Tertiary education is a turning point in anybody's life. Students' choice of tertiary education is crucial for them, their family members, and the country. All parents would like to see their children reach the heights in education and develop many career prospects. In Sri Lanka, critical job profiles are limited to medical doctors, engineers, accountants, and lawyers. However, the fact remains that this type of lean job market is not realistic or sustainable. Firstly, a country needs not have many professionals from a handful of fields. Secondly, not all students have the capacity to complete the coursework of their respective programs. On the other hand, many vacancies in different fields must be filled consistently, and a country cannot be sustained otherwise. Making a shift in students' psychological paradigm is essential in this scenario. This paper introduces a new concept called vertical education integration (E.V.I.). E.V.I. provides a strategic solution to bridge various gaps in the current education system. This concept has been tested and proved for successful results in Sri Lanka.

This paper investigates the potential influence of socioeconomic factors in the students' choice for tertiary education. The approach of this study combines an opinion survey, desk research and a case study. Shifting of a psychological paradigm is easier said than done. It may need social awareness about the existing problems, gaps, significance and negative/positive impact of different scenarios, and availability of potential solution. The data analysis and discussions have been done under identified key socioeconomic factors relevant to education. Parental levels of education, income, and financial status have been given priority in the discussion. Parents' involvements in education and material support have been recognized as influential factors in students' choice in university education. The language of instruction and peer group in school environment was considered finally. However, none of these factors are within the control of a person or an institute. The objective of the study is to explore factors required to establish favourable socioeconomic conditions providing students with right direction while implementing necessary policy changes to create suitable pathways in the tertiary education. The paper recommends vertical integration of teaching majors from school, to the university, to the industry which would provide many benefits.