Educational Experience in the COVID19 era : Challenges to Opportunities

Senior Professor Chandrika N Wijeyaratne

MBBS (Colombo), MD (Colombo), DM (Colombo), FRCP (London),Vice-Chancellor, University of Colombo

I am deeply humbled and greatly privileged to deliver the 2021 memorial lecture to honour Professor J.E. Jayasuriya – a pioneer educationist, academic and a brilliant son of Sri Lanka.

Born on February 14, 1918, he received his education in three schools ending with Wesley College, Colombo. Having excelled at the Cambridge Senior Examination and being placed third in the British Empire he was awarded a scholarship to the University College Colombo from where he obtained a First Class in Mathematics.   

He was the first principal of Dharmapala Vidyalaya, Pannipitiya and forsook a career in the coveted civil administrative service due to his resolute stand on encouraging Buddhist schools. He was handpicked by the father of free education and then minister of education, Dr. C.W.W. Kannangara, to lead the central school established in his own electorate of Matugama.   

Following Postgraduate studies at University of London he was placed in charge of Mathematics education at the Teachers’ College Maharagama until being appointed as a lecturer in the Department of Education of the University of Ceylon. In 1957, he succeeded Prof. T.L Green as Professor of Education, with the singular distinction of being the first Sri Lankan to hold this post.   

In his capacity as Professor and the Head of Department, Prof. Jayasuriya undertook the task of professionalizing education. He was a role model to the academia with his professionalism, erudite outlook, integrity and a deep commitment to his chosen field.. It was his vision that paved the way for the first undergraduate degree- Bachelor of Education awarded by University of Peradeniya in the nineteen sixties. The majority of the first generation of B.Ed. graduates achieved high professional status both locally and globally. The popularity of this course, which is now offered at the University of Colombo, testifies the foresight of Prof. Jayasuriya in developing this programme. While there are moves to expand today’s Bachelor of Education programmes, it is necessary to review these programmes in the light of Prof. Jayasuriya’s vision to maintain the quality of the very study course he designed.

I am captivated by Professor J. E Jaysuriya’s close association with medical education. He assisted Professor Senaka Bibile to establish the Medical Education Unit at Peradeniya. He delivered several guest lectures on measurement techniques and psychometry. He was elected as a Chartered Psychologist (U.K.) having the right to practice as a Psychologist. in the U, K. Later he was the UNESCO Regional Adviser on Population Education in Asia and the Pacific and one of his articles on the ‘Inclusion of Population Education in the Medical School Curriculum’ was ublished in the British Journal of Medical Education.

Educating the educators of Sri Lanka has now become a norm in Sri Lanka, about which Prof Jayasuriya would be extremely proud. The distinct features of Prof Jayasuriya’s approach to education, based on the information I gathered about him, include his distinctive approach to psychology and mathematics, intelligence testing and educational policy with a holistic, practical and pragmatic outlook; that I propose modern-day educationists should emulate. May his memory remain etched in the education landscape of mother Lanka!

Preamble

Sri Lanka has remained unique in its obligation to universal education over the past seven decades, well before more advanced countries gave due consideration to this aspect of social development. Despite multiple challenges faced, we have safeguarded education as a sacred and quintessential commodity.

The infrastructure, human resource and facilities for education have remained a priority in the eyes of the general public. Nevertheless, there are many unmet needs of tertiary education in Sri Lanka that caused concern for whole of society over the last two decades. It is noteworthy that University Grant Commission (UGC) statistics show that only six percent of young adults (between 18 and 24 years) are enrolled in state universities, while another five percent are enrolled in other state higher educational institutions. A further six percent are enrolled in non-state higher educational institutes with an additional three percent enrolling for external degree programmes. In total, the Gross Enrolment Ratio (GER) for tertiary education in Sri Lanka is only approximately 20%, being the lowest among all middle-income countries and below the average value of 24% for South Asia.

Furthermore, Sri Lanka has one of the highest rates of brain drain in South Asia. The World Bank figure for migration stands at 27.5% among those who received tertiary education, with an average annual migration level of 6,000 professionals. I consider this to be an underestimate by not factoring in the youth migrating for tertiary education while draining our foreign exchange.

The vision statement of the incumbent head of state, His Excellency President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, elucidated the need to introduce a reformed education policy and aim for no student who is suitably qualified to be deprived of higher education.

While discussion and deliberations were in progress on how this transformation must be addressed, the country faced the first wave of the COVID19 pandemic and a shutdown of all education institutions by mid-March 2020. The Presidential Task Force (PTF) on Sri Lanka’s Education Affairs was established through a gazette notification on March 31, 2020. The PTF which consisted of experts in the fields of education and higher education, was initially formed into three (03) Core Groups to propose suitable recommendations in the education sectors of General Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education. This was probably the first attempt to address education holistically under one umbrella and as a lifelong need. The TF was required to explore differences and variation of students, institutions and available resources.

COVID19 pandemic – the basis for the response of Higher Education Institutes

The single purpose required from us was to ensure there was no shutdown of education and to optimize the conversion of the process to online learning. Undoubtedly, adult education was the main sector deemed appropriate for an overnight transformation to the Online Distance Education (ODL) format.

With regard to long-term educational reforms beyond Covid-19 and the national expectations for broadening opportunities in tertiary education, far-reaching changes were required. The PTF recognized the need to transform the current tertiary education sector in Sri Lanka to become a globally recognized tri-partite system that consists of three key types of higher educational institutions (HEIs), namely,

1) State and Non-state Undergraduate HEIs

2) Postgraduate Research Universities, and

3) State and Non-state Vocational and Professional Institutions

This transformation was proposed with the explicit purpose to improve access to tertiary education, provide more flexibility and mobility within and among the three tiers and sectors, offer diverse opportunities for education, training and career paths, enhance standards, quality and relevance of training and promote postgraduate education, with particular emphasis on research, innovation and commercialization; all of which can upscale the economy and national development.

In terms of the required immediate change over to the digital mode, let us recollect the Sri Lankan State Sector experience with ODL by early 2020, immediately preceding the COVID19 pandemic. The Open University of Sri Lanka (OUSL), with a student population of 40,000, had the longest experience with ODL spanning 40 years. Online teaching commenced at the OUSL in 2003, with 50% of the courses made available online. This facility was provided as Supplementary, Blended and as an Online Plus. The open university included formative assessments as assignments, quizzes and discussion forums in the blended online courses. Limited summative assessments (final examinations) were conducted online, under a supervised environment in the computer laboratories of the Regional Centers of the OUSL.

An open-sourced support such as Moodle for the LMS, cloud based digital infra-structure and sustained interaction with LEARN, provided the necessary pathway to achieving the digital transformation.

Indeed, our IT experts provided speedy and unstinted support at the request of the UGC, with our own director of the University of Colombo School of Computing (UCSC) being a great pillar of strength. Permit me to divert here and share with you how this very personality, Prof KP Hewagamage the incumbent director of UCSC, recalls with gratitude how Prof J E Jayasuriya’s book on ‘Veeja Ganithaya’ for schoolchildren captivated his attention and was a life changing experience to learn mathematics from grade six in school! Free access to internet connection via LEARN was negotiated with service providers by HE the President, that ensured that the economically disadvantaged segments of our university population were not left behind. Nevertheless, many of our students still do not own a device to access online and/or have adequate internet bandwidth in their homes to effectively use the LMS. Smart phones were the first best option to ensure a timely transition – and was our only choice.

The concept of a virtual campus through the OUSL system that provides free internet access to students via computer laboratories based in Regional and Study Centers situated in every district was re-visited. Ensuring the provision of a Tablet PC to every student was recognized as priority, so that the new entrants in 2020/2021 are to be provided with student loans for this purpose.

Student centered independent learning was propelled into action. Despite many challenges, this transformation of the educational process would be viewed by the late Professor Jayasuriya as a veritable liberation from a stifled system, that was the main reason for the broader vision to transform education. Without doubt, Sri Lanka was entrapped in a tuition-based examination-oriented rote learning ethos, from which we clearly require to disengage. The COVID19 related shift in demand of educational lifestyle was the ideal opportunity for the deliverance of a more fulfilling and productive educational process and outlook for 21st Century Sri Lanka.

Learning Resources for
Online Education

Quality learning resources are vital for the success of online learning. In this context, internationally recognized free and open educational resources are available in the cyberspace free of charge.

It is noteworthy that the Government of India supports the most disadvantaged through an indigenously developed IT platform. Highly ranked Indian universities provide courses on the distance mode through SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active Learning for Young Aspiring Minds) and share quality teaching learning resources for Indian nationals anywhere, at any time.

Learner Support

A distance learner should have plenty of self-motivation. A web conferencing system through which the teachers make regular contacts, both synchronously and asynchronously, enables access for students located in remote locations. As per the OUSL experience, effective learner support is achieved by offering multi-device/ multi-mode learning opportunities to meet the learning needs of a mixed student population.

The COVID 19 pandemic impacted severely on our educational processes and systems. Permit me to share with you my experience in this transition as the administrative and academic lead of the University of Colombo, the pioneer institution of modern tertiary education in Sri Lanka. I consider this experience personifies how challenges imposed by the pandemic were transformed into opportunities.

The need for a flexible attitude to the learning and teaching process is of paramount importance to achieve any success with ODL. I am proud to say that a wider sector of our own staff encouraged their students to engage in home gardening; with a view to augmenting psycho-social adjustment to the sudden transition to home-based education, loss of peer group interaction and encouraged students to support their family economy through agriculture. Nevertheless, tilling the land fell far short of the dignity of university education! Acquisition of skills from hands-on laboratory and clinical settings in parallel with the development of leadership, teamwork, soft skills, sports and recreation were clearly not possible with ODL.

We received baseline information on the major issues faced by the students following relocation in their own homes. The impact had socio-economic and gender sensitive dimensions that required intensive support. Thus, the COVID19 threat of a pandemic brought into focus many unmet needs of the modern-day university student; ranging from the need for self-employment opportunities to sustain student education to their individual preferences for city-based versus. rural living. The wider community of the student groups suffered a major anxiety, with the haunting question – when can we graduate? Thereby, every faculty and institute along with the Sripalee campus and the school of computing, were able to effectively create and maintain channels of communication by linking the students with the central administrative process, in order to ensure a coordinated process for the provision of optimum support. I take pride in recounting this staff and alumni support for students that I believe made a meaningful impact on the personality development of our student population.

Our university, in parallel, was catalyzed into a new work norm – of a digital transformation in our educational activities. Online meetings became standard daily practice to manage the University administration. We took pride on becoming paperless, with the formalizing of an online document management system, with the official use of e-signatures and digital certification which resulted in improved efficiency, transparency and flexibility. The benefits of work from home, adopting healthy practices in the working environment, promotion of innovation to address social needs, with a fair share of the responsibility falling upon university systems were positive developments from the Covid-19 pandemic, that should be harnessed for future implementation.

I reiterate that our staff was very supportive to support the new model of ODL; often taking on re-orienting and re-learning while coping with the additional workload. Traditional wisdom and foresight enabled us to think positively and respond pragmatically. We had a few doubting Thomas’s, but such negative thoughts were considerably mitigated by an overwhelming ethos of resilience. Library information services were required to be digitalized.

Based on anecdotal evidence we have received from most sectors, many students became more aware of e-resources and started using the library journal databases at a greater speed that is supported by the recorded numbers of access or hits.

Online surveys were initiated for obtaining student feedback. We received feedback of the major impact on socio-economic and gender-based violence that soon followed student relocation in their own homes. COVID19 indeed brought into focus many unmet needs of the modern-day university student; ranging from self-employment opportunities in the city through tuition, Uber deliveries etc versus. rural living with no earning opportunity. The general anxiety among students was: When can we graduate? When can we stop being a burden to our parents?

As time progressed the digital engagement became apparent among diverse groups. Student centered community related e-activities, such as the Gavel Club, Societies related to social and cultural groups, leadership development through community service such as Rotaract and Leo clubs held their induction ceremonies on time through the digital mode. Addressing on-line, gender-based violence and psychological issues of COIVD 19, by the Golden Zs that comprises female and male medical students (supervised by a faculty representative of the Zonta Club of Colombo I) was an enriching and novel experience.

Online delivery of learning resources for students with disabilities and their special needs received special attention. The majority of students with special needs demonstrated a preference to attend a face-to-face teaching. The Faculty of Arts that accommodates the great majority of this special group that has developed a centre for disability research, education and practice (CEDREP) affiliated to the Department of Sociology. I am proud to state that CEDREP offers support to all students with disabilities irrespective of which faculty they belong to or which study stream they have chosen. They also individualize educational support and mitigate stigma and marginalization of the students with specific needs.

The digital transition was undertaken as a collective project to ensure a quality transition of Onsite Learning to Blended Learning at the University of Colombo. Blended learning is defined as an approach to education that effectively integrates classroom practices (teaching learning and assessment) with online learning (teaching learning and assessment) practices.

Soon after the COVID19 related shut down we had several inquiries made from highly rated universities in the USA. The foreign university looked to us as worthy partners to sustain their recruitment of Sri Lankan students at a discounted rate of 1/6 their original on campus fees with 10% for our university. Based on the discussion we did express an interest in partnership in the award of dual degrees through the “cyber campus” modality; which is a long process of planning. What brings into focus is that the format of blended learning provides opportunities for external partnerships to collaborate with foreign university in teaching and research.

Let me end by reiterating that consciously or unconsciously our inherent Lankan Culture encouraged us to counter threats imposed on higher education from the COVID19 pandemic by responding to the trendy management acronym VUCA through facing “Volatility with Vision, Uncertainty with Understanding, Complexity with Clarity and Ambiguity with Agility”.

Our fundamental values encouraged us to prioritize, risk manage, make pragmatic decisions, foster a change and seek sustainable solutions, while encouraging quick responses and a holistic outlook.