Win win situation

Uvindu ILLEPERUMA

Higher Education Minister S B Dissanayaka

Whenever a decision related to Higher Education of Sri Lanka is made, it always gives rise to pessimism. The rumour that the government is going to ban External degree courses has already reached its boiling point. It is ironical that this has already ruffled the feathers of not only potential external degree followers but politicians of the opposition.

Daily News met with the Higher Education Minister S B Dissanayaka to get to the bottom of this.

Q: There’s a hue and cry that government is going to stop External Degree Courses. What is the stance of the government regarding the issue?

A: We are not going to stop External Degree Courses. In fact we plan to enhance their standards. Prevalent methods are not at all up to standards expected by the government in its attempt to make the country a centre of knowledge in Asia. Current External degrees offered by the Universities cannot cater to the job market.

Most students who are taking those courses choose easy subjects such as Sinhala, Political Science, History, Philosophy or Sociology. This is not the issue. But students who want to have good jobs should be offered subjects in demand.

When graduates with External Degrees expects jobs from government or private sector they feel they are left in a lurch. Efforts taken over three to four years are wasted. They become a burden not only to the country and the government, but also themselves. This is the only reason for the issued road map.

Q: What are the measures the government has already taken to improve these courses?

A: In the short term, we are planning for standardize courses. Then the students can register themselves for new courses which would offer them latest knowledge. In the long term we will be registering institutes that offer such courses. All courses will be run under the supervision and the expertise of the faculties and the departments of universities.

For this we will establish a Quality Assurance, Accreditation and Qualification framework Council under the Quality Assurance, Accreditation and Qualification framework Act.

The council would include Vice Chancellors, professors and lecturers of the universities.

Through this council surveys will be implemented in pursuit of quality assurance, accreditation and qualification of both external and internal degree courses in universities, so the students will be able to follow standard and well constructed degree courses in near future.

Moreover student will be given the opportunity to follow courses which are newly introduced.

Q: When will this bill be presented in the parliament?

A: We have already prepared the bill. It will be enacted soon.

Q: What about the advent of Private Universities?

A: Private Universities which are which are allowed through the act will be conducted under the supervision of Quality Assurance, Accreditation and Qualification framework Council we will suggest through the bill.

What we should keep in mind is that Private Universities are not at all a new concept to Sri Lanka. Seventy-two Higher Educational Institutes have been granted approval from BOI. Fifty-four of them are still in operation, while 10 to 15 Institutes have closed down.

Some Institutes are doing well while some others are cheating the students. After the act is empowered these problems will be hopefully solved.

Q: How does the ministry plan to balance facilitating Private Universities while upgrading State Universities?

A: With the Act of Quality Assurance, Accreditation and Qualification framework Private Universities and the Institutes which are already conducting courses will come under Higher Education Ministry, UGC and Quality Assurance, Accreditation and Qualification framework Council for the first time. We will be imposing necessary laws and regulations to keep these in check.

For example we have already planned to ban university lecturers from working in private universities on permanent basis. But we allow them to work there on visiting basis. We have come to terms with Private Universities which are aiming to get 15 % to 20 % of students free of charge.

Forty to fifty thousand students who cannot afford higher education at foreign universities due to financial problems will be given the opportunity to enter local representatives of foreign universities through this 20% quota.

Q: What are the other benefits of private universities?

A: Universities that have expressed interest in setting up branches claim that they can offer low cost courses for students. Manipal University of India in particular has already pledged that they can offer courses at low prices than that of Russian, Singaporean, Chinese, Australian and British Universities.

Most students go to these countries due to low tuition fees. If the proposed foreign universities can offer low prices we hope more students will opt to stay. This could save a lot of foreign exchange out-flow. Through taxing private universities we can upgrade the facilities of State Universities.

This is a win win situation. We can get the support of the professors who will be contributing to the Non State Universities to upgrade state universities through research and development. We can pay more for the intellectuals of State Universities, since the country’s coffers would be fattened with the income from non state universities in Sri Lanka.