Expansion of Sri Lankan university system: Good if properly done

May 15, 2014, 12:00 pm ,

Alexander Hall, Princeton University
by S. Ratnajeevan H. Hoole

Nostalgia as Foreign

Universities Enter

Recently Prof. Gananath Obeyesekere of Princeton University – hailing from times when our students became professors at Princeton, Harvard, Columbia and the like – penned an impassioned nostalgic essay on saving our university system. It is extremely unlikely that Sri Lankan graduates today would reach the heights that these men did. Perhaps his mind was spurred by recent news which I read with as much excitement as trepidation of some 20 foreign universities moving into Sri Lanka soon (Xinhua News, April 23, 2014). The University of Central Lancashire (UCLAN) already has approval. India’s Manipal, Singapore’s Raffles and Sri Lanka Telecom have sought approval.

Education for the Sake of Education

I am excited because education is for the sake of education. A properly educated citizenry will be alive to what is going on in the rest of the world. It will think, and think critically as well as fairly. It cannot be taken for granted. I cannot understand why those who take children’s education and women’s education as a right suddenly talk about there being no need for university education if there are no jobs for graduates. We surely would not demand guaranteed employment opportunities before a child is schooled. Education at whatever level is to make a wholesome person. Employment though nice to have as a corollary, is indeed secondary. It is said that when western Jews with PhDs migrated to Israel and tended sheep or drove taxis for want of jobs, they did their work innovatively rather than as ordinary others did and brought a lot to the country: development

Value of Language Skills

alongside Subject Skills

A problem with our system, on a scale of 1 to 10, is that we have academics joining the system who are above 9 in their subjects, but below 3 in English. Such academics cannot set an unambiguous exam paper, correspond with an outside scholar, or write a book or their research results for publication in English, today’s language of the academe.

I have had Sri Lankan engineering students doing so well that they are out of the scale in GRE Quantitative IQ scores, but my university has refused me permission to take them because they do not have minimum marks in the verbal section. Such students I know get into programmes in countries where verbal skills are not stressed or into US universities because a faculty member insisted on admission as necessary for his work. Such students do brilliant research and graduate because of supervisor help in writing, but cannot hold a faculty position in the West because of their inability to write. On the other hand, most western academics might be 7 or 8 on both the quantitative and verbal scales. That is enough to succeed. Success needs a balanced profile, good in the subject and the language. One without the other is no good. Good in both is all right; good in one and excellence in the other or excellence in both is better. Horrible even in one, is sure academic death. We in Sri Lanka do not get this.

In the world of work too, a good part besides thinking for decision making, is writing. So long as our graduates stay on in Sri Lanka and write in Tamil or Sinhalese, they can do well. The watershed in English skills in Sri Lanka was in the early 1970s when the essay and précis at the O. Levels gave way to fill in the blanks – that is no training in sentence formation. I see a crisis looming as English language skills collapse more with the retirement of the last few trained in writing in the old O.Levels. Those institutions presently functioning in English – universities, newspapers, the highest courts for example – will need to switch to the vernacular, keeping the country out of touch with the rest of the world. In the 1960s my father had a national newspaper home delivered so that we would read and pick up the language. (The Provincial Edition would arrive at the Jaffna Railway Station by 6 AM and we would have the newspaper at home by 7 AM, in time to read at least the sports pages before school). Today if we relied on that newspaper, the little English we know would go away. We sometimes need to deal with judgments from the highest courts tending to such bad grammar that they are useless because they bear multiple interpretations. In the alternative we would have to rely increasingly on Colombo people to do these top echelon jobs, thereby fracturing the country more.

Teaching in English

The coming of the foreign universities – which necessarily will strictly teach in English – will increase the proportion of Sri Lankans functioning in English and ameliorate the problem. This will address the problem of so called English medium courses where a lot of the lecturing and speaking is in Tamil or Sinhalese. At Peradeniya’s Engineering, a Head taught in Sinhalese and told Tamil students to ask their Sinhalese friends! As such Tamils rarely asked for that department’s attractive specialization. Jaffna now has Sinhalese students and that is a blessing in disguise because lectures have to be completely in English as claimed.

To be sure the universities that are coming are not Cambridge from England, or IIT from India or NUS from Singapore, but relatively mediocre universities that are unable to get students in their own countries – remember, good wares need no advertising. But they will produce people who can be rated 7/7 or even 5/5 in quantitative and verbal skills and can do a better job than one with 9+/3 and cannot do any job. Thinking people must feel as excited as I am that the people of Sri Lanka will have their minds opened up simply through the ability to read international literature.

Plight of Local University Students

The Xinhua report further states "moves by the government to establish private universities have received severe criticism from student unions and university teachers based at public universities who contend state-run universities will be neglected by the government." This is where my trepidation comes in because it is true. During the FUTA strike the government showed an unwillingness to pay PhD holding faculty more reasonable salaries and a readiness to lie. The report goes on to say that "critics fear that once private universities are established, poor but highly talented youth will be limited to public universities where they may not have access to recognized degrees and lucrative jobs." I agree that poor but talented youth will be limited to public universities. But it is not necessarily true their degrees will not be recognized. They can be superior.

As Colonial Secretary J.E. Tennent in his book in the 1850s said, "The knowledge exhibited by the pupils was astonishing and it is no exaggeration to say that in the course of instruction and in the success of the system for communicating it, the collegiate institution of Batticotta [Vaddukoddai] is entitled to rank with many an European University." Batticotta had only cadjan roofs but committed, educated teachers – often 1 or 2 missionaries with locals trained by them.

We need good teachers. The foreign universities usually do not bring their own staff (except 1 or 2 on brief visits) and draw from the state universities. More often than not these local recruits keep their state university jobs for a base salary and are hourly paid as visitors at the foreign university. That is their commitment to the local university which is minimal and any spare time they have for scholarship is diverted to visiting lectures. The problem already in our universities is good staff. The teaching standards of certain lecturers at the new engineering faculty at South Eastern University are said to be hopelessly poor. The new faculty in Jaffna is competing for staff from the same fixed pool. It is obvious that the new universities will attract the few good teachers away from the teacher-starved universities – unless the government changes course.

The contention that the rich will be able to buy education when the poor cannot is true indeed but not correct as an argument. For that is how our society is structured – the rich buy Mercedes Benzes, go on foreign holidays, eat better food and all that while the poor cannot. Why single out education?

Marble buildings or well-paid teachers?

Instead of investing in marble buildings which cost millions and serve mainly for vain opening ceremonies by politicians, the state should pay qualified lecturers market salaries and prohibit outside work. We all love to teach bright students and find it unpleasant to teach incapable students in class who are there because of their ability to pay. Sometimes teaching in not so highly rated universities in the US I have had to water down my courses and pass almost everyone because the assumption is that one who is admitted has an unwritten contract that he has the wherewithal to pass. On the other hand teaching at elite institutions I have sometimes felt that the students are better than I and can take any academic stress I can dish out as tough assignments and exam questions. Teaching becomes a pleasure. In these circumstances, I believe that the good staff in our state universities will not desert their able students just for the nice facilities and posh environment at any new university that might come. It is when the private universities pay a lot more that we will be pressured to move by family considerations. Indeed in the US the best ranked universities are often state universities (like University of California at Berkeley, Michigan and Illinois at Urbana Champaign) that pay a lot more than many private universities and have little interference from the government except in the appointment of trustees. The trustees are truly accomplished and left free to do their work (except when there is a crisis) unlike our council members. The good students combined with well-paid, satisfied, motivated staff will make the universities excellent in the Batticotta model.

The Danger to State Universities:

The Government

The only danger to these universities is from the government. As a moving letter from Jaffna University Science Teachers’ Association, signed by its very brave president, Dr. J.P. Jeyadevan, notes:

• Dean/Arts Prof. Sivanathan, practically the only member of the Council to oppose the recent recruitment as Computer Application Assistants a list of unqualified persons at the behest of a political party [which we know to be the EPDP] that virtually runs the Council, has received death threats.

• Political appointments add another dimension to surveillance and the appearance of threatening posters, as well as favouritism in academic appointments.

• Spying and intrigue inhibit collegiality and the open exchange of ideas. The university is not a safe place for the exercise of freedom of speech, dissent and debate.

• Lecturers are afraid to teach known facts.

• Students are afraid to attend classes.

• Rehabilitated ex-combatants are never allowed to pursue their studies but are continually detained, pressured, and made into informers.

Our students are therefore naturally cynical about a government that ruins our universities and then claims to improve education through private universities. Let the government stop meddling and appoint the best to our universities instead of favourites. Let it fill the Councils with men and women of integrity and let them be free to guide the universities instead of telling them how to vote as government stooges.

State university students, the best of our children, will then get the best education free. The others will have private universities that give them too a valuable training. And students will not riot against private universities and see them as a boon.

Why students succeed or fail

May 15, 2014, 12:00 pm , The Island


By Dr. Douglas M King

There have been volumes of research on this topic by many universities throughout the world, although little if any from universities in Sri Lanka. President Mahinda Rajapaksa is rightly concerned about standards of education in his aspirations to promote Sri Lanka as the Educational Hub of South Asia. However, he must realise that this objective is still far from realisation. The recent statements from the Ministry of Education concerning the poor GCE O/L examination results, especially in maths, science and English, where around 50% of the students failed to make even the simple passing grade, are a cause for concern.

These subjects have been studied daily at school for eleven years plus the many private tuition classes that most students attend. By the time students sit for these examinations an estimated 8% have dropped out and many who did succeed in a passing grade did so only by a few marks. Were these two factors included then the percentage failing would appear even greater.

The downside

All is not gloom and doom since a full analysis of the results would show that some schools in some areas did achieve passes for a sizeable majority of their students, with many obtaining credit passes. Such statistical information indicates that something must be right, at least in those schools, to get such results. The downside of this means that in many other schools the failure rate was far higher than the 50%. Is it that easy to divide schools into "good and bad"? Before the Ministry of Education under the influence of the President makes curriculum changes once again, develops new initiatives, and calls upon even more experts to solve the crisis, it would bode well that some basic research is undertaken. It is surprising that with so many institutes of Higher Education that such analytical research has not been carried out in previous years.

It should be obvious that educational failure can be caused by many different factors and curriculum cannot take all the blame. Not all teachers are either experienced, dedicated, qualified or gifted and these attributes do make a difference however good or poor the curriculum. One size does not fit all students as far as learning styles are concerned, yet even from the early grades all students usually follow the same books and levels with little differentiation within the classroom.

Students’ abilities are distributed according to the normal bell curve with 50% occupying the major middle areas. When the socio-economic factors are taken into account, indications point to far more failure among those in the lower stratum. It is very unlikely that the children of highly educated parents will fail in the key subjects. At the opposite end it would not be unusual for the children of a labourer to score low in the examinations.

Of course, there are always exceptions, but they do not alter these facts. The results also show a difference between urban and rural schools. Again there are some superior rural schools and some inferior urban schools, but in general the best schools achieving the best results are in larger urban areas where a greater number of middle class families reside. Parallel to this is the fact that the best and most experienced teachers, especially in the three key subjects, are to be found in the better urban schools. Many rural schools do not even have sufficient teachers for these subjects, let alone their lack of qualifications or experience.

It has become normal for most students to attend extra tuition classes in these key subjects, and many have been attending them for several years prior to the GCE examination. Since these classes are unregulated there is no quality control and parents mostly are unable to assess their effectiveness, and it could be that the best classes cost more than some parents can afford.

The physical conditions in schools under which students learn are far too often unattractive, but more importantly do not provide a quiet atmosphere for learning. Many classrooms are divided by half walls or no walls and several grades share an open hall. Proper windows are still a luxury in many schools and ceiling fans are not often seen.

The style of teaching has hardly changed despite the technological advances of recent years. Thirty or more students at desks still face a teacher standing or sitting in front of a blackboard (or whiteboard). The major part of the lesson is a one-way communication from teacher to students with the textbook serving as the main resource. Although there has been a gradual improvement in recent years, lessons and test marks still rely heavily on memorising information, and much of this will be forgotten a year or two after the GCE examinations as research has shown.

There is the question of relevancy of the curriculum and how this is accessed in the textbooks. Whilst it is unnecessary for learning to be fun and cannot be enjoyed all the time, it should be satisfying and certainly not boring.

Absenteeism

Absenteeism increases in the upper grades, and the difficulties of actually getting to schools can influence the degree of such absenteeism. Poor transportation, overcrowded buses, students’ adverse health, soiled uniform and continual academic failure all combine to the detriment of learning. In some schools teacher absenteeism for important or unessential reasons can be chronic with no substitute teachers to stand in.

The school year is punctuated by numerous holidays which many teachers extend by adding permissible leave. The 200 school days authorised by the government can easily be reduced to 150 or less when various school activities take precedence over lessons and absenteeism is taken into account. Schools can become impersonal factories for education when they have student populations of several thousand and neither the principal or most of the staff can get to know them.

Unsatisfactory preschools

These are many of the factors that can influence how well or how poorly a child achieves. But, authoritative research shows academic achievement in later years is also influenced during the years of early childhood. There is substantive evidence that more learning takes place in the first five years of life than any other period and this can influence later education.

The quality of both the home environment and that of the preschool that an estimated 85% of children attend is a significant factor for later success. All too often an unsatisfactory preschool is worse than a stimulating home environment. Since the majority of preschools are unregulated and many of the qualifications of the teachers have little worth, thousands of children get a poor start in the educational system. Preschools are taking on the academic curriculum that should only be started in grade one. The fact that parents pay from 500 rupees to five thousand rupees a month for these schools might indicate a qualitative divide.

There is a saying that "nothing succeeds like success" but for some children success is never a part of their lives. A careful examination of all the relevant factors needs to be looked at before deciding on a course of action. Any improvements to the results will be gradual but achieving 85% passes in just a few years as hinted at by the Ministry will be very suspect. Teachers are among the most conservative of professionals and the attitude "I know what I do and I do what I know" will be difficult to change.

The President’s educational goal is achievable in the long run, but will take more than a handful of so-called experts to change the system and attitudes. Only by getting into the schools with unannounced visits to experience the problems, conditions and opinions of teachers and students, will real change be meaningful.

Jaffna University teachers assert right to mourn

May 15, 2014, 9:11 pm

The Jaffna University Science Teachers’ Association has condemned the closure of the university between May 16 and 20, claiming it amounts to intimidation and repression of free discussion on campus, according to an online The Hindu report posted on May 14.

The association says some university professors and student leaders received death threats warning them against holding any commemoration for those who lost their lives during the war, alleging that they were trying to revive the LTTE.

Earlier this month, the registrar of the university had sent out a circular announcing that the university and its hostels will remain closed from May 16 to 20, which coincides with the days that the country’s ethnic conflict ended.

"Why should Tamils speaking of the war be such an explosive issue five years after it ended, a war in which neither side owned a monopoly on terrorism?" the university teachers asked, in a strongly-worded statement titled ‘In the shadow of war and peace on a war-footing’ released on Tuesday. The statement assumes significance for it comes from a group of academics who are not affiliated to any political party, at a time when most people in northern Sri Lanka are hesitating to speak fearing surveillance. The Sri Lankan government has, over the last few months, maintained there was an attempt to revive the LTTE in the island’s Tamil-speaking north. Pointing to the ‘Victory Day’ celebration – to mark the end of the war — to be observed by the Sri Lankan armed forces in Matara, the teachers asked why the Tamils alone were barred from remembering those who died during the war.

"The Tamil people should have the freedom to mourn collectively the untimely death of a large number of members of their community whether or not the dead persons are members of their family," the note said.

"While the Government wants to use the war for political deception, it is only to be expected that its obverse, in the wake of hopelessness and humiliation in being forced to accept the Sinhalisation of their lands and symbols, and the erasure of huge civilian suffering in the latter months of the war, might lead to latent nostalgia for the LTTE – despite the anger against its holding the civilians hostage in the last stages of the war," it said. The only way to deal with such nostalgia is allow people to express themselves freely, and to ensure that the mechanisms of justice function to eradicate, and not to instate impunity, the statement said. When The Hindu earlier spoke to registrar V. Kandeepan on why the university was closed, he cited pending repair work as reason.