Universal higher education

Plush private universities are becoming the new norm in Sri Lanka, which is positive for students on many levels, but it is also creating a rift between students of public universities who are seeing their aspirational social mobility slipping away from them as the possibility of employers preferring private university graduates deepens.      

Only about 17% of students who qualify for university entrance actually gain admission to a State university in Sri Lanka, leaving hundreds of thousands of intelligent students behind. State universities’ inability to absorb all deserving students has resulted in an inequitable situation where students are forced to either re-sit the Advanced Level examination or seek alternate means of tertiary education, or find employment via some form of vocational training. 

Successive Sri Lankan Governments have attempted to find a balance between public and private universities but have found little success. Analysts have pointed out that this is perhaps because piecemeal fixing of the higher education system is pointless unless the entire system is revamped. Given limited resources this would be a unrealistic expectation but it would be possible to reform the present system at key points such as providing career counselling to students after their Ordinary Levels so there is a clearer demarcation of university and vocational training aspirations with the latter given the same recognition. 

Another point is that organisations such as the Federation of University Teachers Associations (FUTA) should also work to increase the transparency of their faculties and departments, ensure education professionals meet standards and provide better oversight of external degree programs that are often given step-motherly treatment even though they bring in much-needed funding.       

Providing higher education is big business and investors stand to make tens of millions. However, what is disturbing is that while the Government could be enthusiastic about accepting FDI from foreign universities, they are paying scant attention to regulating these same institutions and making sure that they maintain international standards. 

There is also little attention to making these new universities inclusive so that it does not become a situation where poor children are relegated to badly-funded public universities while richer kids end up at private institutions purely because their parents have more money. Sri Lanka has plenty of highly intelligent children from poor backgrounds but what is their fate if all education becomes monetised?  

A few years ago the Higher Education Minister rolled out an ambitious plan to upgrade local universities and assist them to specialise in one field, thereby being able to climb international rankings and attract foreign students and gain recognition for their graduates. 

Yet this ideal is yet to get off the ground in any meaningful sense, putting the vision of universal higher education at risk. How much opportunity does the Government give to talented children from poor backgrounds? Conversely how does it ensure that parents’ hard-earned money is not frittered away on inflated degree prices?

The transparency of this investment needs to be questioned because the wholesale closing of degree institutions cannot be done. Without an independent regulatory system and transparent investment mechanism, higher education in Sri Lanka will be sold to the highest bidder. 

Parents, fatigued by political wrangling and non-existent policies, will be happy to purchase their children the chance for a better life. Hopefully the Government can find a way to negotiate a better return for everyone keeping in focus the capacity to achieve social mobility as the ultimate indicator of the success of a university education.