Sri Lanka is set to double or triple the number of universities and merge the existing vocational training institutes, in an effort to enhance its human resources pool and propel the nation forward, President Ranil Wickremesinghe said.
He said that a programme would commence next year focusing on utilising both university education and vocational training for the country’s development.
“Our goal is to significantly increase the number of universities in the country, potentially doubling or tripling their current count. Simultaneously, leveraging new technology allows students in Sri Lanka the opportunity to earn degrees from foreign universities, without leaving the country. We envision Sri Lanka becoming a hub for universities,” Wickremesinghe said.

“In our efforts, we plan to establish vocational training colleges by merging the existing vocational training institutes. To enhance employability, we are introducing job-oriented curricula for these courses.
Encouragingly, the private sector has pledged support for these initiatives and we anticipate implementing this programme by the coming year,” he added.
Wickremesinghe made these remarks during the 2023 graduation ceremony of the National Institute of Business Studies (NSBM Green University), held yesterday.
He also revealed the government’s plan to bring the necessary laws to reorganise the entire education system in this country.
“… it should be said that our aim is to start the programme of using university education and vocational training education for the development of this country from next year, as knowledge is needed to develop the country. A new education system should be created for that,” he said.
“We should act as a middle-income country. We have to decide whether we will remain in this state forever or whether we will become a high-income economy. We all want to go on that journey. So, we leave it to education to build the necessary human resources,” he added.