‘National Higher Education Development Commission’ to replace University Grants Commission – State Minister

Higher Education State Minister Dr. Suren Raghavan said a ‘National Higher Education Development Commission’ (NHEDC) will be established to replace the current University Grants Commission (UGC) aiming to broaden its service further.

The UGC was established in 1978 with the aim of carrying out the Higher Education of the country. However, the scope of the UGC should be widened since during the time it was established, there were a limited number of Universities in the country. Hence, the scope of the UGC needs to be widened to cater to the needs of the ever advancing HE sector. He was of the opinion that many big changes will going take place with the establishment of the proposed NHEDC and it is expected to make the public Universities into international level Degree-awarding institutions.

The State Minister also commented on the problem of filling the void created by the brain-drain of University academic staff.

“It is said that our brain-drain is very high and many University Lecturers especially, in Medicine and several other specialised fields have already left the country and about 385 others have been on long paid leave. With no intention of returning to Sri Lanka,” he added.

As a remedy to this burning issue, the State Minister requested Sri Lankan scholars living overseas to come and teach our students on a voluntary basis.

“Professionals of Sri Lankan origin, with fair academic qualifications, will be invited to contribute voluntarily,” he added.

While speaking on providing security for new students, he said that attention has been drawn to stop ragging within Universities.

Speaking further, he said that an National Anti-ragging Committee was established in 2023 and is currently functioning. He noted that inhumane policies like ragging cannot be conducted within government institutions, and it is against the Constitution and Legal system of Sri Lanka. Besides, ragging is also against the preaching of Buddhism. Accordingly, he stressed that it is the government’s responsibility to protect the rights of students.

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