Sri Lanka: Can we afford free

education for all?

Studying medicine is a life time commitment and a life time

education process. If those who are attracted to this field are truly
aware of this situation, I am sure, like in most developed
countries, the students will opt out for different and versatile
study programmes in biological sciences other than medicine.

by Prof. Chandrika Jayasinghe-Mar 12, 2017

( March 12, 2017, Colombo, Sri Lanka Guardian) After basic
needs such as air, food, water, clothes and shelter, education is
the most important thing that a living being, particularly human
beings need. Education is a life skill: At baseline level, it provides
the person with basic life skills necessary for survival. Education is
essential for virtually all types of occupations, and it makes the
difference between being able to perform a job safely and
accurately and being unable to perform a job well. Education
makes a good citizen and enables people to contribute to their
community, country and the world. Education will broaden the
thinking pattern, communication ability, and also will teach the
people about the rest of the world. Education is a fundamental
human right and a prerequisite for the exercise of all other human
rights. Education will change the persons ideology which will help
to make a better world for all.
Freedom for education:
Freedom for education is the right for parents to have their
children educated in accordance with their views and also
allowing groups to be able to educate children without being
hindered by the state. It is the right of every child to receive the
education that he or she wishes to have, provided that the said
person has the appropriate level of intelligence, aptitude and the
attitude needed for the selected study programme. Diversity of
the peoples choices, their characters, opinions and the ways they
conduct themselves will enhance the freedom and diversity in
education. Any stereotyped pattern of education will only produce
people into the same mould and shape. The more efficient and
successful the state education was, the greater the dictatorship
that the state could establish over the minds and bodies of the
people.
Free education: Is what is funded through taxation or charity
rather than through tuition fee funding. In most countries, primary
education is free. Some countries, especially in Europe, total
education, including the postgraduate education, is free.
Knowledge is power- Francis Bacon
When knowledge can bestow power, why should it be restricted to
a few who have the advantage of wealth? Knowledge needs to be
free for all those who deserve it. What a person deserves should
be decided by an individuals capability and intelligence and not
by wealth. The best and simplest way to disseminate knowledge
to all those who deserve it, is through free education. Free
education would lead to more educated people. More educated
people in society leads to overall improvement in the quality of
life in the society.
Can we afford free education for all?
We have stepped into the band of middle income countries after
stagnating for many decades in the lower income group. Even
with the meager allocation for education we have reached a
higher level of literacy and education status today. With the
present economic status we are not in a position to extend the
free higher education to all who wish it and deserve it. Better
employment which is achieved through education only will
eliminate the struggle for basic needs. Then people would
concentrate on the higher aspects of life, such as improving
administration and management of issues that impact society in
general. Therefore, free education would have a positive impact
on the overall quality and thinking in society. More educated
people would mean improved governance. Educated people
would make better choices in electing their representatives and
are better fortified to question corruption and misuse of power
which are the main causes of downfall in countries like ours.
Therefore, education is not only the way-out of ills of
disproportionate wealth, but also the treatment for the troubles
that plague our administration and governments. By making
education free, we push our society towards the path of better
governance.
Free education in Sri Lanka
Free Education in Sri Lanka grants opportunities for more than
350,000 children annually to enter schools for free and continue
their education. Of these 350,000 students, only a small
percentage will get the chance to proceed to tertiary education
which is provided free by the government. Does this mean all the
other children should be deprived of higher education? Is it not
important to let them receive higher education through whatever
the available means?
My opinion is that the Government should give priority to
education and provide all children with the education that they
seek to follow. But due to financial constraints, if the country is
unable to provide free higher education to all, the students and
their parents should have liberty to pursue higher education in
the fields that they like, provided they have the aptitude and the
attitude to follow the selected programme. There are countries
which have realised the necessity to educate all their people and
gone to the extent of providing higher education even through
mass media.
As a country, we have failed in developing or taking national
policy decisions on education or other crucial issues. Our
government leaders are to be blamed for this stagnant state of
affairs, while many poorer countries have overtaken us because
they have national policies and successive governments are
committed to implementing the national policies rather than
bending and changing policies to suit their political agendas with
the intention of discrediting the previous regime.
Now what do we have to do?
Instead of cursing the darkness, light a candle. Benjamin
Franklin
Even if we like the Government to provide opportunities for all
students who qualify for higher education to have the
opportunities to enter a free higher education programme, we all
are aware that the country is not in a position to do so. This
country has unacceptably higher number of ministers and
according to a recently published article, the Government is
spending about Rs. 8.5 million a month to look after one minister.
You might wonder how many higher education careers can be
sponsored by just one month expenditure spent on a minister in
this country. But rulers of this country appear to be not concerned
of the wellbeing of the people or their education. They are largely
worried about how to increase their power, how to have a greater
impact on the masses through their power and how to stay on in
power.
To fight any battle we need to be properly armed. I believe that
the only way of becoming armed is to educate ourselves, so that
we can select good politicians to rule the country, and take this
country forward.
During this window period I believe we need to stop infighting and
strengthen the ways of educating our masses. Let it be in any
form either through free education or through paid education. Let
all be educated in the chosen paths according to their attitudes
and aptitudes. If we concentrate in educating all it will not be that
far that we get rid of these corrupt politicians and select our
rulers who would take measures with the intention of developing
this country in a moral backdrop, but not with the intention of
regaining power in a corrupt society.
SAITM and private medical education
Given this situation, I believe that during this window period of
financial instability, well established, quality maintained private
educational institutions are an asset to the country. At the same
time I need to highlight that there are many bogus institutions
where money hungry monsters manipulate students and parents
thirst for education. Worldwide, private education is widely
prevalent, but with the main intention of educating the masses
but not with the sole intention of generating money.
The University Grants Commission which is taking ardent steps to
maintain quality in universities, I believe, is trespassing to a great
extent on the autonomy of independent universities, but turning a
blind eye on these rapidly proliferating private educational
institutions. Rather than exerting undue pressure through many
quality assurance programmes on independent universities, which
can clearly and ably maintain their own qualities and standards,
the University Grants Commission should pay more attention and
exert bigger controlling impact on these mushrooming private
educational institutions.
Private medical education
To pursue in any academic career, the student should have the
capacity and the correct attitude, especially in a difficult
academic programme like medicine. In countries like ours, most of
the parents and young students are attracted to medicine after
seeing the seemingly luxurious life styles of doctors. Without
realising the difficulties and at times very frustrating life style of a
medical student or a doctor, parents press their children to do
medicine.
Studying medicine is a life time commitment and a life time
education process. If those who are attracted to this field are truly
aware of this situation, I am sure, like in most developed
countries, the students will opt out for different and versatile
study programmes in biological sciences other than medicine.
Though I totally agree with private education, I do not believe that
we can offer education in all academic programmes in the private
sector. The main reason why I do not think that total private
medical education is sustainable at this juncture in Sri Lanka is
the lack of patient numbers and the patient mix the most
important components in moulding a doctor. New medical
curricula are problem-based and promote self inquisitiveness and
self learning. For this type of training, students need to be
exposed to a large number of diverse clinical problems which are
only available in a state hospital.
After considering all the facts and the documents available, no
one could disagree that SAITM is a questionable institution,
established not with the intention of producing more doctors for
the country but with the intention of making money.
The problems
While old medical faculties with fully fledged staff, facilities and
with extremely heavy patient populations to cater to the
educational needs, take closer to 200 students a year, SAITM with
mostly visiting staff with handful of patients in one ward in a 1100
bed strength hospital, with no community health care training
facility or forensic medicine training facility has enrolled about
double that amount per year. No right thinking person will
approve this. With due respect to all the good teachers who have
served many medical faculties in the past before they entered
SAITM, I believe they have failed to educate the SAITM
administration regarding student-patient and staff-student ratios
in a medical faculty before finding ways to reduce the doctor-
patient discrepancy of this country.
Many parents who have enrolled their children in the SAITM
programme have only done injustice to their children, knowing
well that this kind of an institution will not be able to provide
proper training in medicine. Many parents who are consultants in
the medical field or teachers in the Government medical faculties
have failed to raise their concerns and make the University Grants
Commission aware of the non conformity of the institution to the
required standards. The University Grants Commission which is
keen on maintaining standards of government medical faculties
has failed in its duty to recognise this blatant lack of standards.
As far as I am aware, only the Sri Lanka Medical Council, the
Government Medical Officers Association and the university
student bodies have voiced their concerns before the court ruling
given on the SAITM issue. When students were admitted to SAITM,
it was expected that after some years they would graduate and
that there would arise this problem regarding practicals.
What did the teachers of eight Government medical faculties do
all these years as this problem was looming? When the problem
started, we were silent, when it was growing, we were silent. Now
it is ripe and all of a sudden we have woken up from our deep
slumber and demand to abolish SAITM. Is our stance any different
from that of politicians of this country? Is this the behaviour that
we expect from academics? Should we not file a no-confidence
motion against ourselves?
I am despondent about the whole state of affairs.
(The writer is a Professor in Medicine at the Faculty of
Medicine, University of Peradeniya)
Posted by Thavam