Human Resources Administration in Universities: Policies, Practices and Challenges in Sri Lanka

Abstract

This paper will analyze human resources management within the context of the Sri Lankan universities with respect to policies, practice and challenges faced by academic and non-academic employees. The management of human resources is an important role in providing quality in teaching, research, and institutional sustainability. Sri Lankan university system has a regulatory framework that is centred in the public sector under the guidance of the University Grants Commission (UGC) which controls recruitment, promotion, training and pay. Although university institutions have formal HR policies, the challenges that exist include bureaucratic inflexibility, brain drain, scarcity of professional development, and poor performance appraisal systems. The paper follows a qualitative literature based research and the necessity of strategic human resource management reforms in enhancing organizational effectiveness in tertiary education.