Sri Lanka has announced that it is soliciting universities to set up branch campuses to serve international students. With Sri Lanka so accessible to both India and China, they may be successful but the question is what quality of education will be offered. The strategy includes setting up a "free education investment zone" where international universities will offer programs to "overseas students and nonresident Sri Lankan students who are able to pay in foreign currency."
Although a 750 acre plot of land has been identified as the site for international universities to locate, other Sri Lankan governmental financial support is minimal. With such a low level of support and the assumption that students will pay market-based rates in tuition, the issue of quality is central. Elite universities simply will not be willing to set up a campus in a setting where tuition revenues are the major source of funding. Skeptics of the plan point to Arabian Gulf and Malaysian models where branches are already established, often with significant government financing.
Although a 750 acre plot of land has been identified as the site for international universities to locate, other Sri Lankan governmental financial support is minimal. With such a low level of support and the assumption that students will pay market-based rates in tuition, the issue of quality is central. Elite universities simply will not be willing to set up a campus in a setting where tuition revenues are the major source of funding. Skeptics of the plan point to Arabian Gulf and Malaysian models where branches are already established, often with significant government financing.
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