Positioning Sri Lanka as a Regional Knowledge Hub
View(s):Why is this the right moment for Sri Lanka to rethink its education sector?
Prof. Nalaka Jayakody
Sri Lanka stands at a pivotal point in its educational evolution. Major higher education destinations such as Australia, Canada, the UK, and the US have introduced more restrictive student visa conditions and tighter post-study work rights, driven by internal labour demands, political debates, rising living costs, and migration concerns. Families worldwide are recalibrating their decisions while geopolitical tensions and economic fluctuations have made international migration less predictable.
In this global context, countries like Sri Lanka are uniquely positioned to step forward as stable, affordable, and high-quality learning destinations. With the right reforms, partnerships, and long-term investments, Sri Lanka can leverage its strong English proficiency, cultural richness, and central geographic position to attract both its own students who currently leave in significant numbers and learners from neighboring regions.
The goal is to strategically position ourselves as a credible alternative to overstretched education destinations. A renewed, integrated approach can strengthen national competitiveness, retain foreign exchange, and project Sri Lanka as a hub of intellect, innovation, and opportunity.
How does unifying education sectors under one minister help?
Historically, Sri Lanka’s education ecosystem operated in compartments—schools, universities, and vocational training each with separate visions and regulations. This compartmentalization led to inconsistencies in quality, gaps in student transition pathways, and fragmentation in policymaking.
Today, for the first time in many years, all three major pillars fall under a single minister’s leadership. This unified oversight enables a more coherent, harmonised, and strategically aligned education system. It creates clearer pathways for students moving between academic and technical routes, eliminates silos, and enables efficient long-term planning that connects education outcomes to workforce needs.
Many global education leaders such as Singapore, Ireland, and New Zealand operate unified governance structures, and their success underscores the value of this approach. For Sri Lanka, this alignment represents a chance to institutionalize reforms, standardize quality frameworks, and create a seamless national human capital pipeline.
Is the government signaling openness to reform?
Yes. Over recent months, there has been a clear shift toward modernisation, collaboration, and policy innovation. The government is adopting a constructive, forward-looking, and internationally benchmarked mindset, recognizing that the education system must evolve to keep pace with global expectations.
International students today expect flexibility, digital readiness, international exposure, and contemporary teaching methods. Employers demand graduates with practical skills, problem-solving capability, digital fluency, and global work navigation abilities. The government’s recent willingness to engage with private institutions, invite international collaborations, reconsider university autonomy, and strengthen quality assurance frameworks reflects a commitment to making Sri Lanka’s education ecosystem globally competitive.
Why should Sri Lanka attract foreign universities?
Success stories from India’s Foreign University Act, Malaysia’s EduCity model, Singapore’s Global Schoolhouse initiative, and the UAE’s education free zones illustrate the immense value of hosting international institutions. These countries elevated their academic reputations, created world-class research ecosystems, attracted international talent, and retained local students who would otherwise have studied abroad.
For Sri Lanka, attracting foreign universities is strategic national capacity building. It brings globally benchmarked curricula, modern teaching frameworks, and research-driven innovation. Local students benefit by gaining access to international degrees at a fraction of the cost while enjoying family proximity and cultural familiarity. This model significantly reduces foreign exchange outflow and elevates competitive standards for local institutions.
Foreign universities also attract international students from across the region, bringing diversity, cultural exchange, and economic revenue. Students from South Asia, East Africa, and the Middle East seek affordable English-medium education destinations with quality and stability—a space Sri Lanka can fill.
How can Sri Lanka retain students and attract overseas learners?
Retention requires elevating perception, value, and experience. Many families send students abroad not because local options are inadequate, but because global exposure and perceived employability appear more attractive. However, with major host countries revising immigration policies, there is a growing opportunity for Sri Lanka to reposition its institutions as globally relevant alternatives.
Retention begins with quality: expanding degree offerings, modernising facilities, strengthening research ecosystems, building industry partnerships, and ensuring international accreditation. Universities must create vibrant learning environments combining academic excellence with global exposure through visiting faculty, international internships, and student exchanges. Strong physical and digital infrastructure is essential.
Attracting overseas students requires active branding. Sri Lanka must market itself as a safe, affordable destination with high English proficiency and strong cultural appeal. With targeted marketing, streamlined visa processes, student-friendly accommodation, and strategic partnerships, Sri Lanka can build a thriving international student market similar to Malaysia and Dubai.
Should programme structures be more flexible?
Sri Lanka must consider flexibility in programme duration. Globally, higher education is moving toward competency-based structures rather than time-based ones. In business administration, marketing, journalism, hospitality, and social sciences, three-year degrees are internationally common, while engineering, medicine, and architecture naturally require longer periods.
Adopting flexible structures where programme lengths are defined by learning outcomes, discipline norms, and global best practices would reduce financial burdens on families and enable students to enter the workforce earlier. This approach aligns Sri Lanka with modern educational principles and positions local qualifications as globally competitive.
What role can twinning programmes play?
Twinning programmes—whether 2+2, 3+1, or other models—represent an ideal bridge between cost efficiency and global exposure. Students begin degrees in Sri Lanka and complete the remainder abroad, reducing costs while gaining international academic experience. These programmes expand research collaboration, enrich faculty expertise, and create cross-border knowledge exchange opportunities.
Reverse twinning pathways, where international students spend part of their degree in Sri Lanka, further diversify campuses and generate economic benefits. Such models appeal to regional students seeking international exposure in cost-effective, culturally familiar settings.
How must curriculum evolve?
Sri Lanka must transition from content-heavy, exam-centric frameworks toward dynamic, experiential, and future-oriented models. Global demand for digital literacy, AI competency, sustainability expertise, data analysis, and entrepreneurship requires curricula embedded with real-world application. Students need exposure to problem-based learning, industry projects, work-integrated learning, and interdisciplinary coursework.
Engaging industry stakeholders in curriculum development is essential for relevance. Academic institutions must foster closer relationships with employers, research organisations, and policymakers. Strengthened quality assurance frameworks and international benchmarks can elevate academic standards and ensure global competitiveness.
Why are public-private partnerships essential?
The private sector is critical because it operates at the cutting edge of innovation, technological adaptation, and labour market intelligence. Public-private partnerships enable shared research facilities, collaborative teaching models, internships, job placements, and mentorship networks. They also encourage entrepreneurship by exposing students to real-world challenges.
Countries that successfully transformed into education hubs—Singapore, Malaysia, and the UAE—integrated the private sector deeply into their education ecosystems. Sri Lanka must create frameworks that incentivize private sector involvement while maintaining strong academic standards.
How important are soft skills?
Technical knowledge alone is insufficient. Employers emphasise communication, leadership, teamwork, adaptability, emotional intelligence, creativity, and problem-solving. These competencies determine a graduate’s ability to thrive in dynamic environments and contribute meaningfully to organizations.
Sri Lanka must embed soft skills training throughout the education journey, including public speaking, academic writing, debate, presentations, and cross-cultural exposure. Soft skills are a strategic pillar of employability, ensuring graduates enter the workforce with confidence and professionalism.
What is the long-term vision?
The long-term vision is to transform Sri Lanka into a vibrant, globally recognised centre of learning where students worldwide come to study, research, and innovate. A Sri Lanka where local students choose to stay because of quality, exposure, and value offered. A Sri Lanka that hosts foreign universities, world-class research centres, and vocational institutes aligned with global trends.
This vision is built on unity of leadership, openness to reform, strategic international partnerships, quality assurance enhancement, curriculum modernisation, educator development, and strong public-private collaboration. The idea of Sri Lanka as a knowledge hub is entirely achievable with coordinated effort and consistent commitment.
We have a rare window to position ourselves at the forefront of global education. The world is shifting, and Sri Lanka must shift with it—boldly, intelligently, and purposefully.
Prof. (Dr) Nalaka Jayakody is a distinguished academic leader and Master Mariner, having served as Vice Chancellor/CEO of multiple higher-education institutes, and has been deeply involved in national education governance.
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