Record twenty-one thousand graduands to move in this year:

Exodus of academics, a cause for concern

By L.S. Ananda WEDAARACHCHI

Prof. A.V. Suraweera ......

Prof. Gamini Samaranayaka

Fifteen State Universities including the Open University conduct degree programs in arts, science and management streams at present. The total number of university students following internal degree programs is around eighty thousand. The University Grants Commission (UGC) announced last Monday that a batch of twenty one thousand students would be admitted to the universities during the next academic year which commences next October. Last year only 20,270 students were admitted to State Universities.

Academics, University students, parents, politicians and the professionals who are keen on university education were very critical of the present higher education system in the country.

State Universities absorb only twenty one thousand out of 150,000 university entrance qualified students. The unsuccessful students have to seek assistance of other local higher education centres or foreign universities to pursue their higher studies.

It is a well-known fact that clashes between student groups often lead to the closure of universities in Sri Lanka. At present Kelaniya and Moratuwa universities remain closed due to student clashes. The National Education Commission (NEC) which makes recommendation on developing higher education in Sri Lanka was engaged in an exclusive study on the present higher education system during the last few years.

Peradeniya University

University Students’ picket

Prof. Weeramunda, former Associate Professor of Sociology, Colombo University researched on Sri Lanka's university education system stated in his research paper that student violence and indiscipline is the product of a complex of external and internal factors that are closely interwoven. It includes macro level educational policies including criteria used for student admissions change in the social and economic character of students and mismatch between student intake and facilities available for them. The combined effect of these factors made room for organising protest campaigns and "indoctrination" in left political ideologies, he said.

The reactive methods of responding to violence and indiscipline by the university administration including limitations in the security arrangements and physical layout of university have contributed in no small measure to student indiscipline and other radical forms of protests.

Prof. Weeramunda said that there was an escalation in the intensity and type of violence and indiscipline starting with simple protest that gradually developed into grave types of crime including killing and abduction of university staff.

He said that there should be room within the university setup for healthy dialogue rather than politics based on intolerance and thuggery.

Referring to the present university education NEC Chairman Prof. A.V. Suraweera said that the standard of university education has come down drastically during the last few years.

One of the reasons for the unrest and indiscipline by university students is the deterioration of the current university education, he said.

Prof. Suraweera, Chancellor of Rajarata University and an academic attached to the University for the last four decades said that the students who entered universities a few decades ago were greatly impressed by the then university environment including lectures of high calibre and their lecturers. Unfortunately that environment has gradually changed. Meanwhile some political organisations make use of this situation to propagate their ideologies, he said.

The present higher education system has to be reviewed he said.

The University Grants Commission (UGC) Chairman Prof. Gamini Samaranayaka said that a joint effort is being made by the UGC university academics such as Vice Chancellors, Deans and Faculty Members to improve the quality of degree programs. It is an ongoing process. Quality assurance and planning committees of the universities took steps to improve the degree programmes and introduce new programs. New sections and new degree programs were being introduced taking into consideration the needs of the society and the development of the subjects, he said.

Citing Peradeniya University he said, it introduced a new section to the Physics Department namely Nano science, Advanced Nano Science and Nuclear Magnetic Resource Sections 2009-2010 academic year. Polymer Physics and Compensational Physics were also introduced in 2009, he said. This year the majority of the students have been selected for science, engineering and medical degree programs. More than eighty new degree programs were being introduced, he said.

A major effort is being made to develop the university education in the North and East which suffered severely at the hands of the LTTE terrorists. Some of the renowned academics left the country as a result of the terror unleased by the LTTE. Under the "Uthuru Wasanthaya" program Jaffna and Vavuniya campuses were being rebuilt, he said.