Thursday, 20th November 2014
by Dasun Edirisinghe
More than 5,000 foreign students were studying in Sri Lanka at present at the state universities and degree awarding institutions, Higher Education Minister S. B. Dissanayake said.
He said that the government expected to increase it to 100,000 by 2020 under the government’s programme to become the Asia’s education hub. "Students from the Middle East come here for higher education due to problems they face in the West," Dissanayake said, adding that students from India, the Maldives and Pakistan also come to Sri Lanka due to the peaceful environment, low cost of living and good weather.
Dissanayake said that the government expected to admit students to the Institute of Technology which is currently being constructed at the Moratuwa University. It was scheduled to be opened in 2016, he added. "We will also set up new Science and Technology faculties at all universities," he said, adding that those who offered the newly introduced Technology Stream at GCE A/ L examination would be eligible for enrollment there.
The state-run Higher Technical Institutes and Technical Colleges would also be promoted as degree awarding institutions, Minister Dissanayake said.
From : http://www.island.lk/index.php?page_cat=article-details&page=article-details&code_title=114509
