ESOFT Metro Campus – Affordable and accessible education for future success
View(s):Education is the greatest investment parents can make for their children. After all, a solid, well-rounded education in a lucrative field will ensure a promising future. It will provide the foundation for them to build successful careers and lead happy, productive lives.
Sadly however, there is a misconception that only the privileged can afford a world-class education. This is far from the truth. Today, even students from middle-income families can embark on an academic journey with very promising job prospects.
Dr. Dayan Rajapakse
This is where ESOFT Metro Campus comes in. Its reputation has been built by providing students an affordable and accessible education for their future success. It is today Sri Lanka’s largest private sector higher education network. With 42 centres spread across the country, it creates opportunities for over 30,000 students every year.
“We ensure that students achieve their full potential without a heavy cost to their parents,” said the founder and Group Managing Director of ESOFT, Dr. Dayan Rajapakse. He noted that their success revolves around three factors –
affordability, accessibility and flexibility.
He also said that all their academic programmes are in areas that are growing and in-demand. “We believe that every qualification should bring rewards in the future, especially through better job prospects,” he added.
ESOFT Metro Campus offers a range of globally-accepted qualifications from internationally-renowned institutions. These include undergraduate and postgraduate degrees and higher national diplomas (HNDs). All these can be done in Sri Lanka at a fraction of what it would cost abroad.
Lucrative degrees
Several degree courses are offered in IT, Management and Engineering. These are among the most lucrative fields with the potential to earn high incomes after graduation.
At a very affordable cost, students can pursue globally-reputed degrees from the London Metropolitan University and Kingston University-London. They can be obtained at just one tenth of the cost it takes to do them abroad.
As Dr. Rajapakse said, “World-class education is no longer a luxury that only the privileged can afford.”
He pointed out that for an investment of just Rs.12,000 to 15,000 per month (over a period of 3 years), students can obtain a top British degree. Studying for such a degree in the UK would cost as much as Rs. 2.8 million per year. The total cost of the entire 3-year degree programme at ESOFT Metro Campus is just one-third of the first-year fee abroad.
This means that parents who want to give their children a top international degree don’t have to resort to measures such as mortgaging their property to secure bank loans. Pursuing such a degree in Sri Lanka is now within their means. It also offers significant cost savings since there’s no need for travel and accommodation overseas.
In addition, parents will also have peace of mind knowing that their children are not too far from them. This is further facilitated by the many ESOFT centres located all across the country.
There are also many parents who feel that failing to enter a state university closes the path to a good higher education. They even go to the extent of forcing their children to sit the A/Ls twice or thrice in an attempt to get in. This results in students suffering from unnecessary psychological stress.
“We provide another path for such students,” said Dr. Rajapakse. “The numerous students who have gone on to build successful careers both here and abroad after studying with us bears testimony to the success of this approach.”
Globally-recognized HNDs
The cost of pursuing a British degree here can be further reduced by first completing the relevant higher national diploma (HND) programmes. The two-year HNDs are equivalent to the first two years of a three-year honours degree, and cost far less. Those who complete an HND need to do only the final year of the degree (top-up year) to graduate.
The BTEC HNDs offered by ESOFT Metro Campus are certified by the world’s largest awarding body, Pearson UK. These are British qualifications that are both locally and internationally recognised.
All HNDs offered by ESOFT are aligned with their degrees. A two-year HND costs only Rs. 300,000 to 350,000. This is just half the cost of a degree for the first two years. Therefore, there will be significant cost savings.
Further, the HND is an end-qualification in itself. It is a widely accepted vocational qualification and one can enter the job market soon after completing it. Students who cannot afford to study for the three-year degree can thus complete their HND first, then use it to find gainful employment, and finally use the money earned to do the top-up degree. This will greatly enhance their career prospects.
Dr. Rajapakse noted that the HND offers many advantages besides the lower cost. For example, it is assignment-based and there are no exams. This is a boon for those students who find exams stressful because they feel under pressure to apply all they have learnt within such a limited time.
HNDs also teach students the principles necessary to solve problems practically, rather than relying on rote-learning or memorizing. The students thus gain hands-on knowledge, skills and experience. Such expertise will be immensely beneficial for their future careers.
HNDs are also quite flexible and can be studied at a pace one is comfortable with. If a student gets a job, he or she can switch from doing it full-time to part-time. The student also has the option of moving to a different location. Since the campus has many centres across the country, they can simply transfer from one centre to another. Interestingly, even students in state universities are pursuing HND studies at ESOFT Metro Campus to gain all-round expertise and enhance their prospects.
Great advantages
Dr. Rajapakse said they offer industrial placement in reputed companies in the second year for those who pursue three-year degrees. “This exposes them early on to a real-world work environment,” he added. Those who show promise during their industrial placement have a chance of getting hired by these top companies.
Students who pursue the three-year degrees also have the option of transferring to the Kingston university after the first or second year.
Students can join ESOFT Metro Campus right after their A/Ls. Advantages of this include reasonable fees for all programmes, affordable monthly instalment plans and bank loan facilities.
Rather than demanding bulk payments at the start of every academic year or every semester, the campus offers flexible payment facilities. The cost can be spread across the duration of the study programme and paid on a monthly basis. This greatly reduces the financial burden on parents. It also benefits society by enabling more young people to pursue higher education and seek gainful employment.
In addition to academic studies, the campus emphasizes the importance of soft skills for personal and professional development. These include English language, leadership, team-building, public speaking and presentation skills. “This is essential to create well-rounded, job-ready and globally-employable individuals,” said Dr. Rajapakse.
The ESOFT centres offer a range of modern facilities to provide an ideal learning environment. These include air-conditioned classrooms, state-of-the-art computer labs, multimedia teaching facilities and comprehensive library services.
The campus also has a highly experienced panel of lecturers. Many of them hold postgraduate qualifications including PhDs. The panel includes those drawn from industry who are in touch with the latest trends in technology. Most lecturers work on a full-time basis, thus facilitating greater student-teacher interaction.
The path to success
ESOFT Metro Campus shows students the best academic path for success after their A/Ls. This is vital in a context where only a relatively small number of talented students are able to enter state universities. All the degrees offered by ESOFT are recognised by the University Grants Commission (UGC).
“We offer many rewarding study options in line with the innate abilities of students,” said Dr. Rajapakse. He added that they will thus be ready to perform value-adding, productive roles in their future careers. This will greatly benefit Sri Lanka, which is positioning itself as a knowledge-based service economy.
ESOFT students have a very impressive pass rate of 98%. They can expect promising job opportunities in fields ranging from IT and engineering to business management, hospitality, travel and tourism.
According to Dr. Rajapakse, no investment by parents can bring the rewards a good education can. He said that it enables their children to become successful individuals while raising the socio-economic status of the family. “Only a good education can truly transform lives,” he concluded.
Qualifications offered by ESOFT Metro Campus
The School of Computing offers BSc (Hons) Degrees in Computing, Software Engineering, Computer Networking, Computer Science (Software Engineering/Networking and Network Security/Web and Mobile Application Development), Cyber Security and Computer Forensics, and Multimedia Technology.
It also offers the BIT External Degree from the University of Colombo and MSc Degrees in Software Engineering, IT and Strategic Innovation, and Network and Information Security from Kingston University.
The HNDs in Computing are: Applications Development, Software Engineering, Network Engineering, Data Analytics, Security, and intelligent Systems.
The School of Management offers BA (Hons) Degrees in Business Administration, Hospitality Management, and Travel & Tourism Management, as well as a Masters in Business Administration (MBA).
It also offers HNDs in Business Management, Hospitality Management, and Travel & Tourism Management.
The School of Engineering offers BSc (Hons) Degrees in Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electronic & Communications Engineering, and Quantity Surveying.
It also offers HNDs in Civil Engineering, Mechanical Engineering, Electronic & Electrical Engineering, and Quantity Surveying.