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

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, this is the reply to the Question raised under Standing Order 27(2) by Hon. Sajith Premadasa on 2025.03.11.

¶ 02 1. Primary and Secondary Levels

¶ 03 - Disaggregated expenditure data by primary vs. secondary within general education are not separately maintained; however, the average annual expenditure per student (calculated from total education allocation and student population) for both levels combined is as follows for recent years:

¶ 04 2020 – Rs. 62,136 2021 – Rs. 63,498 2022 – Rs. 75,096 2023 – Rs. 87,594 2024 – Rs. 97,784 2025 – Rs. 115,715

¶ 05 At the Tertiary level, costs vary by discipline. The average recurrent cost per undergraduate in 2022 is Rs. 405,313. By program (recurrent cost per student, 2022), for example: - Arts – Rs. 341,665 - Education – Rs. 492,344 - Law – Rs. 273,037 - Aesthetics – Rs. 413,482 - Management and Commerce – Rs. 260,967 - Engineering – Rs. 526,305 - Architecture – Rs. 371,669 - Information Technology – Rs. 345,449 - Medicine – Rs. 818,583 - Dental Surgery – Rs. 1,352,947 - Veterinary Science – Rs. 1,372,710 - Agriculture – Rs. 579,495 - Science – Rs. 428,582 - Allied Health – Rs. 438,114 - Technology – Rs. 267,054 - Indigenous Medicine – Rs. 544,994 - Average (all disciplines) – Rs. 405,313

¶ 06 Under free education, there has not yet been a formally adopted, comprehensive study by the Ministry of Education/Higher Education or the University Grants Commission on the exact annual per-student cost by level (primary, secondary, tertiary).

¶ 07 On graduate employability: some universities have conducted tracer studies at intervals, but data are incomplete and not consistently produced year-on-year across internal, external and distance cohorts. Therefore, a single authoritative national series is not presently available. However, from the 2022 Convocation tracer data:

¶ 08 - Agriculture – 60.3% employed - Allied Health – 54.8% - Architecture – 84.8% - Arts – 30.6% - Computing/IT – 94.2% - Engineering – 73.5% - Management and Commerce – 71.0% - Science – 65.4% - Technology – 51.3%

¶ 09 Multiple qualitative and quantitative studies indicate there is no single cause for graduate unemployment; factors include gaps in general education, social capital/networking effects (especially for private sector hiring), and other complexities.

¶ 10 The UGC operates a Standing Committee on Career Guidance to plan and implement professional programs for new graduates, with Directors of Career Guidance Units of all universities participating. Programs focus on labour market needs, organize job fairs to bridge demand-supply gaps, and establish business linkages to connect graduates with industry. Training is provided on leadership, soft skills and other competencies; workshops with industry practitioners help with interview readiness, confidence and critical thinking. A circular has established a policy framework for Career Guidance Units in every university to reduce graduate unemployment sustainably.

¶ 11 I emphasize this is not a problem universities alone can solve; job creation and reforms in general education are also needed for a durable solution.

¶ 12 4. The Government is proceeding to recruit 35,000 graduates to existing vacancies in posts/fields where a degree is the qualification. In addition to allocations under respective Ministries and agencies, an extra Rs. 10,000 million has been set aside. A larger share will be for teacher recruitment; due to a pending Supreme Court case, we must await the decision to proceed. Other posts will be filled via skills-based or open competitive processes as per recruitment schemes.

¶ 13 5. On policy reforms to address unemployment and graduate employment: the core structural issues lie also in school education. We are prioritizing expansion of access to vocational and technological education, and have appointed a committee for labour forecasting to align TVET and higher education more closely with labour market needs. A greater proportion of school leavers should be directed to vocational and technological education; we will also expand higher education capacity accordingly.

¶ 14 Thank you.