What is in a title?

by Dr Upul Wijayawardhana

Conductor of the affairs of the supreme legislative chamber, the Parliament of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka which guarantees the supremacy of the people, seems to be in trouble regarding his claimed educational qualifications! When challenged, among others, by the much respected and vociferous former elections chief, though the entry in the official parliamentary website has dropped ‘Dr’ title and there had been a dramatic rewrite of his profile in the much-used people’s encyclopaedia, Wikipedia, he is yet to respond. His NPP colleague, the Cabinet spokesman has declared that he would respond at the right time. What is the right time? One wonders. Is it not the present, if he has nothing to hide? A cynic may comment that he is looking for the misplaced certificates or even looking for an online institution that may grant him a quick doctorate!

‘Dr’ Ranwala may produce proof, though unlikely, that he could justify the claims or, if he cannot, resign. Whatever may be the outcome, a good deal of damage has already been done to a government that came to power with the promise of ‘system change’. NPP supporters may think otherwise. It is apparent from the bombardments in social media, whilst some claim that this a minor issue that should not cloud all the massive achievements of the NPP government in such a short period, others have adopted the attitude that the best form of defence is offence. They point out, in the most offensive manner, to numerous false claims of members of the past governments. They seem to be oblivious to the fact that committing the same sin is no justification and that the NPP was voted to power with a massive mandate as they promised to be just the opposite.

The claim that, even if the Speaker is guilty, it is a minor matter rings hollow as it is far from that. It is a very serious matter that questions the probity of the individual who holds the third highest position in the country’s hierarchy. Not being a constitutional expert, I cannot vouch that the constitution stipulates as such but the very fact that the US ‘Viceroy’ attempted to persuade the last Speaker to take over when Gota was made to flee due to their machinations, makes it pretty obvious the importance the international community too attach to the position of the Speaker. Further, it is not the case of a simple misused title. Comparing the two Wikipedia entries, before and after, it is obvious that there had been a deliberate attempt at academic enhancement. Though earlier versions of Wikipedia credited him with a degree from Moratuwa University, revised version states that he only holds a ‘National Diploma’ from an affiliated institution! ‘He has also completed his PhD in Biochemistry from Waseda University, Japan’ is deleted in the revised profile. According to Opposition spokespersons, inquiries from Waseda University have revealed that he was never a student there.

According to a report in Fact Crescendo Sri Lanka, the Speaker has admitted that he does not have a degree from Moratuwa University but maintains that he has a PhD from Waseda University. This raises the question whether a person can earn a PhD degree without a basic university qualification like BSc. Though not impossible, it is extremely rare and would likely be limited to someone with extensive research on a specific subject. Unfortunately, no search reveals any publications by Ashoka Ranwala. I will apologise to him if I have missed his valued publications deserving of a PhD. However, if he cannot produce proof of his qualifications, the honourable thing to do is to leave the parliament to prevent further damage to the party he had served for so long.

There are questions raised about the educational qualifications of another Minister in the NPP government as well and if this too proves correct, then the new government is serious trouble. The new dawn they promised may turn out to be a mirage!

‘Dr’ is a much-misused term, often purposely. In Sri Lanka as well as in UK a ‘Dr’ refers to a qualified medical practitioner with a difference. In UK, those medical practitioners who specialise in any branch of surgery, use the title Mr or Ms, perhaps, in recognition of their descent from barbers! Strictly speaking only someone who holds a doctorate can use the title Dr as there is no alternate term in English whereas in Sinhala, a more descriptive language, we have ‘Vaidaya’ for medical practitioners and ‘Acharya’ for those with a PhD or DSc.

Coming to medicine, unfortunately, degrees awarded vary widely across the world. The basic degree in UK, Sri Lanka and most Commonwealth countries is MBBS, MD being a postgraduate degree. However, in most European countries MD is the basic medical qualification and they use the title ‘Dr’ before the name, as we do. In USA too, the basic medical degree is MD but instead of using ‘Dr’, they use MD as a title after their name.