The year 2011 is special for chemists because it has been declared the International Year of Chemistry (IYC)?011 by the United Nations Organization. The attention grabbing slogan “Chemistry—Our  life,  Our  Future”  pithily   expresses   the

importance of chemistry in our life and the crucial role it has to play in the future. If Chemistry is central to our life, it goes without saying that chemists and the educational institutions and curricula that produce chemists are important.

For some years now in Sri Lanka, those involved in the field of education have been wringing their hands and helplessly repeating that there are employers looking out for workers and that there are unemployed people looking for jobs but never the twain meet with mutual benefit and satisfaction. Are our educational institutions producing unemployable products?