Education system must break shackles of monopoly

Hiran H.SENEWIRATNE

Sri Lanka’s education is monopolised by the Government which prevents world class universities to come and start recognised educational programmes in the country, Chairman United Motors Plc Ranjit Fernado said.

He said Sri Lankan universities just turnout graduates, not fitting to global job market conditions.

“If the Government could attract foreign universities to Sri Lanka, we could help to export our skilled labour to other countries especially to the Middle Eastern countries”, he said.

Fernando said Sri Lanka today produces a large number of Arts graduates who are not employable anywhere. Therefore the Government should make it a point to attract educational programmes which have employability in the global markets.

Sri Lankan universities should change the syllabuses to suit the international job markets with the changing patterns of world orders, Fernando said.

Q: You were a former Secretary to a Government Ministry. How would you see the functions of the public sector compared to the private sector?

The public sector in Sri Lanka is too large with a 1.1 million, with a ratio of one public servant for 18 people. In developing countries, the ratio between a public officer and member of the public is 1:80.

The reason for this is politicians use public sector entities to fill their political supporters for their political expediency expanding the public sector. But when we consider the private sector they always find ways to reduce the number of employees.

The classic example is when Kelani Tyres Plc was a Government Corporation its productivity was low.

After privatisation its productivity increased remarkably due to the profit orientation. Today we are competing with international markets.

Q: Do you think that our local industries are competitive enough to face global competitions?

Due to the globalisation, our markets are exposed globally. Therefore even the private sector calls for protection measures. The Government could support only those companies for a short period. In this scenario, the Government has to play a big role by helping our business sector people to find markets bringing technology and attracting investments.

Today our garment sector is a classic example where our garment trade supplies all the big trademarks in the global market. Our people are very competitive and has the ability to perform well, provides we get new technology and knowledge.

Q: Today credibility in public and private sector entities has become a question mark due to the absence of good governance. What are your comments?

Good governance is to have a relationship with owners/shareholders of the entity, board of directors appointed by owners and the management including the CEO. Therefore, each party has a distinct role to play. If these parties work with check and balance it will automatically improve good governance.

Q: Sri Lanka is determined to attract Foreign Direct Investments. Do you think it is a good move to develop the economy?

Our problem is that we are just attracting FDI without looking at the track record of companies. The Government must make it a point to attract investments, which brings new technology to the country.

The market access and technology transfers into the country will help to improve the economy in the medium to short-term perspective. If we attract quality foreign investors to the country we are immediately put on the global map.

The most important thing is to evaluate investors and help them to set up business ventures.

Q: Sri Lanka’s high interest rates and inflation has a negative impact. How would you look at that situation?

We have a 26 per cent high interest rates and 30 per cent inflation which has a impact on the business entities in a big way.

Therefore, we cannot run businesses at this rate. The role of the Government is to have the country’s financial structure in place. The high oil prices is not the reason for this crisis. The Government’s subsidies also do not help to resolve most of the problems in the country.

Q: Why are you critical of Government subsidies?

Our subsidies are only for the rich people in the country.

Therefore the whole system is not forward looking. For instance the Government is monopolising the education sector by preventing recognised international universities to offer degrees in Sri Lanka.

Q: Sri Lanka has grappled with many problems and crisis situations. As a business leader how would you comment?

Politics have played havoc in every sphere in the country.

The basic problem in politics is that every politician is trying to win the election by promising the heaven and earth.

They continue to take popular decisions just to stay in power. They should take decisions for the best interest of the country. Today, due to bad politics bribery and corruption is rampant.

I would like to take an example.

The Bhutan King deposed himself paving way for the democracy to come up by awarding a constitution to the country.

Today, Bhutan is a thriving democracy in the world due to the farsighted vision of the King.

Q: What is your opinion on the new Companies Act?

It has very good features. It promotes good governance in business organisations. Further the Audit Committee is a compulsory for all business entities and also a lot of responsibilities are cast on directors to create an efficient business entity.

Q: What is your philosophy in life?

My philosophy in life is that we must be useful to society.

You must be humble to others.

a Chinese Proverb says people must be like a bamboo tree, which means the higher you go, the more you should bend.

Q: You are a busy person heading several leading companies. How do you mange your time?

I am very careful when planning my time due to my busy schedule. I systematically plan my day to suit the day’s activities.

Bio-data
Name -: Ranjit Fernando
School attended -: St. Joseph’s College Colombo

Educational Qualifications -:
Academic-: Bachelor of Law, University of Colombo

Professional -: - Attorney-At-Law
- Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Management Accountants (CIMA)
- Fellow of the Institute of Bankers’ London
- Companion of the Institute of Management of London

Civil status -: Married, with three children

Current Positions - Chairman: United Motors Lanka Plc, Latex Green (Pvt) Ltd, Orient Financial Services Corporation (Pvt) Ltd, Lanka Equities (Pvt) Ltd.
Director - ICICI International Ltd, Kelani
Tyres Plc, Sierra Cables Plc.