The Government is considering curtailing student intake for humanities courses at universities, as part of proposed revisions to degree programmes aimed at improving graduate employability.

Deputy Minister of Dr Madhura Senevirathna told The Daily Morning that the Ministry was considering several approaches to address the mismatch between university education and the skills required in the job market. “We need to revise the courses to align them with our National Development Goals and improve employability. But this alone will not solve the problem,” he said.

He said new policies were being developed for engineering, agriculture and medical education, given their importance to the country’s future development. He added that Sri Lanka would need more technicians, technologists and engineering designers in the coming years. “In agriculture, we are looking at a wider range of roles, including farming and research. A system is also being developed to improve communication with farmers and help increase agricultural productivity,” he said.

Dr Senevirathna said Sri Lanka had one of the highest proportions of humanities students relative to those in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) fields. “The high number of humanities graduates facing difficulties finding employment has prompted us to consider changes to university admissions and course content. On the one hand, we will be looking at curtailing the high number of humanities intakes, while on the other hand, we will examine how humanities courses can be made more employable,” he said.

The Deputy Minister’s remarks come amid concerns raised by local academics, activists and international organisations, including the International Monetary Fund (IMF), over the gap between university education and the skills sought by employers.