External degree awarding institutes to be registered

Dinesh DE ALWIS

The Higher Education Ministry has decided to register all External Degree awarding institutes soon. The ministry will select the appropriate institutes and register them as government universities' affiliated institutes.

The objective is to maintain the standard and the quality of the external degrees, said Higher Education Minister S.B. Dissanayake yesterday. He was addressing a gathering at Panideniya Pirivena, Peradeniya. "External degree awarding institutes are mushrooming around the country without any standard.

This has affected the quality of education. Ministry will affiliate external degree awarding institutes with government universities," he said.

The minister said that the current external degree system is obsolete. Hence, external degree holders haven't proper recognition.