INSIDE STORY: National Education

A Policy and Structural Change in Education for a Better Tomorrow

| by Professor N.T.S. Wijesekera

( July 30, 2012, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) This article is a summary of the key points delivered at the public seminar on the theme “National Education Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow”, conducted by the University of Moratuwa Teachers’ Association (UMTA) at S De S Jayasinghe Hall, Dehiwala on 18th July 2012 (Figure 1).

Figure 1: Seminar of the University of 
Moratuwa Teachers Association at Dehiwala

Every ‘Nation’s Dream’ is to achieve the status of a ‘Great Nation’ that can stand on its own. In the quest for a great nation, a sustainable education system is indispensable. It is more so for our nation because we do not possess the commonly known valuable resources of the world except the invaluable human resource with a very high literacy rate. A sustainable education system would pave the way to produce responsible citizens, ensure ample support for the development and hence to build a strong economy. Further, a sustainable education system will positively contribute to make prudent decisions that will ensure the sustainable wellbeing of the global ecosystem at large.

Presently the University Academics are requesting the government to provide a compatible remuneration to attract the best that are moving to the industry, plus a substantial commitment from the government to enhance the status of their working facilities and upgrading the status of the students presently filtered through the primary and secondary education systems. This has been put forth as a request for the promised salary increase and for a commitment to enhance the public expenditure on education to a level of 6% of GDP. In this instance, the GDP is taken as a unit of measurement keeping to international standards. Therefore it is important not to be mistaken as 6% from GDP.

Many can raise a reasonable question as to why the University academics in this country up to now were not concerned about the sustainability of the entire education system of the country. Answer though implicit, leads to the point that at this juncture, the university academics have realised it is high time for the Sri Lankan academia to come forward and start a constructive dialogue about the core issues of the education system and appeal the nation to take a serious note of this major crisis that causes catastrophic consequences for the forthcoming generations.

Role of the University

In order to rationalise a sustainable education system, first of all, it is necessary to identify the role of a university. In the literature, a university is defined as an entity to ensure that every student, no matter the wealth of parents, has a chance to enjoy the ‘Nation's Dream’; educate the leaders in a democratic system; provide advanced learning and knowledge through faculty research and giving students the opportunity to broaden their minds even when learning does not seem immediately relevant to their careers; teach students to interact with people and appreciate the differences and diversity; and help students to find a passion and even a purpose in life. Universities of a great nation produce good workers who would earn foreign exchange with their products and services. They would also produce good graduates and leaders who would directly attract foreign exchange of international markets to provide cutting edge services and products.

Due to these characteristics, Universities in general are considered as the Backbone of a Country. In very simple terms the universities produce citizens who can exercise influence on behalf of Humanity and Civilisation.

It is no secret that for universities to thrive, academics and students who work together to achieve the aforementioned objectives are a clear necessity. Thus, a university should ideally be composed of good academics, good students, good facilities and possess a conducive-environment for education. In the remaining part of the article, aspects of academics and students who shoulder the pillars of a good higher education system are in focus.

Academics

A good university system needs to look after its academics by providing good salaries and a good supportive environment, which includes good infrastructure and good support staff. A survey carried out in July 2012 at University of Moratuwa revealed that at the present salary scales of an academic (academic positions are filled by the cream of a batch of students) who had obtained a PhD degree would get only 31% of what his or her counterpart who opted not to pursue studies, but to join and work in industry. A Senior Professor who is an Icon of Wisdom would get only 27% of what is earned by an industry parallel (Figure 2). This pathetic situation has discouraged the best graduates joining the academia. A reversing of this trend which is to attract the best graduates to join the academia is an absolute necessity. Other than this it is also necessary to incorporate measures to retain the attracted staff for the purpose of ensuring a sustainable university system contributing to the delivery of a Nation's expectations.

Figure 2: University - Industry Salary Comparison Deteriorates with Time and Experience

A comparison of international value of a university academic, from the information of the book "Paying the Professoriate" (Figure 3) indicated that the most opted greener pastures across the oceans provide much greater remuneration packages. The review of this book on the web presents a good salary comparison utilising a common indicator.

Therefore it is important that the university academics are at least given a salary compatible with the local market.

Figure 3: A Recent Book on Salary

University Facilities

When one considers the university facilities, it is evident that the infrastructure status is very poor and rapidly deteriorating. The research support is nonexistent, laboratories lack new equipment, lecture room space is inadequate and student accommodation needs refurbishment. The current financial figures from state universities reveal that per student expenditure is reducing at an alarming rate simply because the state is increasing the student numbers without increasing the commitment for infrastructure (Figure 4).

This situation creates a serious constraint in effective teaching and research delivery by a university academic when attempting to fulfil the expectations of a nation. This leads to displeasure and frustration among the academic community. Even though the salary of an academic reaches the world standards, this issue remains a great factor contributing to an Academic leaving the system. Such departures would certainly jeopardise the sustainability of the system and the dreams of a Nation.

 

 

 

Figure 4: Comparative Statistics Reflecting the Deterioration of Student Facility Availability

University Students

Looking at the situation with respect to the status of students; they are recruited from the list prepared from the results of the GCE Advanced Level examination and the Z-Scores. Only 15-17% of those who sit for the examination get qualified for university education. Many can raise the question, Aren't they the best out of the group?, Aren't they adequate to produce good graduates?

Surveys carried out among the university academics expressing their level of satisfaction on the students presently admitted as university entrants, revealed a major flaw in the attempt to achieve sustainability of the higher education and the education system as a whole. In this survey, several factors from the view point of academic staff were qualitative evaluated. The factors used in the opinion survey were: Willingness to study/learn; Students not exhausted; Conceptually sound (Knowledge of subject basics); Experienced in group work and Honestly indicating the member contributions; Good speaking and writing in university media of instructions; Experienced in using basic office-software; Good in speed reading; Having good social values; Trained in timely submission of outputs; and Having a good vocabulary. The study of a staff member sample of 45 at the University of Moratuwa revealed that while the first factor just exceeded the 50% satisfaction level of the academics, the rest were between 25% and 50%. The speed reading capability (Figure 5) has been at the lowest of expectation level. The same survey carried out with a sample of 75 staff members from the University of Sri Jayawardenapura revealed similar results.

In order to capture how the students felt about themselves nicely fitting the aspirations of the university academics, the same survey was carried out using a sample of 90 students of university of Moratuwa and the results are shown in the Figure 5. The averages of the results provide a good indicator that reflects a compromise between high staff aspirations and student psychology overvaluing the true position. These results indicate that at best the students would be reaching the 50% level of expectations and hence the primary and secondary education systems require a take a look at its roots without further delay.

 

Figure 5: The Status of University Entrants

Primary and Secondary Education

Considering the primary and secondary education system, some issues that reflect badly on the sustainability of a nation and its aspiration to become the ‘Knowledge Hub of Asia’ are; the number of teachers, teacher training, school buildings, school facilities and low staff salaries. In this connection the following factors also have been evidenced, researched and some are published in Journals.

After passing GCE Ordinary Level, typically a student takes a minimum of 4 years to enter the university. This is a time loss at prime age. At the Advanced Level, the way IT and English are taught, examined, and results are delivered to the students, reflect the care and interest taken to familiarise these two subjects. Further, more than 50% of students do not experience the grip of science as they get the knowledge without a practical exposure. In most education and administrative forums, Advanced Level subjects are recommended to be geared towards employment, without even considering the real objectives of primary and secondary education. The present Advanced Level and Ordinary Level Syllabi are attempting to cater to those who fail the examination and not for those who aspire success and further. The chaos of IT education is well reflected in a research which identified that in a survey of schools, the principals say that student computer usage is 20hrs/week while IT instructors of the same school say it is 6-10 hrs/week: Research pertaining to primary and secondary education system has also recognised that unmanageable student numbers in each class, poor management of class rooms and problems with increased subject contents are critical issues. The dependency on tuition, lack of faith in regular school teachers, negative attitudes of the parents and students on school teachers is a serious negative phenomenon that characterises the plight of the present education system. Research also has indicated that there is deterioration of math knowledge in the university entrants and this can be attributed to the reliance on private tuition system. Lack of student centred activities such as project explanations, field work, opportunity for creative work, and team work make a serious impact on the expected potential of a student reaching the university system.

A recent survey of a student's lifetime in the Ordinary Level Classes revealed that 37.5% of time is spent for system survival (such as eating and sleeping) and 55.2% is spent on education, tuition and transport for education. A similar survey indicated that Advanced Level students use 29.3% for system survival while 66.7% of time is spent for studying for examinations and travelling for education.

Only icing, no cake?

The universities are presently adjusting their curricula and coaching classes to address the issues or deficiencies that are arising from the primary and secondary education systems. In addition, the universities are also adding cosmetic programs to satisfy the industry requirement of "A readymade practitioner". However, what is important to note is that the duration of a university's academic program remains unchanged at either 3 or 4 years. Therefore it is inevitable that the University's core curricular needs to be curtailed or by this sandwich effect. Therefore it is obvious that the graduates do not obtain an education they or the country deserve. Figure 6 is an attempt to illustrate these concerns.

Figure 6: Accommodation of Deficiencies is a Threat to Quality

This creates two problems. The straightforward one is that the country does not get the desired outputs because the subject contents tend to reach below par.

The other is that the university academics find the students would require postgraduate education to carry out the kind of research required for world class competition. 

Figure 7: High Disparity between the Outputs

Since the government presently does not support postgraduate education, the most likely result would be the frustration of academic staff which inturn affect the sustenance of Higher Education System. These factors are presently in existence.

There is a huge disparity in the state expenditure for various undergraduate study programmes (Figure 7). This disparity among various programs cannot be noted in developed countries. Therefore it is important to revisit these curricula and facilities and then upgrade them to such levels that would ensure quality outputs that can match the knowledge-hub aspirations. It is good to take a close look at the foundation qualifications of administrators and planners who are yet to understand the present plight of the education system in the country. It may be prudent to provide an improved status to relevant degree programmes hoping that the outputs from such degree programs would provide a better service to the education system in the future.

There is a big problem at hand. As academics, it is time to come forward to speak out in order to save the nation and strengthen the on-going efforts by pointing out the planning and implementation deficiencies. The University academics are undoubtedly the best brains in the country that can provide the leadership to the betterment of the country's education system.

Booster Dose is a Must

The foregoing discussion clearly points to the fact that in order to ensure best academics in the national university system, it is necessary that not only the salaries are comparable but also the entire education system is revitalised.

A look at the historical public expenditure figures on education pertaining to those nearby nations and the nations that have achieved developed status revealed that such countries had gradually increased the public expenditure on education to reach a point 6% of GDP or more (Figure 8).

It is evident that our nation also requires such a system-boost to clear this big hurdle. In most countries public investment appears to decay after a peak, but this is guessed as the stepping in of private sector collaborations once the system is in place. Thus, it is quite clear that we need a booster dose in education expenditure and when the system has reached sustainability, it is possible to fearlessly open the system to private collaborative opportunities.

In conclusion, the academics and the public in general have a noble task to carryout in order to secure a sustainable education system. It is not an easy one. It is necessary to congratulate the wisdom of Sri Lankan academic community for stepping out of traditional trade union framework to provide leadership to a visionary struggle targeting the country to become a better place to live and also to become the ‘Knowledge Hub of Asia’.

Figure 8: Comparison of Input to Education as a Percentage of GDP - The System Booster

Professor Sohan Wijesekera, Senior Professor,at the Department ofDept of Civil Engineering,University of Moratuwa

In defense of university autonomy and academic freedom

July 31, 2012, 5:46 pm , the island

By Prof. Wiswa Warnapala

At the beginning, university education in Sri Lanka began as a middle class preserve, as it, in the very initial period, catered to the demand of the students from a select number of public schools in the country. university education, in the early period, was built on a theory of elites, which, in turn, represented certain aspects of the then existing class structure. The objectives of both secondary and higher education were colonial, and this structure underwent a change during the first phase of the post-colonial state. university education, which began in 1921, and later evolved into a full-fledged unitary university, made a major impact upon the social and economic life of the country, and nothing could illustrate this better than to compare it with the production of an elite, which went to the university and formed into a clan of intellectuals and professionals destined to influence the society in Sri Lanka in a variety of ways. University, therefore, from its very inception, was regarded as a special institution which conferred a high social status to the university educated, and this, as anticipated, had a social significance in a society which, traditionally, was used to status and influence. Those distinguished members of the Ceylon University Movement, who advocated the establishment of an independent unitary university, were a set of visionaries who envisioned that the production of knowledge gave a nation a special kind of power.

Aftermath of independence

In the aftermath of independence, the aspirations of the State came to be heightened, and it came to be acknowledged that the universities or the demand for university education would grow in the future; the introduction of the free education scheme and the recognition of Sinhala and Tamil as languages of instruction naturally increased the demand for university education, for which the country was not ready. Hence, there were a number of ad hoc adjustments and changes, without a proper plan for the increase of higher educational opportunities in the country. Several commissions examined the issue but their main emphasis was on the change within the existing structure. There was not attempt to estimate the country’s needs in the sphere of higher education.

There were many influences at work which led to important changes in the sixties; the sociologists and educationists who ably exposed the inadequacies of the existing system, for which there was not enough support from the politicians, and nationalists and language enthusiasts who wanted university education to be expanded more in the form of a part of an emerging nationalist enterprise. It was thought that there was considerable waste of talent after the completion of the secondary school career, and it was this waste which needed to be arrested by opening the doors of the university. By the early sixties, the ideological battle for the expansion of higher educational opportunities had been won, which incidently coincided with the Robbins Report in the United Kingdom, which, as in Sri Lanka, advocated a considerable expansion of higher educational opportunities. Sri Lanka, at this stage of her development, wanted to turn its back on elitism, which the University of Ceylon nurtured, and, the narrow intellectualism in higher education.

In the context of this change, and amidst considerable expansion which the system experienced in the two decades that followed the sixties, the universities remained an autonomous sphere of education sacrosanct from undue governmental interference. In other words, both academic freedom and university autonomy were made inviolable. The experience indicated that the expansion of higher education was guided primarily by the need to provide places for those secondary school leavers, and hardly anyone had given thought to this expansion based entirely on a kind of social need; this, of course, was a complicated issue; both reformers and decision-makers fixed their minds on the question of the expansion of access for higher education without a comprehensive reform of the curricula, which, in fact, was the guide for the immediate future. The decision-makers of this period were obsessed with the need to expand access, which, in the past, was restricted, and it needed to be expanded on the basis of a comprehensive reform, for which some ground work was done with the assistance of the World Bank. The need was to work out a new pattern, knowing well that the number of students aspiring to enter higher education was continually increasing, as the higher education sector, as in other countries, has not been sufficiently diversified to attract a good number of students who, otherwise, would prefer to go inside a university. An attempt has been made in the last few years to construct a development-oriented higher education policy, the main thrust of which was to recognize the impact of the global changes in the sphere of higher education, and this has now been converted into a centralized interventionist policy, where the priorities are more administrative-oriented than innovative policy-based. However, its main casualties have been the concepts of academic freedom and university autonomy.

Crisis in Higher education

Today the system of higher education is in a major crisis, the magnitude of it as bad as that of the late eighties where the universities remained closed for years and the impact of this major crisis persists in certain areas of the life of universities in Sri Lanka. Again, the crisis in the late eighties was largely due to the inability of the administrators to gauge certain aspects of university life and its over-reaction to certain developments, which as today, was overtly interventionist and aggressive, for which they paid a heavy price. It was again a powerful regime with a five sixth majority in Parliament and the administrators of the period, who often took refuge in their political strength to hit back at the academic and student community. A bit of Macarthism haunted the period. History has repeated itself and another powerful regime, reminding us of the late eighties, more in the nature of frightened administrators, have strived hard to plug an interventionist policy. Over-display of political arrogance has its own dysfunctional consequences; the academic community of a country cannot be converted into an appendage of a fist of political power.

Of course, financial constraints within the system need to be recognized. The call to treat all universities- fifteen in number- equally, and this demand of egalitarianism has created a fresh set of problems as the treasury does not want to allocate larger capital grants for university buildings. In this country, all development projects have a constituency-orientation as politicians are likely to make use of them for their political advantage. Unfortunately for them, the capital expenditure for university buildings does not accrue constituency benefits in terms of more votes at an election. University expenditure is often cut back in order to divert it to primary and secondary education. Expenditure is often compared by the Treasury by institutions and activities. At one stage, in order to discourage this call for equality of status for all universities, it was decided to treat all universities equally in order t reduce the attractiveness of the established universities but the student and popular perception was entirely different. It was manifestly impossible to give all the fifteen universities equal status as the investment involved was heavy, and the increase in the investment, though a fundamental requirement for the system to develop into a major network, was to be on a staggered basis. It was thought that the universities would eventually move towards such a system where the respective universities would not differ enormously in their standards and aims as centers of intellectual activity. The realization of this objective depended, to a larger extent, on a calculated program of development, which, with political transformations, would not be disturbed. Given the nature of competitive party politics of the country, one could not envision such a programme of development but the maturity of the intellectual and professional community is such that it could be successfully handled.

More opportunities for education

It is universally acknowledged that education is the fundamental mechanism for social inclusion through the creation of more opportunities for education, and it is necessary to ensure that no student is denied the opportunity for higher education due to financial constraints. This, in fact, is the crux of the issue today. All governments have recognized the need to give higher priority to education as the major instrument for achieving rapid economic growth with emphasis on such issues as the expansion of access, and excellence and equity. The academic community is guided by these considerations and they rightly demand an increase allocation for the development of universities. Higher education can definitely transform the economy and society, and the point argued is that the expansion and improvement of quality in higher education is not possible without enhanced funding. In a country, where State funding is the cornerstone of the system, the increase of funding is always subject to controversy. This, of course, is the problem faced by all governments, the priorities of which are different as some of the priorities are guided by both parochial and political considerations.

Modern day Universities are not monastic establishments; they are knowledge institutions capable of responding to social needs. Over- emphasis on undergraduate education has, unfortunately, developed a different perception of the universities in the public mind and this has had a major effect on the process of policy-making; for instance, some tend to adopt a negative attitude to higher education. This, perhaps, was due to the lack of social responsiveness and a case has to be made for the recognition of universities as knowledge-producing institutions.

Transforming society into a knowledge hub

Sri Lanka needs, at this moment, a plan to develop and enhance the potential of its excellent human resource base to transform the society into a knowledge hub as advertised by the Government in power. A knowledge intensive environment would surely accelerate the process of economic and social development in the country. Therefore, Universities, as in India, could be converted into active engines in this process of social transformation, as the Sri Lankan university system, since 1921 and 1942, made a tremendous contribution to the development through the production of a variety of talent required for the advancement of the country. This contribution has been made in the context of a University tradition, which came to be built around both University autonomy and academic freedom; both these concepts were part and parcel of the Sri Lankan university tradition and it cannot be destroyed by a Sri Lankan variant of Macarthism.

It was both university autonomy and academic freedom which helped universities world over to conquer new frontiers of knowledge. In the experience of all universities, the assault on academic freedom comes via political interference, and often the attention of the public is turned towards the social sciences. The professions which have a long tradition and emphasize scientific and technological knowledge such as medicine and natural sciences become more difficult to be interfered with. The rise of universities and the social sciences as one of the main disciplines of the university, rather paradoxically, was considered the reason for both expansion and the problem of the modern university. This was very much true in the Sri Lankan context, and the growing dominance of the humanities and social sciences irked the policy- makers and all kinds of inroads were made into both university autonomy and academic freedom. Many theoreticians such as Harold Laski, Jennings, G.D. H.Cole, Ernest Barker, R.H. Tawney, Bernard Crick and Ralph Miliband were of the opinion that such subjects made a profound influence on the political wisdom and the political destinies of the country. In 1968, the most students who revolted against the State in France came from sociology and Cohen Bendit himself was a Sociology major.

Universities: Vehicles of indoctrination?

Therefore, universities cannot become vehicles of indoctrination, promoting a particular political ideology or a religious point of view. As Max Weber rightly pointed out, "Universities are not institutions for inculcation of absolute or ultimate moral values". They teach the select facts, their conditions, laws and their inter-relations, with a view to "sharpen the student’s capacity to understand the actual conditions" and "discover the truth on his own and in accordance with his own conscience". A university needs to give recognition to pluralism of methodological and theoretical approaches in the search for knowledge. Surely any university will always be plural, by which we mean the existence of different ideas. Harold Laski was of the opinion that it was a place for both assent and dissent. As such, one cannot convert the university to toe the political line of the party in power. Today, the distrust of universities has become a distressing subject; for some strange reason, the part of the Government establishment has begun to distrust the universities and this has inhibited the universities of this country. University, which represents the great tradition of freedom from State interference, offers a platform for the discussion of the major issues affecting a country. Yet, universities supported by the state have seen a threat to their academic freedom. But one must be reminded that the state, whatever its power and resources, cannot kill and destroy academic freedom, which, in reality, is the life-blood of a university. Political interference becomes disastrous, and when universities are weakened, its effect on both society and the State is more. Universities cannot be asked to betray their great tradition, which Cardinal Newman enshrined in his work, the Idea of a University (1852), which laid a solid foundation for intellectual freedom.

Continued tomorrow

Examination based education

July 31, 2012, 6:37 pm , the island

I refer to the the article by R. Chandrasoma published in The Island of 28th July 2012.

In that article, Chandrasoma states:

"For more than half a century now, we have selected our doctors, engineers, academics and top administrators on the basis of their ‘performance’ at public examinations – the highest scorers island-wide have been admitted to these privileged positions. Is there any evidence that these top ‘achievers’ identified by examination scores have excelled as professionals and academics? Have we produced any public intellectual of standing through this exam-based selective protocol? Do we have researchers of the first rank? Are our doctors and engineers a driving-force in the creative improvement of the society we share with them? No difficulty will be found in answering these questions."

I myself have answered the questions in the negative. However, in western countries, it appears that during the last few centuries, most of the top achievers have come through the examination based education and protocol, though some very creative people could have been lost in the process, and some others such as Einstein could not be considered as products of that education and protocol. Is it only the examination based education that is responsible for the absence of top researches in Sri Lanka?

Nalin de Silva