Heightening Higher Education

A DATE has been given, albeit tentatively, for the establishment of Sri Lanka’s first full-fledged private university approved by the government in April. With the New Year, ministry officials are busy putting final touches to the new Higher Education Act to be presented in parliament, but the road is going to be anything but uneventful with more student clashes reported.

At least 15 students were injured in a clash at the Moratuwa University yesterday, the latest in a string of protests against the inclusion of private universities into the country. As the date for the presentation of the Act gets closer it is prudent to expect these clashes to increase, dealing with the fallout so as not to leave permanent scars on the populace of this country needs to be an issue that should be seriously addressed.

People are divided over the question of private universities. On the one hand it is welcome because it gives opportunities to a larger number of students. On the other hand many are worried that it will deprive the less-privileged children from entering these universities. The contentions are many and each faction is convinced of their rights. The Higher Education Ministry is restructuring itself to accommodate the changes in the Act with new bodies being set up to evaluate private universities and combine them with the best local universities so that they grow together. Several Lankan universities have also been earmarked to be developed into providing speciality degrees and marketing them to the rest of the world.

Discussions are ongoing to obtain exchange programmes with neighbouring countries such as India so that technology and expertise transfers happen with least cost. Upgrading the local university lecturers and teaching facilities will also be a challenge to the authorities needing strong attention with fast implementation to reach international standards.

Officials continue to insist that the government would not abolish free education in Sri Lanka and is committed to creating a knowledge hub in the country. The concept is to maintain free education while opening up universities to private investment. At the moment they are not regulating fees and the Ministry will work together with the Board of Investment (BOI) to evaluate the proposals beforehand.

The plan is to initially allow 5% of foreign students into public universities with hopes to double the quota within a couple of years. Six universities have been earmarked to be developed into international institutions including Colombo, Jayawardenepura, Peradeniya, Kelaniya, Ruhuna and Moratuwa. Jaffna, Rajarata and Eastern Universities will be upgraded in the second phase of the programme.

Initially only 10-15 universities will be admitted, but a significant loophole is the fact that the Minister has the final word in approving a foreign university. This leaves room for corruption and negligence of due processes; even if they exist they would be undermined by arbitrary decisions.  

Under the new Act the Higher Education Ministry will be broken into three sectors, namely State, Professional and Non-State. The State section will overlook the current public universities and the non-State will include the private universities that will offer both standard and technical education while the professional component will grade Charted Accountants, CIM, CIMA and other profession related qualifications.

As the stakes grow, authorities must work harder to engage with all stakeholders and ensure that a broad platform is built for mutual co-existence. A standoff would only push the issue into a division and that is what all parties must strive to avoid.