Gone are the days when almost every student in a classroom said that their ambition was to become a doctor, engineer or a teacher. However, Sri Lanka is yet to be done away with that mindset that continues to tell our children and parents that certain professions are noble and certain professions are not, and that examinations and formal education is the only thing that can help build a prosperous future.
The results of the General Certificate of Education – Advanced Level (GCE A/L) examination, commonly known as the GCE A/L exam that decides the future of those completing school education, were released on 4 May, and like every year, this year’s release of results also followed a discussion about the future plans of those have passed it. Out of 301,771 candidates who sat for the examination, only 194,297 had qualified to apply for university entrance. The remaining 107,474 candidates are left with two options, i.e. re-sit for the examination to get better results the next year, or pursue alternative educatio
nal qualifications or a career that suits the educational qualifications they possess.
In a country like Sri Lanka that believes that formal education is the only proper education and that education is what decides every aspect of a person’s future, it is not at all unusual to see people putting every possible effort to pass an exam and fighting over exam results. But, it cannot be underestimated or overlooked, as what this tradition reinforces is a bad precedent for future generations.
On the one hand, it has created an unnecessary competition to pursue the so called noble professions and thereby created an influx of job seekers that exceed the amount of human resource these professions actually require, which in turn diminishes their ability to demand better working conditions, better remunerations, maintain professional standards and ensure continued career growth. On the other hand, owing to this situation, other professions which are as important as the so called mainstream, booming professions but are less popular, decline, as the candidates who best suit these professions are in pursuit of the mainstream professions in which they are less likely to excel.
The bottom line is that the high demand and excessive social and professional value attributed to some professions not only hinder the growth and evolution of those industries, but also other industries that equally contribute to the country. This is why Sri Lanka thinks a doctor or an engineer are respectable merely because of their profession and a garbage collector does not deserve any respect whatsoever despite their contribution to the society.
However, that is not to say that this situation is stemming solely from social and traditional norms Sri Lanka upholds that values one profession over another despite their contribution to the country; this is also a result of the country’s education system that is developing and evolving at a snail’s pace. Be it public or private, the education system takes very little effort to evolve in order to match the needs of the present times, and this is also a reason that has caused the aforementioned professional division, because the professional qualifications they promote give the people the impression that those specific qualifications are the only qualifications that can lead a person towards a respectable profession.
Also, the Government’s failure or unwillingness to allocate adequate funds to give free university education to all those who pass the GCE A/L examination is a major factor that is worsening this situation. Lack of funds not only forces the authorities to cut down the number of students receiving admission to universities, it also limits the variety of courses that can be made available for students.
Creating and reinforcing the notion that certain types of jobs are superior to others is essentially a result of social inequality, among other things, and that notion in turn has created a division among those in various professions in Sri Lanka, which directly worsens this inequality. This vicious cycle would not end unless it is broken at some point – either by guiding the society to see the importance and value of the role of every profession that helps propel the country forward in some way, or by changing the misperception that certain types of education or educational qualifications are the only reason why a person opts for a certain profession.
Both the rulers and the society are responsible for this, and it is a responsibly that cannot be ignored as the mindset described above can affect generations to come.