Development planning

SRI LANKA has a rare window of opportunity to transition itself into the much discussed knowledge economy but faces a slew of challenges that have to be supported by strong policymaking and long-term political commitment. 

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) aims to strengthen its support for Sri Lanka’s human capital development to help the island nation become a competitive economy during the next five years. The monetary organisation will more than triple the lending for education to US $1 billion, likely to be handed out in tranches until 2020.

This is in line with the Government’s priority for human capital development to ensure equity of the social market economy vision, and the plan to gradually increase education expenditure to 6% of gross domestic product, the ADB said in an update on its Country Partnership Strategy.

Lending for education will include US $ 300 million for skills development, US $ 300 million for higher education and US $ 400 million for secondary education. During 2012-2015, support for the overall education sector totalled US $ 300 million from the ADB but budgetary funding from the Government saw minimal increase. 

Despite the end of the war, Sri Lanka saw insignificant increases in public spending on health and education, so much so that it lagged behind in the region and frequently caused strikes in the higher education sector. 

The stock of qualified skilled workers in the country is limited. Many workers who carry out the work of skilled workers are not formally qualified for the jobs that they perform. A recent Institute of Policy Studies (IPS) survey showed that only 15% of individuals working in specialised science and technology field jobs had a degree. 

Increasing productivity is difficult because Sri Lanka has an aging population that needs midcareer training but that was rarely encouraged as emphasis on training was kept on young people just entering the workforce. 

Public sector workers are also sidelined from increasing skills and resolving this will take sustained policy measures. Only 17% of youth in the 20-24 age group are participating in education. This proportion drops to less than 3% for 25-34-year-olds and to less than 1% for 35-44-year-olds. 

Few students make it past the Advanced Level qualified in science and technology and on to university. The bottleneck created by an outdated, under-resourced and restricted university system discourages students or funnels them into narrow learning fields. 

Even when they are qualified, Sri Lanka struggles to retain its talent. Poor salaries for skilled workers and a lack of challenging job opportunities are the main push factors for the emigration of skilled workers. Many aspiring parents also opt to live abroad to give better access to good quality schools and universities for their children. 

The best way to move Sri Lanka closer to a knowledge economy is to invest heavily in education. For this the Government has to put in place national policies that will transcend politics and ensure quality education rather than quantity. 

It is high time Sri Lanka stops parroting its literacy rate as evidence of sustainable development and moves towards tackling the next step of forming a knowledge economy on a long-term plan to genuinely reap the benefits of lending by development partners.