As per my knowledge based experience – there are two fundamental parts to the University system –Research & Teaching. To my mind, Research is ‘internal’ and Teaching is ‘external’. The way I look at it, Research is like us looking within and finding the Truth within ourselves. Teaching is to share that Truth through a regulated path called Teaching.
l by Gaja Lakshmi Paramasivam
(02 July, 2012, Melbourne, Sri Lanka Guardian) I write in response to the article “Autocracy in Higher Education and the Impending ‘Academic Spring’” – by Dr. Laksiri Fernando.
Having worked within the University system and having continue to address the issues I consider to be important to our University system, my feedback is more from my experience rather than my knowledge. I believe that once we have the ‘experience’ we naturally contribute to the ‘system’ as part of the system. As opposed to this, knowledge without experience – is ‘external’ and is lacking in power to naturally influence the system. In fact, when our statements are more than 50% due to external knowledge – they contribute to the ‘Business of Higher Education’ rather than feelings of ownership that naturally influence the system.
Dr. Laksiri Fernando says in this regard ‘There is already a knowledge hub in Sri Lanka and that is the university system. Before Sri Lanka becoming a knowledge hub in Asia or in the ‘whole world,’ this existing knowledge hub should be properly maintained and managed or otherwise the whole wheel of education might collapse. There are indications that the collapse has already started. No one is against the government having lofty ambitions in any of the five hubs declared. But action should match the ambitions, and ambitions should be realistic. Mere rhetoric is not sufficient.’
As per my knowledge based experience – there are two fundamental parts to the University system –Research & Teaching. To my mind, Research is ‘internal’ and Teaching is ‘external’. The way I look at it, Research is like us looking within and finding the Truth within ourselves. Teaching is to share that Truth through a regulated path called Teaching.
When Research component is less than Teaching, Universities are ‘over-regulated’. The more conscious staff and students are about money value, the less their contribution to ‘status’ and ‘ownership’. The less money they ‘think’ there is for them – the easier it would be for them to work for status and ownership.
Dr. Laksiri Fernando states ‘After relating credible information regarding duplicitous actions on the part of the MoHE during various negotiations, FUTA accuses the Ministry and the government of personal agendas and autocratic decisions quite detrimental to academic freedom and wellbeing of higher education in the country’
When JVP on the Sinhalese side and LTTE on the Tamil side were accepted by the People as part of their Government – Sri Lankans acknowledged in action that Higher Education was of lesser importance to them than Military action. Then itself one who looked ‘within’ would have known that academics had failed the country. Governments elected by those people will continue to naturally give second preference to Higher Education than military action. We get what we invest in out of our own freewill. In any case, autocracy is part of higher education. The higher the mind of the academic, the more difficult it would be for the student to think democratically. Students who ‘submit’ to the higher mind, are rare especially in a money-driven environment.
To the extent Universities failed to share in the pain of the Government during its difficulties – the Universities lost the opportunity to find solutions to national problems through Higher Education. Hence they now have to accept the higher mind of the Government in Planning and Budgeting. The alternative is for the Universities to become the Democratic opposition of the Government and keep producing the ‘other’ side of Government policies in all fields covered by the Universities – including in Political science. This would help the Universities become Independent of the Government and therefore attract funds independent of the Government. Do the Universities know how much a graduate is worth to the Government and how much they are receiving towards the cost of Higher Education of this graduate? Until they know their own inner workings, Universities do not have the democratic right to criticize the government.
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