A post conflict society needs to move quickly from military confrontation to peace building. Social stability is the foundation for economic progress. Economic prosperity is predicated on many different inputs, of which human resources is the most important. Admittedly, Sri Lanka has limited mineral resources, and its marine resources and geographical location remain underexploited. However, the country has one of the greatest resources-its literate workforce.

Profile

Eran Wickremaratne is the Chief Executive Officer of the National Development Bank PLC. He believes that a competitive Sri Lankan Inc. is possible only with the development of human capital. "Human resources are our greatest asset. Education is the inalienable right of every individual .Education gives dignity, leads to the generation of incomes and wealth and enriches society" Eran champions the cause of expanding educational opportunities through more government investment, private sector partnership and encouraging social entrepreneurship. Frustrated with the slow pace of education reform he along with others have pioneered a school based on social returns, and gave leadership to the government's e-Sri Lanka initiative using Information Communication Technology ( ICT) for education and development . He spearheaded the first ICT Act of the Sri Lanka parliament as Advisor to the Minister of Economic Reform, Science & Technology, and served as the founder Chairman of the ICT Agency .His ideas on educational reform are refreshing and he speaks to the heart and mind of every parent. He believes the post conflict Sri Lanka's education system needs to be designed for global thinking and global markets. Eran Wickremaratne-CEO, NDB Bank

Education is an economic factor of production, but more importantly it is an end in itself as it contributes to human dignity. The right to education is an inalienable right of an individual. Governments must therefore deploy resources to provide their citizens equal access to education while also removing barriers and creating opportunities for individuals to access higher levels of education and skills training.

In the past, globalization meant trade. Later it meant capital inflows into emerging economies to establish manufacturing capacity, migrating from higher cost countries to lower cost countries. Similarly outsourcing and off-shoring of various business processes took place giving rise to the call centre. Now, globalization means on-shoring. On-shoring led to hiring of human capital and import of intellectual capital. In the future, globalization may mean human and capital flows in both directions. What is clear is that globalization is an ancient reality which keeps reinventing itself. Countries that provide opportunities for their citizens to develop intellectual capabilities and skills will have a greater probability of ensuring prosperity for their citizens. It is imperative then that a modern education system has to be designed for global thinking and global markets rather than for local thinking and local markets.

A public debate leading to reforms is necessary on primary, secondary, university, technical, vocational and professional education, if Sri Lanka is to be globally competitive. Primary school enrolment was 97% (2002), while only 90% (2007) completed Grade 9. Forty Nine percent (2006) of all who sat the GCE O/L examination qualified for the A/L. Even in the western province, where the standard of education is regarded the best, this figure was as low as 60% (2006). Thereon, from the 60% (2006) of students who passed the A/L only a mere 3% (2002) gained admission to a university. This demonstrates that only a handful can benefit by our present education system. The wealthier segment of citizens would invest in a university education from overseas for their children while the vast majority is disadvantaged by the limited access to degree level education within the country.

Free education is laudable and must continue. But "no education" in the name of "free education" for those who cannot either access state sponsored education or afford an overseas education is unacceptable and deprives young intelligent, students driven into despair and frustration. The political, professional and business elite and a few others educate their children at great personal expense, but have not demonstrated a political will to change the status quo and expand the provision of affordable university level education in the country.

The state must give up its monopoly on the award of education degrees. The state's primary responsibility is to enable and expand education opportunities. As there are competing demands for the limited resources at the disposal of a government, increasing the allocations of resources for education from the present 2.3% (2008) of GDP will be difficult. Therefore, it is necessary to remove all legal impediments and create economic, financial and other incentives for the private sector and civil society to claim the provision of education.

Even communist and socialist countries like China, Russia and Vietnam have taken significant steps to promote private education. OECD countries not only sell education, but also acquire the intellectual wealth of countries like Sri Lanka by providing grants and scholarships to its best students.
Sri Lanka needs to reinvent itself as a provider of educational excellence within the South Asian region - an attainable goal, given its favourable diplomatic relationships with its neighbours (and India's inability to aspire to a favoured position given its regional geopolitical leadership), and the country's relatively accessible visa entry policy.

The Government maintains 9700 public schools with its limited resources. Seventy Seven percent (2008) of the budget for education is spent on recurrent expenditure such as teachers' salaries, leaving little for capital investments on school buildings, computers, science and Information Technology laboratories and the like. Thirty five percent of schools have no electricity and 48% have no libraries. The pass rate at the GCE OL examination for the English language is 37%. This shows that the expenditure does not translate into the quality required for the average student to be amongst the most competitive globally. The focus in government schools should be on improving the quality of education.

The educational curriculum must be reviewed and revised when necessary. The need to include the teaching of competencies and skills to exploit entrepreneurial opportunities is clearly evident. The teaching of global languages whether English, Hindi, Mandarin or Spanish will bring immeasurable benefits within a generation. It will not only globalize our outlook but translate into exploiting global markets. A small population with a small market needs to create its unique proposition not just for survival, but to excel. A journey starts with a vision. A strategy and a plan then evolves. A conviction on the necessity to equip the student population in an international language could be translated into reality if backed by the political will to do so.

We must look to broadening the scope of the existing syllabus so that it caters to a wider range of employment options. Education must encourage the development of entrepreneurship. Most occupations are within an organizational framework. Therefore an employee must possess good communication skills and conflict resolution skills. Regrettably our education system does not provide for the acquiring of such skills. The education system must encourage inquiry, analysis, creativity and problem solving. The ability to frame a question is more important than finding an answer. The confidence to search for the answer is more important than knowing the answer. To achieve such an end the curriculum and the methodology of teaching requires an overhaul.

The access to higher education was limited to 11% (2002) of those who succeeded at the GCE A/L examination - 3% entered University, 2% obtained a technical education while 6% got a professional training. The university intake is largely biased against the science medium. A growing economy requires science, mathematics and technical graduates. There is not only a need to increase the numbers in the universities, but also to increase the intake into the non-Arts and Social Science courses. The opportunities in technical education could be rapidly increased by providing the correct economic and financial incentives for the private sector and civil society to become suppliers of education.

During the 1930s and 1940s the standard of education in countries like Hong Kong, Singapore, Korea and Malaysia were far below ours. Today, they have surpassed us, delivering a far better quality of education. Their achievements were not merely a result of the developments in education, but an outcome of a growth in demand for education stemming from the rapid economic development. The growth in education was mainly demand driven in South East Asia, while Sri Lanka's education system was constrained by a lack of demand due to lower economic growth in the same period. However, there is a case for the provision of a better supply of educated people with employable skills which in turn will spur economic growth locally.

While education is primarily demand driven, recognition and cultural preferences also determine educational decisions. We are well aware that there are some who pursue certain courses because of the recognition those qualifications or degrees bring. As a result, we see some sectors with more graduates than they actually need, while there are other sectors which do not have a sufficient qualified supply, despite the demand. The Nursing profession could be quoted as one such example. By designing degrees and establishing relevant tertiary educational institutes we can give those occupations too the desired dignity of labour. The relevant profession or industry would earn the respect they deserve and the sector would in turn attract more qualified persons.

Apart from the traditional degrees and qualifications for doctors, engineers and lawyers, we must put in place relevant mechanisms to provide education and necessary qualifications for the various other sectors required by society. It is essential that we obtain the participation of the private sector and civil society in meeting the shortfall in the supply of these professions.

Education is an inalienable right of an individual and with the end of the conflict Sri Lanka's educated workforce could expand rapidly. Accordingly, education must play a significant role in creating a society of equals. We need to build a meritocracy. South Asian nations are at an advantage since we traditionally place much importance on education. Our parents constantly strive to offer their children the best in education.

A few decades ago, we institutionalized discrimination among students selected to enter university based on the region of the country from which they sat their GCE A/L examination. Based on the 'Z' score results released in July 2009, a Colombo district student is required to obtain a minimum 'Z' score of 1.95 while a Kilinochchi district student is required to obtain a score of 0.53 to gain a place for medical studies. A prospective Engineering undergraduate from Colombo district requires a minimum 'Z' score of 2 while a student from the Moneragala district requires a score of 1. Is this fair? By such a scheme we are legitimizing economic and social disparity between regions as a given. We offer concessions to students entering university from districts that have poor educational facilities, but instead we must be looking to bridge the economic and social divide that exists between regions. In that way, we could eradicate injustice that takes place within society.

By creating a meritocracy, we could improve communal, social and political harmony. Also by giving those who are able to pay for their education the opportunity to do so, the government would have more resources to develop relevant educational infrastructure. Justice can then be done by the Government providing additional and adequate resources for those who cannot pay.