Establishing private universities in Sri Lanka is not bad since private universities of high quality are essential for the progress of both developed and developing countries.
The government has undertaken to set up non-state universities through the Board of Investment (BoI), leaving aside the Higher Education Ministry only to standardize such academic institutions, officials said yesterday.
The government’s decision to set up private universities through the Board of Investment has met with a positive response from several foreign universities wishing to invest capital and set up affiliated universities and colleges from leading universities abroad. Ten universities from the United Kingdom and India have already sought approval to set up such institutions.
Higher Education Minister S.B Dissanayake addressing the opening of the first phase of the Malabe private medical college teaching hospital yesterday said despite whatever criticism the government might face from the medical fraternity, it would continue its efforts to take private medical education to greater heights in Sri Lanka.
The government of Sri Lanka says that private education is a necessity to meet the demands of the youth population in the country. Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayake said the government would support to develop private medical education in the country.
Students backed by the Inter University Students Federation (IUSF) took to the streets this week protesting against moves to restrict ‘free education’ in the country, by promoting private educational institutions.
A student union in Sri Lanka says the students' movements in the country would oppose moves by the government to re-introduce the private universities bill.
University students in Sri Lanka have commenced an agitation campaign against the government's move to introduce a bill to legalize private universities.
The Higher Education Minister of Sri Lanka has said that private universities to be established in the country will offer free education to students from lower income families.
“Government has a secret plan; they wanted Prince Charles to lay the foundation for a private university and privatise free education. That is why they close all universities during this period,” an IUSF spokesperson, Haritha Lakmal, told University World News.
Private institutions of higher education are concerned about the reform bill on higher education recently unveiled by the government, fearing that provisions on financing and staffing standards would effectively disable them.