The notion or the concept of ‘Private Universities’ is merely an idea or simply a suggested solution that was raised as a remedy for assumed problems such as un-employability and the mismatch between graduate skills and employer expectations, (Dissanayake, 2012), etc in higher education in Sri Lanka. Though the public assumes that the establishment of private universities is a remedy for those so called problems, it is important to state that it is just a fallacy. The actual phenomenon of the establishment of private universities should be carefully analyzed and real circumstances should be observed carefully. Given that, this article intends to talk about supporting facts pertaining to the establishment of private universities and adverse impacts of it.
Once more it is a misconception to believe that the concept of private universities is a common concept in the today’s world. But in general, the majority of Sri Lankans do not accept it. In fact, there is no any similarity between the institutions intended to be established under the premise of ‘private universities’ in Sri Lanka and the worldly accepted private universities.
Besides, privatization enables consumers to consume high quality goods and services. The quality of the commodity is highly prioritized since the consumer will not make a purchase unless the commodity is with a considerable quality. But when it comes to government intervention there is no such direct connection or a responsibility towards the consumer. This basic principle has led to inefficiencies in government institutions and to lessen the quality of commodities produced by the government. Given that, the most interesting phenomenon in this regard is that the majority of Sri Lankans hold an assumption and they hold a high expectation towards private universities anticipating a high quality service just for the sake of the advantages of privatization. Further they tend to defend themselves by providing examples of privatized institutions which have benefited upon privatization, for example, institutions such as private hospitals and Sri Lanka Telecom etc. Given all the assumptions, examples and facts, people tend to raise a question. ‘If private hospitals have been benefited out of privatization why won’t we establish private universities?’ This is once more a real misconception among the public.
I will elaborate on this in detail. Just imagine that you are searching for a private hospital. You would probably go to a place where you will be cured with highest treatments. Obviously you will not be concerned about expense that you will incur. Simply you would go for the best hospital and not for the cheapest. In this example the quality of the service comes first not the affordability. Given all the above examples, I would like to raise a question as to what a student may expect from a private university. More clearly the highest demand is not for the institution which provides you the high quality education, but for the institution which provides you education with a professional certificate with an affordable price. Once the minister of higher education, Mr. S.B. Dissanayake postulated that a proposed private university for Sri Lanka, Manipal University, offers medical degrees for Rs. 10 Million. Meanwhile, another private university which is situated in Malabe provides medical degrees for Rs. 6.5 Million.
Besides, universities such as Harvard, Cambridge and Oxford are the world accepted universities for medical students. But what is actually happening among Sri Lankan students is that they are not able to enroll for the above mentioned world renowned universities. Most of the time, the majority of Sri Lankan students select countries such as Bangladesh, Philippines, Pakistan and China for their medical degree. If a student is solely concerned about the quality of a medical degree he would probably go for a world accepted university like Harvard.
The same basic principle can also be applied to external university degrees as well. Unlike the other sectors in the economy, the perception of students towards the private education is not the quality but the affordability.
In general, Australia and the Great Britain are considered as the major suppliers for higher education. As we already know, Sri Lankan education system was initiated by the Great Britain and however, still there are grassroots of British traditions within the system of education in our country. There is only one private university named University of Buckingham in Britain. Further there is only one private university college named BPP University College of Professional Studies in Britain. Given those facts, one can possibly identify that there are only two private universities for a country like Britain, (Wikipedia, 2012). Furthermore, Bond University of Australia and University of Notre Dame Australia are the only two private universities operating in Australia. As experimentation, Melbourne University was initiated in 1998 but however it was bankrupt in 2005. At a glance one may identify that there are two private universities in Singapore. Obviously Singapore Management University and SIM Universities are operating under the ownership of the government. And in fact, Singapore Management University is directly funded by the government, (Wikipedia, 2012). According to the official website (University-Canada.net) it can be postulated that there are no single private universities established in Canada. But some websites describe that there are private universities existing in Canada but careful examinations revealed that those are merely small university colleges and the majority operate in Christian churches.
Obviously when we are discussing the notion of private universities, more concern should be given to the nature, not for numerical figures as to the number of universities in a country. In fact, the notion of private university is not a famous concept in the world. But there are countries which have a number of institutions, for example, United States of America. Adding to that the majority of Sri Lankans have given more preference towards the concept of private universities just because of the quality and the reputation which has been acquired by American universities. In general, majority of Sri Lankans state that if we have universities such as Harvard, Princeton etc, in Sri Lanka we also could possibly benefit from those universities, (Nawarathne, 2010). But the reality is these so called private universities are not of the type or the nature of universities that entrepreneurs anticipate to build for Sri Lankan students. Merely, the private sector’s intention of building private universities is to obtain a maximum profit. It’s the basic premise for an entrepreneur who builds a sole business, or a hospital hoping for a maximum return. To be more justified I can state that, private universities in America operate under the principle of nonprofit organizations. This means surplus profit is not distributed among the owners of the institution, it is allocated only for the wellbeing of the institution itself.
I’m keen on elaborating a fact that the establishment of private universities causes the society to be segregated into two distinct groups. Further this creation of two groups leads to a scenario of plutocracy, not the meritocracy among people resulting in inequality in a democratic country like Sri Lanka. Obviously, there is no need of creating a culture where people are considered as ‘posh’ in Sri Lanka.
Anyhow the policy of higher education in Sri Lanka should be to match the graduate requirement from the state universities in Sri Lanka. In my opinion, then only the prerequisite of quality in higher education can be ensured. Finally, I’m eager to affirm that, in general, some people might be able to state that, state universities operate under low infrastructure conditions. I would like to defeat this fact with a small comparative assessment allowing the community to identify the reality. For example, Colombo Royal Institute offers degrees in diverse areas like Management, Art and Law. Added to that, according to their official website, their library consists of ten thousand study materials. But when it comes to state universities like Peradeniya and Colombo the pertaining figure exceeds four hundred thousand.
Given all above facts and examples, it is important to state that I’m not in a position to reject the concept of private universities. What I want to elaborate is that the universities that are being established under the premise of ‘private universities’ in Sri Lanka cannot be categorized under the real meaning of private universities. Those are merely synonymous to a sole business which anticipates gaining a maximum profit. Moreover, there is a need for identifying the factors to create quality private universities that are actually lacking in Sri Lanka. So finally, what I want to affirm is the need to fulfill the graduate requirement and to enhance the quality of higher education by producing competent graduates through Sri Lankan state universities to ensure a flourishing future for the youth.
References
Dissanayake, S. (2012, September 23). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://srilankatalkforum.weebly.com/1/post/2012/09/matching-employer-needs-an-obligation-of-state-universities-and-students-in-sri-lanka.html
Wikipedia. (2012, October 04). Universities in the United Kingdom. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universities_in_the_United_Kingdom
Wikipedia. (2012, September 24). Singapore Management University. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_Management_University
නවරත්න. එච්. එම්. (2010.11.28), "අරිස්ටෝටල්ලාට ඉගෙන්වීමට යාම", රාවය.
Once more it is a misconception to believe that the concept of private universities is a common concept in the today’s world. But in general, the majority of Sri Lankans do not accept it. In fact, there is no any similarity between the institutions intended to be established under the premise of ‘private universities’ in Sri Lanka and the worldly accepted private universities.
Besides, privatization enables consumers to consume high quality goods and services. The quality of the commodity is highly prioritized since the consumer will not make a purchase unless the commodity is with a considerable quality. But when it comes to government intervention there is no such direct connection or a responsibility towards the consumer. This basic principle has led to inefficiencies in government institutions and to lessen the quality of commodities produced by the government. Given that, the most interesting phenomenon in this regard is that the majority of Sri Lankans hold an assumption and they hold a high expectation towards private universities anticipating a high quality service just for the sake of the advantages of privatization. Further they tend to defend themselves by providing examples of privatized institutions which have benefited upon privatization, for example, institutions such as private hospitals and Sri Lanka Telecom etc. Given all the assumptions, examples and facts, people tend to raise a question. ‘If private hospitals have been benefited out of privatization why won’t we establish private universities?’ This is once more a real misconception among the public.
I will elaborate on this in detail. Just imagine that you are searching for a private hospital. You would probably go to a place where you will be cured with highest treatments. Obviously you will not be concerned about expense that you will incur. Simply you would go for the best hospital and not for the cheapest. In this example the quality of the service comes first not the affordability. Given all the above examples, I would like to raise a question as to what a student may expect from a private university. More clearly the highest demand is not for the institution which provides you the high quality education, but for the institution which provides you education with a professional certificate with an affordable price. Once the minister of higher education, Mr. S.B. Dissanayake postulated that a proposed private university for Sri Lanka, Manipal University, offers medical degrees for Rs. 10 Million. Meanwhile, another private university which is situated in Malabe provides medical degrees for Rs. 6.5 Million.
Besides, universities such as Harvard, Cambridge and Oxford are the world accepted universities for medical students. But what is actually happening among Sri Lankan students is that they are not able to enroll for the above mentioned world renowned universities. Most of the time, the majority of Sri Lankan students select countries such as Bangladesh, Philippines, Pakistan and China for their medical degree. If a student is solely concerned about the quality of a medical degree he would probably go for a world accepted university like Harvard.
The same basic principle can also be applied to external university degrees as well. Unlike the other sectors in the economy, the perception of students towards the private education is not the quality but the affordability.
In general, Australia and the Great Britain are considered as the major suppliers for higher education. As we already know, Sri Lankan education system was initiated by the Great Britain and however, still there are grassroots of British traditions within the system of education in our country. There is only one private university named University of Buckingham in Britain. Further there is only one private university college named BPP University College of Professional Studies in Britain. Given those facts, one can possibly identify that there are only two private universities for a country like Britain, (Wikipedia, 2012). Furthermore, Bond University of Australia and University of Notre Dame Australia are the only two private universities operating in Australia. As experimentation, Melbourne University was initiated in 1998 but however it was bankrupt in 2005. At a glance one may identify that there are two private universities in Singapore. Obviously Singapore Management University and SIM Universities are operating under the ownership of the government. And in fact, Singapore Management University is directly funded by the government, (Wikipedia, 2012). According to the official website (University-Canada.net) it can be postulated that there are no single private universities established in Canada. But some websites describe that there are private universities existing in Canada but careful examinations revealed that those are merely small university colleges and the majority operate in Christian churches.
Obviously when we are discussing the notion of private universities, more concern should be given to the nature, not for numerical figures as to the number of universities in a country. In fact, the notion of private university is not a famous concept in the world. But there are countries which have a number of institutions, for example, United States of America. Adding to that the majority of Sri Lankans have given more preference towards the concept of private universities just because of the quality and the reputation which has been acquired by American universities. In general, majority of Sri Lankans state that if we have universities such as Harvard, Princeton etc, in Sri Lanka we also could possibly benefit from those universities, (Nawarathne, 2010). But the reality is these so called private universities are not of the type or the nature of universities that entrepreneurs anticipate to build for Sri Lankan students. Merely, the private sector’s intention of building private universities is to obtain a maximum profit. It’s the basic premise for an entrepreneur who builds a sole business, or a hospital hoping for a maximum return. To be more justified I can state that, private universities in America operate under the principle of nonprofit organizations. This means surplus profit is not distributed among the owners of the institution, it is allocated only for the wellbeing of the institution itself.
I’m keen on elaborating a fact that the establishment of private universities causes the society to be segregated into two distinct groups. Further this creation of two groups leads to a scenario of plutocracy, not the meritocracy among people resulting in inequality in a democratic country like Sri Lanka. Obviously, there is no need of creating a culture where people are considered as ‘posh’ in Sri Lanka.
Anyhow the policy of higher education in Sri Lanka should be to match the graduate requirement from the state universities in Sri Lanka. In my opinion, then only the prerequisite of quality in higher education can be ensured. Finally, I’m eager to affirm that, in general, some people might be able to state that, state universities operate under low infrastructure conditions. I would like to defeat this fact with a small comparative assessment allowing the community to identify the reality. For example, Colombo Royal Institute offers degrees in diverse areas like Management, Art and Law. Added to that, according to their official website, their library consists of ten thousand study materials. But when it comes to state universities like Peradeniya and Colombo the pertaining figure exceeds four hundred thousand.
Given all above facts and examples, it is important to state that I’m not in a position to reject the concept of private universities. What I want to elaborate is that the universities that are being established under the premise of ‘private universities’ in Sri Lanka cannot be categorized under the real meaning of private universities. Those are merely synonymous to a sole business which anticipates gaining a maximum profit. Moreover, there is a need for identifying the factors to create quality private universities that are actually lacking in Sri Lanka. So finally, what I want to affirm is the need to fulfill the graduate requirement and to enhance the quality of higher education by producing competent graduates through Sri Lankan state universities to ensure a flourishing future for the youth.
References
Dissanayake, S. (2012, September 23). [Web log message]. Retrieved from http://srilankatalkforum.weebly.com/1/post/2012/09/matching-employer-needs-an-obligation-of-state-universities-and-students-in-sri-lanka.html
Wikipedia. (2012, October 04). Universities in the United Kingdom. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Universities_in_the_United_Kingdom
Wikipedia. (2012, September 24). Singapore Management University. Retrieved from http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Singapore_Management_University
නවරත්න. එච්. එම්. (2010.11.28), "අරිස්ටෝටල්ලාට ඉගෙන්වීමට යාම", රාවය.