Academics welcome reduction of university admission age

January 28, 2013, 10:08 pm ,the island

by Dasun Edirisinghe

 Several academics yesterday welcomed Higher Education Minister S. B. Dissanayake’s recent proposal to reduce the age of admissions to universities to 16.

President of the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Dewasiri told The Island that it was very important to reduce it to at least 17 years.

However, Dr. Dewasiri said it was not the FUTA’s view, but his personal opinion.

"Our students waste several years in school before entering universities," he said adding that it should be reduced by several years.

Dr. Dewasiri said that students completed their postgraduate degrees by the age of 25 even in India whereas in Sri Lanka by the time a first degree was completed students were around that age.

Former Vice Chancellor of the Peradeniya University Prof. Sarath B. S. Abeykoon said that considering the present state, school education in Sri Lanka was a topic that should be thoroughly discussed as the system certainly needed a complete overhaul.

He said that the total length of schooling in Sri Lanka was, (whether one includes the time spent at Universities or not) in comparison, higher than that of many developed countries.

"This results in our population joining the work force later than those in the developed world, thus effectively reducing the total output of the country, as we are continually losing the best productive years of our youth," Prof. Abeykoon said.

Prof. Abeykoon said "I believe there is an urgent need to adequately address the time period of schooling, at the present time."

Minister Dissanayake said at a recent function that the Higher Education Ministry would hold discussions soon with a view to reducing the age of admission to universities by minimising the unnecessary waste of students’ time after national examinations.

Secretary to the Ministry Dr. Sunil Jayantha Navaratne said that they would initiate a dialogue soon to do so.

Sri Lankan students thus wasted about three years between Grade One and the university, Dr. Navaratne said adding that it had resulted in students having to study in universities until they reached their mid twenties.

He said that in most other countries students graduated from the university by the age of 22.

If the waste of time could be reduced, Sri Lankan students could enter universities at least by the age of 18, Dr. Navaratne said, adding that in Japan there was only one national level examination and students enter universities based on its results.

However, Frontline Socialist Party led Inter University Students’ Federation said that according to the present system, the students would graduate from universities at 23 or 24, but there were several reasons for the delay.

IUSF Convener Sanjeewa Bandara said that students who enter Grade 01 at the age of five would enter a university at the age of 19. It was mainly due to government’s bungling.

Citing an example, he said, the university intake based on the 2011 GCE (A/L) results was yet to be completed due to the Z–score fiasco.

"Some student batches have to spend over 6 years sometime due to closure of universities or lack of facilities," Bandara claimed.

He said that it was a joke to talk about reducing the age for university admission by a minister who failed to resolve the present problems in the system.