Education Choices In Sri Lanka

Education in Sri Lanka is both big business and highly opaque. Recently my mother, Sujata Gamage, has done a survey through LIRNEasia to see what exactly is out there. In Sri Lanka there currently isn’t a centralized space (like UCAS in UK) to see what degree/diploma options are out there. So this is a start.

In the current iteration, you can see the results online via SL2College.org. For example, if you want to study commerce, you can see what types of programs are available, what the cost, and a bit about who is offering them.

In the next iteration there will be a print version as well, which may be useful to a broader range of people.

Some Stats

In 2010 the graduate output was about 19,000 people. While 12,250 came from the conventional public education system, 4,150 came from semi-public and 2,500 came from private institutions. While output in the conventional system is actually down from 2009, other categories are up. People are going outside of the conventional system, partly because they have to, because space in Unis is really limited.

This new world of private/semi-private educational institutes supplies a need, but it’s a bit of a confusing market for students and parents. Which is where this sort of research comes in. For example, the data shows that most degree programs are 3 years and cost more than 5 lakhs.

In terms of programs available, there are 171 in Commerce, 103 in Computer Science/IT, 68 in Engineering and then 346 in Other (which ranges from English to Fashion).

Of course, the most relevant thing for an average person is what degree programs are available for them. For that check out the site and see what’s out there for yourself. The print should be out soon.

Posted on Wednesday, June 27th, 2012 in Business, Education, Sri Lanka.

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4 Comments »

shammi

2012-06-27 11:16:04

This is going to be so useful.

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tastyjujubes

2012-06-27 12:06:05

OT: I’m always surprised at the number of Maldivians studying in Sri Lankan educational institutions and this includes schools. I wonder how many Maldivians live in Colombo and the rest of the country – it would be interesting to know… there seems to be a lot :) And I think quite a few of them continue to live in Sri Lanka after getting their degrees. Anyway this would also help those considering studying in Sri Lanka.

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sach

2012-06-27 12:36:13

this is good..:)

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magerata

2012-06-30 07:23:10

Thank you, been looking for this for ages, no wonder I did not find it,

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