‘Subsidized hospitality course followers should give back to country’
Courses offered by hotel schools come under the management of government-run Sri Lanka Institute of Tourism and Hospitality Management (SLITHM) are subsidized, hence students must have a sense of belonging and giving back to the country before embarking on a foreign venture , SLITHM Chairman Shirantha Peiris said.
“We’ve taken a decision to identify ways of retaining students not only from going abroad but also to ensure that they follow the entire three year course. We find some students complete first and second year and exit the course. This deprives another student who wishes to enter the three- year programme.”
Peiris said course fees charged by hotel schools under SLITHM are next to nothing compared to courses offered by private universities. He also stated that since hotel schools under SLITHM offer subsidized courses, it is essential to turn this into a business in the future.
Meanwhile Tourism Minister Harin Fernando said skilled industry workers seeking to migrate given current financial pressures is a short -term event and not a major issue as far as industry activities are concerned.
They come back with much more exposure to international experience when they return, Minister Fernando said.