‘13 years of education is the right of every Sri Lankan child’: Dr. Harsha de Silva

“We as a nation must prioritise the right kind of education that empowers our children to compete globally,” said Dr. Harsha de Silva in his address to the United Professionals Forum held at the Lakshman Kadiragamar Institute recently.  

“Working with a visionary leader the calibre of Prime Minister Ranil Wickremesinghe has been a tremendous experience,” he added. “Under his guidance, we have identified areas of priorities. One key area is education.”

“Tertiary and vocational training is important. For an example, German Tech provides a world class vocational training recognised anywhere in the world. We intend to set up a network of similar vocational training centres island-wide that can give our children global opportunities that would put them on par with competitive countries.”

“How do we measure competitiveness? – it isn’t only measured by the salary structure or the qualifications. It is also measured by the quality and the efficiency of the people. We can compete with countries like Malaysia, we need to raise our standards and we can,” Dr. Harsha added.

“With this in mind, from 2016, we will make 13 years of education compulsory for all Sri Lankan children – it is their right. They do not have to drop out after O/Ls; they can continue to A/Ls and look forward to a career they will excel in.” “During the last few years, the country has not focused on harnessing the potential of our higher education as we should have. We hope to rectify that with our focus on developing the higher education sector in the country, empowering our children to engage in careers that are competitive and relevant to today’s needs,” he added.

“As a country, the focus is still on obtaining government employment. The world is out there with tremendous entrepreneurial opportunities and private sector prospects for talented young Sri Lankans – we want to open those doors to them. That can only be done with enabling them to obtain a world class education that polishes their talents and opens doors for them,” he reiterated.