Private sector involvement in education vital - HNB chairman

Wrong educational policies have deprived higher education to a large number of students in the country, said Chairman, Hatton National Bank (HNB), Rienzie Wijetilleke.

He was speaking at the Adyapana 2008 higher education exhibition at the BMICH organised by the Lanka Exhibition and Conference Services Ltd. (LECS) recently.

Wijetilleke said though over 150,000 students pass the Advanced Level examination each year only around 15,000 students are accommodated in universities and the rest are left in a state of limbo trying to figure out what to do.

"The private sector cannot find people who fit into the job market due to the poor educational system. Lack of proper guidance is one of the main reasons for student frustration and unrest in the country. Sound educational policies are vital to address the growing need for skilled workers across the globe", he said. Private sector involvement in education is essential to meet the demand for professionals. It is unwise to think that private education should be scrapped. The government cannot look into all aspects of education.

Managing Director, LECS, Arjun Dharmadasa said this year's theme of the exhibition 'Guiding to Pursue Your Dreams' outperformed the previous year's events with the participation of a large number of institutes.

"It is important to improve the standard of higher education since we live in a knowledge society. It is the obligation of all educational institutes to provide the best education", he said.

Minister of Science and Technology, Prof. Tissa Vitharana said today private educational institutions are mushrooming and many of them are not worth the paper it is written on.

The exhibition featured higher educational institutes specialised in fields such as business, airlines, secretarial, computer, finance, marketing, medical and nursing, aviation and maritime, architecture and hotel management.

A series of seminars and a debate titled 'the voice of Sri Lanka' held for the first time were some of the unique features of this year's event.

LF