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

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, our observation is that in recent years student intakes were increased, more programmes were offered, and new faculties established, but without adequate planning for facilities and staffing. Our current focus is to improve quality within existing structures and manage human resources better. Beyond teaching, universities must conduct research, which also requires adequate staff. The aforementioned committee is looking into these needs. We intend to proceed with a cadre review. Since 2022, recruitments to fill vacancies had not been made; we have now permitted universities to fill vacancies as requested. Those recruitments are underway. If I recall correctly, last year approval was granted to fill over 3,000 academic cadre vacancies, and recruitments have been made. Similarly, non-academic vacancies are being filled.