income is such, when the monthly mean income of the rural and urban sectors taken in to account, it shows a difference. It means, the monthly mean income of the households in the rural and urban areas stands at Rs.10,000-15,000 and 25,000-50,000 respectively. The national mean monthly income in the rural sector is Rs 24,039. When comparing the same with the above, the mean monthly income in the rural area caused for the study remains at a lower level. But, the mean monthly income of the urban area stands at a closer to the mean monthly income of the national level being Rs.41,928 in comparison. Similarly, the most of the urban residents are drawing over an income of Rs.100,000. Although the situation is such in the urban area, most of the population in the rural sector enjoys only a lesser income of between Rs.5,000-10,000. No of families 45 40 35 30 25 20 15 10 5 0 No of families <5000 5000-10000 10000-15000 15000-25000 25000-50000 Monthly income 50000-100000+ 100000 Figure 1 Monthly Income in Different Sectors Figure 1 depicts, 42 or 17% of the households earn over Rs.100, 000 per month. Out of these, 41 or 98% families are urban while only one family or 2% belongs to this category from the rural area. This amount includes the earnings of the head of the household and other members of the family. People who receive over Rs.100, 000 in the urban area viz. 48% are engaged in Professional occupations and Business. People who are operating in these professions receive a higher income. Although, there are many more people belong to the higher income group in the urban area, the survey revealed that most of them did not want to disclose their actual earnings. As a whole, out of the 125 families in the Volume 3, Issue 3, March 2015 Page 4
urban sector there were 74 families who get the income over Rs.50, 000 while there were only 7 families in the rural sector out of the 124 families who gain an income of over Rs.50, 000 (Table 3). Table 3 Family Income in Different Sectors Family Income Sector Total <5000 0 15 15.0% 100.0% 100.0% 5000-10000 1 33 34 2.9% 97.1% 100.0% 10000-15000 8 20 28 28.6% 71.4% 100.0% 15000-25000 16 29 45 35.6% 64.4% 100.0% 25000-50000 26 20 46 56.5% 43.5% 100.0% 50000-100000 33 6 39 84.6% 15.4% 100.0% 100000+ 41 1 42 97.6% 2.4% 100.0% Total 125 124 249 50.2% 49.8% 100.0% On the other hand, there are only 15 families from the entire sample who get less than Rs.5, 000 and they are solely from the rural area. Similarly, 68 families out of the124 in the rural area get less than Rs.15, 000. There are only 9 families in the urban area who receive less than Rs.15, 000 as their income. 97% of the families who earn between Rs.5, 000 and Rs.10, 000 belong to the rural sector. It is quite clear from this situation that there is a serious inequality between the income levels of these two sectors. Several factors contribute to the income level being lesser in the rural sector. They cannot get employment in organized sectors due to the fact that their educational level remains lower relatively to that of urban sector. Therefore they cannot have any hope of a stable income. More than 60% of the population of the rural area caused for the study draw "Samurdhi" benevolent assistance. In addition to the above they attend to the various labour works to earn a meager salary daily. They have to face enormous economic difficulties in their routine as they don't have any regular income. Another point is, that unlike in urban sector there are no employment facilities in the villages. Avenues of income are also very rare. Most of the people engaged in the work connected with gem mining and labour work. The amount they earn is just sufficient to eke out their day to day living. They face difficulties even to spend for their children's education. In most households children drop out from schools and do labour work. They do this just to cover up their daily expenses. Even them, they have to strive much to fight with the price hikes of the consumer goods. It shows that, the development has not a spread evenly throughout the country. Inquiries were made from all the households of the samples about their income and the replies received were different from each other. Accordingly, the opinion of 62% of the responses was that their household income is meanly sufficient for their basic requirements. The same opinion was held by 38% of the urban responses. 74% of the population in the urban area responded that their income is sufficient to cover up all their commitments. But only 26% of the rural population came out with the same response. 51% of the rural community and 49% of the urban community declared that their income is only adequate only for their basic requirements. Apart from the above 80% rural population and 20% urban people mentioned that they are covering up their expenses with difficulty. Expenditure of the Families Although there are so many types of expenditure in an everyday life, it is not possible to account for all those. People cannot precisely account for many expenses that occur. Therefore, specific concentration was made in this study regarding a few basic items of expenditure such as, food, clothing, health requirements etc. Difficulties arose when trying to gather information even about these specific items of expenditure. Mostly it happened within the urban sector. Volume 3, Issue 3, March 2015 Page 5
70 60 50 40 30 20 10 0 No of Families No of families 500-1000- 2000-5000- 10000 2000 5000 7500 7500-10000- 15000-25000+ 10000 15000 25000 Expenditure (Rs.) Figure 2 Expenses for Food in Different Sectors Especially, the most amount of expenditure is incurred for food, by both the sectors as depicts in Figure 2. But the amount involved by the urban sector is much more than that of the rural sector. As an example, the maximum amount spent for food in the rural sector comes under the expenditure group of Rs.2,000-5,000 whereas the same under the urban sector appears as expenditure group of Rs.10,000-15,000. Clothing and health too cost more for the urban sector because there is a tendency of attracting new fashions by them. But there is no such propensity for the rural sector. Although they prefer such things, they do not have means for that. On the other hand, in the urban sector people spend money for private hospitals for their treatments mostly sometimes because of their busy life and also that they have minimal economic difficulties. But the population in the rural sector very rarely seeks treatment from private hospitals. It is due to their lack of money. In the same way, the population in the urban area has to make payments for bills such as water, electricity, telephone and settle installments of bank loans, house rent, fuel etc. Further, 46% of the urban population spend Rs.2,000-5,000 and 8% spend Rs.5,000-10,000 for entertainment. There is not a single person who spends such amount in the rural sector for entertainment. Savings of the Families With the amount of savings out of what people earn, they will be able to minimize their various hardships they face in the future. It will be a great consolation not only for the person concerned but also to the household and entire society. Personnel savings will help investments and it will cause to develop the economy. Table 4 shows the details of the savings of families. The mean household savings per month in the study area was computed. As per the above computation the mean household savings per monthly in the entire sample stands between Rs.2,000-5,000. In respect of the rural and urban sectors, it shows the figures as Rs.2,000-5,000 and Rs.5,000-10,000 respectively. Although, the savings in the urban sector remains at a most higher level of Rs.10,000 or over, most of the residents of the rural area, are with no savings at all. Table 4 Family Savings in Different Sectors Family Savings Sector Total <1000 8 12 20 40.0% 60.0% 100.0% 1000-2000 11 28 39 28.2% 71.8% 100.0% 2000-5000 18 25 43 41.9% 58.1% 100.0% 5000-10000 18 8 26 69.2% 30.8% 100.0% 10000+ 61 2 63 96.3% 3.2% 100.0% No savings 9 49 58 15.5% 84.5% 100.0% Total 125 124 249 50.2% 49.8% 100.0% Volume 3, Issue 3, March 2015 Page 6
According to table 4, sufficient savings or at least to a certain extent can be noticed only from the urban sector. 23% from the entire sample do not save anything whatsoever. 84% of the non-saving group is from the rural sector. The maximum number of people who operates savings accounts comes under Rs.1,000-2,000. 61 families in the urban sector save Rs.10,000. But there are only 2 families from the rural sector who save over Rs.10,000. It is quite clear from this situation that there is a severe inequality between the savings levels of these two sectors. It makes clear that although there is considerable amount of savings as a whole, the same in the rural sector takes place at a very low level. The main reason for the non-operation of savings accounts by the rural sector is due to the difference in the educational level as stated above. 81% of the rural area have educational levels up to G.C.E. (O/L) or lesser. As they cannot secure proper employment with a stable income, they are unable to save anything. As most of the urban population is well educated they can secure employment from organized sector or engage themselves in business activities. Some of them are members of Employees' Provident Fund and Employees' Trust Fund. People who are involved in mass scale business enterprises have permanent and regular avenues of income. Therefore, the urban population can save a considerable amount regularly. In certain households, husband, wife and children are engaged in high ranking jobs. Although there are such families in the rural sector, mostly they do labour work. Most of them have to go far away from homes to find work. On the other hand, the population in Elapatha area has to face constant difficulties because it is a flood prone area and the people are unable to carry on with their normal work. Table 5 illustrates that there is a close relationship between the income and savings. Table 5 Family Savings by Family Income Family Savings (Rupees) Family Income <5000 5000-10000 1000-2000- 5000- No <1000 2000 5000 10000 10000+ savings % % % % % % 5.0%.0%.0%.0%.0% 24.1% 10.0% 10.3% 2.3%.0%.0% 46.6% 10000-15000 45.0% 20.5%.0%.0%.0% 19.0% 15000-25000 25.0% 46.2% 32.6% 7.7%.0% 10.3% 25000-50000 15.0% 17.9% 53.5% 50.0%.0%.0% 50000-100000.0% 5.1% 11.6% 42.3% 33.3%.0% 100000+.0%.0%.0%.0% 66.7%.0% These table shows that the population is higher income levels operate savings accounts with higher amounts and the low income receivers cannot save much. Out of the entire sample 67% save over Rs.10,000 per month who are with an income of over Rs.100,000. Similarly, people who save over Rs.10,000 are receivers of over Rs.50,000. 24% of the population who receive Rs.5,000 do not make any contribution to the savings accounts. Even the people who get more income viz. Rs.5,000-10,000, 47% of them too do not save anything. The reason is that most of them are from the rural sector. However, 42% of the overall sample mentions that their savings improved during the period 2006-2008, 67% of them were from the urban sector. Only 33% of the rural sector stated that their savings were enhanced. It shows that there is a disparity between the income and savings of the two sectors. 26% of the rural community expressed that their savings declined during the past years. Employment by Occupation Category Labour has a dual role in the economic process. It is both an input to production and a source of income. As shown by the table 6, 45% or 448 people over 10 years in the sample of the study area are engaged in some field of employment or in the labor force viz. 254 in the urban sector and 194 in the rural sector. Accordingly, most of the people are employed as laborers. The percentage of the above is 24 and 80% of the same is represented by the rural population. The balance 20% is from the urban sector. This position was conformed at the field survey too. Volume 3, Issue 3, March 2015 Page 7
Table 6 Main Employment of Family Members Sector count % count % count % Main Professional 73 29% 9 5% 82 18% Employm teaching 26 10% 7 4% 33 7% ent clerical 15 6% 9 5% 24 5% agriculture - - 9 5% 9 2% labour 21 8% 85 43% 106 24% Security service 4 2% 5 3% 9 2% self-employment 8 3% 19 10% 27 6% Business 47 19% 12 6% 59 13% others 52 20% 30 15% 82 18% none - - 2 1% 2 0% Retired 8 3% 7 4% 15 3% Total 254 100% 194 100% 448 100% Total 14% 6% 10% 3% 1%4% 5% 4% Professional 5% teaching 43% 5% clarical agriculture labour Security service selfemployment Business others none Retired Figure 3 Main Employments of People in Area 43% of the rural labour force is engaged in labor work in gem mines, sand mining, tea and rubber estate work and other allied services. There were 106 people in the sample population who work as laborers and it was noticed that they were of the lesser educational level. Out of this 106 people, 97 have passed G.C.E (O/L) Examination or lesser level except 9 persons. 6 persons out of the balance 9 have studied up to G.C.E (A/L) Examination and 3 have passed G.C.E (A/L) Examination. These 9 persons are awaiting government jobs, until then they assist in the family labour work. Although this position prevails in the rural area, the situation in the urban area is just the opposite. According to the classification of field of employment in the entire sample, professional posts comes as the second highest. 82 persons or 18% of the sample who are engaged in professional jobs, 89% are from the urban area and 11% belongs to the rural sector. In comparing with the rural sector the higher level of education prevails with the population in the urban sector. Such qualification has helped them to obtain higher ranking jobs. There are people who hold various professional jobs in this field. They are accountants, directors, lecturers, managers, lawyers etc. These categories belong to both the government and private sectors. However, when consider about the educational qualifications of who are in the professional field, it becomes clear that they are of a higher state of intelligence. 61 persons out of these 82, viz. 74% have obtained university degrees or post graduate degrees. There are 13% who have completed the G.C.E (A/L) qualification. It makes clear that when a person achieves higher education he is eligible to enjoy employment of superior state. In addition, apart from their degree or post graduate qualifications most of them have undergone relevant professional training. Under these facilities, the present day young generation has a very high interest in climbing up to the top of the ladder of the educational field. It could be well observed that, there is a sharp increase in the development of education presently, rather than that was in practice in 1963s. Various development programs which were confined to the urban areas are underway to be introduced to the rural areas. Volume 3, Issue 3, March 2015 Page 8
Figure 4 Main Employments of People in Area According to the information in respect of employment, there are 47 persons in the urban sector (19% of the urban labour force) who are engage in the business sector and in the rural sector there are only 12 persons in the same category. The main reason for this position is that there are ample facilities for business activities in the urban area. Among these entrepreneurs there are some large scales, medium and small scale businessmen operating in the urban sector. There is a tendency of the people in the present day society engaging themselves in business matters while some take to business as a part time job with another regular permanent means of living. These alternative sources of income are sought after due to the difficulties in planning their life styles with the high cost of living. There is 18% of the population in the sample who belongs to the category of other jobs. These other jobs include garment trade, driving, technology, nursing, cooking, carpentry, hotel duties, foreign employment, media, masonry, Samurdhi benevolence, field officers, domestic servants etc. 63% of such workers is found in the urban area while 37% of such workers live in the rural area. There are 9 persons in the rural area engaged in agriculture but none of the people in the urban area are engaged in agricultural activities. Job Status and Job Sector When examine the employment situation of both sectors, it was clear that 43% of the rural population is engaged in temporary jobs. It is 12% in the urban sector. Similarly, 88% of the urban population is enjoying permanent jobs; only 57% in the rural community have the facility of permanent and regular employment. The people who are occupied in temporary jobs do not seem to be content with their job satisfaction. They are always in a negative attitude thinking that they may lose their jobs anytime and because of that reason they keep on slacking in their work. When considering about the economic development of the country, caused by the contribution of the labor force, it is important to note that their thoughts and attitudes play a principal role. But it is doubtful whether the population who is engaged in temporary jobs does their utmost towards the economic development of the country. Especially, 3/4 th of the labour force in the rural sector is employed as laborers. Most of them are working as temporary laborers. Among them, there are many persons who have studied up to G.C.E. (O/L) Examination. Therefore, if arrangements could be made to make use of the ability of these persons productively and refer their services towards a positive attention, it will be a great advancement for the economic development of the country. Apart from the above, it can be noticed according to Table 7 that the number of people employed in formal occupations, both in the government and private sector, take a higher value in the urban area than in the rural area. Table 7 Job Sectors of the Employees Sector Total Count % Count % Count % Job Sector government 84 34% 34 18% 118 27% private(formal) 137 55% 75 41% 212 49% private(informal) 26 11% 75 41% 101 23% Total 247 100% 184 100% 431 100% According to the above table, it reveals that in the urban sector 89% are drawing permanent income from their formal employment. With regard to the rural sector, this value is only 59%. Among these, there are people who are working in the formal private sector jobs with high designations and as well as with lower standard occupations. In addition, there Volume 3, Issue 3, March 2015 Page 9
are people who are working as formal business activities with permanent income levels. They work with content in selfsatisfaction. In the urban sector, the entrepreneurs contribute their utmost efficiency towards their business and earn a great deal of income and pay statutory tax to the government revenue. On the overall, it was seen that there is not much of a contribution towards the economic development from the rural sector. 41% of the population in the rural sector is working as laborers in the informal sector. As they do not have permanent jobs, they go from place to place seeking day to day work. During a discussion with them, they stated that if there is somebody to sponsor them for some selfemployment, they are prepared to do it with devotion and confidence. The opinion is that, most of the people in Ratnapura area are occupied in work connected with gem mining; their lives are in serious danger. Table 8 Level of satisfaction of the Job Sector Total Count % Count % Count % Level of Satisfaction of the Job extremely satisfy 118 49% 24 13% 142 34% satisfy 69 29% 61 34% 130 31% average 37 15% 58 32% 95 23% dissatisfy 15 6% 29 16% 44 10% extremely dissatisfy 3 1% 7 4% 10 2% Total 242 100% 179 100% 421 100% According to the above Table, the level of extremely satisfied and extremely dissatisfied of persons expands varyingly. 34% of the entire sample remains as extremely satisfied and out of them 83% were from the urban sector while 17% belonged to the rural sector. Most of the employees have expressed that they are satisfied about their jobs. This was the idea of 29% of the urban sector employees and 34% of the rural sector employees. As per above facts, it is very clear, with regard to every aspect of socio-economic factor, there is a difference between the rural and urban areas. Especially, the rural sector is still at a lower level in respect of economic development. Table 9 Reasons to Job Dissatisfaction Sector Total count % count % count % Reasons to Job Dissatisfaction work load 3 7% 18 35% 21 23% law salary 23 56% 21 41% 44 48% none of promotion and motivation 3 7% 7 14% 10 11% none friendly environment 2 5% 1 2% 3 3% no training 2 5% - - 2 2% others 8 20% 4 8% 12 13% Total 41 1 51 1 92 1 According to Table 9, most of the people are dissatisfied about their jobs because of the low salary they get. Most of them expressed that their salaries are inadequate due to the fact that the cost of living being in a higher level. 56% of the urban population and 41% of the rural population held this idea. There are various side effects for them to be dissatisfied of their job situations such as heavy work load, non-availability of promotions and training programs, lack of friendly surrounding in the work place etc. From these factors, it could be observed that they can lead to an employee's crucial decision whether to be in employment or give it up depending on the satisfaction or dissatisfaction about the job.42% of the sample mentioned that they are prepared to continue in their employment due to the job security in force. 48% of the sample stated that they have no idea of staying in employment because of the low salary they get. When considering these points, it becomes a question as to how far the labor force will contribute to the development of the country, productively. The level of job satisfaction varies from person to person. It is made clear from Table 9. 2.CONCLUSIONS The study reveals that, a vast gap unbalanced expansion could be well observed in the development between the rural and urban sectors in the country. The level of educational is much lower in the rural sector rather than the urban sector. Volume 3, Issue 3, March 2015 Page 10
Although there are 55% of the people in the urban sector who have completed G.C.E (O/L) or less than O/L except the number of no schooling, against the figure of 76% in the rural sector. Although there are 49% of the families in the urban area who use computer, there are only 3% of the families in the rural area using computer. As there is a considerable difference in the educational level of rural and urban sectors, it is obvious that the economic development between the village and the town has not expanded comparatively. The income levels of the rural households remains at a very low level. The income generated by most of the people (98%) in urban sector is over Rs.100, 000. But in the rural sector mostly (97%) they receive less than Rs.10, 000 as their income. Nearly half of the rural population works as laborers while majority of urban sector employees engage in professional jobs. While considering the monthly expenditure on the households, it is evident that the urban sector bears a higher expenditure on all aspects of expenses. Although both the sectors spend the maximum amount out of their income for consumer food, the amount of the families in the rural sector spend a very low figure relatively to that of the urban sector. The reason for this position is that they do not get a sufficient income to eke out their living. Under such circumstances, it is clearly seen that the personnel in the rural sector do not gain at least the required amount of calories for a day. Apart from that, there is a problematic situation in maintaining their personal physical and mental health. With regard to the savings of families in the rural sector, it was noticed that it lies at a very low proportion. There are about 85% of the families in the rural sector who have not taken to saving whatsoever. 72% families of the rural sector save only between Rs.1,000 2,000. But the savings in the urban sector remains at a higher level. 96% of them save more than Rs.10, 000 per month and there are only 16% of the urban families who do not contribute to savings. The reason for this situation is that they do not get a sufficient income. As a whole, the health situation of the people in both sectors was in a satisfactory level. But the majority of the people are suffering from a few diseases. Among them heart diseases, high blood pressure, rheumatism, diabetes etc. are in the front and it was noted that such ailments were plentiful in the urban areas. As the rural sector personnel get engaged in work related to physical strain, there can be seen a decline of vulnerability of such diseases. 71% of them seek medical treatment from the government hospitals. But it was held that they face many problems in the process, such as waiting in queues, purchasing medicine outside and so on. The job satisfaction of the employees depend on the conditions such as job security, attractive salaries, recognition by the society, friendly environment etc. Out of the entire population, 5% seemed to be satisfied about their jobs due to the fact that they enjoy more comfort, facilities and benefits from their employment. Dissatisfaction about the job is the result of having excessive work, less salaries, lack of training programs, promotions and motivations etc. REFERENCES [1] Das D and Pathak M (2012), The Growing Disparity in India: Some Issues International Journal of Advancements in Research & Technology, Volume 1, Issue 5, [2] Department of Census and Statistics (2013), Houshold Income and Expenditure Survey 2012/2013, Preliminary Results of First Three Monthly Rounds, Department of Census and Statistics, Colombo, Sri Lanka. [3] De Silva W.I (2004), Population Studies: With Reference to Sri Lanka, Deepani Publishers Pvt. Ltd., Nugegoda, Colombo. [4] Dunham D and Kelegama S (2005), "Stabilization and Adjustment: A Second Look at the Sri Lankan Experience 1977-93" Sri Lankan Economy: An Introduction, Edited by N.V.Chowdary, the ICFAI University Press, Hyderabad, India. [5] Lakshman W.D (1997), Dilemmas of Development: Fifty Years of Economic Changes in Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Association of economists, Colombo. [6] Somayajulu U.V, Abeyasuriya A and Mukherji T (2005), Population and Development in Sri Lanka: Some Emerging Issues, Paper Presented at the XXV IUSSP International Population Conference, Tours, France, Population and Development is Island Countries, States and Territories, pp. 2-34. [7] Sri Lanka Human Development Report, 2012 [8] Uduporuwa R.J.M (2007), Regional Dimensions of Development of Sri Lanka, Sabaragamuwa University Journal, Vol.7, No. 1, Department of Social Sciences, Sabaragamuwa University of Sri Lanka. [9] Wickramasinghe W (2010), Development Measures: Indicators and Indices for Sri Lanka, Sri Lanka Journal of Agrarian Studies, Vol. 14, No. 1& 2 Volume 3, Issue 3, March 2015 Page 11
AUTHOR H.R. Anulawathie Menike obtained her B.A and M.A degrees in Economics from University of Kelaniya and University of Sri Jayawardenepura respectively in Sri Lanka. She completed her PhD in Economics in 2011 at the University of Pune, India. Currently she is working as a senior lecturer in the Department of Economics, University of Kelaniya, Sri Lanka. Volume 3, Issue 3, March 2015 Page 12