Admissions quotas in university education: Targeting and mismatch under Sri Lanka’s affirmative action policy

Standardization and ethnocracy in Sri Lanka

“…The district quota system appears to have helped those from disadvantaged areas to move up economically following matriculation (Herath et al 1997). This seems to be true even among those who specialize in the natural sciences, with one recent paper noting that district quotas benefit medical students from underprivileged households to such a degree that the displacement they cause in more privileged areas is justifiable (De Silva et al 2021). That noted, at an overarching level, apart from certain programmes at specific universities, the tertiary education system in Sri Lanka is associated with low quality and a failure to prepare graduates to succeed in the private sector, for reasons ranging from a lack of skills in information technology and English communication to a lack of critical thinking abilities (Wickramasinghe 2018: 469-70).…”

The Teacher Role Guiding Students Entering Higher Education

“…The cost-effective delivery of university education requires proper program design and admissions policies that do not compromise academic standards (Handa & Gordon, 1999). In contrast to the country of Sri Lanka, the public university system in Sri Lanka is characterized by free tuition, central administration and affirmative action policies based on geographic areas aimed at reducing inequality in access to higher education (de Silva et al, 2021). It means that every country has an education system for the admission of new students to college.…”