Higher education to meet social needs

Disna Mudalige

The higher education system will be developed to meet the country's economic and social needs with the assistance of the World Bank, under the proposed Higher Education for the 21st Century Project, said Lead Education Specialist Harsha Aturupane.

He was addressing a press briefing held at the Galle Face Hotel on Wednesday.

He said improvements are suggested covering the full higher education sector, including Universities, postgraduate institutes and the alternative higher education institutions.

This five to six year project that has allocated US$40million will help to address the demands of the modern global knowledge economy.

It also tries to promote ethnic harmony and national unity, which are the most important social needs of the country at this particular period, he noted. The project will support the establishment of a National Qualification Framework enabling horizontal and vertical mobility between the different types of higher education and training institutions.

A Quality Assurance Mechanism will also be installed for the higher education sector including undergraduate degrees, postgraduate degrees, distance education, external degree programs and tertiary level diplomas and certificates.