Higher education avenues should be available for poor - Prof. Warnapala

Avenues of higher education should be available even to the poorest of the poor, Higher Education Minister Prof. Wiswa Warnapala said.

He was addressing the Higher Education Conference of the Asia Pacific Region attended by Higher Education Ministers and education specialists in New Delhi, recently.

India lauded the proposals and recommendations of Minister Prof. Wiswa Warnapala for restructuring the higher education field in the region.

Prof. Warnapala focused on re-structuring the higher education sector in keeping with the changing global trends.

He suggested that the pivotal role for changes in the higher education sector should be dominantly played by the State sector. Applicant's ability or inability to pay shall not influence the admission policy of a university and university syllabi should be re-structured to meet the requirements of the global employment market, he said.

Engineering and technical education fields should be expanded and high and long-standing investments should be made for research and IT, the Minister said.

New regulatory framework should be established to workout details and criteria for establishing new universities and higher technical institutes while the education authorities in the Asia-pacific region should favourably consider the establishment of a fund for collective research, Prof. Warnapala added.

Prof. Warnapala stressed all should get together to etch out a detailed education framework for the 21st Century.