Sri Lanka needs a mixed system of public and private universities

By Joshua Nicholas

A top Minister last week declared that Sri Lanka needs a mixed public and private university system.

Attending the launch of a partnership between The Graduate School of Management Sri Lanka (GSM) and Open University Malaysia (OUM) , Minister of Petroleum Industries Susil Premajayantha said that 10 years ago the top Sri Lankan university was ranked 402nd in Asia, but is now ranked well beyond 1,000th.

 

“This is due mainly to fast development in international universities,” he added.

Premajayantha cited many advantages to private universities, including flexibility and increased academic freedom and stated it was not possible to fund international partnerships through public funds alone.

He welcomed the launch  of the Open University Malaysia’s twin-degrees of PhD and MBA through GSM in Sri Lanka, given the need for mixed system of public and private universities to benefits students, faculty and society at large.