ILMU Education Group bullish on SL

Malaysian based ILMU Education Group is keen to expand its operations of Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology (APIIT) Lanka, while eyeing on suitable opportunities to make an additional investment in other segments within the Sri Lankan education space, a senior official of the Group said. “We are bullish on Sri Lanka; a country we feel has close similarities and strong linkages with Malaysia. We believe the private education industry in Sri Lanka, whilst intensely competitive, provides significant avenue for growth given the huge demand from Sri Lankans for high quality but affordable education across all segments of the education market,” ILMU Education Group Chairman Dato’ Abdul Rahman Ahmad said.

He made these remarks at a reception where Malaysia Deputy Prime Minister Dato Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi visited APIIT as part of his official visit to Sri Lanka yesterday. Since 2013 ILMU Education Group has invested around MYR 50 million ($ 12.3 million) in Sri Lanka. The visit underscores existing academic and investment ties between APIIT Sri Lanka and Malaysia while further strengthening the long term socioeconomic relationship between the two nations. Malaysia is one of the largest sources of foreign direct investments (FDIs) in Sri Lanka. Malaysia’s interest in investment in education in Sri Lanka is of special significance given the fact that Malaysia has a welldeveloped higher education system.

Commenting on the visit, Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister said, “I understand just like Malaysia, Sri Lanka has a sizeable and vibrant private education market, given the huge demand by its population for quality, affordable education. I also understand that ILMU is keen to invest more within the education space in Sri Lanka and I hope my counterparts in the Sri Lanka Government would be open to this and facilitate such investments and expansion.” APITT Sri Lanka Chief Executive Officer Dr. Athula Pitigala-Arachchi said having its roots in Malaysia has benefitted APIIT Sri Lanka immensely and has shaped the development of private sector education in the country. It is witnessed by the institution’s current enrolment of more than more than 1,300 students with an average student population growth of 8%. Being the largest provider of foreign degree programs in Sri Lanka APIIT has a record of 100% employability rate, while 90% of them get employment within three months of their graduation. Currently over 2,000 APIIT graduates are in Sri Lanka’s workforce, he added. APIIT Sri Lanka is the largest provider of international degree programs in the nation and over the past 15 years, has trained more than 2,200 graduates in Business Management, Computing/IT and Law.

The enviable track record reaffirms the institution’s position as an important influence in the development of private higher education in Sri Lanka by setting an international benchmark for the industry’s quality and standards. In 2014, Ekuiti Nasional Berhad (EKUINAS ), a Malaysian Government linked private equity firm, invested in APIIT Sri Lanka through ILMU Education Group. ILMU brings all of Ekuinas’ investments in education under one portfolio including the Asia Pacific University of Technology and Innovation (APU), UNITAR International Universi ty, Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan University College (KLMUC), Cosmopoint College of Technology and Tenby Schools. ILMU Education Group is now the largest private education provider in South-East Asia offering end-to-end learning to more than 35,000 students at 21 campuses serving K-12 (pre-school, primary to secondary) to tertiary levels. -Pic by Daminda Harsha Perera