Ceylon Chamber partners LIRNEasia to compare higher education choices

The Human Resource and Education Sub-committee of the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce, has joined hands with LIRNEasia to compare higher education choices for students in Sri Lanka and release a comprehensive Directory of Undergraduate Programs on 27th June 2012 at the Ceylon Chamber of Commerce.

According to the LIRNEasia Survey of Undergraduate degree Programs in Sri Lanka the higher education landscape in 2011 consists of at least 46 private institutions and 10 public institutions or programs that recruit students outside of the UGC-mediated admission system, in addition to the 17 public institutions for which admissions are mediated by the UGC.  

A myriad of alternative opportunities have emerged in the last decades, giving solace to school-leavers and their parents  from all walks of life.

The purpose of the 2012 LIRNEasia Directory of Undergraduate Degree Programs in Sri Lanka is to fully map the higher education landscape in Sri Lanka in order to better inform parents and students about alternatives to the University Grants Commission mediated higher education system.

LIRNEasia is a policy and regulation think tank based in Colombo and active across Asia. The survey of degree programs in Sri Lanka is the first in the series of surveys on further education opportunities in Asia to be carried out by LIRNEasia.

The survey revealed two types of alternatives to the public university system – PRIVATE Institutions and ‘PUBLIC-NON-UGC’ institutions (or public institutions that are outside the purview of the UGC).

Advertisements and other sources accessed during October 2011 revealed the presence of 46 private institutions and 10 public-non-UGC institutions. Of the private institutions, all 46 responded, some giving more details than others. Of the total, 29 had track records, i.e. they were able to produce one or more graduates in 2010/2011; 15 had students currently enrolled; and 2 are to start programs in 2012. Of the 10 ‘public-non-UGC’ institutions, that included the National Institute of Business Management, Open University and Ocean University, 9 had track records of awarding degrees.  

All in all, the current higher education system in Sri Lanka comprises of 17 public institutions under the purview of the UGC and 56 institutions that makeup the alternative system, and produced 19,566 graduates in 2010/2011. The alternative system accounted for 36% of that output with private institutions accounting for 14% and public-non-UGC institutions accounting for 22%.

The directory details only the degree programs offered by the alternative system. There are 258 such programs and they are organized by four major fields of study – i.e. COMMERCE, COMPUTER SCIENCE/IT, ENGINEERING and OTHER, and 54 sub-fields or specializations. For each specialization, the name of the degree program, the length of study including foreign components if any, name of the degree-awarding body, track record and cost information are presented. The costs of the listed programs can range from under Rs. 200,000/= to over  a million for tuition and fees for the full program. The quality of the programs per se is not addressed in this directory. Given the emergent nature of the alternative higher education system by relevant authorities and the track record of having graduated one or more students are considered as adequate ‘starter’ indicators of quality. As the system matures additional indicators of quality will be added.

This directory is meant to be a guide only.  Prospective students and their parents should contact the relevant institutions before making decisions. For further information about the LIRNEasia survey visit www.LIRNEasia.net/projects/HCR. The directory can be found on www.SL2COLLEGE.org as well.