Even at a very conservative estimate we obtain a figure of over one hundred thousand, as the total number of students qualifying for university admission in Sri Lanka each year. Out of this, only twenty to twenty-five thousand (20,000-25,000) is absorbed into the university system. An alarming seventy-five thousand or more is left out. On the one hand, this is a waste of the investment made in free education, and on the other hand, there is the question as to what alternatives are available for these candidates, either in the field of employment or in tertiary education. Ofcourse, we could continue to blame things on bad economics, short sighted policy making, monetary mismanagement and the like.

We have seen the success of external degree programs across the globe. It has catered to people from many walks of life and produced brilliant minds who have served humanity well. Distance learning has also been there for a few decades and has been another success story across the globe. Technological advances in the Age of Access can be used to bring more opportunities in tertiary education. The solution is to combine Distance Learning and External Degrees through ICT.

The use of ICT to create opportunities at the tertiary level should not be limited to IT related fields. Infact it should be quite the opposite. It should be used by all other faculties supported by an IT faculty. There should be two parties - the university, as the course provider, examiner and degree awarder. Then there is the IT service provider which acts as the interface between the university and the student.

Let us take the university of Colombo. It consists of leading faculties such as Social Sciences, Law, Arts, Economics, IT, Biology & Physical Sciences. The first group requires very limited lab facilities, but the latter group demands lab facilities. This university is equipped with an ultra modern studio capable of producing high quality audio-visual and virtual material for educational purposes. It has the capacity to conduct and award degrees externally, through distance learning. The same goes for most other universities in Sri Lanka.

Though still a developing nation thanks to high consumerism & tech savvyness, when compared to rest of the region, Sri Lanka is fast adopting the latest technological advances. Satellite, Mobile, & Optifiber link networks with high bandwidth are spreading across the island. These networks are increasingly becoming affordable for most Sri Lankans. The basic hardware costs about $150/- and basic services can be subscribed by monthly payments of less than $10/- Now, this readily available network can bring a great deal of content at the click of a button to thousands of subscribers. Not only those living in Sri Lanka, but even to others in the region such as the Indian subcontinent, the Middle-East and South-East Asia.

Remote entities or Centers will tap a source mentioned above, satellite, mobile or physical link, to bring content produced by universities to lecture rooms. This too can be done in many different ways; it can be a live transmission of an actual lecture taking place at a campus (ex: Colombo or Peradeniya), play back of pre-recorded material, or simply produce & play their own content. These centers should also facilitate occasional visits and interaction of lecturers with students. They may even make use of retired or freelance academics or experts from the respective fields. they can act as a remote campus with the option of not having permanent academia and hostel facilities.

Now, let see what we’ve got; a University External Degree (eg: in Economics) made available at a remote center (eg: ABC Academy) via some electronic medium with live/recorded lectures. This center would facilitate viewing of lectures, a library, and other basic facilities. The center can sign a bond with a university. A routine video conference or visit by department faculty will immensely contribute towards popularizing and giving recognition to students, centers, and programs. Marking of subject related materials, assignments, tests, etc can be done either by original faculty or the center itself.

Programs from Buddhism to International Relations, Law to Management, Financial Services to Journalism can be facilitated in this manner. Even lab based programs can be facilitated if centers are equipped in the proper manner.

Limitations in the existing system are mainly due to financial constraints. It is more or less entirely funded by the government. Universities can charge fees from Remote centers for making degree programs available at their centers, for conducting & marking of exams, for providing content, and for other services. Since, it is external & distance learning, they could even charge a nominal fee from the students. They don’t carry the burden of administration, providing facilities, hostels etc. Most of the leading network operators in Sri Lank will surely make some of their bandwidth readily available for Sri Lankan universities to take these programs to regional destinations, especially to the Maldives, Middle-East, and other SAARC nations. If required, technology can facilitate simultaneous translation. Or else, it could be in one common language-English. We can thus, even earn foreign currency for programs offered, content provided, and degrees awarded.

Remote centers could find corporate sponsors, and charge nominal fees for services & facilities provided. They could also make a range of other services & facilities available for members. Students will benefit by having access to the country’s Leading Degree Programs within the same locality they live in, and at an affordable cost. the government benefits by making available more opportunities in tertiary education in a wide range of subjects, minus the hassle of managing & funding such facilities.

The best way out for us is to face challenges ahead by improving our service sector. Sectors such as Financial services-Banking & Insurance, Health & Pharmaceuticals, Transport & Logistics, Buddhism & Education, IT & Telecommunication, Travel & Trade, and others should be developed vertically and horizontally. For this we need to produce more university graduates, and if Quality is the need of the day, then Quantity is definitely the need of the hour. In this regard the main responsibility lies with the Academia. Sri Lankan Universities need to take the initiative. We need to move into a Knowledge based Economy, strengthen our service sector, and become the Pivotal Hub of Asia.