Universities: Females outnumber males, graduates look for greener pastures abroad: Prof. Athukorala

By Leenah Wahab

Professor of Economics at the University of Peradeniya Wasantha Athukorala, said many university students leave Sri Lanka in search of better opportunities abroad, which poses a serious issue to the economy. “Taxpayers pay money to educate them, but they leave. At the end of the day, it is a big setback to the country,” he said.

According to Professor Athukorala, a majority of graduates in technology and agriculture leave for higher studies and don’t want to come back, causing a talent vacuum contributes to a significant brain drain and stifling economic growth.

Professor Athukorala commented on the tertiary education sector, stating that only around 45,000 students are taken into the state university system and children with 3 A’s at their A/Level examinations may not gain acceptance at times because it is too competitive. “Richer families are able to send their children to private universities in Sri Lanka. There is immense competition between private and state universities; but private institutions are moving forward while state colleges are stuck with government barriers to entry, red tape and inefficiency. We must liberalize private universities with contingencies attracting foreign students. We need to innovate our education system so that we can gain foreign chances,” he said.

He further noted an inequality in the male-to-female ratio in education, with male participation in pursuing their A/Levels and university education gradually decreasing. “The female population is one million higher than the male population in Sri Lanka, but this gap can be attributed to the fact that men try to find jobs early on instead of continuing their education. These opportunities are not available for women, so they generally seek higher education,” he said.

The Department of Census and Statistics conducted their yearly school analysis, demonstrating a decrease in the number of children enrolled in government schools. Professor Athukorala testified that this could be due to many factors, including a low birth rate, increased cost of living, and transportation, which financially impede parents from sending their children to school. “In the six-year 2018 to 2023 comparison, government schools noticed a 300,000 decline in students and a minor reduction of 3,700 students in private schools,” he said.

“Middle-class expectations are high; if parents don’t find an opportunity to send their children to a good government school, they send them to a private one. Not that government schools are lesser, but there is variation in resource allocation and quality. In a Sri Lankan context, parents spend more money as educating their children is of utmost priority.”