With more interest in the quality of higher education in Sri Lanka than ever before, and with a pandemic forcing far-reaching changes, this is an opportune time to discuss what quality means for university education.
‘Arts people’, since quite some time now, are being pushed to confront this question head-on. Since answers are only as good as the questions that prompt them, my aim here is to first unpack this question, then its proposed solution.
A recent report on higher education published by the National Audit Office (2020) attempted to make a connection between graduate unemployment and Arts education. Today’s Kuppi Talk is derived from a response that we, a group of university academics formulated to the report.
We have seen more blood than this small island can soak. The country has seen decades-long war and two youth insurrections (1971, 1988-89) with thousands of young lives lost. In the ‘post-war’ era, violence continues unabated in the attacks on Muslims and Christians, the Easter bombings, and countless horrifying incidents
A student, who publicly described the ragging-related sexual violence he experienced, was accused of having ulterior motives for speaking out. A junior staff member, who spoke out about the ragging she witnessed was bullied for doing so, not only by raggers, but also by the staff.
The education system in Sri Lanka is often vilified as being outdated. But the demand for free public education has not relented. Primary and secondary schools have consistently seen high enrollments.
“Free Education is not something in the sky. I can touch it, I can feel it.”
