GLOBAL ACADEMIC RESEARCH INSTITUTE COLOMBO, SRI LANKA GARI International Journal of Multidisciplinary Research ISSN 2659-2193 Volume: 05 | Issue: 04 On 31st December 2019 http://www.research.lk Author: R.H.R.S. Wijayawardhana Lanka Nippon BizTech Institute, Sri Lanka GARI Publisher | Social Science | Volume: 05 | Issue: 04 Article ID: IN/GARI/ICCICE/2019/113 | Pages: 83-95 (12) ISSN 2424-6492 | Edit: GARI Editorial Team Received: 27.11.2019 | Publish: 31.12.2019 GRADUATE UNEMPLOYMENT IN SRI LANKA: CAUSES AND POSSIBLE CORRECTIVE ACTIONS R.H.R.S. Wijayawardhana Lanka Nippon BizTech Institute, Sri Lanka [email protected] ABSTRACT In order to meet the rising demand for education in Sinhala and Tamil languages higher education in Sri Lanka, both the in 1959. public and private sector higher education Although the Ceylon Medical College providers have increased their provision was established in 1870, the beginning of resulting in acute graduate unemployment the university education in Sri Lanka and under-employment situation. Given marks with the establishment of the this context, the main objective of this University College in 1921, and it gave an paper is to examine the principal causes opportunity for the students to sit for the contributed to this and possible corrective external degree offered by the University actions for the mitigation of the crisis. of London. The University of Ceylon was Attention is primarily drawn to understand established in 1942 by expanding the a) the education mismatch and skills University College. The number of mismatch, b) insufficient attention given students enrolled at the University College to quality and relevance of study in 1921 was 166 and that was gradually programs. c) poor attention given to increased to 338 in 1929 and 664 in 1938 existing job opportunities and new jobs (Warnapala, 2011). The University of being created in the international job Ceylon had only four faculties offering market and d) heavy dependence given to degrees of BA, BSc and MBBS and the the public sector as the job creator. medium of instruction was English. The Keywords: skills mismatch, graduate language policy adopted in 1959 regarding unemployment, under-employment university education resulted in getting students from a wide range of socio INTRODUCTION economic backgrounds and the demand for higher education increased Sri Lanka’s economic history after tremendously (Samaranayake, 2016). about 1960 had a unique position among With a view to meet the increased demand, developing countries where there is low the government first elevated two per capita income on the one hand and the Buddhist Pirivenas (Buddhist monastic higher Human Development Index (HDI) educational institutes) namely Vidyodaya on the other. This was mainly attributed to and Vidyalankara Pirivenas into two the free of charge provision of health and universities as Sri Jayewardenepura education of the country. The major social university and Kelaniya university. Then reforms were facilitated with the granting three affiliated colleges namely Rajarata, of universal franchise in 1931, Wayamba and Sabaragamuwa were introduction of free of charge education in elevated to universities. By 1978 there 1945 and the introduction of university were seven universities in Sri Lanka. ISSN 2659-2193 | Volume: 05 | Issue: 04 | 31-12-2019 During the academic year 2017/18, the number of students admitted to universities under the University Grants Commission (UGC) except the open university was 31,415 out of 163,160 students qualified to enter the university. (a) Include both Engineering (UGC Statistical Bulletin 2018). The Technology and Bio Systems Technology rapid growth of student enrolment to (b) Some odd subject combinations universities after the introduction of Source: UGC Statistical Annual Report Sinhala and Tamil language streams in 2018 1959 changed the socio economic The above table has highlighted the composition of students in universities following features in the university noticeably where a substantial proportion admission. of students has tended to come from lower (i) Almost 2/3 of university students are middle class families and poor agricultural females backgrounds. As a result, these students have mainly sought to enter to the faculties (ii) Admission to Arts stream has come of Arts, Social Sciences & Humanities, down to about 32% of all students Commerce and Management (De Silva, (iii) Admission to Commerce stream is 1979). around 20% while Arts and Commerce There was a high concentration of taking together comes to little over 51%. students in degree programs of Arts and (iv) Students admitted to Physical Humanities during 1966 and 1970. The Science, Bio Science, Technology and following statistics show the concentration other streams come to about 49%. of students in those degree programs of the Although university enrolment total intake (Warnapala, 2011). expanded rapidly over the past two 1966/67 77% decades, the demand for higher education 1967/68 76% appears to be much higher. For instance, the university admission in the academic 1968/69 73% year 2017/18 was 31,415 out of 163,160 1969/70 70% qualified students to enter university, Situation has gradually changed over which is only 19.25%. Owing to the time and the dominance in the Arts & limited places available in the universities Humanities gradually slowed down in under the UGC, non-state higher recent years. One of the main decisions education providers have come to offer taken by the government regarding the different degree and diploma programs. In introduction of new courses came with the 2015, there were 16 non-state degree admission of students to the Technology awarding institutions registered under the Stream in the academic year 2015/16. Ministry of Higher Education offering 64 Table 1 below shows the composition of degree programs. There were 8,892 student admission in the academic year students at these institutions registered for 2017/18 to Government Universities and degree programs. There are some non- institutions (except the Open University of state unregistered higher education Sri Lanka) under UGC. providers offering degree programs as affiliated higher education institutes of foreign universities and they had 4,518 students registered for degree programs in 2015. In addition, a large number of students were registered for Diploma ISSN 2659-2193 | Volume: 05 | Issue: 04 | 31-12-2019 programs. It is also estimated that about However, with the expansion of university 12,000 students leave the island for higher education, this situation has changed and education in other countries annually. All many graduates who had obtained degrees these numbers add to the graduate output in the stream of Arts and Humanities left aggravating the graduate unemployment. unemployed for few years (Lakshman, The Table 2 below provides key 1998). information regarding the higher Apart from internal students of the education sector, according to which new universities, there is a large number student admission has increased more than registered for external degrees 4.3 times from 1990 to 2018 while the compromising the quality of the graduate. graduate output increased more than 5.8 Warnapala (2011) noted that “the poor times during the same period. Although quality of the graduate is due to a variety the student admission and the graduate of reasons; the primary reason is the output increased rapidly, expenditure on absence of proper facilities for them to university education as a percentage of acquire knowledge and skills. At present, government expenditure increased by only the advice and guidance given by 1.9%. universities to external students is limited to administrative matters and examination regulations. The existing external degree programs cover 11 universities, and the number of students registered for external degrees with universities is 206,152 and this in effect means that the total number of students, who sit the A/L examinations annually, enter the external degree programs. … The quality of the product has virtually declined and no employer, except the government, wants to provide employment to external graduates.’’ The objectives of the study Job creation for the youth and Graduate unemployment was not an unemployed graduates has been a major issue until about 1960 mainly due to the challenge to every government elected for fact that the number coming out from the the last several decades. The issue of universities was not very high and they unemployment would generate two major were able to be absorbed to both the effects on the economy and society in private sector and public sector positions. general. The first is the unrest among In fact, in early years, a sizable portion of unemployed youth which at times them were able to getting to the private destabilize the whole affairs of the sector positions through the relations their country. That is why the youth parents had with the private companies insurrections that took place in 1971 and while the balance was absorbed to the 1988 in Sri Lanka were claimed to have public sector for such posts as medical direct links to youth unemployment as officers, engineers, lawyers, officers in the well. The second is the waste of valuable administrative services, academic staff in human resource for the development of the universities, secondary school teachers country. Situation is further worse when it and various positions in other sectors. comes to unemployed graduates as a huge cost in terms of free education was already ISSN 2659-2193 | Volume: 05 | Issue: 04 | 31-12-2019 incurred on them by the government. job market. A study by Senarath,S.A.C.S. Given this context, every government is et al.( 2017) has confirmed the hypothesis pressurized to provide jobs, particularly that education mismatch is visible in the for the unemployed graduates on urgent graduate labor market in Sri Lanka. This basis. In view of the above situation, the situation would generally create lower main objective of this study is to productivity in the work place and lower understand the principal causes for the level of job involvement resulting high graduate unemployment in Sri Lanka and rates of employee turnover.