Govts. drag feet as undergrads age

On Monday, August 24th, 2026, Sri Lanka's state universities continue to grapple with chronic delays, as warned by the Federation of University Teachers' Associations (FUTA). Admissions based on the 2025 GCE A/L results may be delayed by one to two years, due to the enrollment of two previous batches of students. The number of students per year has surged from around 25,000 in 2015/2016 to approximately 45,000, causing severe strain on the entire university system.

State universities operate with only about 6,800 permanent academics, despite the requirement of 12,000-13,000. PhD holders are unwilling to work for current salaries, which are heavily taxed. Students from other Asian countries typically complete their first degrees before turning 21-24, whereas Sri Lankan students usually graduate in their mid-20s, often between 24-26 years, according to OECD data.

Delayed graduations in Sri Lanka have economic, political, and social consequences, and the late entry of graduates into the workforce puts them at a disadvantage on the global job market. The current state of affairs is largely due to institutional delays involving GCE A/L examinations, university admissions, strikes, irregular academic calendars, a shortage of academic and non-academic staff, student protests, and university closures.

Despite this, the ruling party, led by the JVP, which engineered university closures for political gains, seems no different in addressing the university issues. FUTA submitted proposals for resolving the crisis to the government about a year and a half ago, but no action has been taken. The association warns that it will resort to trade union action unless the government addresses the universities' problems, hinting that the government might be neglecting them as part of a plan to promote private higher education institutions.

The government recently announced plans to amend the Constitution to extend the retirement ages of judges, claiming that experienced judicial officers must be retained to tackle a massive case backlog. However, the same approach has not been adopted to resolve the shortage of university teachers. The government claims its treasury is overflowing, making it unnecessary to increase investment in developing universities.

However, it remains unclear if the political authority has the will to resolve the university crisis, which is crucial for the nation's development.