Educating the Chambers

Some years back the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce had a sub committee dealing with education that regularly discussed developments and came up with a set of recommendations.

What has happened to that committee? Either it doesn’t exist anymore or continues but with little or no public profile in the form of inputs on education.

A committee like that would have, or if it still exists, should have stepped into a major education crisis which reached boiling point until opposition protests led the government to withdraw a contentious plan.

Which is the crux of today’s commentary; why isn’t business taking a serious look at the country’s education structure just like it does on peace (to some extent like the business-for-peace groups) and other issues? Elsewhere in this section, we also focus on the crisis in universities where student protests have erupted once again. According to some statistics, apparently 50 percent of Sri Lankan students graduating every year are from private universities given the kind of problems that local universities face in completing degree courses on time.

Last week there was an uproar over a new plan on grade one admissions which as the opposition pointed out would have discriminated against the poor in the country. Consider this: The scheme for admission gives top marks for the education status of the parents and their job status. This would effectively shut out a carpenter, labourer or road sweeper from sending their children to government schools, forget even the Colombo ones.

With education in the state sector also becoming the privilege of a few, that would have triggered another bout of unrest and needed only a spark like the former JVP comrades to turn it into a violent uprising. No one … least of all the business community would want to go down that road again. Thus while the media and opposition groups called on the government to abandon this ‘suicidal’ policy, where were the ‘lords’ of the chamber movement in Sri Lanka? Why were they silent? Was it just lethargy or being unaware of such a disastrous policy that would have ruined the country’s development path?

The economy has been battered by a number of shocks in recent times with constant fuel price hikes being on the top of the list of woes of any corporate. Fuel costs are affecting output, productivity and profitability. Rising prices are pushing businesses to consider either salary revisions or increased cost of living allowances to workers whose monthly income is insufficient to sustain their families. The value of the currency is shrinking – so today’s rupee value is less that what it was a year ago.

While these issues – and the struggle to survive in a climate hampered by conflict – may dominate a CEO’s daily menu, chambers need to step back and take a look at the bigger picture in other socio-economic issues like education and ensure that the country doesn’t go back to the dark ages when disgruntled young men held the nation to ransom. A discriminatory grade one admission plan would certainly have triggered a revolt of a worst order, ruined business and turned the clock back once again.

Thankfully saner counsel has prevailed and the government is now reverting to the old admission system, which is not perfect, but non discriminatory.

Having failed to make its voice heard in the grade one admission crisis, the chambers and the business community need to also wake up to plans for new education legislation that is being drafted. On Thursday the cabinet approved a memorandum by Education Minister Susil Premajayantha on drafting a new Education Bill. The government should call for public representations and even if this doesn’t happen, business needs to lend its voice to make sure education fits in with the path of development and economic prosperity for all.