The University Grants commission (UGC) is to hold a meeting with Vice Chancellors this week, to discuss the possibility of admitting 7,000 more students, UGC Vice Chairperson Senior Professor Janitha Liyanage said.
“The UGC has approved the enrolment of 7,000 more students compared to 2018.
However we want to hear from the vice chancellors about the capacities of their universities and come to a conclusion by this week,” she said. Health concerns will also be taken into account.
The UGC is still waiting for the results of the aptitude exams from universities for nearly thirty courses, though some exams have not been held due to the pandemic. “As soon as those universities release their results we hope to proceed with the 2019 intake by this October,” Prof Liyanage said.
However now the UGC has made available online courses for English Language and the IT studies for the students and before they enter universities they will be coached online. “We expect them to enter the universities with a certain standard of English and IT. The UGC has held discussions with the People’s Bank and the Treasury to grant a loan for the students who are eligible for the ‘Mahapola’ scholarship to buy a laptop.”
Meanwhile the World Bank has approved a loan to establish computer centres in the Arts faculties, which will benefit new Arts students. This follows a request from President Gotabaya Rajapaksa to enhance the IT knowledge of these students.
(Daily News)