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SB’s private degrees cause concern
A Gazette notification to allow private institutions to award degrees without conforming to professional standards has led to a howl of protests.
Some of the main areas where provision has been made to award degrees are in the fields of medicine, engineering and architecture.The Sri Lanka Medical Council, the governing body for medicine, said it was “gravely concerned” over the implications of the move by the Ministry of Higher Education. “We have communicated to President Mahinda Rajapaksa the serious consequences that will arise,” Prof. Carlo Fonseka, President of the SLMC, told the Sunday Times.
Concern was also expressed by the Institution of Engineers. Its President Shavindranath Fernando said, “We will not allow this regulation to jeopardise the standards we maintain.” He said they were in consultation with other professional organisations to voice strong protests together. The earlier practice was to require private institutions to comply with the certification standards set by professional bodies. Each private institution was required to submit this to the “Specified Authority” who is the Secretary to the Ministry of Higher Education. This requirement has now been made optional.
Former Colombo University Vice Chancellor, Prof. Savitri Goonsekera said the previous provisions were enshrined to ensure there was quality control in the sphere of professional education. This was done prior to recognising an institution’s degree-awarding status. However, the change in the regulation would prevent professional bodies with knowledge and expertise in the respective disciplines from having a say over who would be admitted to the practice of a particular profession. However, Higher Education Ministry Secretary Sunil Jayantha Nawaratne defended the move, saying the responsibility of the Ministry was limited to the decision on whether or not to grant degree-awarding status to any institution.
According to him ensuring compliance with standards set by relevant professional bodies will continue to be the responsibility of relevant degree-awarding institutions. Dr. Nawaratne said it was not fair by the applying institutions to require such certifications and that it is ‘not ethical’ on the side of the ministry.
“It is not our responsibility; if the students want to practise in the profession then they will have to seek the accreditation,” Dr. Nawaratne added.
The Federation of University Teachers’ Union also expressed concern over the move. In a letter to Dr. Nawarathne, FUTA protested over the non-consultative process adopted by the ministry regarding higher education.