President seeks swift completion of university degrees: FUTA, now It's your call

In some instances, the UGC has failed to uphold its responsibility for maintaining academic quality due to bias and inertia. Meanwhile, state universities have remained largely unaccountable for keeping curricula aligned with national needs and international standards. Bureaucratic processesdesigned decades ago to preserve hierarchy and control continue to stifle innovation.

- BY CHULA GOONASEKERA

Having studied within the university system at Peradeniya, been indirectly involved with FUTA matters, and served in both academic and administrative roles, I have firsthand experience of how challenging it is to revise curricula and introduce new programmes for national benefit while maintaining programme quality as the President has requested. Achieving this within the existing bureaucracy is a mammoth task, particularly given the limited institutional support and the many obstacles faced by students who are often at a disadvantage.

Revising curricula and ensuring that academic programmes proceed without disruption or delay are essential to genuine progress. The quality of higher education depends mainly on how effectively the University Grants Commission (UGC) assesses programmes against clear benchmarks and whether it is willing to redirect or penalize universities that fail to meet key performance indicators (KPIs). As the President emphasized, the ultimate goal is to produce high-quality, employment-ready graduates capable of innovation, thereby attracting more Advanced Level qualifiers and equipping them with globally relevant skills.

Achieving this goal requires competent staff, motivated students, adequate facilities, and strong monitoring systems. If all graduates can secure employment, and if competition for state university places is driven by genuine demand rather than default selection, that alone would mark significant progress.