Private sector participation in Lanka’s Tertiary Education a must: CB Report
View(s):The Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL), in its 2017 Annual Report, requested the government to ensure private sector participation in Tertiary Education (TE), citing that State resources are inadequate to meet the demand for university entrance.
The Report said that, last year, the private sector had played a major role in providing TE alongside State Universities (SU). Accordingly, in 2017, 16 non-State higher education institutions which offer 99 accredited local Degree programmes, had accommodated 3,389 Advanced Level students to qualify for university admission. Of the 160,517 students who qualified for admission in 2017, the SUs could accommodate only 88,855 students, despite an increase of 4,404 students admitted, from 2016. In addition, the Open University of Sri Lanka admitted 24,144 students, an increase of 1,598 students from 2016.
Last year, 36,382 students graduated, with 28,808 securing basic Degrees and 7,574 Postgraduate Degrees. However, there was no increase in the existing 15 SUs last year. In the private sector the number increased from 1 to 19 institutions. - CC