More facilities for universities

Successive Governments have increased the number of universities in the country with the aim of affording an opportunity for more students to pursue higher education.

Now there are universities practically in all the provinces. This has enabled education authorities to enrol up to 20,000 students, a substantial rise from the 15,000 a few years ago.

It goes without saying that the mere expansion of the university system is not enough. The students must be provided with all facilities. One of the most pressing problems facing the students is the lack of accommodation facilities as only a limited number of students have their own homes in the vicinity of any given university.

All others must find some form of accommodation nearby. But the best option is a hostel attached to the university itself and most universities do need better hostel facilities.

This problem came to the fore this week when students from the Rajarata University demonstrated in Colombo demanding hostels.

This was not an unfair request since most students of the university are from remote areas of the North Central Province and from other provinces. Many of them cannot afford to pay exorbitant boarding fees either.

It is in this context that we are commending the Government for deciding swiftly to construct hostels for the Rajarata University, at a cost of Rs.360 million. In this instance, the Government has directly entrusted the construction work to the State Engineering Corporation, as the usual tender procedures take a long period. We are told that more than 800 students will be able to use the proposed hostels.

This whole episode is significant for two reasons. First, it is rarely that we find university students agitating for more facilities to further their education.

Most student demonstrations are politically motivated ones with little or no connection to university education. Even if this particular demonstration by Rajarata students had an unseen political hand, it was all for a good cause in the end.

The second factor is the speed with which the Government reacted. It indicates the Government's firm commitment to university education and its willingness to listen to the students and the masses. That is a sign of a vibrant democracy.

That said, the authorities must not wait till the students take to the streets to rectify shortcomings at universities and other higher educational institutions. A special committee must be appointed to probe student grievances and physical shortcomings at all universities in the island.

Special attention must be paid to the universities in the East, which has just been liberated by the Security Forces.

The students themselves must bear in mind that the State is spending a colossal amount on free education. They must not let political elements in their midst gain the upper hand and disrupt their education.

Unfortunately, the current trend of political activism in universities has adversely affected the educational activities and the university system itself.

Recent news reports suggest that all is not well with our universities and that overall standards are going down. Such trends must be arrested immediately and remedial action taken. Lankan universities were once reputed in the region and indeed around the globe as world-class institutions. If that status can be restored, Sri Lanka will be able to secure a slice of the overseas higher education market in the SAARC region. The time has come to move rapidly in this direction.