Decay of State university system

The alarming rot in the island’s State university system came into light with the revelation of the details regarding the clash between two batches at the Faculty of Agriculture of the University of Ruhuna last week. Quite amusingly, the two groups had physically fought with each other due to a disagreement over the score of a cricket match they had played. Following the quarrel, a group of undergraduates were arrested and were remanded until 28 October.

It is quite strange that educated and learned people like university students could get into physical confrontations on pretty trivial matters like a score of a cricket match, which was perhaps played for enjoyment, and such developments represent worrying signs for the country’s future apart from highlighting the degeneration of the country’s youth. Universities worldwide are associated with enriched academic and intellectual discourses while also functioning as centres of research and knowledge creation. The institutions of higher education also foster critical thinking, debate, and the development of new ideas among diverse students.

Unfortunately, the State university system in Sri Lanka has been experiencing a systematic decline over the last few decades with the exception of a few universities like Colombo, Moratuwa, and Sri Jayewardenepura, that have been capable of avoiding the descent and accomplish noteworthy progress. Universities located in areas beyond Western Province regularly dominate the news for student unrest, indefinite closures and last but certainly not least inhumane ragging of newcomers.

Sri Lanka, despite being a developing economy, maintains the generous system of offering education up to the university-level from taxpayers’ funds – a privilege which is not enjoyed even by citizens of South Korea, one of the most advanced economies in the world. Free education, from kindergarten to university-level, is considered as a cherished post-independent legacy of the Sri Lankan State. However, the truth of the matter is free university education, although viewed as egalitarian and promoting upward social mobility, benefits the privileged upper middle class more than anyone else. 

Even financial assistance schemes designed to aid underprivileged students like Mahapola are grossly misused by students who come from well-to-do families by providing understated income declarations that are validated as genuine by Grama Niladhari officers as they receive bribes from the parents of those students.

The pathetic state of public finances has also contributed towards the deterioration of public universities. With a substantial portion of the total Government revenue getting deployed for salaries, interest payments, and current transfers, the Government is left with little or no money at all to make meaningful improvements to the university system. Hostel facilities in many universities remain in a sad state of affairs while food offered by canteens of most of the faculties remain substandard. 

Decades ago, there were only a few public universities, and only a handful of individuals were able to become graduates. On the contrary, today there are 19 State universities with 490,000 students who hail mostly from the middle class and social segments even below that. In the good old days, undergraduates came from rather affluent social backgrounds with the capacity to converse in English language confidently. It is difficult to comprehend why some of the undergraduates get into confrontations and conflicts with their fellow students quite unnecessarily without prioritising their academic commitments. Moreover, why some students who gain admission into universities upon passing a highly competitive examination indulge in physical harm of their colleagues through inhumane ragging is simply mind boggling. 

Given the serious shortcomings and lack of physical resources within the university system, caution and restraint need to be exercised in terms of further expansion of the island’s university system. Before establishing new universities, priority should be given towards resolving the existing deficiencies of State campuses. The academic community of the country need to undergo a serious evaluation and introspection to drastically improve the standard of Sri Lanka’s State university system.