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| Sunday, 2 June 2002 |
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Graduate unemployment - Some remedial measures by Professor Ranjit Ruberu The writer is Emeritus Professor of Education, University of Colombo The 'hunger strike' campaign launched by the Combined Association of Unemployed Graduates recently should be an eye-opener to planners of higher education and politicians whose myopic policies and actions are in a way responsible for this national calamity. This is only the tip of the iceberg. Although the 'Satyagraha' had been organised by unemployed graduates numbering some 30,000 there is also a formidable number of educated unemployed youths who have passed the GCE Advanced Level Examination. Many of them are supposed to have been qualified for university admission but not selected due to the lack of university places to take in all of them. With this category also taken into consideration, the number of educated but unemployed youth could be even 50,000 or more. According to National Education Commission, university admissions for 2002 could be 15,000 or more. Unless some attempt is made to divert Advanced Level students to other avenues of higher education, a further increase in the number of unemployed youth will be inevitable. One important priority for higher education should be the provision of alternative fields of higher education that could be attractive to the majority of Advanced Level students who otherwise will attempt to enter the traditional universities and get disillusioned at the end of it. Most unemployed graduates are from economically impoverished and sometimes even socially handicapped families. There are parents who have mortgaged or even sold property they possessed or sometimes fallen into debt hoping that their graduate children will one day redeem the family fortunes. Because of the difficulty in funding employment commensurate with their qualifications, many of the unemployed graduates seek employment not in keeping with the dignity of a university degrees. Hundreds of graduates are forced to do odd jobs that do not match their qualifications and a significant number of degree holders are employed in hotels and restaurants as stewards for salaries as low as Rs. 75 a day. The situation is so insecure that many graduates are "compelled even to do janitorial work in offices, hospitals and other public institutions." Factory work has attracted many of them very often for a monthly wage of Rs. 2500 or Rs. 3000. There is evidence to show that nearly 70 percent or more unemployed graduates are those who followed soft option subjects in the university generally described as Arts. This does not mean that all other non-arts graduates are employed. Many of them are under-employed, not being able to find jobs that suit their academic achievements. What is most lamentable is that university graduates of Sri Lanka are not average students who could get university admission at their will and pleasure or with the advantage of having money or privilege. Those who enter Lankan universities are the most intelligent of the school leavers, generally considered to be the "cream of those who sit for the Advanced Level Examination. It is such intelligent youth in the country who get betrayed and frustrated as a result of an inappropriate and irrelevant university education. Seemingly there is some attempt made to put the blame on the university graduates themselves for not being able to find employment. This is only an attempt to defend as correct a university education policy that has not been planned to suit the country's needs and the aspirations of the intelligent youth who have gained admission to universities. Social implications of large scale educated unemployment has to be taken into account by those responsible for planning education policies. A universally accepted educational objective is social development and a national education system failing to promote the advancement of society becomes ill founded and unproductive graduate unemployment although it becomes evident only after several years of school education is an indication of an ailing school system. "Graduate unemployment in Sri Lanka is undeniably a national problem. It is not an issue for political debate and controversy but a genuine crisis that needs remedial treatment sooner or later. What is needed today and immediately is a well-planned strategy; firstly to ensure the employment and well-being of the 30,000 or more unemployed graduates and secondly to take effective measures to prevent the recurrence of this problem. The possible causes that created the problem have to be detected and remedial measures taken. Without such action, graduate unemployment could one day lead to a national disaster. The situation could be attributed to several lapses in the university education system. The lack of an appropriate university education policy for a developing country ranks high. There is no evidence of a defined and declared university education policy. The university system in Sri Lanka even after decades of independence continued to follow the former British pattern until very recent times. Only now there is some element of deviation from such traditional policy. Other than attempts made by some governments to control university autonomy and academic freedom, no radical reforms were ever introduced to the system. This is a significant lapse that should be corrected soon if the university system is to revive. It appears that the school system is also in a way responsible for this situation. In the absence of adequate opportunities for Advanced Level students to pursue non-arts subjects in the majority of the country's schools, even bright and promising students are compelled to select soft option subjects and continue to follow such subjects for degree courses in the university. The lack of such opportunity in schools has contributed to the bloating of the arts stream in the universities. The situation still continues. The private sector expectations from employees are declared to be "well trained and disciplined minds, mental endurance and physical fitness and charmistic leadership that includes team spirit and the ability to communicate fluently particularly in English." These attributes are not much evident in many of the present day university graduates. This is a limitation for private sector employment of university graduates to a great extent. Associated with the haphazard increase of universities in the recent past university curricula have to a great extent remained unchanged. There is no evidence of an overall curricula reform in the university system, a task university planners and policy makers should have attempted many years ago. A conspicuous omission in the university curricula is the lack of adequate recognition given to the teaching of English as a supplementary language used for university teaching. Private sector employers have very often maintained that graduates passing out from the universities. "Cannot communicate in English " and "they are loners" being an isolated lot of private sector employers even consider that school leavers with Advanced Level qualifications, good in English and sports do better than degree holders." Until appropriate action is taken to remedy this situation and give undergraduates an opportunity to use English as a complementary second language during their university education, university graduates are liable to continue to be rejected from the employment market. Currently this position has made graduates to learn English and develop a competency in English after passing the degree examination. This however is a costly and time-consuming endeavour. If English is made a compulsory second language in the university and taught effectively, it could benefit the undergraduates. |
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