Thursday, 20 March 2014 00:00
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University teachers have already warned of fresh strike action and perhaps as a precursor Police on Wednesday tear gassed a student protest mark from Kelaniya University. As expected, the students were demanding less interference, greater policy engagement and larger allocations of funds.
True to form, old problems are raising their heads again after the Government failed to substantially increase Budget allocations for universities and pushed ahead with introducing private universities, often without the consent of stakeholders. This repeated oversight of problems within Sri Lanka’s education system is not just causing traffic jams; it’s threatening to derail the entire economy.
Sri Lanka already produces the world’s oldest graduates. When youth in most other countries are busy entering the job market in their early twenties, local students – through no fault of their own – are still just starting their degree programs. By the time most foreign people are done with their Masters, Sri Lankan students are still trying to complete their Bachelors. So long does this cumbersome process take that most students marry and even have children why they are attending university.
Into this inefficient and fund-starved system the Government is planning to unleash private universities. A British university is readying to open its doors in 2014, heralding the first in-country foreign university in Sri Lanka. In fact the Government is planning to use the higher education system to galvanise lacklustre post-war Foreign Direct Investment, with Cabinet Minister for Investment Promotion Lakshman Yapa Abeywardana rolling out ambitious plans for the sector.
With the Government keen to promote private universities but avoid troublesome standoffs with student unions, it is likely that it will rush through with crucial legislation that would empower the public higher education system and regularise their private counterparts. Lack of transparent discussions and growing concerns over corruption will also make stakeholders insecure about the direction of the country’s higher education sector. The recent rolling up of a commission headed by Higher Education Minister’s son to provide accreditation to private degree awarding institutions is a case in point. It took enforcement of standards little into consideration and caused much consternation, especially among the medical fraternity.
Students, tired of being caught between a rock and a hard place, would probably welcome the option of getting an accredited degree at home. But without proper monitoring and standardisation, the hard-earned money of their parents could be wasted.
On a larger level, Sri Lanka needs technology and knowledge transfer to foster economic growth. On the surface that seems like an argument for private universities, but knowledge needs to be matched with intelligent minds, at present the best crop is funnelled to public universities. The fear that State universities will become the destination for poor students while their richer colleagues opt for private universities should not be allowed to become reality. The ideal of universal higher education opportunities must be upheld.
In such a morass of challenges, it is imperative that the university system is guided on the ideals of fairness and equality, but past experiences do not bode well for the future. The Government continues to dole out small allocations for the education sector and has basically laid the foundation for yet another standoff with university teachers and students that bodes ill for everyone.
