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Private education regulation finally

01 Apr 2021

Everything changes with time, and the failure to adapt to these changes can not only cause social and economic regression, but also hinder future progress. Among many sectors that are changing rapidly is the education sector, which forms the foundation of a country’s development in numerous ways. The University Grants Commission (UGC) recently stated that it was planning to introduce regulations through a new Act for private sector higher education institutions, in a bid to ensure the quality of education provided by such institutions. The UGC also told The Morning that the lack of regulation in the private higher education sector has been identified as a serious issue, and that the proposed Higher Education Act would include provisions to regulate the aspects related to quality assurance. The importance of regulating private education institutions has been emphasised on many an occasion in the past few years, especially with regard to a popular private higher education institution based in Malabe, which came under fire due to allegations that the degree programmes it conducted were not up to the standards. First and foremost, the need and importance of having more private education institutions in this day and age has exponentially increased over the last decade, as the country’s public higher education institutions were not developed to cater to the demands of those seeking higher education opportunities.  Public higher education institutions do not possess facilities to provide education for all students who meet the relevant eligibility criteria through examinations, and most of the time, the best and sometimes the only option they are left with is private higher education institutions. Also, when looking at the past few years, it is evident that the country’s private higher education institutions have produced successful entrepreneurs and inventors. However, that is not to say that the public higher education institutions have not done the same.  The fact of the matter is that the private higher education sector has become as important as the public higher education sector, thereby making the former an integral sector that contributes to the country’s growth. In line with this endeavour, perhaps education authorities should also focus on learning from the private higher education sector, in order to address the perennial issue Sri Lanka’s public higher education sector has been facing, i.e. unemployed graduates and higher national diploma holders.  The country has seen more than enough protests and discussions over the issue of unemployed graduates and higher national diploma holders in the recent past, and most of these graduates were from public higher education institutions, whereas we have not seen graduates from the private higher education sector protesting, demanding for jobs. One of the reasons why it is taking place is because the public higher education sector has designed its courses to match the evolving job market. In this context, it can be assumed that there is no need to regulate the private higher education sector as far as its relevance to the job market is concerned. However, there is a huge need to ensure that the education provided by the private higher education sector is in step with the same national and international standards the public higher education sector adheres to.  Also, being on the same page, as far as qualities and standards of education are concerned, would pave the way for the two sectors to work together in future. This will not only ensure uniformity between the two sectors, but will also help address common concerns such as designing courses to match the job market and the country’s needs, as well as for the sharing of resources and knowledge. Most importantly, this would prevent students from wasting their money and time on courses that have no recognition in the country.


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