President Ranil Wickremasinghe has instructed the Education Minister to appoint a Committee consisting of former Education Ministers, political party representatives and educationists to submit a comprehensive report on the establishment of branches of foreign universities in Sri Lanka, Cabinet Spokesman Mass Media Minister Dr Bandula Gunawardane yesterday said.
He was speaking at the weekly Cabinet media briefing held at the Government Information Department yesterday.
“Today, a large number of students are migrating abroad for education. Due to this, the foreign exchange in the country as well as the knowledge and skills are flowing abroad,” he said.
In order to avoid this, the Minister pointed out that branches of foreign universities should be established in Sri Lanka in affiliation with local universities.
He further said that in order to control the admission of Sri Lankan students to foreign
universities by spending more than USD 3 billion, we should be given the opportunity to establish foreign university branches in Sri Lanka with international recognition.
“Most countries in the region and even neighbouring India have also allowed the establishment of foreign university branches. If we won’t do that it will be a huge barrier to make Sri Lanka an Education Hub,” the Minister said.
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