Sri Lanka is 2nd largest and fastest growing host nation for UK TNE, says British Council research
View(s):The British Council in Sri Lanka officially launched its research report on the transnational education (TNE) landscape in Sri Lanka. At an event attended by
Sri Lanka’s Minister of Education, Dr. Susil Premajayantha, and other prominent education policymakers and stakeholders, among other groundbreaking findings, it was revealed that Sri Lanka is currently the second-largest host country and the fastest-growing among the top ten host nations for UK TNE.
Initiated with the aim of offering a comprehensive understanding of the operational and quality assurance landscape of the TNE within Sri Lanka, the results of the research -commissioned by the British Council to Times Higher Education- also underscored the opportunities and challenges faced by students and educational institutions; laying the groundwork to support local government agencies and education providers in informed decision making to develop, support and sustain TNE in the country.
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- British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Andrew Patrick
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- British Council Higher Education Systems and Internationalisation Head Dr Nishat Riaz
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- Panel discussion with stakeholders – Curtin Colombo CEO Dr. Athula PitigalaArachchi (TNE Provider), John Keells Group Retail Sector Human Resources Head Arunajith Nandana, University of Kelaniya Vice Chancellor Prof. Nilanthi De Silva, Times Higher Education Consultancy Director Dr. Ishan Cader and British Council South Asia Insight and Engagement Head Sandeepa Sahay
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- British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka Andrew Patrick, Hon. Minister of Education Susil Premajayantha, British Council Sri Lanka Country Director Orlando Edwards, British Council South Asia Education Director Salvador Lopez Carbajal, University of Kelaniya Vice Chancellor Prof. Nilanthi de Silva and University Grants Commission Chairman Prof. Sampath Amaratunga
The well-attended event was opened by Orlando Edwards -Country Director of the British Council in Sri Lanka- as he acknowledged Sri Lanka’s significant role in the TNE ecosystem in contributing to the global job market, but more importantly, towards a global vision for
Sri Lanka in helping attain SDG 4; i.e. quality education for all.
Nishat Riaz MBE -Head of Higher Education Systems and Internationalisation at the British Council- delivered a warm and inspiring keynote address that lauded Sri Lanka as having the highest literacy rate in South Asia and also stressed TNE as a means to provide not just commercial value but social upliftment; “brain gain as opposed to brain drain,” as she put it.
Next, the British High Commissioner to Sri Lanka, Andrew Patrick, commented on how TNE in Sri Lanka has grown at a tremendous rate over the past few years alone, assuring that both the British and Sri Lankan governments are intent on continuing to facilitate accessibility to higher education for Sri Lankan students through this means.
Of the most eminent attendees was the Minister of Education for Sri Lanka Dr. Susil Premajayantha. “Despite Sri Lanka’s high literacy rate and impressive strides in basic education, higher education capacity remains a significant challenge, with only 44,000 of the 171,532 qualified students gaining admission to state universities in 2022,” he said. “This shortfall has driven a growing demand for private higher education and transnational education which has proliferated in the last few years.”
“We hope that this report will shed light on how TNE can bridge the gap in Sri Lanka’s higher education landscape.”
Finally, a detailed presentation of the report’s key findings was delivered by Dr Ishan Cader, Director of Consultancy of Times Higher Education UK. Of the extraordinary success of TNE in
Sri Lanka, he revealed that there has been a year-on-year growth of 113% in students enrolling over the past 5 years alone. Along with more accessibility to a higher quality of education as the most significant advantage, there has also been an increase in the diversity of courses offered, improved levels of employability and skills development, and even greater gender parity, he reported.
At the engaging discussion that followed -moderated by Sandeepa Sahay (British Council’s Regional Head of Insights and Engagement, South Asia), and with Dr Cader, Prof Nilanthi De Silva (Vice-Chancellor of the University of Kelaniya), Dr Athula PitigalaArachchi (Deputy Vice-Chancellor of SLIIT), and Mr. Arunajith Wisethige (Head of HR for Retail at John Keells Group) making up a distinguished and well-represented panel- attendees to the event were able to build on the research findings in being privy to an additional dimension to the conversation from various stakeholder perspectives.
Kate Joyce, Business Director of Cultural Engagement in South Asia for the British Council made pertinent conclusive remarks that echoed the sentiment of all officials, stakeholders, and education representatives present at the event’s close; while the research findings provide plenty of reason to celebrate, there is an urgent need for building a unified quality nationwide system of quality assurance and regulation framework as a means for maintaining the upward trajectory of TNE -for both, the development of learners and economic growth of the country- in the years to come.
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