The National Human Resources Development Council (NHRDC) has submitted a 12-point proposal to the Sri Lankan government for consideration in the upcoming 2019 Budget. The proposal contains a 43 percent increase in central government spending on education to 405 billion rupees by 2020.  

The proposals include updating curricular across schools and universities to reflect global education standards which cater to market and industry demands.

The council is proposing a 23 percent increase in spending on education to 464 billion rupees in 2019, up from the 2018 budget allocation of 377 billion rupees, and a further 16 percent increase to 539 billion rupees in 2020. Meanwhile the proposed higher education spending should increase 57 percent to 113 billion rupees in 2019 and further 18 percent to 133.5 billion rupees in 2020.

Some of the proposals discussed on the day of the submission were:

• Introduction of STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics) education for women to increase their participation in the labour force and to improve that experience for political and community leadership
• Rs. 300 million allocated to strengthen technology education to develop a work-ready workforce.
• Make a future-ready workforce through redefining the outcome based learning
• Provide greater access to students in tertiary, vocational and professional education
• Utilise Rs. 200 million for university education – staff development, productivity and internationalisation

If you wish to obtain further information on latest market developments in Sri Lanka, please write to Nishika Hassim - Manager Higher Education and International Education Services at Nishika.Hassim@britishcouncil.org