Recent Police Attacks On Protesting Students & The Need For A Visionary Higher Education Policy
By Siri Gamage –November 4, 2015
Dr. Siri Gamage
Recent police attacks on protesting students near the UGC shows several pertinent points about the state of affairs when it comes to resolving higher education issues.1) boiling issues in society quickly turns into law and order issues when they are not handled in a timely fashion, 2) the need for a culture of patient negotiation between those in authority and those affected by such issues, 3) the need for better higher education policy and policy development process with related research of high caliber, and 4) issues like those in higher education such as privatisation are political as much as educational and social.
Firstly, it is important to reflect on the current context where these student protests are taking place. The honeymoon period of the new national government is over. In coming months and weeks, various segments of society with grievances may come onto the streets in order to express their viewpoints and demands in a more agitational way. People need solutions to their varied problems after going through a turbulent time over the years and decades. Smiling faces of those in authority and excuses of various sorts will not satisfy affected segments of society. If solutions are not forthcoming, these segments, some of which are politicised, may resort to various agitation strategies with the potential to irritate the rulers. What is necessary are broader consultation mechanisms with the affected parties, professionals etc. in different policy areas and the development of innovative and creative policies suitable for the 21st century. Development of a higher education policy suitable for Sri Lanka should be a priority in this sense.
Obviously, the issues that took centre stage before the recent Presidential elections can re-emerge in coming months and years. Some bankrupt political forces can attempt to take advantage of situations like the police attack on students near the UGC unless relevant policies are developed and administrative solutions to the problems that students bring to the table are not provided.
One of the main issues concerning students and parents is the nature of hybrid education system being promoted in the country by way of free education and fee-education of which the latter is designated as privatisation. This is a phenomenon not limited to Sri Lanka. In the world and regional contexts, many other countries are facing similar issues, especially in a globalising and so-called border-less era. The issue to address by the government is not weather to allow fee-paying education. It has become a standard practice around the world with the dawn of neoliberal economic formulae –though many criticisms are leveled against the same from many quarters. It is what inequities are created as a result of introducing fee-paying education that needs attention and find better and creative solutions to address such inequities.Read More
