Press briefing of Cabinet Decision taken on 2018-04-24

Securing of Funds for the proposed Technical Education Development Programme

The Government has found the need to upgrade the work force in Sri Lanka to suit the changing demand for emerging technologies and skills in the country. Therefore, considerable changes have been made to the education system in Sri Lanka during the recent past, focusing on vocational skills. In this respect, the technology subject stream was introduced for the G.C.E. (A/L) from the year 2013 and action should essentially be taken for providing the required modern infrastructure facilities for the practical activities and training of teachers. For this purpose, it has been planned to implement the proposed Technical Education Development Programme at a cost of US $ 60.7million.

The OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID) has agreed to grant a loan facility of US $ 50 million for the implementation of the project and the balance sum of US $ 10.7 million will be borne by the Government of Sri Lanka. Accordingly, the proposal made by Hon. Ranil Wickremasinghe, the Prime Minister in his capacity as the Minister of National Policies and Economic Affairs, to enter into a loan agreement with the OPEC Fund for International Development (OFID), to obtain a loan of US$50 million, was approved by the Cabinet.