Private sector should help strengthen education system

by Nilma Dole

Minister of Higher Education S.B. Dissanayake called upon the private sector to join hands with the government to strengthen the country's education system.

The Minister was speaking at a media conference on Friday at the Open University of Sri Lanka when the university signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Hemas Hospitals to launch a nursing training program.

He said free education in Sri Lanka has been more of a burden than a benefit for the Government and the tax-paying public.

"With the signing of the MoU, we have paved the way for locally-qualified university graduates to have no problems when it comes to getting a job with a private institution instead of relying only on government sector jobs," said Minister Dissanayake.

He said, "When recruitment is guaranteed and practical hands-on training is provided at private sector institutions, graduates can look forward to working in a rewarding environment. This will change their mentality on demanding the government to give them a job."

Vice Chancellor of the Open University, Prof. Upali Vidanapathirana said,"To provide better language skills to our students, we get the teachers and students to converse in English, not to show off their knowledge but to equip them with the right training to enhance their careers."

Murtaza Esufally of the Hemas Group said, "Hemas Hospitals is an internationally accredited hospital. In achieving our goals of recruiting the best nurses for our hospitals, we are happy to join the Department of Health Sciences of the Open University."

Hemas Hospitals will also pay for the nurses training program for three years where students will get an accommodation allowance and medical coverage during the training. At present, 94 students have been registered to sit for this course commencing this month.