Sunday Times 2
Private national education: the SAITM model
View(s):By Chula Goonasekera and Mahes Salgado
In Sri Lanka, anything ‘private’ seems not too good nationally. Nationalisation is the buzz word, as it means somebody else’s effort and work is acquired for presumed wider benefit of the public. Historically, however, this process is a proven pathway of ‘politicisation’ leading to a gradual downfall of the institution ending up with increased public liability. A majority of the public see ‘privatisation’ as a provision for public exploitation. But, is it? This impression is also prevalent amongst our reporters and publishers. This article is about one example where ‘private education’ can be used for national benefit. Not many would want to publish this kind of article in their newspaper or website as it does not favour the buzz word, ‘nationalisation’ and unfortunately, this kind of publication bias factures the foundation of independent reporting, which an essential feature of true democracy and healthy debate.
The South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) was a contemporary campus established in 2011 in Colombo to provide tertiary education for self-funding students.
A protest campaign broke out against the South Asian Institute of Technology and Medicine (SAITM) mainly led by students attending state universities who enjoy free education.
It acquired degree awarding status for the MBBS medical undergraduate degree in 2013 and was to be on par with the MBBS degree awarded by the state universities in Sri Lanka. Since the course was fee levying, it was affordable only to a fraction of our community. This created a sense of a ‘class’ divide. As a consequence, a protest campaign broke out against the SAITM which was mainly led by students attending the state universities who are enjoying free education. The protests were similar to those that were staged against the North Colombo Medical College (NCMC) two decades ago, the first privately funded medical school in Sri Lanka started in 1980. The NCMC was abolished and nationalised in 1989 and was absorbed into the state sector, and renamed Faculty of Medicine, University of Kelaniya.
I have no connection whatsoever with the SAITM. I am also not sympathetic to the protesters as their demands are extremely selfish. However, I see a novel educational model within this framework that can kick start our stagnant tertiary education system in Sri Lanka. Having studied and worked in a state university for over 20 years, my interest is to uplift tertiary education. We can re-model this educational pathway with broader understanding to benefit the entire nation as a whole.
When I entered the Faculty of Medicine, University of Peradeniya in 1975 to study medicine, only two per cent of the Advanced Level student population got an opportunity to enter university. The remaining 98% that ‘failed’ entry (not because they failed the Advanced Level Exam) had to find their own ways and self-fund their tertiary education. Today in 2016, after 40 years has gone by nothing much has changed. Only three per cent of the Advanced Level student population gain an opportunity to enter a Sri Lankan university. Sadly, as a country we have not really made any progress with regard to tertiary education for our children. This is a ‘failed model’ that needs rational and radical modification.
We can never be a developed country this way as we are not producing a sufficiently skilled workforce that can match the demands of a developed country. Unless, we resolve this educational gap, we are to see more and more people protesting along road sides demanding jobs that are non-existent. That is why we need to find another model for tertiary education in Sri Lanka – without resorting to the export of housemaids. For us to be hopeful of becoming a developed nation, at least 40% of our Advanced Level student population should follow a relevant undergraduate degree program and acquire modern skills to cater to the current needs. There shall never be sufficient national funding for this purpose in the current environment of heavy national debt. Furthermore, free education is not sufficiently competitive to promote educational advances. Competitive education is not a bad thing. In fact conversely, it is the biggest impetus for modernisation.
The tragedy is that 97% of students who did not get a chance to enter a Sri Lankan university not only have to self-fund their tertiary education under the current setting but also pay taxes to fund the three per cent who entered the university as they receive free education via public money. It is these three per cent of students, who are now securely placed in state universities wanting to block medical and some other education programs for the others. This is an inverted model of capitalism. Basically students in free education want to ‘privatise’ medical education for themselves. In the socialistic jargon, this is another form of the caste system, based on the Z-score mania. They have no right to interfere with anybody else’s education, especially when they are funding it by themselves.
The problem with the SAITM is its lack of transparency in the student selection process and inaccessibility to the common man who cannot afford the fees. Both these issues can be resolved relatively easily.
The solution is within grasp in four realistic steps.
n The SAITM gets included in the University Grants Commission (UGC) admission hand book and student selection takes place via the UGC as for any other university study program in the country. Therefore, the current nationally accepted selection process will take over student selection to SAITM. In the UGC book this program should be identified as a ‘fee levying’ program with details of the cost.
n The UGC Quality Assurance Council and the Sri Lanka Medical Council (SLMC) approve the acceptability of its curriculum with the relevant improvements.
n Advanced Level students can now select their choices upon their merit and include the SAITM also if they so wish. This will ensure equity at the application and entry level.
n If a student selected to the SAITM cannot afford the course fees there should be provision for him/her to apply for a low-cost repayable government loan. The loans are subject to mandatory repayment in instalments after their qualification and employment. Thus, ensuring that the increasing numbers of students entering tertiary education do not become a national burden.
n The SAITM be declared as a non-profit making organisation and subject to the Government auditor’s scrutiny.
The SAITM will this way come under the national framework as any other state university. However, the SAITM should preserve its automaticity and modify its curricula in keeping with rapidly evolving medical knowledge. It should also retain its right to the processes of modification and recruitment of staff. It should also preserve the right to select a small proportion of exceptional students, including foreign students in keeping with UGC policy. This is to ensure that these institutions are not ‘locked’ in with an outdated national model and can improve the quality of their programs to maintain student demand and become financially self-sufficient. Fifty per cent of medical knowledge changes every five years. The current curricula revision pathway in the national university system is too snail paced to keep it modern and up-to-date.
This is a good model of tertiary education that will apply to most other programs also. It will also invite other investors to establish quality educational institutions in Sri Lanka. It is also a model that can attract foreign students via our own A Level exams (A major investment for the country). This will resolve this issue in the long run and allow more self-funded education programs to join the UGC. This will give a much needed boost to education in our country and also stop the brain drain of educators.
(Chula Goonasekera is a former professor and dean of the University of Peradeniya and Mahes Salgado is the Head of the English Language Teaching Unit.)