The Hon. Ravi Karunanayake

¶ 01 Higher Education Opportunities for A/L Students and Prevention of Ragging in Universities

¶ 02 Hon. Speaker, under Standing Order 27(2), I raise:

¶ 03 A. Following the release of the 2024 GCE A/L results: - 274,361 sat the exam; 177,588 (approx. 65%) qualified for university admission; about 50,000 can be admitted to State universities; around 29,270 failed all three subjects.

¶ 04 I request the Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education to inform:

¶ 05 1. Number of State universities and total intake for 2024. 2. Estimated annual per-student cost to Government. 3. What happens to qualified students not admitted to State universities. 4. Number of students going overseas annually due to limited local opportunities and foreign exchange outflow—estimated at USD 350 million for about 35,000 students? 5. Whether Government will establish and promote more quality private universities. 6. Numbers of foreign students in 2022 and 2023; can Sri Lanka promote educational tourism like Malaysia, India, Thailand and Australia? 7. Continuation of interest-free student loans for entry to existing private universities (as per 2016 policy).

¶ 06 B. On “Sri Lanka anti-ragging law ignored” (Daily Mirror, 03 May 2025) regarding a Sabaragamuwa University incident leading to a second-year student’s death: 1. Immediate steps taken; is ragging being investigated as a cause? 2. Existing mechanisms to detect, report and prevent ragging, and why they failed. 3. Whether to launch a national awareness programme on the anti-ragging law and its penalties; actions taken in recent cases. 4. Whether to review implementation of the anti-ragging law and introduce necessary amendments including independent guidance and safe student complaint systems. 5. Steps to create more student-friendly university environments. 6. List of registered student unions operating in universities.

¶ 07 Thank you.