Today’s Sri Lankan professionals lack human values, says OPA chief

The money oriented, competitive educational system, though it produces excellent professionals, is quite incomplete because it is found that most of these professionals in this country lack human values such as love and compassion that are essential for them to serve the people and this is a cause for concern among top professionals in Sri Lanka.

Benedict K. Ulluwishewa, President of the Organization of Professional Associations of Sri Lanka (OPA) made this observation in his opening remarks at the first OPA National Apex Awards 2013 held in Colombo this week.

At the Awards Ceremony under 10 categories the following won OPA Excellence Awards: Health and Medical Science - M.D. Kumarasinghe De Silva, Prof. (Ms) N. Dharshani Karunaweera and Dr. Hilary Cooray; Legal - Anton Fernando and Wijedasa Rajapakase; Economics – Prof. A. D. V. De. S Indraratne; Engineering Services – Dr. A. M. Nath Amarakone and L R L Perera; Agriculture – Dr. D. Samararathna Kodikara and Science and Technology – Y. R. Karunar- atne. Among those who received awards, Wijedasa Rajapakse received a standing ovation.

Continuing his remarks, Mr. Ulluwishewa said that “Our educational system is basically job oriented and prepares the students for jobs to create the competition in the labour market. Educational institutions produce professionals with excellent competencies knowledge and skills but most of these professionals lack human values such as love and compassion that are necessary to motivate them to serve people.”

He said the money-oriented educational system fails to produce human capital that can positively contribute to serve the wellbeing of the people.

Quoting a professor at the Oxford University, he said that this professor has called education as spiritual capital. He declared, “so as professionals we possess excellent competencies, knowledge and skills, but in the absence of love and compassion they are not motivated to serve the people. There, our educational system should focus on the right kind of human capital – the spiritual capital.”