Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapksa said higher education institutions need to keep their pace with the transformative changes happening globally, reported Colombopage. 

“We can’t afford to lag behind. Our higher education system must adapt swiftly,” he said, adding “it has to offer our children an education that will remain relevant despite fast-changing circumstances.”

Our high education institutions need considerable improvement, he said while addressing the 31st General Convocation of the General Sir John Kotelawala Defense University in Colombo, Sri Lanka. 

He stressed that all graduates, at least, should have been familiar with new technologies and some basic functional knowledge of Computer irrespective of fields.  

“Enhancing focus on research and development will also have a beneficial impact on the rankings of Sri Lankan universities globally,” Rajapaksa said. If we want to attract foreign students and retain talented faculty members at our universities, we need to improve these rankings, he added.

He also pushes for more functional freedom among the different players of the sectors. Universities, vice-chancellors, and facility members must have more freedom to take decisions independently, he said. On the other hand, talented students should have more options to choose the universities of their choice that better suit their interests.