COLOMBO, July 18 (Xinhua) -- Sri Lankan President Anura Kumara Dissanayake on Friday said the government would give greater priority to strengthening vocational education alongside ongoing education reforms and was prepared to allocate the required funding through the 2027 Budget.
The president made the remarks during a meeting to review the implementation of projects funded under the 2026 Budget for the Ministry of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, and to discuss funding requirements for 2027.
The 2026 Budget allocated 303 billion Sri Lankan rupees (about 1 billion U.S. dollars) to the ministry, including 160 billion rupees for general education, 122 billion rupees for higher education and 20 billion rupees for vocational education.
Officials said vocational education received its largest-ever capital allocation of 8 billion rupees this year, while 57,959 students enrolled during the first half of the year across 310 government vocational training institutions. ■
