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Monday, 7 September 2015 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}
By Charumini de Silva
ICT education institute, ESOFT will invest Rs. 1 billion to set up an urban university in Colombo offering ICT, Business Management and Engineering degrees affiliated to Kingston University London and London Metropolitan University.
The firm was originally planning to set up a green university in Malabe with most of the private universities moving to Malabe but due to various circumstances the company is now looking at acquiring a property in Colombo 4.
The company expects to complete the construction work within one and half years and commence the university by 2018. “We are quite hopeful that we would be able to finalise the property within the next month. The property would be either adjoining Duplication Road or the High Level Road,” ESOFT Chairman and Managing Director Dr. Dayan Rajapakse told the Daily FT.
He also said that the company would be commencing the ESOFT International School, which is located in Ekala next year.
The international school was developed in an eight acre land under two phases on a private land owned by ESOFT and the firm has invested over Rs. 150 million thus far. “The first phase of the development is almost complete and we are now looking forward for primary class school admissions,” he said.
Commenting on the initial plan of having a green university in Malabe Dr. Rajapakse said: “The idea to have a green university was in our strategic plan for a long time but due to various political and other issues we had to postpone the project. However, we would like to complete the project within the next 10 years in our 20 acre property in Ekala, subject to green light from the authorities.”
Further clarifying his point he added that moving out from the initial plan in Malabe cost the firm a great deal, as they lose a large fraction and an opportunity. However, with the impending urban university in Colombo the firm is optimistic to take the hard way out to deliver quality education for students.
Highlighting on the challenges ICT companies face in terms of recruiting fresh talent he said most of the students are not focused on the practical application of their knowledge.
“Most students pay a lot of attention to their theoretical knowledge and less on the application of it in the working environment. This has caused many IT students underemployed with low wages where they have to undergo few years of training as they lack the practical skills,” he pointed.
When asked about the ICT industry growth he said that it had not performed as much as they expected during the past couple of years.
“If the industry could attract or produce multi-skilled professionals, that would be a great advantage to leapfrog for both the country, as well as for the growth of the ICT industry, which would lead to a knowledge-based economy.”
Emphasising on the quality of education the private sector institutions deliver Dr. Rajapakse said that it was high time the Government should intervene to regulate it.
“There is a fierce competition among private sector education institutes but majority of these entities are neither evaluated nor licensed. There is no guarantee that the programs that are offered by these institutions are well accepted. Therefore, it is high time that the Government brings in reforms to regulate and standardise the private sector institutions before the general public loses their confidence,” he added.
Dr. Rajapakse said that in aiming to become an IT hub in the region, Sri Lanka should look at niche markets.
Commenting on the opportunities available for amateurs in ICT from software engineering to web designing and network engineering, he said, “We have enough and more opportunities, if they come out from their comfort zones and seek for better opportunities.”
