A campus of UK's University of Central Lancashire (UCLan) launched in Sri Lanka this week will strengthen links between the two countries, British foreign secretary William Hague has said.
UCLan is the fifth largest in the UK in student numbers and has over 500 undergraduate programmes and 180 postgraduate courses.
"I am pleased to take part in the launch of the University Of Central Lancashire campus in Sri Lanka, marking the significant strengthening of educational links between the people of Britain and Sri Lanka," UK's High Commission in Colombo quoted Hague as saying after unveiling a plaque at the campus.
"Education is a significant factor in building peace and stability and this British new campus should be celebrated,"
Sri Lanka's current administration is encouraging foreign universities to start in Sri Lanka as part of a strategy to build education hub enhancing the educations freedoms of the people.
Students who could not enter the tax-payer funded education system have to go abroad at great expense to get higher education due to a state monopoly in degree awarding.
The British High Commission said about 8,000 Sri Lankans gain UK education qualifications each year, while 35,000 more get professional qualifications through the British Council. UCLAN Web Site - www.uclan.ac.ukSource: LBO
However, the Inter University Student Federation had organized protests in Kandy, Kurunegala, Anuradhapura, Galle and Rathnapura demanding the government put a stop to education trade zones.
The students who engaged in the protest in Kandy had to disperse after a short while due an order issued by the Kandy Magistrate’s Court which was obtained by the Kandy Police.www.lankauniversity-news.com