The reverse brain drain

Prof. S. Mahalingam who came from Malaya to study and later teach engineering in Sri Lanka recalls the Peradeniya era

Malaya in the days before its independence included Singapore, and was home to many English-educated Ceylonese who had found well-paid employment in a wide area of government service. Since there was no university education in the country until 1949, many "Malayan-Ceylonese" sent their sons to Colombo, or Britain if they had the means, for tertiary education. On completion of their studies, the young men faithfully returned to Malaya where good jobs were readily available.

I was one of the exceptions to this general trend when, after graduating in Colombo with an External Degree of the University of London, I opted to join the staff of the University of Ceylon in 1950, at the inception of the Faculty of Engineering.

Ceylon was indeed a very attractive place to live and work in at that time as it had been barely touched by the world war, and was totally free of the post-war political turmoil that engulfed most of the countries in South Asia and South East Asia. Development work in a new faculty would obviously give much job satisfaction, and we had a fine team of men to work with.

Ceylonese parents in Malaya planning higher education for their children usually had in mind the Ceylon University College, the Ceylon Medical College and the Ceylon Law College. After the war the Ceylon Technical College was added to this list.

When I left Malaya in 1946 to follow a degree course in engineering at the Ceylon Technical College (CTC), Colombo, there was no university in Malaya, nor were there any plans for one. A commission was appointed in 1947 to prepare proposals for a university in Malaya, and I believe Sir Ivor Jennings, our Vice Chancellor, was a member. The University of Ceylon, established in 1942, after its beginnings in 1921 as the Ceylon University College, was clearly a good model for a national university in a small, newly-emerging country. There was one big difference, however. The University of Ceylon had a 21-year period of preparation for university status, and during this period it had gathered a corps of experienced teachers, so that there were no transitional difficulties.

University education arrived in Ceylon in 1921 in the form of a University College preparing students for some of the external degrees of the University of London. With steady expansion and diversification of its courses, the college soon became a well-recognised centre for external degrees. The official history of the University of London (1986) records that:

"It was established before the war that a third of the external students (of the University of London) carried out their studies at teaching institutions in London, about a third at university colleges in the provinces, and about a third carried out their studies privately. About a tenth of them were resident overseas with Ceylon providing the largest proportion..."

The plans for the creation of the University of Ceylon took a leap forward when a new principal was appointed to the University College in 1941. He was Dr. W.I. Jennings, a reader in the London School of Economics with a distinguished record of research, and several books to his credit. Due to his untiring efforts the Ceylon University Ordinance (No. 20 of 1942) was passed by the State Council, and the University of Ceylon was established on July 1,1942 by the amalgamation of the Ceylon University College and the Ceylon Medical College.

Dr. Jennings became the first Vice-Chancellor. In addition to drafting the Ceylon University Ordinance he also prepared the Statutes, the Acts and the Regulations which collectively provide the legal infrastructure for university self-government. He undertook this demanding task as there was no one else in the country at that time with any knowledge or experience of university management.

The University of Ceylon was established as a "unitary, residential and autonomous" corporation and it had a small, compact and efficient administration. At the inception there were four faculties- Arts, Oriental Studies, Science, and Medicine -and a total enrolment of 904 students. The fifth was the Faculty of Engineering.

I joined the staff at the inception of the Faculty in July 1950. The Dean was Prof. E.O.E. Pereira, a much respected engineer, a man of integrity, vision and courage. He provided the Faculty's leadership almost unbroken for nearly twenty years- the best years in the history of the Faculty. The country owes him a debt of gratitude for his outstanding services.

During our golden years, before the decline set in, we produced some brilliant engineering graduates many of whom have had successful careers abroad.

Some of them have risen to the highest positions in the profession and in academia in their adopted countries, and their success has been a source of pride to the Faculty.

S. Mahalingam is an Emeritus Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Peradeniya.

(Originally published in The Sunday Times (Sri Lanka), 2nd January 2000)