In Sri Lanka many of us had to undergo a strict two year regime of not going to parties, studying till dawn and having hangovers over books. What I am referring to here is of course those two dreaded letters -----> A/L's. Some of us pass this examination which is believed to be one of the toughest in the world but the majority of us students fail. There are over a dozen state universities in the island but out of an approximate 200,000 students who sit for this exam, only about 17,000 or less are accepted into these institutions where they have to undergo severe hardships (ragging, political affiliations etc) till they get their degree at a ripe old age.
For people with money and connections it is possible to enroll oneself in a private institution which provides either local or foreign accredited degrees or one may also choose to study their chosen field abroad. However what I want to know here is what happens to the rest of the people who are not accepted into local universities?? What happens to the sons of fishermen and farmers and common labourers who spend whatever money they save to try and secure a bright future for their offspring? They cannot obviously afford the exhorbitant prices exacted by the above-mentioned private instituitions. It is high time the Government abolish this sort of an outdated education system which denies a fundamental right to the children of our nation. Why is it that the J.V.P. and student movements backed by them are opposed to the creation of private universities? This would relieve a great burden from the amounts the Government spends on free education and those funds could be utilized to develop the facilities and infrastructure in state owned schools, universities etc.
For people with money and connections it is possible to enroll oneself in a private institution which provides either local or foreign accredited degrees or one may also choose to study their chosen field abroad. However what I want to know here is what happens to the rest of the people who are not accepted into local universities?? What happens to the sons of fishermen and farmers and common labourers who spend whatever money they save to try and secure a bright future for their offspring? They cannot obviously afford the exhorbitant prices exacted by the above-mentioned private instituitions. It is high time the Government abolish this sort of an outdated education system which denies a fundamental right to the children of our nation. Why is it that the J.V.P. and student movements backed by them are opposed to the creation of private universities? This would relieve a great burden from the amounts the Government spends on free education and those funds could be utilized to develop the facilities and infrastructure in state owned schools, universities etc.
