IT a superhighway to develop the economy

by Jaliya A. Wickramasekara

According to our 2007 Budget, total exports this year is expected to reach US$ 6.90 billion whereas India is earning 58% of the same through only from one industry (IT). Now we can understand the potential of this industry at least to earn several billions of US$.

For IT industry mainly we need 'learnt human resources'......

In fact every year we are not utilizing more than 100,000 students, who have passed the A/L exam and graduates. Especially in late 1970s our economy was almost depended on export of tea, rubber and coconut.

Gradually this scenario was transformed predominantly towards the garment industry and foreign employment as a consequence of the open economic policy. From early 80's our main income source became the value of the sweat of the people who have generated foreign currency being in Middle-East countries while ability to work hard with numerous difficulties with low profile of education among majority of them.

Employment

Paradoxically another set of people was staying without having jobs at all or doing jobs but not on par with their real area of skills and or educational background. Out of them, some have studied up to the University level with great amount of hopes and spending money of the country under free educational system.

According to this years' statistics 119,775 students qualified for university admission based on the A/L examination results. However, the UGC can accommodate only 17,630 students according to their capacity in the National University network. In other word more than 100,000 students have to look after themselves within the available resources available in the country.

Likewise every year massive amount of talented young blood is accumulating in the job market and subsequently majority of the human resource is wasting without utilizing for the development of the country though it is the most valuable resource that we have. On the other hand we are not utilizing 72,144 out of 81,885 students who have passed one or two subjects in the A/L examination as well.

Identifying physical and human resources and using them to accomplish the goals is one of the key tasks for development of any organisation and the country.

When it comes to the private sector most of the companies are having a division called Human Resource Management and Development to carryout this vital task in a broader and scientific way to reap the exact expected goals.

We are able to earn this resource because of the free education system introduced by the late Dr. C.W.W. Kannagara and the certain changes done by late Prime Minister S.W.R.D. Bandaranayake in mid fifties.

Since then the opportunity to obtain the education for all layers in the society through free education and the `Madaya Maha Vidyala' concept has brought fruitful results in late sixties where educated people passed out from the schools and the universities, which was lacking in the past.

However, the previous governments were not able to lay a system to cater and utilize them properly for the exact development of the country, which led to a revolution in the year 1971. (led by young educated people).

Recruitment

About sixty years ago we had a very few educated people in the country and even we had to recruit graduate teachers from Tamil Nadu to provide the education. So it is self-explanatory to understand the shortage of other professionals such as Doctors, Engineers...etc who are necessarily required for the development of the country.

Because of these lapses there was a great respect for very few number of University graduates and even the villagers erected Pandols and received them with great enthusiasm when they came to their villages after obtaining degrees.

Those days BA graduates were able to join the civil service as civil servants but nowadays majority of them are not having even a proper job. If we consider the current context all categories of graduates (BA, BSc - Physical, Bio, Agriculture ..etc) who are interested in the government sector are in a battle to get jobs in the Administrative Service ..etc. Because of this situation most of the BA degree holders are frustrated and especially the BA undergraduates are studying without a hope, which led to create problems in certain instances in the Universities as well.

Even some of the BSc Agriculture degree holders are following CIMA as an additional qualification to obtain better opportunities in the financial sector since they are not happy about the opportunities exit for them in the country.

As a reality they should get the highest paid jobs in the country since 70% of the country is based on Agriculture.

If any one wants to follow CIMA one doesn't need a first degree and pass in O/L with credit passes for English and Mathematics is sufficient. As a fact the CIMA is considered as world recognized and as a very prospective avenue to obtain a lucrative job for any student.

When we consider these unpleasant but the real facts it is very clear we are still struggling to get more productivity from the educated people as well as the A/L and O/L qualified people for the development of the country by opening proper avenues considering their talents and knowledge gained through the areas of studies that they followed.

Towards the IT horizon

Even though our literacy rate in the Asian region came down compared to early seventies our standards are still high (more than 90%) to improve the economy if the governors of the country are ready to do so.

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