Higher Education

L to R: Samantha Ranatunga, Chairman, HVA Foods PLC; Jan Müggenburg, Chief Executive Officer, Müggenburg Group; Graham Stork, Chief Executive Officer, HVA Foods PLC; Sarva Ameresekere, Group Chairman, George Steuart & Co. Ltd.

Jan 10, 2010 (LBO) – Sri Lankan university education despite being available only to the brightest students ranks well below its peers in Asia although academics vow to improve syllabi and facilities to climb the rankings. Academics said the universities have to pay to get the rankings done by various independent organizations.

The best known ones are by the London Times and The Guardian which publish international ranking tables annually.

None of the Sri Lankan academic institutions are listed in the 2009 list by the Times of the top 200 Asian universities.

Most foreign universities work closely with industry and receive large grants to carryout research work mostly in the science fields.

"Sri Lankan universities are little bit behind on research work and the academic publications. This also has an effect on the university rankings," Kshanika Hirumburegama, vice chancellor at Colombo University, whose Medical College is the second oldest science faculty in Asia after Calcutta.

India has seven universities in the Asian list thanks to the creation of Indian Institutes of Technology (IIT) universities, in major cities like Delhi, Bombay and Madras.

IIT is a heavily research-based university

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