An e-book of the ‘Sri Lanka: State of the Economy 2012’ containing summary information and visuals of the 7 key chapters is now available for free download. This e-book also contains links to a video presentation of the main highlights of the report.

The UNDP recently launched the National Human Development Report 2012 for Sri Lanka recently, and in this video the Lead Author of the report, IPS Research Fellow Dr. Nisha Arunatilake talks about the main issues discussed in it.   IPS undertook extensive research and analysis for the preparation of this report, only the 2nd such [...]

Each year 100,000 qualified students have to abandon their ambitions to enter university. Less than 4% of 20-24 year olds in Sri Lanka are enrolled in a university. As Sri Lanka’s aims to grow as a knowledge-based economy and become a ‘Knowledge Hub’ for the region, these numbers are concerning. Meanwhile, the debate on permitting private universities continues apace. A Bill to permit private universities was about to be presented by the government to Parliament, but was subsequently shelved, under pressure from certain student and teacher groups. In this article, Priyanka Jayawardena presents the key arguments put forward and opens them out for wider debate.

By Priyanka Jayawardena, Research Officer, IPS Sri Lanka’s demography has come to a turning point where its prime working age population (aged 25-54) is shrinking and ageing simultaneously. This will impact heavily on the labour market and has the potential to reduce economic growth as the available workforce has decreased while the number of dependants has increased [...]