Global net vital to curb brain drain

COLOMBO: Co-operation of global institutions vital to prevent brain drain, said Higher Education Minister Professor Wiswa Warnapala at a meeting with the World Bank Country Director Naoko Ishii.

“Sri Lanka had experienced a ‘brain drain’ during the last three or four decades. It is still continuing. This can be attributed to several economic and social factors. As we live in an independent world, curtailing this brain drain is also difficult.

However, I do think that this trend of brain drain can be converted into a brain gain, if we can make use of the new technological revolution that is taking place in the world.

Products of our universities, such as scientists, engineers, medical specialists, geologists, mathematicians, computer specialists and architects can make use of the devices of the new technological revolution such as internet and e-mail to pass on their acquired knowledge for the advancement of our country.

To carry on this programme on a grand scale and make our citizens ‘citizens of the world’ I need the active assistance and co-operation of the institutions like World Bank,” Minister Professor Warnapala said.

The meeting chaired by Higher Education Minister Prof. Wiswa Warnapala was held at the Education Ministry, Ward Place, Colombo 07. World Bank Senior Economist Dr. Harsha Athurupane, National Education Commission Chairman Prof. A. V. Suraweera, University Grant Commission Chairman Prof. G. Samaranayake, University Grants Commission Vice Chairman Prof. G. Nanayakkara also participated at the discussion.

World Bank Country Director Naoko Ishii who was here last week for a fact finding mission to grant monetary and technical assistance for a three-tier project to set up a higher education policy unit, assistance to improve the structural status of higher educational institutions and to lay a greater emphasis on development education was highly impressed by the innovative talk given by Professor Wiswa Warnapala.

Further elaborating on the subject of development education, Minister Professor Wiswa Warnapala said, that when India gained independence from the British, Prime Minister of Independent India,

Jawarharlal Nehru set up various technical institutes of higher education and the products of these higher technical institutes have taken India forward and India has become a regional power within a few decades.

This credit should go to the forefathers of Indian Independence and intellectuals like the present President of India.

While thanking the Higher Education Minister Professor Wiswa Warnapala for presenting a very valuable and a very impressive presentation on the subject of higher education, the Country Director of the World Bank, Naoko Ishii said that Sri Lanka should definitely get assistance from the World Bank for the ambitious projects initiated by the Ministry of Higher Education which comes under his purview. Assistance will come to the three-tier project, she said.