Need to restructure university education in Sri Lanka
The university education system in Sri Lanka has traditionally played a central role in producing batches of civil servants and other professionals, including clusters of lawyers and medical professionals. It has also produced a thin band of graduates in humanities, social sciences, and arts and artisanry. Attention given to STEM subjects (medicine, biology, physics, computer science, AI, data science, civil, electrical, and mechanical engineering, Statistics, applied mathematics, quantitative economics) has been relatively poor.
However, amid rapid global technological change, dynamic trade expansion, and robust economic growth, there is a growing consensus that the system requires deep structural reforms rather than mere incremental adjustments, as has been the case in Sri Lanka for decades.
The need to restructure university education in Sri Lanka arises primarily from issues of access, relevance, quality, governance, and alignment with national development goals.
1. Mismatch between Education and Labour Market
One of the pressing challenges is the significant disconnect between subject curricula taught at universities and the labour market demands. This has led to insufficient focus, for example, on STEM subjects, whilst overemphasising traditional arts and general degrees that lack marketable potential.
Currently, the demand for medical practitioners in Sri Lanka exceeds 20,000, whilst their supply has been curtailed by a severe lack of capacity to absorb students in public-sector medical colleges and, at the same time, by the deterrence to establishing private medical colleges. The sad chapter of the circumstances that led to SAITM’s closure is an example.
The same is true of the shortage of professionals in the digital industry (including AI -Artificial Intelligence), which prevents new investments in high-tech industries. Otherwise, at a time like now, when most countries are experiencing varying degrees of trade barriers, Sri Lanka should be able to attract significant resources to operate ‘piggy-back rider industries’.
At the same time, there is a significant lack of ‘university-industry’ collaboration. In many high-growth economies (i.e., China, South Korea, India, and ASEAN countries), industrial training is an integral part of university studies. However, this is a relatively new phenomenon in Sri Lanka and has not yet penetrated the entire system.
Further to the point is the age-old mode of education that has, by far, relied on a ‘memory-based learning system’ and which has failed to keep pace with the requirements of contemporary technology, industry, and the economy. However, what is required is a learning system that promotes ‘creative competences’, ‘innovative capabilities’, and ‘problem-solving talents’ that align with the requirements of Sri Lanka’s evolving economy, society, and its strategic circumstances.
In consequence, many have, over the past few decades, faced difficulties with unemployment or quasi-employment despite holding university degrees.
2. Limited access and Equity Constraints
Sri Lanka’s universities admit only a small fraction of students each year. Although the number of students who qualified for enrolment in 2024 exceeded 177,500, the intake was limited to only about 40,000. Thus, the number of students who had passed their university entrance exam (GCE AL) but failed to secure university entry was 132,000. Thus, more than 71 per cent of students failed to secure admission to public sector universities.
In the meantime, the number of students who have been able to secure seats at private-sector universities and colleges in Sri Lanka (a total of 27) and those who have been able to secure admission to foreign universities is about 42,000.
While the system is merit-based, it suffers from severe capacity constraints, particularly in medicine, digital technologies, and the pure sciences. Then it suffers from regional disparities in access.
Serious restructuring is needed to expand capacity through ‘diversified pathways’, including applied universities, community colleges, and regulated private–public partnerships, while preserving equity and affordability.
3. Outdated Curricula and Teaching Methods
Most degree programmes still rely heavily on: (1) rote learning, (2) lecture-centred pedagogy, and (3) examination-driven assessment. In contrast, however, global higher education trends seem to emphasise interdisciplinary, research-based learning, digital literacy, and continuous assessment.
The higher education system of Sri Lanka must modernise curricula to include: (1) data analysis and AI literacy, (2) climate change and sustainability studies, and (3) policy analysis, innovation, and ethics. Without reform, the graduates are sure to lose in global relevance and competitiveness.
4. Weak Research and Innovation Ecosystem
University research in Sri Lanka remains underfunded and poorly aligned to national development priorities. The challenges include: (1) the lack of research grants in appropriate volumes, (2) frail and fragile links between university and industry, and (3) low-slung visibility in international research cooperation.
The universities of Sri Lanka (both private and public) should promote restructuring to strengthen universities as ‘centres of innovation,’ contributing directly to agriculture, health, industry, public policy, logistics and transportation, and technology development.
5. Governance and Institutional Rigidity
The centralised control exercised by authorities such as the University Grants Commission (UGC) of Sri Lanka has ensured standardisation of the education system but has also reduced institutional autonomy. Excessive programmes of control hinder, first, curriculum development programmes. Then it hinders international collaboration in study programmes. Further, it hinders responsive decision-making.
In the case of the Ivy League universities of the US and the Russel Group Universities of the UK, the freedom to make responsive decisions is evident, particularly with reference to their educational programmes and outcomes. Further, such high-level collaborative research has been promoted under the Erasmus+ Programme, which encompasses the EU countries. The same is true of top-tier universities from ASEAN countries, as well as from China and India.
A restructured system should balance ‘accountability with autonomy,’ allowing universities to specialise and innovate while maintaining public oversight.
6. Globalisation and International Competitiveness
Sri Lanka has been aiming to emerge as an education hub for several years, yet its universities lag in several areas. This includes the poor positioning of Sri Lankan universities in international rankings. This also reflects the poor positioning of cross-border academic collaboration.
The Sri Lankan universities lack enthusiasm in recruiting international students. There were instances when some private universities in Sri Lanka actively discouraged the enrolment of students from Africa, even though this proved to be a lucrative source of foreign income for the concerned institute and the country. This is even though most Asian countries (including China, India, and the ASIAN region) are making special efforts to recruit international students and, at the same time, to promote research collaborations with foreign universities.
Reform is essential to internationalise degree programmes, attract global faculty and students, while safeguarding national educational values. This can also promote high-quality international research and academic conferences.
7. Contribution to National Development
University education must serve the nation’s broader economic and social developmental goals more prominently than it does now. Any attempt to restructure Sri Lanka’s education system should address several issues. It should first address inclusive economic growth and social development programmes. Second, it should address the issue of producing accomplished human capital for the wider industry. Then, this should promote critical thinking, democratic citizenship, and social cohesion without yielding to internal/regional strife and other conflicts.
This requires closer alignment among (1) universities, (2) industry, and (3) the state, including coordination with institutions and other authorities concerned with higher education.
Conclusions
The need to restructure university education in Sri Lanka is both urgent and unavoidable. Pressures for demographic shifts, the urge for economic transformation, and global competition demand a new-fangled education system that is flexible, inclusive and innovative. Then it must also be development-oriented.
Without comprehensive reforms, the universities risk becoming disconnected from national ambitions and aspirations. However, with reform, the university system can become a powerful engine of knowledge creation, economic growth, and equitable resource distribution. This should also help Sri Lanka maintain structural harmony with other nations of the global community.
(The writer is a retired Professor of Economics who completed his BSc at Stockholm University, Sweden, MSc at Uppsala University, Sweden, and PhD at Salford University, UK)
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