Higher education,youth unemployment and social justice in Sri Lanka

Higher education is an expanding area of private investment today many countries. This is partly the result of the increasing demand for higher education, particularly among relatively more affluent youth in the developing world. The exodus   of youth from the developing world for higher education has led to a debate as to whether private investment in higher education should be encouraged to create more educational opportunities at home. This has become a contentious political issue in Sri Lanka where state universities have long dominated the higher education sector. Establishment of private universities is perceived here as a measure that could marginalize existing universities and thereby their products in the employment market.

The state universities in Sri Lanka absorb only about 20% of the secondary school leavers qualified for university admission. Yet many of the local graduates remain unemployed for several years.  While the state sector does not offer adequate employment opportunities for them, private firms often do not absorb them due to their alleged unsuitability for private sector employment. Though greater public investments in general and higher education appear to be the way to improve quality of education and the employability of graduates, the governments tend to give priority to areas such as physical infrastructure and social services.

This paper examines the recent trends in enrolment  in universities  and unemployment among educated youth in the  of the light data drawn for the national youth survey of Sri Lanka conducted under the direction of the data drawn from of the author in 2009. This paper also looks at recent investment patterns in education in order to examine the adequacy of public investment in the sector, persisting structural inequities and their implications for equity and social justice.