Sri Lanka's public educational sector is in a crisis. It is particularly felt in the school and university sectors. The nature of the crisis which the university system has been experiencing, has several dimensions. Governance is one area where urgent reforms are needed in order for our universities to be able to overcome some aspects of the crisis. This essay provides a critical survey of the governance question of the Sri Lankan university system and offers ideas for reform. A key point advanced in this essay is that good governance in our universities is not a goal that can be achieved through legislation alone, or by orders from above. It argues that the regeneration of an active. alert and assertive university community. animated by the ideals of democracy, social justice and common good, is an important precondition for good governance reforms.