Universities need a change

by Harshani A. Pinnawala

Giving attention to the higher education system in Sri Lanka, I feel that there should be a drastic change in all the spheres in terms of subjects taught, techniques/methods used in teaching, produce of inappropriate tutorials, recruiting qualified staff, protecting students' rights etc.

First and foremost, the introduction of new subjects to the universities is a timely need, instead of making the students follow outdated subjects. Most of the universities provide facilities for similar subjects yet, sometimes do not have qualified staff who can guide the students. Even the available academic staff is not properly qualified due to the lack of subject knowledge and proficiency of language. The necessity of providing practical knowledge instead of only theory is also important since when it comes to career life, having only theoretical knowledge is not adequate. As an example, knowing the different types of performance appraisal is not sufficient instead of learning which type to be used, how to design and evaluate.

Outdated

Furthermore, it is needed to highlight that the materials used during the sessions are too outdated since the lecturers keep on using the same old material that they used during their graduation and post-graduation. This has become a serious matter in conducting research as a fulfillment of Master's and Doctoral degrees since most of the material received by the lecturers are similar to one another and the only differences that can be seen are the name of the subject (topics) and the lecturer. Besides, due to utilising improper material and boring sessions, the students have to sit impassively listening and watching the scenes of devastation and jokes since the actual knowledge is far away from them and the contents of the tutorials are not quite adequate and real.

Harassment

Serious attention should be paid to violation of students' right. This can appear in various ways such as bullying, humiliation, discrimination and sexual harassment and Sri Lankan universities have become a platform for promoting such behaviour. One might try to justify stating that getting harassed by the academic staff is usual since they too have gone through the same suffering during their university life and seeing the same old procedure happening to the young students in turn may provide them a feeling of satisfaction.

There is no doubt that even a single student's dream is to expose sexual harassment from the academic staff when they apply for their degrees yet, unfortunately many students' experience at the university premises go unreported. The helpless student have become targets for the sex driven lecturers and this can be clearly visible from the selection procedure itself to the particular courses. As a compensation, scholarships for foreign universities as students or and lecturers and promotions in their current positions in the universities (if the victim is a lecturer in a university) will be provided to the students who are exposed to such harassment.

Derogatory

Unnecessary humiliation and bullying can be seen in every Department where most of the students have become victims of the academic staff. During the sessions, the students have to master their level of patience by listening to the derogatory stories about the careers of the other students, personal problems of other staff members and the students. Yet, they find it difficult to gain information on the subject matter instead of the outdated material which they receive from the university. A student who is a fresher and who doesn't have any knowledge of Sri Lankan universities will become a lost puppy and the issue will become worse for a student who has done his/her graduation in a foreign university.

Psychological impact

Getting exposed to the bullying, humiliation, discrimination and sexual harassment from the academic staff can have a huge impact on students in terms of physical, emotional and psychological traumas. Victims of sexual harassment might lead to long-term depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, sleeping disturbances and suicidal tendencies, etc. and the impact of the above mentioned, especially on sexual harassment, can be very severe and sometimes can be permanent. However, more often the relevant authorities at the universities wipe their hands off considering that it is not something to be bothered about.

On the other hand, academic staff might go through psychological traumas due to the fear of getting exposed to the students of their lack of knowledge on the subjects and the English language, feeling of insecurity and low self-esteem etc. Under certain circumstances, the final products from the Sri Lankan universities will not be normal having inadequate knowledge coupled with proper behaviour.

Change

First and foremost, a drastic change should be made by introducing new subjects instead of following the same old syllabus, recruiting qualified professionals who have sound knowledge on the subject and as well as on the English language, introducing new teaching techniques along with proper materials etc. It is also necessary to reconsider the significance of the course offered by the universities since not having a proper path to travel due to the lack of knowledge might lead students to other traumatised situations. Additionally, a huge gap might occur between the local degrees and foreign degrees and students educated in Sri Lanka will have to give a fight in furthering their career.

It is very necessary to reduce the number of unqualified staff and those who promote harassment in the universities incurring extra expenses without providing any advantages to the students as well as to the universities. Implementation of methods on improving knowledge of the academic staff from time to time by not sticking to the knowledge gained merely by their graduation is timely indeed. In addition, serious attention should be given to minimise sexual harassment occurring in the university premises.

Establishment of police offices in every university where the students can make complaints on sexual harassment can be considered as one of major factors to be prioritised.

One might argue saying that this article is to criticise the Sri Lankan universities and the behaviour of the academic staff. Yet, from my point of view someone should commence pointing out the mistakes so that mishaps occurring in the universities can be corrected.