internationalization into Lanka universities top priority

COLOMBO: The government aims to create a ‘critical Sri Lankan who is a global citizen in a bid to find answers to the modern and futuristic problems, State Minister of Higher Education Dr. Suren Raghavan says.

Internationalization of the country’s higher education is a top priority of the government, the lawmaker said further, addressing a press conference in Colombo.

The event themed ‘Collective Path to a Stable Country’ had been organized by the Presidential Media Centre (PMC).
He said the government wants to infuse international standards into local universities in order to make them ‘respected’ higher education institutions in the region, if not in the world, at least by 2030.

In addition, the government also mulls promoting the engagement of overseas Sri Lankan academics in the country’s higher education by allowing them to engage in university lecturing in state universities while on vacation or sabbatical as a measure to encourage their involvement in higher education, the state minister added.

“In this method, we are creating a mechanism so that at least ten Diaspora members will engage in teaching in the 17 government universities in Sri Lanka, which will inculcate their professionalism and experience with our government universities.”

Discussions are underway with three prominent international universities to open their branches in Sri Lanka, the state minister added.