Lanka seeks to attract private universities

Sri Lankan minister for higher education and highways Lakshman Kiriella has appealed to resourceful educational entrepreneurs  to explore the possibilities of setting up private  universities for  higher education in his country.The minister, who is on a brief visit Qatar to attend the anniversary celebrations of the Stafford International School (Sri Lankan School), said the present government in Sri Lanka was committed to providing higher educational opportunities for the growing number of youngsters as a large number of them are forced to migrate to other countries for  higher studies. Last year, Sri Lankan parents spent nearly Rs1500mn ($104mn) for their children’s higher education abroad.“This is happening because our present facilities in the government sector are far from enough to meet the requirements of  all students passing out of the schools, “ said Kiriella while adding that only 15% of those passing out ‘A’ schooling are able to pursue higher education in Sri Lanka. “We are trying to bring private universities from other parts of the world to Sri Lanka as a large number of our youngsters want to pursue  higher education after schooling at home,” said the minister.The minister said, Sri Lanka, which has a Commonwealth Educational System,  has established a number of educational institutions in the government sector over the last 150 years . “Now we feel it is high time private educational houses from other countries are encouraged to set up higher level learning centres.”Lauding some Gulf states, including Qatar for opening international campuses, Kiriella said he firmly believed similar varsities could also be founded in his country.Answering a query, the minister said Sri Lanka’s single largest foreign exchange earner is remittances from its expatriates in the Gulf region, who he said contributed more than 18% of the earnings from abroad. “We are encouraging our people to migrate in search of opportunities. This would be possible only if they are properly educated. Hence we are also developing better educational infrastructure so that our people would be able to find employment elsewhere,” explained the minister while highlighting the need for building good higher level educational facilities in Sri Lanka.The minister said the government is now focusing on sending skilled professionals to the Gulf nations . “I am told that the Sri Lankans number around 125,000 or a little more in Qatar. But qualified professionals are relatively less.” While recalling that his country has emerged as one of the top tourist destinations of  South Asia, Kiriela said  efforts are on to improve  the tourists’ flow to Sri Lanka. “The biggest advantage of Sri Lanka is its small size and the opportunity for the visitors to experience at least three kinds of climate while being there on a short visit. “While it is extremely cold  in the higher altitudes, the climate would be moderate on the coastal area. And on the mid lands it may still be another kind of weather,” he said while stressing that tourists are able to visit and experience too many spots in a short period of 2-3 days while being in Sri Lanka. Last year, more than 2mn tourists visited Sri Lanka.The minister said a group of 50 members from a well known Qatari family  is visiting Sri Lanka next month. “We have all kinds of hotels, expensive, moderate and budget and several world hotel brands already present in Sri Lanka,” said Kiriella. However, we need more investment in the hospitality sector to accommodate the growing number of visitors.Sri Lanka has built a new massive port in Hamban Thotta and is currently exploring the possibilities for new hotels and manufacturing companies in the area as part of the country’s plans to attract more foreign exchange to the country. “It would also make the Hamban Thotta port more viable in the coming years,” he said.Kiriella has also served as sports minister of Sri Lanka.