Free education has been a corner stone of our academic tradition since the late Hon. Dr. C.W.W. Kannangara initiated the scheme in 1942. That tradition has since produced innumerable professionals, scientists, industrialists, artists and academics, who have all contributed to the rich fabric of the Sri Lankan intellectual spirit. It is notable that if not for the heritage of the free education system, tertiary education would have been out of reach for most of these individuals. Thus it is no surprise that Sri Lanka, even though still a developing nation, is home to a disproportionate amount of highly educated people. However, now this fine tradition is under siege.
For any nation its universities are of great value. They are the centers of learning and knowledge. They are the place where what is not known is discovered and what is known is passed along to the next generation. However in this country the university system has been stagnant, with little progress, for a considerable duration of time. The causes for this predicament are many, but primarily it has been the lack of both funding and interest from successive regimes.
According to one method of university ranking the highest ranked academic institution in Sri Lanka is ranked at 2288th (University of Colombo). This is appalling for a country that produces so many first-rate academics. We are ranked so low not because our lecturers are bad at teaching, not because our students are bad at learning and certainly not because of any lack of interest or effort from the academic community. It is again primarily the lack of funding that hinders us.
Because we lack the proper infrastructure and other facilities, which are necessary for the functioning of a modern university, we lack the capability to produce citable research. Even with great enthusiasm from both students and academics nothing of great importance can be achieved without the rudimentary technological provisions. For this very same reason some of the things taught in our universities are extremely dated and are not applicable in the international level. Thus unsurprisingly the academic output of our universities is considerably lower than the academic output of a higher ranked university with other comparable parameters.
Even though Sri Lankan universities produces a large number of first and second-upper class degree holders each year, only a handful of these individuals will even consider a career in Sri Lankan academia. Most will opt to join industry or leave the country altogether. This happens not because these people are unpatriotic. The cause for this trend is simply the deficiency of well paying and satisfying positions in universities. Even the few talented individuals who choose to stay and work for the student population are not compensated adequately for their effort and qualifications.
If this trend continues the value of our education will surely plummet to new lows. Even as we debate emerging nations such as Bangladesh are overtaking us in academic quality. This would be a disgraceful doom for a nation which has prided itself in the quality of its education.
Free education is one of the redeeming qualities of our nations. However if we are to save that tradition remedial action must be swift and efficient. The necessary remedy is clear and well defined. The university system needs an overhaul as fast as possible. This must be a mega-project more important to the future of this nation than building roads, harbors or air ports.
Im a student of the Arts faculty at USJP. What i beleive is that to increase the quality of university education large amounts of funds should be allocated.
ReplyDeleteSo how are you going to raise these funds? Should the Government be the sole financier to develop the universities?
I think not. Gov alone cannot do this. Private entities and the alumni should be firm stakeholders of the development of the university.The necessary environment for corporation between these entities should be provided by the university administrative authorities.
Universities in US get BILLIONS of dollars as financial endowments from the alumni and private corporations. They create infrastructure and raise academic quality and also pay high amounts of salaries to Professors through these funds.
In contrast in SL Universities there is no endowments what so ever and the main and only financier is government which makes a huge burden on the budget.
Blaming the Government and politics is old school we need to think alternative ways to make things better.
The students of universities have an obligation to donate money or property to uplift academic quality of education after they leave their respective universities. This culture should be embraced whole heatedly for the benefit of the future generation of uni students.