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Foreign higher education research zones on State land in 7 districts
View(s):The Higher Education Ministry is in the process of allocating 500-1,000-acre plots of State land in seven districts to attract investors to build research centres, higher education institutes and world-class universities, Higher Education Ministry Secretary Dr Sunil Jayantha Nawaratne said.
These higher education research zones will be established in the Hambantota, Matara, Puttalam, Kandy, Gampaha, Kilinochchi and Batticaloa districts.
Dr Nawaratne told Education Times that, in order to be a knowledge hub, the country needs more research centres.
“Apart from the academic buildings and facilities, each zone will consist of indoor and outdoor sports complex, hostel facilities, supermarket, cinema and many more,” he added.
Dr Nawaratne said they had received several bids including from world-renown universities.
“This will be a great opportunity to local students studying the London Advanced Level syllabus, as they are unable to enter the State university system. We are also hoping to attract foreign students,” the Ministry Secretary said.
Meanwhile, Government is to grant a 15-year tax concession to a British University which is to set up a branch in Sri Lanka within the next two years.
Foreign higher “The United Kingdom’s Central Lancashire University is one of the world’s best universities and we are privileged to have a branch in Sri Lanka,” said Dr Nawaratne.
He said that, even though the university won’t be paying tax, the country will be benefited in several other ways.
“Since this university is highly recognized, our students who are going abroad, can remain in the country and pay less for an equally accepted international Degree. There are nearly 10,000 local students going abroad every year,” he said, adding that, the ministry is mostly aiming to attract South Asian students to Sri Lanka.
The Lancashire University is to be established in Meerigama, Gampaha, as a BOI project. The project proposal was tabled in Parliament on Tuesday (3) and was compiled by Investment Promotion Minister Lakshman Yapa Abeygunawardena.
“This project will also help us promote tourism at the same time,” said Dr Nawaratne, as it is one of the steps to make the country an Education Hub.
Reacting to this, the President of the Federation of University Teachers (FUTA), Dr Nirmal Devasiri, expressed his dissatisfaction to the forthcoming project, saying that the Higher Education Sector officials are now doing what they predicted.
“We knew that the agenda of the Government was to promote private universities, especially foreign ones. This is the most comprehensive step to destroy the country’s State university system,” he said.
Dr Devasiri added that the Government has taken steps to grant high tax concessions to these universities, while they make the public pay more and more tax. “This is merely done to attract these universities and gradually, the civilised norms of our university system will be destroyed. It will be too late when they realise what has happened,” he added, saying that, this is the patriotism that prevails in the country.
- Nadia Fazlulhaq & Aanya Wipulasena
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