Sugath Kulatunga

Flaunting with doctorates has become a passionate fashion leading to musrooming of bogus doctorates. Today one can buy a Doctorate on line. A report in the Indian media has shown that an original PhD thesis can be purchased in India for 50,000 Indian rupees (about £540), with payment in installments. https://thomaslancaster.co.uk/blog/can-you-really-buy-a-phd-online/

Even a genuine doctorate has a direct value only in Research, Academic and Professional fields. In Sri Lanka most doctorates in these fields are funded by the state. In that context the country expects a return in the form of an enhanced contribution by persons who benefit from the munificence of the state. The two institutions in the country where PhDs are galore are the Central Bank (CBSL) and the Universities. CBSL has nearly 1000 professionals out of which at least 500 them would have a doctorate. One of a main functions of the CBSL is Bank supervision. Continuous monitoring of the foreign exchange operations of licensed commercial banks and National Savings Bank and Authorized Money Brokers is a major function for which there is a separate department.

On bank supervision the Foreign Exchange Act of 2017 provides the responsibility of the commercial banks to make prompt reports on foreign exchange transactions. In Article 80. (1) Every commercial bank shall, as soon as may be after the close of business at the end of such period as may be prescribed by the Monetary Board, make a report to the Central Bank setting out the volume and composition of its purchases and sales of foreign exchange during that period, and shall furnish such additional information as the Central Bank may require with reference to such purchases and sales and to the movements of its accounts in foreign currency. According to a Global Integrity Reported during the last 22 years export proceed that should have been repatriated back to the country but not sent back was USD 53.5 billion. There is also rampant mis-invoicing at the Customs with the collusion of the Commercial Banks which is ignored by the CBSL.

The CBSL is responsible for the biggest scams in the country. The country lost a huge amount of dollars when CBSL purchased a load of Greek Bonds at a time when they were on the decline.  The worst scam was the Bond scam maneuvered by CBSL Governor Arjuna Mahedran. The last swindle of the investment in ISBs at high rates of interest has bankrupted the country. The CBSL with all those Doctors is collectively responsible for these frauds.

Pl.refer: https://www.lankaweb.com/news/items/2024/07/05/the-central-bank-has-failed-the-nation/

The next hoarde of PhD s is in the Universities. Hardly no socially relevant research is done by them. Particularly in the Arts faculties they continue to produce unemploable graduates. Since the Kanngara Educational Reforms no structural changes have been made in the educational system. When other countries in East Asia gave high priority to technical and vocational education which supported rapid economic development we have only played with scool level syllubuses. The PhDs in the Universities who are reluctant to leave their comfort zone are averse to change. They only demand better pay in the guise of a 6% investment on educattion.

The value of a doctorate to the society depends on its social relevance and its potential contribution to the development of the country. Othewise it is only of ornamental value and fulfilling a perons personal aspirations. There is a hevy investment in time in money to obtain a PhD which involves an opportunity cost. In State funded training if the higher qualification is not relevant to the field of work or if the training is not applied to the work it is a waste of investment. There are many jobs in the Public Service where a PhD is not of much use. It is a poor use of time and money to toil for a doctorate. That time is better spent in contributing to his/her work. It must be accepted that all SLAS officers who enter the service through highly competitive examinations have the potential to secure a PhD but at the cost of application to their substantive responsibilities.

Even in posts where a doctorate is relevant in the public service or politics it is valuable when it complements leadership skills, practical experience, and a clear vision for public good. It’s not a necessity for success, but for those passionate about blending expertise with governance, it can be a powerful tool for influence and impact. The acquisition of irrelavant higher degees at state expense should be avoided.

PL.see:

https://www.dailymirror.lk/opinion/Faking-Degrees:-A-Thriving-industry-in-South-Asia/231-298260

https://www.dailymirror.lk/opinion/Faking-Degrees:-A-Thriving-industry-in-South-Asia/231-298260

VEHICLE IMPORTS

With the blessings of the IMF the government has decided to import motor vehicles in stages starting with commercial vehicles and vehicles for tourism. It is part of the free trade policy of the IMF. The government expects to generate considrable amount of revenue by this measure. Stage one import is justified as it is an essential investment but importing fuel guzzling motor cars is not a wise move. It is not a felt need of the vast majority of the population. What is more important is to improve the rundown rail and bus trasport services.

When new motor cars are imported it is not only the immediate (FE) cost which has to be taken into consideration. There will be an instante increase in fuel consumption and a commitment for spare parts. It will add to the already acute traffic congestion.

It iso a good opportunity to decide on a standard policy on importing vehicles and sustaining a national fleet in the best interest of the country. There is a need for standardization of a vehicle fleet in electricity powered vehicles and progressive manufacture/ assembly of those vehicles in the country creating savings in FE and employment and even exports in addition to the protection of the environment. There should be only two categories of motor cars -economy and utility.

India was happy with only the Ambassordor car for many decades. We should negototiate with countries like China, Japan, South Korea and even India to get the best offers. Without planning to export our excess electricity to India we must make use of our electricity to elctrify both road vehicles and the railway.

It may be necessary to allow the import of a limied number of luxury vehicles for theuse of visiting foreign dignitaries.