The gaps in the higher education sector

• Although 177,000 students have qualified for university entrance this time, only about 45,000 - one fourth of them - would enter state universities

The Education authorities announced the results of GCE Advanced Level examination on Saturday and mainstream media as usual have given wide publicity to the top scorers in various streams of the exam. Although earlier there were discussions whether media hype only on those who are successful would further discourage the low scorers, media continue to praise only the high achievers.  
Around 222, 800 school applicants and around 51,600 private candidates had sat for the examination held last year and out of a total of around 274,400 candidates, nearly 177,000 students had qualified for university entrance. No doubt, this is a good achievement by the education sector in the country. 
However, this also points to a serious issue that has been unresolved or ignored by the authorities including politicians for decades. This year’s statistics show that around hundred thousand students have not qualified for universities. Despite this being the case in the recent past as well, what these unsuccessful students are going to do next has been something not relevant to the authorities so far.  
A section of these students might retake the exam. Some students might fail in their attempt once again. What are they going to do? Those who can afford to enter vocational training institutes might do so and others are left to themselves. There is no institution that would or could guide them on their future.
A small number of them might excel by resorting to self-employment including farming while others might become three-wheeler drivers, pavement hawkers, small-time venders or labourers.  
Although 177,000 students have qualified for university entrance this time, only about 45,000 - one fourth of them - would enter state universities. Again, the rest are left to themselves without any guidance to find a path to excellence. Out of those selected to universities about 2000 students leave them each year for various reasons including ragging by the senior students. 
A small section of those affluent students who are interested in continuing higher education but not selected to state universities or have left them might enter into the private universities here and abroad. The rest who cannot afford any of these options would join those who did not qualify for university entrance.
The Janatha Vimukthi Peramuna (JVP) was one of the leading pressure groups that opposed private universities vehemently in the past. They called the private universities “Upadhi Kada” (degree shops). Ironically, they did not oppose Sri Lankan students getting degrees from fee paying foreign and local universities such as the Green University and the Kotelawala Defence University (KDU), before they enter the competition in the local job market. 
However, the National People’s Power (NPP), the coalition formed by the JVP that currently runs the government has distanced itself from the JVP’s former stand on private education. President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, prior to the last Presidential election told that the students must have the liberty to choose between the state-sponsored education and the private education. Yet, it is not clear if Sri Lanka has sufficient slots in private universities for all those who are dropped from the state university entrance process. 
Against this backdrop it is pertinent to look back on the promises the politicians tossed at the people on developing higher education. Former President Ranil Wickremesinghe in August 2022 said that Sri Lanka will change laws to allow foreign universities to set up branches in the country. Again in October the same year, he stated he will open several new universities including in Kurunegala and Batticaloa and private institutions such as NIBM and SLIIT to be given national status to speed up the country’s higher education system.
In September 2023, during a meeting with Sivali Central College’s students from Ratnapura, Wickremesinghe told about plans to establish 10 new universities in the country and facilitate higher education opportunities in England and America through student loans. Again, in the same month at the G77 and China summit in Cuba he said Sri Lanka plans to create five new universities specialising in new technologies including an International Climate University. It is not clear what happened to those promises.

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