The Hon. (Dr.) Harini Amarasuriya - Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education

¶ 01 The problem has to be looked at much more broadly. First, free education is a right that we protect. In that education system, we need to inculcate students with a spirit of responsibility and service. That, we need to improve. It is not just by imposing laws or contractual agreements, but the development that takes place within the education system should inculcate students with that spirit of service. We have to acknowledge that in today’s global world, that service could happen within the country and outside the country as well. We would like our students to remain in this country and provide that service; that is the kind of spirit we want to promote within education, and that, we are doing.

¶ 02 Also, broadening opportunities in education is also something we are working on. That could include broadening opportunities in the existing State education institutions and also broadening vocational and professional education opportunities so that more and more people could access higher education. So, there are multiple ways in which this problem needs to be addressed or to approach this problem, all of which we are looking into.

¶ 03 The other thing is, by having a stronger economy and a more resilient and a more developed society, we would also be able to retain graduates better. Graduates often leave the country seeking greener pastures, but if they feel confident that our own country could provide those opportunities, they would remain here.

¶ 04 Thank you.