Private universities are a necessity - Rajitha
Ridma DISSANAYAKE
Establishing private universities in Sri Lanka is not bad since
private universities of high quality are essential for the progress of
both developed and developing countries.
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Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne and Health Ministry
Additional Secretary Dr. Sujatha Senaratne receiving special
awards at the ceremony |
It will greatly assist in providing the best education for Sri Lankan
students without the need for paying huge sums of money for foreign
universities, Fisheries and Aquatic Resources Development Minister Dr.
Rajitha Senaratne said.
“We did not fight against establishing private universities in Sri
Lanka.
We fought against granting the same degree of the Colombo
Medical Faculty to the Private Medical College, Ragama. The private
universities should not have the right to grant the degree
conferred by the Colombo University,” he explained.
The minister was addressing the 80th anniversary celebrations of the
Sri Lanka Dental Association (SLDA) held at the Sri Lanka Professionals’
Association (SLPA) Headquarters, recently.
He said knowledge has become the capital of the world so much so even
socialist countries have adapted to the change. There are 2,400 private
universities in China. But it has only 2,100 government universities.
Russia is the country which has the largest number of private
universities in the world.
A large number of students in the Asian region are going to these
countries for their higher education.
“They have to spend huge amounts of money to go there and have higher
education in those countries.
We are establishing private universities in Sri Lanka so we can save
a huge sum of money which goes to foreign countries along with our next
generation”, the minister explained.
Minister Dr. Rajitha Senaratne and Health Ministry Additional
Secretary Dr. Sujatha Senaratne received special awards at the ceremony
for their dedicated service to the motherland.
SLPA Chairman Benedict Ulluvishewa, SLDA Chairman Dr. Suresh
Shammuganathan, Secretary Dr. Vipula Wickremasinghe, Treasurer Dr.
Ramesh Kanna, Prof. Jayasundara Banda and a number of guests were
present. |
