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Economic crisis locks university doors to 8000 students
View(s):World Bank refuses to release second installment of loan; UGC tells Govt. to give top priority to higher education
The economic crisis has curtailed the intake of students to state universities, the University Grants Commission (UGC) said.
It is learned the increased intake that should have been around 10,000 this year had to be curtailed to 2,000, as a loan facility promised by the World Bank had been withheld.
UGC Chairman Sampath Amaratunge said the World Bank refused to release Rs. three billion that was due in April this year. This came after Sri Lanka declared bankruptcy early this year. The World Bank had insisted on a repayment schedule on the loan to the UGC, he added.
The Higher Education Ministry had negotiated for Rs. five billion with the World Bank, for a programme to increase the intake of students to state universities. The first tranche of Rs. two billion was released in December last year.
The programme to increase intakes to state universities started in 2020. President Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s government, in keeping with its election promise, increased the intake by 10,000 in 2020, with a total of 40,000 students given entry that year.
The plan was to increase the intake of students by 10,000 a year for the next four years. However the lack of funds had restricted the increased intake, the UGC Chairman said.
Prof. Amaratunge said to keep up the ‘momentum’ of the programme, the number was increased by 1,000 students last year and 2,000 students this year. Accordingly 43,000 students would be admitted to 15 state universities. This was an increase of 13,000 students in 30 months.
The increased number of students would mean investing more on lecturers, infrastructure and non-tangible facilities in campuses to accommodate the extra 13,000 students, of which 80% would be in the science faculties.
Prof. Amaratunge said although the country was going through an economic crisis it was important to spend on higher education.
“Education is a part of our culture. The best way out of our economic crisis is by investing in education,” he said.
He was hopeful the International Monetary Fund (IMF) debt restructuring programme for Sri Lanka would create confidence in our repayment ability and the Rs. three billion would be released soon.
Meanwhile talks were underway for an additional loan of Rs. 23 billion with the World Bank on another project for universities, he added.
The Government was also planning on offering soft loans to students who qualified to enter state universities but had not been selected. A soft loan of up to Rs. 800,000 could be obtained through state banks to continue their tertiary education in non-government higher education institutions.
The Treasury had agreed to pay interest for the loans for up to eight years. Those who want to pay off the loan early, could opt to pay bi-annually. This would give a chance to around 130,000 students who would otherwise not be selected to state universities.
Last week the 2021/2022 Advance Level exam results were released and 62.9% of 272,682 students qualified for entry to state universities. This meant, 171, 497 students qualified for admission. It included 149,946 students who sat the exams through schools and 21,551 private applicants.
Last year too, around 64%, or 194,297 of 301,771 students, who sat the 2020 Advanced Level exams qualified for university admission. Of them only 41,000 were admitted.
The UGC called for university admissions for the 2021/2022 academic year, and students had been asked to apply between September 5 and September 23. The student guide to apply would be made available with selected bookshops, whose names would be published in the print media.
Applications could also be made online via the UGC website. Students could also get assistance to apply by calling the State Information Centre hotline 1919.
They could also get help from trained officers through the contact numbers 011 -2695301 and 011-2695302.
This time new courses including financial economics, English language, applied economics, banking and insurance, creative music and technology would be available for students to choose from.
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