Solution to the University Crisis: A View from an Academic

September 1, 2012, 7:59 pm , The Island

Amal S. Kumarage
Senior Professor, Faculty of Engineering
University of Moratuwa

Mr CA Chandraprema in his article published in the Sunday Island of 19th August has dedicated two paragraphs to my detailed response to his previous criticism of the current trade union action of academics. Even though he states that his faith in academia has been restored after reading my article, I find that his faith is still wavering as it has not stopped his dismissal of the key issues and usual endorsement of Government view. I was however encouraged enough to write a further article to address the concern he has raised why ‘senior academics’ were not involved in negotiations and in drafting the FUTA demands.

Missing the Issue by asking ‘Who’ instead of ‘What"

Sri Lankan society has steadily been conditioned to filter any information based on who says it rather than what is said. From branding all dissent as ‘unpatriotic’, all criticism as ‘politically intent’ and even opinion as ‘unnecessary’, society has been conditioned to listen to and believe in a single source as opposed to appreciating different views. This sadly, in spite of our long legacy of education, reflects the lack of a truly educated populace. In the context of the current trade union action, the attempts at dismissing FUTA as extreme and painting all universities and academics as clowns in a circus are attempts at yet again distancing the populace from one of the last bastions of resistance to popular political ideology that seems bent on making people accept explanation without inquiry and leadership without accountability. Many responses to my earlier article called it ‘realistic’ and ‘moderate’. Thus I stand on that confirmation to propose the following as a direction towards solving the university crisis.

Slipping and Sliding: Irresponsible Stewardship

The Table 1 shows funding for full time undergraduate courses for the last three years where detailed figures are available.

Accordingly, the Faculty cost which is the academic input costs plus cost of libraries etc, are highest in Medicine at Rs 170,657 per student per year, while Commerce and Management records the lowest at Rs 44,470 per student per year. The university overhead per student which comprises mostly of other (administrative and non-academic) staff costs amounts to Rs 59,057 per student. Sadly this means that in some of our faculties the cost of non-academic staff inputs is higher than academic staff inputs! Adding all other cost components, the total average (weighted) cost across all the faculties’ amounts to around Rs 200,000 per undergraduate per year. This table shows how the average total cost per student has reduced by over 20% in the last three years, mostly due to reducing capital allocation. Even recurrent spending can be considered to have reduced when adjusted for inflation. This is the alarm that academics are raising for society to be mindful of the irresponsible handling of higher education.

It is seen from the table, that fund allocation per student has gone down over the last few years. Budgets for each university are not computed according to student numbers. Each year the budget is increased by a nominal margin and thereafter the Government usually requests for more students to be taken. These are not joint decisions. That is why Ministers prefer Vice chancellors and Deans who will readily oblige. This process lacks basic management safeguards of ensuring quality is maintained. A good example of this is the current request made by the UGC from the universities to admit some 6,300 extra students (an increase of around 30% on usual intake) due to the Z-score blunder without any additional resources. The mistake and responsibility of one institution is now conveniently passed on to all the universities. A few years ago, a similar problem with the Chemistry paper saw pressure put on the University of Moratuwa to increase the number admitted to a new program from 50 to 106, which led to over 40 students being unable to find employment on graduation. The Rajarata Medical Faculty came to being for the same reason. In many new programs, promised facilities are provided many years after such programs start leading to student protests and constraints on the proper development of such programs. These examples show how little understanding the Government displays on essentials of university education. It cannot be likened to a production line that can be increased or reduced by working overtime or operating an extra shift depending on a sudden ‘order’.

Make Financial Allocation Student based

The above costs for a degree by any standard are very low. Given the quality of some of the programs that produce graduates holding internationally accredited degrees this is indeed very cost-effective higher education. There is no comparison I am aware of in the world, where medical or engineering graduates who have an international recognition are produced at such cost. But could this cost be squeezed further? In fact this is the crux of the protest! Academics say that it can’t be done- not without a drop in quality. Having studied amount of fees charged by private institutions and costs of public universities from across several countries, it is apparent that further reduction in cost is not possible when it is currently only around 1/10th of that of leading universities. As such my proposal is for Government to start providing universities a per student financial allocation from 2013 onwards. I suggest that average spending should be raised by around 50%, to say Rs 300,000/- per student per year. The different programs may be provided adjusted amounts to compensate for current under spending and to match international norms. As such I believe that the Engineering Faculty should receive around Rs 360,000/- per student in 2012. This should be adjusted for inflation every subsequent year. Further adjustment to reflect the increasing GDP to reach targeted level may fine tune these allocations this further. The increased allocation can be only for new students starting from 2012/13 intake. It will then take around four years till the total funding increase is completed. This will give universities more time to adjust and use the increased funds more efficiently.

The analysis indicates that the capital required to start new programs or to increase of student numbers to existing programs should be calculated separately. At the University of Moratuwa, it costs around Rs 2 to 3 million per new student to provide additional classrooms, labs, staff rooms, other student facilities and equipment. This cost will be different for students in other programs. Thus if the UGC wishes to increase student numbers they should provide the additional capital expenditure in the said format. In this context if the UGC wishes to increase the admissions due to the Z score blunder, it will be easier to calculate the actual cost of its mistake. If as reported in some media, an additional 6,300 students are to be admitted, then this additional financial commitment would be around Rs 18 billion over four years, computed at Rs 300,000 recurrent cost per year per student and capital costs at say, Rs 1.5 million (being adjusted to account for less resource intense programs) per student for creating new capacity. As it may not be possible for a university to increase building space etc in just one year, capital funds may in consultation with the respective university and faculty, be also spread over four years or so making the cost burden Rs 4.5 billion per year. This for anyone who wishes to complain is currently what is spent to build just one km of elevated expressway!

The positive aspect of this funding approach is that the Z-score blunder can be transformed to a constructive feature by initiating a permanent capacity expansion. I believe this may be the solution that HE the President was expecting by saying that solutions must be ‘win-win’ for both sides. Temporary ‘fixes’ such as a one-off additional intake as has been suggested should be rejected outright, as they deteriorate standards for such an intake, which once lowered stay there permanently. According to the above formula and as shown in Table 2, the government will need to only marginally increase its total expenditure on universities in 2013 and will by 2015 achieve 0.48% of GDP, an increase from 0.21% in 2010. It should be noted that the calculations in the tables are approximate and based on assumed student figures and a growth of GDP of 6%.

 

Is Funding the Only Issue?

Additional funding is essential to improve and maintain quality. But that alone will not be adequate to bring about all the desired changes in university education. There are three major areas needing urgent reform that I will elaborate on in this article:

Financial autonomy: At present only the Vice-chancellor, Deputy VC, Deans, Registrar and the Bursar at the University of Moratuwa can approve any voucher or invoice of over Rs 5,000/-. Not even a Head of Department or Senior Professor can approve anything above this paltry amount. Much time of academics is spent on filling forms, following up payment vouchers, collecting cash from the Bursar, getting three, now increased to five quotations for getting simple supplies needed for doing anything out of the mundane. The Finance Ministry can intervene to ensure that financial autonomy is fully vested with the University and that the respective university council encouraged delegating authority so that the core competency in the university which is its academia and their energy and time can be released to pursue academic and research work. Councils must also be given greater flexibility to device incentives schemes as well as means of generating income to universities by providing research and marketable educational products. They must also be given greater discretion in utilizing earned incomes. It is grossly unfair to criticize universities when it is the Government AR and FR that are used to deflate the energy of the presently limited number of academics from doing anything innovative or entrepreneurial.

Recruitment autonomy: It is common knowledge that except for academic posts, applicants to all other posts in universities have to be selected from a list sent by the Ministry. The basis of inclusion in this list is a letter from a ruling party politician. Sadly most government institutions and now universities are being treated as the dumping ground of political supporters and their kith and kin. We know what happened to the CTB and the Railways which were in the 1960s, institutions of national pride. Our State universities are being dragged (currently kicking and screaming) along the same route to ridicule and destruction.

Parliament, the Auditor General and all other watch dogs of public interest have failed to stop such violations of autonomy, transparency and abuse of power. Unless universities are provided the functional autonomy to do their own recruitment to suit the requirements of running an educational institute, public should be made aware that universities cannot be held responsible for delivery or more precisely the lack of it. Thus the most pressing closure we require from the Hon Minister is the closure to political interference. The University Act must be amended accordingly and until then a circular issued to this effect.

Procedural Autonomy: Many readers of my previous article published in the Colombo Telegraph criticized the lack of research publications by Sri Lankan academics. As one of the species who has supervised several PhD candidates, scores of Masters Students and Research Assistants over 20 years, it should be said that State universities have in general no allocation earmarked for research (except the dubious ‘Research Allowance’ that was given in lieu of a salary increase last year). Currently the National Science Foundation (NSF) provides research funding for which it has a 26 page application form. The monthly allowance payable to a full time Research Scientist (one with post graduate qualifications) is only Rs 40,000/- and less for full time MSc and PhD students. I simply cannot find qualified, capable and experienced researchers at such allowances! In the universities abroad that we are often compared with, the research output of professors is almost entirely dependent on the availability of quality post graduate students and assistants they are able to hire. Moreover, even if one finds funding for a research project in Sri Lanka, funds to travel and present research papers at an international forum or for publication is often more challenging that the research itself. Furthermore, if and when you actually get the funds, it is possible that you could have missed the deadline for applying for overseas leave from the university which must be done 24-days before travel! Such are the unsupportive and archaic regulations within which research is expected to be carried out in Sri Lankan universities. If you add the constant chaos due to power cuts, flux in university calendars, and unavailability of suitable support staff, getting even the smallest research output is an effort. A Research Fund to provide regular funds for competitive proposals with simplified disbursement formats, higher remuneration of researchers together with stringent output requirements could be set up in each university to solve this problem.

The Issue of Retaining Academics

Much has been written on the inability of the current university salaries and work conditions to attract or retain quality academic staff in State universities. I wish to say no more. The higher student fees I propose could be used by the universities to overcome some of these problems. For example, I propose the creation of a Research Fund in each university equal to 1/10th of the total salary bill of academic staff to spend entirely on research activities of such academics supervising post graduate students, research fellows and for publications and travel for presentations of papers at conferences. A comprehensive family medical cover and insurance is another requirement as currently there is none and a source of stress for many. It can also provide a fund for assisting young recruits to lecturer grade to pursue higher qualifications, as scholarships are increasingly difficult to obtain. It would also be adequate to provide a ‘re-settlement’ package for those returning from PhD studies overseas to assist them to purchase a house and vehicle if they so desire of course, plus some entitlement for school admissions as these are some of the major concerns for someone returning from abroad with young children.

As per my calculation, if the Faculty of Engineering at University of Moratuwa is provided per student funding of Rs 350,000/-, the recurrent income to the university would increase by around Rs 100 million per year. This will be adequate to provide all the above proposals for the faculty plus leave enough for the 20% salary increase that is demanded at this stage plus hiring staff required for the additional students. The proposed tie to inflation and GDP will also enable universities to pay market rates to their staff without creating salary gaps and ensuing strikes!

Conclusion: More Money for Universities should ensure more Students will access Quality Education

Currently State universities admit just 15 percent of those qualifying to enter university while Private Higher Educational Institutes admit around 8 percent with an equal number seeking admission to foreign universities. The relative costs for providing such education are in the approximate ratio of 1 (State): 2-3 (Private): 5-10 (Foreign). There should be a plan to increase the overall access to universities for at least 50 percent of those qualified. Since State universities offer the lowest cost of higher education they should be nurtured and capacity further developed to become the primary provider. However quality should not be compromised by attempts to reduce cost further.

This article gives clear and practical steps the Government could take to resolve the crisis in the universities. It calls for a committed plan of increasing expenditure on State universities from 0.21 to 0.48 percent of GDP over 4 years. This cannot be a Herculean task for a government embarking on many ambitious and expensive development projects. It is the investment in higher education that will ensure that such projects are properly planned and implemented. Thus higher education is basic condition of sustainability in development efforts. A similar per student funding scheme may be developed for school education with an enhanced remuneration package and in-service training for teachers, for providing resources for student-based learning facilities. These too could be introduced in a stage-wise manner to make it practical and affordable. It is even possible that such strategic interventions can in fact enable quality of university and school education to be restored even without spending all of the 6% of GDP that is being demanded.

The author gratefully acknowledges the support of the University of Moratuwa Teachers’ Association (UMTA) for the data mining and analytical work for this article and in particular the contributions from Dr Himan Punchihewa, Dr T. Sivakumar, Mr Ranil Sugathadasa and Ms Baudhi Abeysekera.

Lankan students at London Met University face deportation

September 1, 2012, 8:52 pm 

By Sujeeva Nivunhella in London, The Island

More than 2,000 overseas students, including scores of Sri Lankans face deportation from Great Britain within 60 days if they fail to find a United Kingdom Border Agency (UKBA) approved university after the British government stripped the Metropolitan University of its right to admit foreign students.

With this well-known higher seat of learning in London losing their Highly Trusted Status (HTS), which permits it to sponsor international students, around 100 Sri Lankan students reading for diverse degree programs will have to relocate to a UKBA approved campus or return to Sri Lanka, according to the British Foreign & Commonwealth Office.

However, unlike earlier occasions, the British Government has stepped in to request the Higher Education Funding Council for England (HEFCE) and Universities UK to set up a task force to support affected students and enable them to continue their studies in the UK. The Department for Business, Innovation and Skills (BIS), the UK Border Agency and the National Union of Students are also part of this task force.

The UKBA website says London Metropolitan University students now in the UK with a current, valid UK visa need not do anything immediately, and as for students on holiday outside Britain, they can return to the UK."New students planning to travel to the UK to start studying with London Metropolitan University should not travel", it advised.

Immigration Minister Damian Green said the University’s Highly Trusted Status was revoked due to "serious systematic failure". Most of students lacked a good standard of English knowledge and were not attending lectures. 

The Minister was quoted by Sky News saying "….the University proved to be a "very, very deficient" sponsor because more than a quarter of students sampled were studying there when they did not have permission to stay in the country. A "significant proportion" of students did not have a good standard of English and there was no proof that half of those sampled were turning up to lectures".

Professor Malcolm Gillies, the University’s Vice Chancellor, described the claims as not "particularly cogent" and said it would be disputing them, according to the

news report.

"I would go so far as to say that the UK Border Agency has been rewriting its own guidelines on this issue and this is something which should cause concern to all universities in the UK", he continued.

As foreign students were thrown into panic over the announcement, Universities Minister David Willetts, announcing the formation of a task force to help those affected by the decision, said "It is important that genuine students who are affected through no fault of their own are offered prompt advice and help, including, if necessary, with finding other institutions at which to finish their studies".

But, Keith Vaz, Chairman of the Home Affairs Select Committee, said the move could harm Britain’s reputation as a prime destination for overseas students. "It has left thousands of students in limbo and I am afraid it may damage the reputation of this country as the best place in the world for overseas students".

"Just when we are welcoming thousands of overseas visitors for the Olympics, at the same time we are saying to thousands of overseas students who have paid a small fortune to come to Britain in good faith that they can no longer study at this university", he was quoted as saying.

Some 290,000 international students and their dependents are granted visas each year on average, according to statistics from the National Audit Office. They contribute over £5bn to the UK economy, Universities UK says.

NUS President Liam Burns said that politicians need to realize that a continued attitude of suspicion towards international students could endanger the continuation of higher education as a successful export industry. "This heavy-handed decision makes no sense for students, no sense for institutions and no sense for the country."

Emmanuel Egwu, international students’ officer at the university, was one of the many students angered by the decision. He was granted a visa to study at the university in 2009 and is in the final year of his course.

"I pay a lot of money. I’ve spent £30,000 to 40,000 in tuition fees - my parents sell properties and land to make sure they can pay my fees so what’s going to happen to people like me," he told Sky News.

A statement posted on the university’s website last night read: "The implications of the revocation are hugely significant and far-reaching, and the university has already started to deal with these.

"Our absolute priority is to our students, both current and prospective, and the University will meet all its obligations to them."

With the UK Border Agency (UKBA) examining alleged failings, reports spoke of about 2,700 students and student over-stayers removed since April 1 2009, while another 40,000 to 50,000 individuals may have entered in 2009 to work rather than study.

Preserving heritage of a sound education system and ending present multiple crises

August 31, 2012, 7:14 pm . The Island

"After the Roman Army took Syracuse

a soldier, in the midst of the looting and raping,

stopped when he saw a Greek bent over

figures inscribed on the sand. Gaping,

the Roman watched his strange absorption

in that magic of lines and circles. He,

(not looking up at the soldier said, "Move!

With your shadow there it is hard to see!’

The soldier hit him on the head, and so

Archimedes died."

- Regi Siriwardena

NOTEBOOK OF A NOBODY

by Shanie

Archimedes was one of the greatest mathematicians of all time. He was a native of Syracuse and when the Roman Army overran Syracuse, the Roman General gave orders that Archimedes, because of his fame, should not be harmed. But, yet, a Roman soldier killed him. The circumstances of his death are not known but Regi Siriwardena’s creative enactment of the killing perhaps effectively captures the mindset of a conquering army. An arrogant soldier, unable to comprehend the genius of Archimedes, takes it upon himself to kill the respected scientist, He perhaps thought that this old Syracusean had no right to be talking to a conquering soldier in that manner, without the deference the petty man thought he deserved. It is the same arrogant mindset that seems to grip many of those in power in our country. But we will come to that later.

Our country has had a proud educational tradition since ancient times. Both in the Buddhist and Hindu cultures, scholarship and the guru-sishya tradition flourished. In modern times, the colonial rulers introduced a system of school education. It was during British rule, however, that sound secular education was encouraged, with primary and secondary schools, imparting education both in English and in the vernacular, being established throughout the country. In 1921, the University College, affiliated to the University of London was established and transformed 21 years later, as the fully fledged University of Ceylon. About this time, the State Council, on the initiative of the Kannangara Committee, introduced far-reaching educational reforms. The twin pillars of these reforms were the provision of free education for all, from primary to tertiary levels and the establishment of high quality central schools in all the districts pf the country. Even though the legislation for compulsory education for 5 to 14 year olds did not come immediately, school enrolment was high. That is why at the time we gained independence, our country had a near 100% literacy rate, among the highest in the world. The Kannangara reforms had made possible education available and affordable to all, thus enshrining one of the cardinal principles of a democracy – the right to education.

Decline in Quality

During the first couple of decades after independence, we carried on with the momentum built with the Kannangara reforms. Thereafter there were ups and downs, depending on the Minister of Education. but over the last few years, there has been a rapid decline in the standards and quality of the institutions and bodies associated with education. It will not be fair to place the whole blame on bungling politicians. The sycophantic bureaucrats who have found a niche in our educational system have to share the blame. They have failed to take a firm stand on ensuring that our educational institutions enjoy academic freedom and maintain acceptable academic standards. There are two apex bodies – the National Education Commission reviewing on an ongoing basis the education system in the country and advising on overall educational policy that needs to be formulated; and the University Grants Commission concerned about coordinating the University system, regulating the broad administration of Universities and ensuring that they maintain academic standards. Unfortunately, both Commissions do not function as they should. The NEC has virtually been sidelined and policy decisions are made by politicians and the bureaucrats in the Ministry without any consultation with the NEC. The UGC which maintained its independence until a few years ago, now merely carries out the directives of politicians, even when they are in total violation of the Universities Act.

z-scores and University Admissions

Take the case of University admissions. We have two Ministers responsible for this. The Examinations department under the Minister of Education has to release the results of the GCE (AL) results. Based on those results, a system has been in place to choose those eligible for admission. Raw scores are converted to z-scores based on a system worked out by competent academics. The Minister of Higher Education becomes responsible for the admission of students to Universities.

A new syllabus was introduced for some of the subjects at the 2011 AL examinations: Thus some students sat under the old syllabus and some the new. But the Examinations Department erred in having the z-scores calculated without treating the two sets of candidates as different, and released the z-scores. The Minister refused to listen to the protests and ultimately the Supreme Court had to rule that the calculation of the z-scores by combining the raw marks of two different ‘populations’ was wrong. This has now been rectified. But it has taken the UGC an enormously long time to finalise the university admissions. It will be unfair to penalize the students who qualified for admission under the old (and wrong) system of z-scores but do not qualify under the corrected system. This column suggested some months ago that all those who qualified under both systems of z-scores should be admitted to universities. This is also the opinion of several academics including Professor Arjuna Aluvihare, former Vice-Chancellor and former Chairman of the UGC. It entails taking in an additional batch of students but the UGC in typical bureaucratic fashion seems yet to make up its mind. They seem so used to following political directives that they are unable to take a decision on an issue that is within their mandate. In the meantime, the students are left in total suspense. The z-score issue is not one that should have ended up in a fiasco calling for Supreme Court intervention. But our Ministers and their bureaucrats are not used to admitting mistakes or taking responsibility for mistakes. It is always a case of blaming it on conspiracies!

Yet another conspiracy!

The latest scandal to hit the Ministry of Education is the leaking of the Grade 5 scholarship examination papers. Instead of investigating it, admitting any mistakes made and putting things right, the Minister of Education talks of ‘conspiracies’. To what ridiculous a length can the Minister go. Does he think the public will keep swallowing his conspiracy bogeys. If blundering Ministers cannot take responsibility for mistakes and put things right, they should gracefully give way.

Also, on the subject of schools, it is reported that the Police have installed complaint boxes in several schools (presumably it will cover all schools) with a request that students place any complaints, etc in the boxes. The key to the box is held by the Police and the Principal has no access to its contents. Has the Minister initiated this or is it a Ministry of Defence brainwave? Either way, it will undermine school discipline when the Principal has no control over any student complaints. There are acceptable ways of dealing with student abuse, student complaints (even against the Principal), etc. without undermining student discipline in schools and without the intrusion of the Police or the Ministry of Defence in school affairs.

From Jaffna, comes the report of the senior girls in a leading school having protested against the conduct of an education official whose office is sited within the school premises. Apparently, following the protest, the Sri Lanka Army officials have taken some of the Prefects of the school to the local Army camp, given the girls a dressing down, got them to apologise and obtained a pledge from them that they would not allow such an incident to happen again. Again, at what price is school discipline and the authority of the Principal and the staff of the school.

Indeed this growing intrusion of the security establishment in schools is a worrying development. There have been reports that some school Principals are to be given military rank and that A/L students are to be given training in military camps. Indeed, apparently the students at the Mahinda Rajapaksa Vidyalaya in Homagama have reportedly already had this "training". The University community is already in upheaval about the growing militarization in the campuses. The plan seems to be to extend militarization to schools as well.

Trade Union Action by FUTA

The University teachers’ strike is now nearing two months. Their demands were eminently reasonable but it has taken the Minister of Higher Education, after weeks of denial, to come round to doing something. The reports of this week’s cabinet meeting suggest a Cabinet Paper was presented jointly by Basil Rajapakse and S B Dissanayake on the FUTA demands. The cabinet seems to have approved the proposals. Why did it have to await Basil Rajapaksa’s intervention for this to happen. Of course, the Minister of Higher Education, like his colleague in the other education sector, is unlikely to admit that he was wrong in not having listened and acted on the FUTA demands. We will probably be treated to another conspiracy theory and how he successfully broke the conspiracy.

Reports indicate that in terms of the cabinet paper, University teachers are to be treated as a special category of public servants, as they were some years ago when they were treated on a par with Central Bank officers. But there is no commitment on their salary demands. The FUA demand was also for an acceptance of the UNESCO recommendation that public spending on education should be 6% of GDP. At present, Sri Lanka is at the ridiculously low rate of 1.9%, the lowest in our region. Of course, it may not be possible to change this overnight but there must be a commitment that we would work towards achieving that UNESCO goal on an incremental basis within a defined time frame. In the meantime, adequate resources should be provided to the Universities to function effectively as institutions of excellence in higher education. The cabinet also seems to have accepted that the Universities should enjoy autonomy and independence. This should have been the goal of the UGC which the UGC shamelessly surrendered.

The cabinet has also decided to appoint a committee of some sort. At the time of writing this column, the exact function of this committee is not known. It is hoped that it is not a means to put off meeting the FUTA demands and for implementation of the cabinet proposals. For far too long, the Ministry of Higher Education has been playing games with FUTA with promises made but not implemented. The present cabinet proposals have come about due to the intervention of Minister Basil Rajapakse. He should assure FUTA of the immediate implementation of those demands that can be met now and a definite time frame for others. It does not appear that the academics have much confidence in the Minister of Higher Education delivering on anything.

The cabinet seems to have approved the right to autonomy of the Universities. We trust this means that political interference will end. Professor Arjuna Aluvihare in a recent newspaper interview has said that political interference in universities was all pervasive. This must end. The UGC must re-discover their role as guardians of University autonomy. The Senates and the Councils must be allowed to function and make decisions in terms of the Universities Act. Political directives cannot do away with aptitude tests in aesthetic studies, interfere in the selection of the most suitable security agency for each University, in the authorization of any training (leadership, military or otherwise) for new entrants, in providing for English or IT skills for new entrants, etc. Nor should indirect pressure be brought on making appointments to senior positions, appointments including those of Vice chancellors. The UGC should re-discover its role as a guardian of university autonomy and the rightful functions of the Senate both in letter and in spirit. Universities can meet the needs of the world around them only if their administration, teaching and research are independent of political authority and economic power.

Now is the time to halt the slide in our education systems, both in higher education and at school level. The multiple crises in education offer an opportunity to reverse this trend. We need to revitalise this sector for the public good. We need to preserve our heritage of a sound education system that produced men and women who took their place in society and made a valuable contribution to nation-building.

SB, Basil in Joint Cabinet Memorandum for Post Graduate University

Presidential Commission for recommendations on Higher Education sector

August 31, 2012, 10:00 pm 

By Ravi Ladduwahetty, The Island

Higher Education Minister S. B. Dissanayake and Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa have presented a joint memorandum to the Cabinet seeking the establishment of a special Presidential Commission for the higher education sector which will recommend reforms needed for the sector.

The proposed Commission will comprise top rung academics of the Ministry of Higher Education, University Grants Commission and the university academic community.

One of the key recommendations for the sector is the establishment of a post graduate University within the next four years.

The proposal for the post graduate university was among a host of proposals aimed at propping up the higher education sector, which is currently going through a massive crisis with universities closed following a strike by dons

The two Ministers have also said that the aim of these reforms will also be to recruit the highest calibre of teachers at all levels of education - be it primary, secondary or tertiary and provide them with attractive emoluments which will also motivate Sri Lanka born academic staff who are serving in the universities of foreign countries as well to return. The two Ministers have said, it would help the country to reach the hyped status of ‘Asia’s knowledge hub’.

have also said that it was the aim of the government to allocate sufficient funds to the education sector as a percentage of the Gross Domestic Product which is in accordance with the other developed countries.

The government has recognized the need for a total revamp of the higher education sector and one of the aims of the State is to have a university system which will encompass all districts of Sri Lanka, the memorandum said.

Editorial 

Water cannon & flames of unrest

August 30, 2012, 7:10 pm , The Island

The JVP has a peculiar attitude towards higher education. When universities are open, it wants them closed and when they are closed, it wants them reopened!

In the late 1980s, during its second uprising, the JVP coined a catchy slogan, 'Motherland first, Degree second––palamuwa maubima, devanuwa upadiya––to justify its efforts to disrupt universities and involve undergrads in protests against the Indo-Lanka Peace Accord and terrorist activities. Dissent was violently suppressed and undergrads, teachers and others who put up resistance were gunned down. Its slogan for schoolchildren was 'Motherland First, Education Second'––palamuwa maubima, devanuwa pasala.

But, today, the same political forces are braving water cannon and tear gas to have universities re-opened. What a volte-face!

On Wednesday, a large number of undergraduates led by JVP dissidents turned Colombo into a mini-battle field by trying to march to Temple Trees. They were demanding that universities be re-opened and university teachers' grievances redressed immediately. The riot police liberally used teargas and water cannon to disperse the protesters. The government had better brace itself for more such protests as ideology-driven student groups are sure to regroup and try to make a comeback.

One may not endorse the modus operandi of protesting undergrads who hurled projectiles at the police. However, one cannot but agree with them, in spite of their political motives, that the time has come for the government to swallow its pride and resolve the dons' strike through negotiations so that universities could be reopened without further delay. The Cabinet is said to have worked out a formula to solve the problem, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating.

The government cannot resolve the university crisis by closing universities, and water cannon cannot douse the flames of political unrest spilling over onto the streets. Earlier, Higher Education Minister S. B. Dissanayake boasted that only a section of university teachers had gone on strike and the strikers were reporting back for work in response to a government appeal to that effect. But, no sooner had he made that claim than he had to close the universities!

The government is apparently trying to turn public opinion against the striking lecturers by keeping universities closed indefinitely and blaming it on the strikers; its propagandists have already embarked on a campaign to vilify the office bearers of the Federation of University Teachers' Associations (FUTA). It is hoped that university dons will not play into their hands by boycotting the GCE (A/L) examination answer script evaluation due to commence shortly. Such action may serve the purpose of disruptive political elements riding the FUTA piggyback, unable to gain political mileage otherwise, but will certainly anger hundreds of thousands of children, their parents and well-wishers.

The government's waiting game is not going to work. Minister Dissanayake sought to justify his 'crackdown' on JVP student unions by claiming that universities had to be rid of politically-motivated student outfits and kept open at any cost. His tactics have apparently yielded results to a considerable extent. The JVP is no longer active in some universities and is fast losing its grip on others. But, Minister Dissanayake has done exactly what he once accused the JVP of; he has closed the universities! It is a supreme irony that he is now coming under pressure from JVP student activists to reopen universities! This is an interesting role reversal as it were.

Protracted labour disputes are like old anthills into which venomous snakes creep. Hence the need for the university crisis to be resolved through negotiations urgently! Regrettably, the government's arrogance knows no bounds. It seems to believe that simply because it commands a two-third majority in Parliament and is winning elections with the Opposition in total disarray it could railroad the striking dons into giving up their struggle easily. Its arrogance is likely to be its undoing.

UGC to submit Z-score settlement decision on Sep. 3By Chitra Weerarathne

August 30, 2012, 9:57 pm , The Island

The Supreme Court yesterday advised the University Grants Commission (UGC) to submit on Sept. 3, 2012, settlement in respect of the 2011 GCE A/L Z-Score dispute.

Faiz Mustapha PC, counsel for the UGC, told the Court that several meetings had been held between the members of the UGC, counsel for the petitioner students and the Attorney General. The outcome had been a success.

The petitioner students had recently filed a motion complaining that the authorities had pooled together the re-calculated Z-Scores of the candidates who sat under the examination under the old and the new syllabi. The Court on June 25, 2012, ordered the UGC to re-calculate the Z-Score treating the two syllabi as separate populations.

In the motion, recently filed, the students who sat the examination under the old syllabus have complained that the pooling together of the recalculated Z-Scores of the two populations is unfavourable to the old syllabus candidates. Their chances of university admissions have been impaired, they claim. President’s Counsel Palitha Fernando, the Attorney General appeared for the State.

J. C. Weliamuna and Saliya Pieris appeared for the student petitioners.

The Bench comprised the Chief Justice Dr. Shirani Bandaranayake and Justice K. Sripavan.

FUTA demand for 6 % of GDP for education: Free education not factored in – govt.

August 30, 2012, 9:59 pm , The Island

By Ravi Ladduwahetty

The Federation of University Teachers’ Association (FUTA) had not taken the component of free education, in calling upon the government to allocate 6 per cent of the GDP to the education sector, the government charged yesterday.

The FUTA was demanding that the government spend 6 per cent of the GDP on education as in the developed countries in the West, but it had not factored in free education at primary, secondary and tertiary education level, Media Minister and government spokesman Keheliya Rambukwella told the weekly Cabinet news conference at the government Information Department auditorium yesterday.

The Minister said the people who were clamouring for higher fund allocations for the education sector talked only about funds allocated from national budget but they failed to take cognisance of the funds provided by the Finance Commission to Provincial Councils.

Minister Rambukwella said out of 9,700 schools in Sri Lanka only 330 were maintained by the government while the others were run by the Provincial Councils. "How many of them have factored in the quantum of funds allocated for tuition classes and the funds parents pay on behalf of their children for education in private and international schools?" the Minister queried.

Dons snub govt. stick to their main demandsby Dasun Edirisinghe

August 30, 2012, 12:00 pm , The Island

Although the Cabinet of ministers had decided to establish a special category of service for university lecturers and appoint a high-powered committee to monitor the implementation of proposals submitted by the university lecturers, the Federation of University Teachers’ Associations (FUTA) has refused to give up its on-going strike.

FUTA president Dr. Nirmal Ranjith Devasiri told The Island they would not suspend the trade union action until all demands were met, practically.

The Cabinet of ministers on Wednesday night endorsed the views expressed in the joint memorandum, submitted by Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapakse and Higher Education Minister S. B. Dissanayaka that university teachers should be treated as a special category.

The Cabinet also decided to appoint a high-powered committee to monitor the implementation of the proposals agreed between the university academic staff and the authorities concerned.

It was also agreed that there should be an effective dialogue with the university academics and they acknowledged the need to make university academics active players in the development strategy of the government.

Dr. Devasiri said they would not accept those decisions as the government had forgotten the several other demands submitted by them.

"The cabinet did not talk about our salary hike or allocating 6 per cent of the GDP for education," he said.

The FUTAchief said that those Cabinet decisions were included in the Mahinda Chinthanaya policy document, too, but were yet to be implemented.

Dr. Devasiri said that they would not stop the ongoing strike until all their demands were met.

FUTA’s main demands are the allocation of 6 per cent of the GDP for education, consulting them when decisions are made on the higher education system and a pay hike.

Tertiary education based on specialised institutes must replace faltering university system in Sri Lanka

August 29, 2012, 6:51 pm, The Island 

In many countries – notably in the Soviet Union – specialised academic Institutes take on the task of training future specialists in key areas of learning. Suppose a school-leaver or a person with a first degree wishes to be a specialist physicist or obtain a diploma of specialization in this field. As things are in this country, he (or she) must enroll in one of the nondescript physics departments in our impoverished universities - which may, with justice, be described as mere teaching stations for undergraduates. The few competent physicists we have in this country are ‘loners’ in scattered places that serve as centres of undergraduate instruction. There is little professionalism in such places and it is a flight of extraordinary optimism to hope that such places will thrive as as centres of research and innovation. Suppose the scarce resources – human as well as the necessary peripherals – are concentrated in one place – a specialised institute – is it not clear that there will be a vast improvement in the quality of teaching and research in physics? Such institutes will offer courses for school-teachers, technicians and interested members of the public while taking over from the traditional universities the burden of instructing those reading for honours degrees in the subject. Research and teaching is best done when there is a critical mass of specialists working in an institute dedicated to the advancement of science. The low standard of research in our country is due to a ‘guru-sishya’ mentality in our places of learning.- the system where the is a ’know-all’ that passes his precious wisdom to his ‘disciples’. In scientific research, the young are often the great innovators and their teachers must stand aside when the need arises. This collegial spirit flourishes best when camaraderie is established between equals – a situation that is rarely seen in traditional places of learning but that which is vital for research in science. Hence the need for independent institutes of learning and research that foster this new spirit.

What has been said for the discipline of physics has a very general applicability. Thus Institutes foe Molecular Biology and Biochemistry, Geology and the Earth Sciences, Mathematics etc can be established by combining resources and by affiliation with universities already established. The education of specialists – be they the elite or humdrum ordinary folk – will pass on to specialist Institutes dedicated to the single-minded advancement of teaching and research in a chosen field. The disciplines outside science – for example, history, languages and religious studies – can be ‘institutionalized’ along similar lines and a new sense of dedication instilled into the study of subjects widely regarded as staid and unglamorous. Suppose we succeed in this revolutionary approach to Tertiary Education – does it mean that existing universities will decline to the contemptible level of a post-secondary certification centres? They need not if the first-degree courses are revamped to be a powerful basis for launching into careers that are wide open to the persevering and the ambitious. The first degree must not be a specialization – thus ‘Arts’ students must follow a course in science while science students must learn some history and philosophy. Both groups must strengthen their grasp of English by taking special courses in this vital subject. If these innovations are adopted, the first degree can be a true preparation for challenging work in in Post-Graduate Institutes, Administrative Service, Teaching etc.

Let us conclude by speaking briefly about financial outlays – a very contentious issue among academics these days. The Institutes must seek funds from the philanthropic public, industry and from students with the capacity to pay for the instruction received. They must have the power to deal directly with sponsors and supporters of the work they are engaged in and to tailor their programmes to meet current demands in commerce and industry. This must surely be a welcome relief for those who are appalled to see universities being directed by trade-unions and ill-disciplined bands of students. The ethos of disinterested learning and service to humanity must be placed foremost in the work of the proposed Institutes. This means that scholars – not politicians - will the principal architects. The goodwill and dynamism of politicians must be co-opted to secure the ends that serve all.

R. Chandrasoma

Riot police descend on undergrads

August 29, 2012, 10:16 pm 

by Dasun Edirisinghe, The Island

 The police anti-riot squad yesterday fired tear gas and used water cannon to disperse a protest march by undergraduates. Five police personnel were injured when some of the protesters pelted stones.

Thousands of undergraduates gathered opposite the Fort Railway Station and commenced their protest march demanding that all universities be re-opened, problems faced by the university teachers and non-academic staff be solved, education privatization plans and the Malabe Private Medical College be abolished and that all students affected by the Z–score mess-up be admitted to universities.

 The march organized by the Inter University Students’ Federation (IUSF) led by JVP dissidents brought traffic to a standstill. It was proceeding towards Temple Trees when the riot police descended on the protesters dispersing them near the Telecom Junction.

Police spokesman SSP Ajith Rohana said that the police had been compelled to use tear gas and water cannon to disperse the protest as undergraduates had turned unruly and started pelting stones.

Five police constables had been injured in the attack, SSP Rohana said.