STATISTICAL BULLETIN

ON EDUCATION
2021

National Human Resources Development Council

of Sri Lanka

Ministry of Public Services, Provincial Councils

and Local Government
 2021

Ministry of Public Services, Provincial Councils and Local Government

Ministry of Public Services, Provincial Councils and Local Government
National Human Resources Development Council of Sri Lanka
534/2, 7th
Elvitigala Mw,Narahenpita,Colombo 05.
Tel No: +94112595679/80
Fax No: +94112595679
E-mail: director.nhrdc@yahoo.com
Web: www.nhrdc.gov.lk

Guidance
Mr. K.R Uduwawala (Chairman (Acting)-NHRDC)

Overall Supervision
Ms. J.A.C.P Jayasinghe (Director (Cover-up)-NHRDC)

Analysis and Presentation

Mr. R.D.C.S. Rajapaksha (Research officer- NHRDC)

Editing Team

Ms. Navoda Edirisinghe (Research officer- NHRDC)

Ms. Uda Weerasena (Research officer- NHRDC)
Mr. Senthilnadan (Research officer- NHRDC)

Data Sources
Annual Report 2020, Central Bank of Sri Lanka
Annual School Census of Sri Lanka - 2020 Final Full Report, Ministry of Education
Reviewing of Performance at Grade five Scholarship Examination,2020, Department of Examinations
Performance of Candidates (G.C.E (O/L) Examination 2019), Department of Examinations
Interim Report of Performance of Candidates G.C.E (O/L) - 2020, Department of Examinations
Performance of Candidates (G.C.E (A/L) Examination 2020), Department of Examinations
UGC Statistics 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, University Grant Commission of Sri Lanka
Labour Market Information Bulletin Volume 2/2020, Volume 2/2019, 2/2018, Volume-2/2017, Volume -2/2016,
Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission
Economic and Social Statistics of Sri Lanka 2021, Central Bank of Sri Lanka
Budget Estimate- 2019, 2020, 2021 Ministry of Finance
https://www.cbsl.gov.lk/sites/default/files/cbslweb_documents/publications/annual_report/2020/en/7_Chapter_03.pdf
https://www.cbsl.gov.lk/sites/default/files/cbslweb_documents/publications/ess_2021_economic_and_social_infrastruc
ture_e.pdf
https://www.ugc.ac.lk/downloads/statistics/stat_2020/Chapter%206.pdf
https://www.tvec.gov.lk/wp-content/uploads/2021/09/LMI_2020_Dec_Book_Vol_2.pdf
https://www.doenets.lk/documents/statistics/G.C.E.(O.L.)2019Report.pdf
https://www.doenets.lk/images/resources/STAT/Grade%2005%20Examination%202020%20-
%20Performance%20of%20Candidates_1606372867532.pdf
https://www.doenets.lk/images/resources/STAT/POC_AL_final_20050710.10_1620405576468.pdf
https://moe.gov.lk/wp-content/uploads/2020/08/cenreport.pdf
https://www.guruwaraya.lk/p/interim-report-gce-ol-exam-2020-exam.html
https://www.treasury.gov.lk/budget/estimates#2021

ISBN 978-624-5939-02-2
 This bulletin is focused on General Education, Technical, Vocational Education & Training and Higher
Education.

General Education

The education system in Sri Lanka comprises three levels: General Education, Higher Education and
Technical, Vocational Education and Training. General Education comprises primary and secondary
education while higher education and vocational education come under tertiary education. Education is
one of the most important elements of economic performance in the modern world.

This is an introduction, giving the country context, an overview of the current education system on
General Education (grade 1 13). By the year 2020, the total numbers of schools are 11,077. Out of this
amount, 10,155 (around 92%) are government schools while the balance comprises 120 Private & Special
Schools and 802 Pirivenas. The total student enrollment in schools is 4,240,433. Over 4 million students
in government schools (4,031,865) while having the balance at Privenas (69,709) and Private & Special
schools (138,859). New admission to grade one in government schools in the year 2020 is 318,179 (See
Table 1 under General Education).

Tertiary Education Technical, Vocational Education and Training

Technical, Vocational Education and Training is coming under the Tertiary education system in Sri Lanka.
Tertiary Education refers to any type of education pursued beyond the secondary education level. This
includes diplomas, undergraduates, associates, bachelor, master and doctoral degrees.

The National Vocational Qualifications Framework (NVQ) which was developed by the Tertiary and
Vocational Education Commission (TVEC) makes provision for technical, vocational education and
training in Sri Lanka in line with the economic and social development of the country with an international
standard. This framework consists of the national competency standards which were identified by the
industry sector stakeholders. The competency standards include relevant technical and employability
competencies. The system consists of seven NVQ levels awarded by the TVEC and the University of
Vocational Technology (UNIVOTEC). Certification of 1 6 levels (up to diploma level) courses carried
out by the training institutions and accredited by the TVEC. Certification at level 7 (degree level) is carried
out by the UNIVOTEC.

TVEC statistics have shown that enrollment in the public sector training institutes is 98,313 for
the year 2020 and enrollment in private sector institutes is 26,106 for the year 2020. (See table
numbers 2, 3 under Technical, Vocational Education and Training). The total No. of NVQ certificates to
both public and private sector training institutes is around 47,621 in 2020 (See table number 5 under
Technical, Vocational Education and Training).

Tertiary Education - Higher Education

Higher education, also referred to as Tertiary education acquire through universities or degree-awarding
institutions (Higher Education Institutes). The higher education sector is one of the most powerful sectors
of education in Sri Lanka.

Reference to table number 8 under General Education, in the year 2020, around 339,396 all candidates sat
for the G.C.E. (O/L) examination but out of them about 301,771 of all candidates sat for G.C.E (A/L) and
only 194,297 (64.39%) all candidates eligible to enter into the state universities. But in the calendar year
2019, out of all eligible students, only 41,669 (23.01%) students have a chance to enter into the national
university system for the academic year 2019/20. Also in the year 2020, 24,565 students were graduated.
(See table number 1 under Higher Education).

This bulletin includes important statistics related to General Education, TVET and Higher education
sectors. All the data were collected based on the secondary data sources available in the websites, Central
Bank Annual reports of Sri Lanka, University Statistics of University Grant Commission, biannual Labour
Market Information Bulletin of TVEC, Annual Performance Reports of Ministry of Education, Grade 5
and G.C.E (O/L) Performance of candidates reports of Department of Examination in Sri Lanka and Budget
Estimate of Ministry of Finance etc.
 Contents
Introduction .......................................................................................................................................................... 3
General Education ................................................................................................................................................ 6
CHAPTER 1.......................................................................................................................................................... 7
1. Salient Features of General Education ........................................................................................................... 7
2. Classification of schools by Year ................................................................................................................... 8
3. Number of Teachers in government schools by year ..................................................................................... 8
4. Distribute of Number of Candidates who obtained marks above (in Grade 5 Scholarship examinations
2016-2020) district cut off by Province.............................................................................................................. 9
5. Performance of School Candidates (First Attempt) (G.C.E (O/L) Examinations 2014-2020) by year ........ 10
6. Performance of School Candidates (First Attempt) (G.C.E (O/L) Examinations 2016-2020) by Province. 11
.................................................................................... 12
8. Dropout students of G.C.E (O/L), G.C.E (A/L) and Qualify for entering to Universities by year ............... 13
9. Total Expenditure on general education by the year .................................................................................... 14
Technical, Vocational Education and Training ............................................................................................... 15
CHAPTER 2........................................................................................................................................................ 16
1. Recruitments and Completions in selected Public Sector Training Organizations by year.......................... 16
2. Training Performance of TVEC Registered Public Sector Training Institutions by Industry Sector (Based
on ISIC Rev.04) in each year ........................................................................................................................... 17
3. Training Performance of TVEC Registered Private Sector Training Institutions by Industry Sector (Based
on ISIC Rev.04) in each year ........................................................................................................................... 18
4. Recruitments and Completions in selected Public sector Training Organizations by Province (2015 to
2020) ................................................................................................................................................................ 19
5. Number of NVQ certificates issued by Training Provider ........................................................................... 20
6. NVQ Certificates Issued by Industry Sector since 31st December 2016 up to 31st December 2020 .......... 21
7. Number of NVQ Certificate Recipients to Training Provider by Gender in each year ................................ 22
8. Total Expenditure on Technical, Vocational Education and Training Sector by year ................................. 23
Higher Education................................................................................................................................................ 24
CHAPTER 3........................................................................................................................................................ 25
1. Undergraduate Admissions (1) by Academic program and admission policy (Academic Year 2019/2020). 25
2. Percentage Undergraduate Admissions by admission policy (Academic Year 2015/16 2019/20)........... 26
3. Summary of Universities and Higher Education Institutes (a) (2015 2020) ............................................... 27
4. Students admission to Universities and Higher Educational Institutes by Province in each academic year 28
5. Eligibility, Admission and Enrollment of Students for Universities and Higher Educational Institutes (a)
(Academic Year 2015/16 - 2019/20)................................................................................................................ 29
6. Expenditure on Higher Education by each Year .......................................................................................... 31
 Year
Item
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019(a) 2020(b)
A. General Education
1. Schools (No.) 10,971 10,997 11,021 11,053 11,044 11,084 11,077
1.1 Government Schools 10,121 10,144 10,162 10,194 10,175 10,165 10,155
o/w National Schools 352 352 353 353 353 373 373
1.2 Other Schools 850 853 859 859 869 919 922
Private & Special(c) 103 104 105 106 106 118 120
Pirivenas 747 749 754 753 763 801 802
2. Students (No.) 4,354,011 4,418,173 4,345,517 4,446,401 4,583,148 4,408,262 4,240,433(f)
2.1 Government Schools 4,078,798 4,129,534 4,143,107 4,165,964 4,214,772 4,061,653 4,031,865
2.2 Other Schools 194,294 201,034 202,410 199,334 202,907 206,386 208,568
Private & Special (c) 131,397 136,228 136,407 136,462 142,032 138,067 138,859
Pirivenas 62,897 64,806 66,003 62,872 60,875 68,319 69,709
2.3 International Schools (d) 80,919 87,605 n.a. 81,103 120,469 140,223 n.a.
3. New Admissions (No.) (e) 348,288 323,337 326,966 322,135 328,632 328,632 318,179
4. Teachers (No.) 253,649 259,967 249,374 263,934 272,998 275,371 264,781(f)
4.1 Government Schools 232,990 236,999 235,999 241,591 247,334 246,592 249,387
4.2 Other Schools 12,932 13,851 13,375 12,969 14,151 15,211 15,394
4.3 International Schools (d) 7,727 9,117 n.a. 9,374 11,513 13,568 n.a.
5. Student/Teacher Ratio
5.1 Government Schools 18 17 18 17 17 16 16
5.2 Other Schools 15 15 15 15 14 14 14
5.3 International Schools (d) 10 10 n.a. 9 10 10 n.a.
Source: Annual Report 2020, CBSL
Note: (a) Revised
(b) Provisional
(c) Private schools approved by the government and schools for children with special needs (This figure excludes international schools which are registered under the Companies Act)
(d) Data from 2014 is based on a survey carried out by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka in 2014 covering 120 international schools. Data reported in the table relate only to schools that responded. The response rate
was 63 percent From 2015 onwards, data are based on surveys carried out by the Ministry of Education
(e) Government schools only (f) Excluding data from international Schools
 Year
Indicator
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019(d) 2020(c)
No. of Government schools 10,121 10,144 10,162 10,194 10,175 10,165 10,155
Schools by type
1AB Schools 959 1,004 1,016 1,029 1,044 1,012 1,000
1C Schools 1,852 1,801 1,805 1,818 1,845 1,899 1,932
Type 2 Schools 3,603 3,462 3,408 3,288 3,227 3,225 3,224
Type 3 Schools 3,707 3,877 3,933 4,059 4,059 4,029 3,999
No. of Private and Special Schools 103 103 105 106 106 118 120
No. of Private Schools (a) 78 78 80 80 80 - -
No. of Special Schools (b) 25 25 25 26 26 - -
No. of Pirivenas 747 749 754 753 763 801 802
Total No. of Schools 10,971 10,996 11,021 11,053 11,044 11,084 11,077
Source: Annual Performance Report 2019, Ministry of Education
, Economic and Social Statistics of Sri Lanka 2021, CBSL, Annual Report 2020, CBSL
Note:
(a) International Schools are not included
(b) Children with special needs (blind, dumb, etc.)
(c) Provisional
(d) Revised
1AB: Schools with classes from Grade 1 to 13 or Grade 6 to 13 that have the three subject streams such as the
G.C.E. (A/L) Science stream, Commerce stream and Technology Subject Stream. (The Technology Subject
Stream is conducted in selected schools)

1C: Schools with classes from Grade 1 to 13 or Grade 6 to 13 and with both G.C.E (A/L) Commerce stream
and Arts stream or one subject stream (The Technology Subject Stream is conducted in selected schools)

Type 2: Schools with classes from Grade 1 to 13 or Grade 6 to 13 that have classes up to G.C.E (O/L)

Type 3: Primary and Junior Schools with Grades from 1 to 5 or 8

Year
Indicator
2014 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019(c) 2020(a)
No. of Teachers in Government Schools 232,993 236,988 235,999 241,018 247,334 246,592 249,494
By Gender
Female 168,642 172,536 172,000 176,530 183,024 184,125 187,747
Male 64,351 64,462 63,999 64,688 64,310 62,467 61,747
Source: Annual Performance Report 2019, Annual School Census of Sri Lanka 2019, 2020, Ministry of Education

Note: (a) Provisional

(c)Revised
 Year

2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Numbe Numbe Numbe
Province Qualified for Qualified for Qualified for Qualified for Qualified for
Number r Sat r Sat r Sat Number
Sat for 5 G.C.E (A/L) for 5 or G.C.E (A/L) for 5 or G.C.E (A/L) for 5 or G.C.E (A/L) Sat for 5 G.C.E (A/L)
or more more more more or more
subjects subject subject subject subjects
No % No % No % No % No %
s s s
Western 75,414 54,994 72.92 78,708 58,704 74.58 78,071 59,858 76.67 79,835 60,671 76.00 80,849 60,789

Central 37,665 25,932 68.85 38,977 27,838 71.42 39,625 28,680 72.38 40,717 28,886 70.94 41,262 30,812

Southern 34,994 26,828 76.66 36,225 28,768 79.41 36,720 29,532 80.42 38,180 29,898 78,31 38,695 31,113

Northern 17,413 10,562 60.66 17,999 11,901 66.12 16,659 11,660 69.99 16,622 11,259 67.74 16,577 11,534

Eastern 23,744 14,617 61.56 24,280 16,452 67.76 24,022 16,807 69.97 24,215 17,012 70.25 23,739 17,183

North Western 33,833 23,896 70.63 34,752 25,926 74.60 34,564 26,599 76.96 35,669 26,849 75.27 36,286 27,283

North Central 19,041 12,632 66.34 19,455 13,625 70.03 19,395 14,116 72.78 20,465 14,690 71.78 20,796 15,428

Uva 18,558 12,630 68.06 19,471 13,573 69.71 19,679 14,245 72.39 21,641 14,761 70.15 21,086 15,812

Sabaragamuwa 25,589 18,117 70.8 26,945 20,028 74.33 27,294 20,784 76.15 28,683 21,513 75.00 28,836 21,498

Island 286,251 200,208 69.94 296,812 216,815 73.05 296,029 222,281 75.09 305,427 225,539 73.84 308,126 231,452

Source: Performance of Candidates (G.C.E (O/L) Examination 2019, Interim Report of Performance of Candidates G.C.E (O/L) 2020, Department of Examinations
 Year

Indicators
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020(b)

Student Performance (p)

Student Performance at the grade 5 scholarship
examination
No of the students appeared for the grade 5
333,672 343,757 350,462 350,191 332,168(a) 326,264
scholarship examination
Percentage of students obtained 70 marks out of
76.33 75.67 69.40 79.09 78.11(a) 86.83
200 marks
Student Performance at the G.C.E (O/L)
Examination
No of the of students appeared for the G.C.E
273,410 286,251 296,812 296,029 305,427
(O/L) examination (First Attempt)
Percentage of students eligible for G.C.E (A/L) 69.33 69.94 73.05 75.1 73.8 75.12
Passed percentage
Mathematics 55.18 62.81 67.24 - - -
Science 68.02 66.33 73.46 - - -
English 45.4 47.9 51.12 - - -
Student performance at the G.C.E (A/L)
examination
No of the students appeared for the G.C.E (A/L)
210,340 211,865 206,630 218,191 235,550 251,168
examination
Percentage of students eligible for the university
entrance
Bioscience stream 53.3 53.26 55.71 57.98 54.16 55.55
Physical Science stream 48.6 53.35 54.05 56.8 51.9 61.37
Commerce stream 67.9 69.64 71.17 69.4 67.15 71.61
Arts stream 65.9 70.28 73.82 69.24 65.91 70.02
Engineering Technology Subject stream 50.1 55.58 57.74 58.42 57.06 61.77
Biosystem Technology Subject stream 60.7 60.16 61.79 64.28 67.45 69.74
Other subject streams 39.0 39.36 40.83 42.86 41.61 46.81
Source: Annual Performance Report 2019, Ministry of Education, Interim Report of Performance of Candidates
G.C.E (O/L) 2020, Performance of Candidates (G.C.E (A/L)) Examination 2020, Department of Examinations

Note:
(a) Revised
(b) Provisional
(p) Based on the Examination results data of the Sri Lanka Department of Examinations
 All School
Candidates
sat (5 or All
Year School School All
more All School All Candidat New
Year of Candidat candidate candidate Admission
subjects) for Candidat Candidat Candidat School es School admissi drop out-
of Sat univer Academi dropout es eligible s Eligible s eligible dropout as a
the GCE es Sat for es sat for es Sat for dropout Qualifyin dropout ons for qualify to
for sity c Year O/L all to Enter to Enter to Enter A/L all percentage
(O/L) the GCE the GCE the GCE O/L g to Enter A/L basic university
G.C.E admitt Universit Universit Universit of eligible
(one or (O/L) (A/L) (A/L) Universit degrees
(A/L) ed y y (%) y%
more than y
one
attempt)

a b c d (a-c) (b-d) e (e/c*100) f (f/d*100) (c-e) (d-f) g (f-g) (g/f*100)

2013 2014 2013/14 287,040 308,054 209,906 241,629 77,134 66,425 122,913 58.56 143,740 59.49 86,993 97,889 25,200 118,540 17.53

2014 2015 2014/15 277,414 298,549 207,304 247,376 70,110 51,173 126,971 61.25 149,572 60.46 80,333 97,804 25,643 123,929 17.14

2015 2016 2015/16 290,929 314,635 210,340 255,191 80,589 59,444 131,137 62.35 155,550 60.95 79,203 99,641 29,055 126,495 18.68

2016 2017 2016/17 286,251* 293,218 211,865 258,193 74,386 35,025 134,238 63.36 160,520 62.17 97,673 97,673 30,668 129,852 19.10

2017 2018 2017/18 312,464 326,424 206,630 253,330 105,834 73,094 136,421 66.02 163,104 64.38 70,209 90,226 31,451 131,653 19.28

2018 2019 2018/19 308,843 328,464 218,191 267,111 90,652 61,353 141,172 64.70 167,907 62.86 77,019 99,204 31,902 136,005 18.99

2019 2020 2019/20 315,278 334,474 235,550 281,786 79,728 52,688 154,905 65.76 181,126 64.28 80,645 100,660 41,669 139,457 23.01

2020 2021 2020/21 320,582 339,396 251,168 301,771 69,414 37,625 165,711 65.98 194,297 64.39 85,457 107,474 - -
Source: Economic and Social Statistics of Sri Lanka 2020, 2021 CBSL

Note: Some of the calculations were done by NHRDC

*Number of all students sat for G.C.E (O/L) based on New syllabus
Figure 1- 8: Comparison between percentage numbers of all candidates eligible to enter universities
with actual percentage number of admissions to universities out of eligible students in each year

Source: Budget Estimate - 2019, 2020, 2021 Ministry of Finance

Note: Above expenditures are based on the expenditure of Ministry of Education, expenditure of Department of
Examination, and expenditure of Department of Educational Publications

Figure 1-9: Comparison between Percentage recurrent and capital Expenditure over GDP on
General Education
 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020

Institute

No. Recruited
No. Recruited
No. Recruited
No. Recruited
No. Recruited
No. Recruited

No. Completed
No. Completed
No. Completed
No. Completed
No. Completed
No. Completed

Total Total Total Total Total Total Total Total Total Total Total Total

Vocational Training Authority (VTA) 28,745 24,141 31,585 25,874 36,695 30,056 36,654 29,603 37,936 30,674 24,604 18,675
National Apprentice & Industrial Training Authority (NAITA) 22,555 14,317 31,907 20,495 32,668 22,937 32,327 21,968 29,989 24,974 14,210 15,630
Department of Technical Education &Training (DTET) 19,864 15,516 26,591 17,389 39,910 22,197 32,151 19,236 42,657 23,621 13,232 1,224
National Youth Service Council (NYSC) 18,953 14,407 21,000 15,691 22,726 16,477 21,008 15,584 22,280 17,457 24,950 10,114
National Institute of Business Management (NIBM) 8,404 3,540 5,898 628 8,049 2,277 7,818 2,548 8,610 2,638 7,409 4,183
National Youth Corps (NYC) 7,697 5,226 12,354 7,795 14,178 9,926 7,511 5,500 10,970 3,637 2,097 65
Ceylon German Technical Training Institute (CGTTI) 4,025 3,617 600 360 3,949 2,127 600 484 1,169 492 1,197 524
University of Vocational Technology (UNIVOTEC) 799 414 592 92 1,213 323 1,183 262 1,040 301 1,163 0
Sri Lanka Institute of Textile & Apparel (SLITA) 835 334 1,069 701 1,204 343 879 228 1,039 377 683 40
Gem & Jewellery Research and Training Institute (GJRTI) 674 527 757 651 1,200 614 1,139 659 471 183
Ocean University (OCU)/NIFNE 918 267 1,052 581 575 158 609 85 116 33
Sri Lanka Port Authority (SLPA) 1,847 1,847 3297 0
Sri Lanka Institute of Printing (SLIOP) 1,113 347 901 363 1,084 363 967 661 930 443
University Colleges (UC) 840 1189 0 1,714 710 1,910 83 2,121 362 741 124
Construction Industry Development Authority (CIDA) 52 52 1,176 1,176 119 16
National Design Centre (NDC) 74 0 73 55 107 64 94
Mahapola Ports & Maritime Academy(MPMA) 3,226 3,192 11,288 10,816 3,946 3,936
Sri Lanka Institute of Advanced Technological Education (SLIATE) 1,012 114
Construction Equipment Training Centre( CETRAC) 123 123
Other Government Institute 11,815 9,221 3,610 2,637
Total 117,321 84,552 140,042 91,796 165,238 108,563 148,085 99,735 183,312 125,721 98,313 57,335

Source: Labour Market Information Bulletin- Volume2/2015, Volume2/2016, Volume2/2017, Volume2/2018, Volume 2/2019, Volume 2/2020, TVEC
Note: Completion includes the intake of previous years for courses of different duration.
*on the job training and in-plant training of NAITA are not included.
Both full-time and part-time courses are included.
 2018 2019 2020
Field of Study
Recruited Completed Recruited Completed Recruited Completed
Education 29,419 22,001 38,506 25,870 15,193 7,159
Construction 24,084 14,607 34,504 21,719 18,278 8,380
Information and communication 27,239 18,826 28,240 20,344 19,032 11,214
Manufacturing 17,158 13,070 18,097 13,356 11,508 8,028
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor 9,166 5,648
12,851 7,310 15,031 8,530
vehicles and motorcycles
Other service activities 12,144 8,825 12,887 10,545 7,612 5,247
Accommodation and food service activities 6,588 4,215 11,631 9,157 4,501 3,702
Professional, scientific and technical activities 9,087 4,978 10,379 5,811 6,563 3,354
Administrative and support service activities 4,214 3,008 5,022 3,958 2,142 1,713
Agriculture, forestry and fishing 2,456 1,207 4,487 2,616 2,403 1,127
Transportation and storage 304 11 2,814 2,484 844 624
Human health and social work activities 1,577 1,137 1,258 1,174 946 1,044
Activities of extraterritorial organizations and
46 5 363 89
bodies
Arts, entertainment and recreation 76 46 93 68 30 48
Electricity, gas, steam and air conditioning 25 25
775 454
supply
Financial and insurance activities 67 35
Activities of households as employers 70 22
Total 148,085 99,735 183,312 125,721 98,313 57,335
Source: Labour Market Information Bulletin-, Volume2/2018, Volume 2/2019, Volume 2/2020, TVEC
Note: Both full time and part-time courses included
 2018 2019(1) 2020(2)
Field of Study
Recruited Completed Recruited Completed Recruited Completed

Information and communication 9,151 7,121 24,904 19,700 6,047 4,079

Education 6,572 4,543 8,792 6,450 3,628 2,526
Professional, scientific and technical activities 5,611 4,818 6,730 4,297 3,891 2,844
Other service activities 2,095 1,754 6,013 4,695 2,493 1,469
Accommodation and food service activities 3,626 2,619 5,531 4,518 1,864 1,353
Human health and social work activities 3,300 1,915 3,786 2,261 2,327 1,062
Manufacturing 1,821 1,517 3,335 2,502 1,480 1,123
Construction 2,860 2,196 3,267 1,974 2,184 1,755
Wholesale and retail trade; repair of motor vehicles and motorcycles 1,265 441 2,058 1,313 883 620
Transportation and storage 116 115 1,653 1,474 251 227
Agriculture, forestry and fishing 202 183 493 421 584 134
Financial and insurance activities 124 69 422 422
Arts, entertainment and recreation 169 57 261 263 177 168
Administrative and support service activities 557 391 133 69 118 79
water supply; sewerage, waste management and remediation activities 230 132 125 115
Real estate activities 181 165
Public administration and defense; compulsory social security 39 23
Activities of households as employers 29 26 38 36
Activities of extraterritorial organizations and bodies 9 6 16 3
Total 37,957 28,091 67,378 50,359 26,106 17,593
Source: Labour Market Information Bulletin-, Volume 2/2018, Volume 2/2019, Volume 2/2020, TVEC
Note: The above numbers are based on the training performance of TVEC registered private institutions in different sectors.
(1) Data from 250 of 609 registered private sector training institutes
(2) Data from 223 of 609 registered private sector training institutes
 Province 2015 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Recruited Completed Recruited Completed Recruited Completed Recruited Completed Recruited Completed Recruited Completed
Western 46,652 32,768 42,564 25,236 46,755 28,989 43,255 27,869 58,729 40,324 32,003 17,784
Southern 16,726 11,546 21,084 15,044 24,480 16,299 21,378 14,829 25,416 17,324 13,212 8,595
Central 13,137 9,695 15,588 10,122 16,370 10,555 15,441 11,236 18,496 12,428 10,418 5,271
Eastern 10,373 7,536 13,594 9,394 17,072 11,324 17,139 10,908 19,687 13,466 11,948 7,706
North Western 7,873 5,722 13,108 8,729 17,894 11,676 13,258 9,062 15,929 10,166 8,655 4,783
Sabaragamuwa 5,948 4,841 9,085 6,237 11,874 7,748 10,158 6,443 12,159 8,323 5,755 3,309
Northern 6,524 4,659 10,406 7,199 11,793 8,901 10,939 7,996 11,252 8,948 6,475 4,269
North Central 4,941 3,787 7,958 5,526 10,002 7,237 8,887 6,125 12,614 8,773 5,870 3,057
Uva 5,147 3,998 6,655 4,309 8,998 5,834 7,630 5,267 9,030 5,969 3,977 2,561
Total 117,321 84,552 140,042 91,796 165,238 108,563 148,085 99,735 183,312 125,721 98,313 57,335
Source: Labour Market Information Bulletin- Volume 2/2018, Volume 2/ 2019, Volume 2/2020, TVEC
Note: *Expect in-plant training and on the job training in NAITA.
Both full-time and part-time courses are included.

Figure 2-4: Recruitments and Completions in selected Public sector Training Organizations by Province in the year 2020
 Up to 31st December Up to 31st December Up to 31st December
Up to 31st December 2016 Up to 31st December 2017
Industry Sector 2018 2019 2020

CBT RPL Total CBT EBT RPL Total CBT EBT RPL Total CBT EBT RPL Total CBT EBT RPL Total
Agriculture Hunting
645 202 847 1,795 6 247 2,048 3,019 16 703 3,738 5,149 33 1,057 6,239 6,604 62 1,147 7,813
and Forestry
Basic Competencies to
Work/ Soft 11,931 308 12,239 23,099 308 23,407 24,181 308 24,489 27,762 308 28,070 27,959 308 28,267
Skill/Common
Construction 10,956 6,610 17,566 16,768 145 7,342 24,255 22,802 4,441 8,049 35,292 22,802 4,441 8,049 35,292 33,455 7,349 9,991 50,795
Education 745 723 1,468 888 1,159 2,047 1,098 1,967 3,065 1,408 19 2,238 3,665 2,118 69 4,293 6,480
Electricity, Gas steam
17,357 5,492 22,849 21,516 29 7,153 28,698 24,751 57 8,297 33,105 30,830 78 10,378 41,286 33,617 164 11,541 45,322
and hot Water supply
Health and social work 1,592 353 1,945 2,227 25 393 2,645 3,343 155 457 3,955 4,871 342 648 5,861 5,792 478 881 7,151
Hotels and Restaurants 2,593 595 3,188 4,458 411 760 5,629 6,543 593 996 8,132 10,102 857 1,123 12,082 12,547 925 1,216 14,688
Manufacturing 41,282 8,812 50,094 49,430 331 10,056 59,817 58,186 569 11,109 69,864 68,932 691 12,187 81,810 75,272 772 13,144 89,188
Other Community,
Social and Personal 24,309 6,864 31,173 30,491 7,669 38,160 37,556 8,587 46,143 49,177 1 9,788 58,966 56,545 42 10,854 67,441
service activities
Real Estate Renting
and Business 43,638 5,856 49,494 56,950 71 7,342 64,363 69,666 202 8,293 78,161 83,761 375 9,286 93,422 93,455 525 9,899 103,879
Activities
Transport, storage and
88 851 939 152 1,067 1,219 507 1,530 2,037 903 2 1,836 2,741 1,347 2 2,125 3,474
communication
Wholesale and Retail
Trade: Repair of
Motor Vehicles and 17,324 3,322 20,646 21,073 351 3,784 25,208 25,084 665 4,420 30,169 30,466 916 4,826 36,208 33,768 1,141 5,036 39,945
Personal and
Household Goods
Fishing 69 0 69 92 92 102 102 126 126 202 202
Financial
121 121 603 603 1,326 1 1,327 1,826 6 1 1,833
intermediation
Public Administration
49 49
and Deference
Grand Total 172,529 39,988 212,517 229,060 1,369 47,280 277,709 277,441 6,698 54,716 338,855 344,523 10,040 62,299 416,862 384,556 11,535 70,436 466,527
Source: Labour Market Information Bulletin- Volume 2/2016, Volume 2/2017, Volume 2/2018, Volume 2/2019, Volume 2/2020, TVEC
Note: Cumulative counts given in each year
CBT - Competency Based Training
RPL - Recognition of Prior Learning
EBT - Enterprise Based Training
 Institute 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020
Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total Male Female Total
DTET 2309 1116 3425 3841 1473 5314 5197 2726 7923 6,032 4,129 10,161 4,713 3,368 8,081
NAITA 6633 3336 9969 5174 2752 7926 9537 3146 12683 7,290 3,057 10,347 4,628 2,798 7,426
VTA 8986 5285 14271 12959 7071 20030 10559 6502 17061 13,440 7,416 20,856 7,012 5,500 12,512
NYSC 531 1119 1650 430 661 1091 425 1086 1511 630 1,058 1,688 665 1,083 1,748
Private 5216 5199 10415 12198 10724 22922 6958 7482 14440 10,727 13,560 24,287 4,947 6,610 11,557
Total 23675 16055 39730 34602 22681 57283 32676 20942 53618 38,119 29,220 67,339 21,965 19,359 41,324
Source: Labour Market Information Bulletin- Volume 2/2016, Volume 2/2017, Volume 2/2018, Volume 2/2019, Volume 2/2020, TVEC

Figure 2-7: Number of NVQ Certificate Recipients by Training Provider by the year 2020
 Source: Budget Estimate - 2019, 2020, 2021 Ministry of Finance

Note: expenditure of the year 2017 is based on the expenditure of DTET and expenditure of 15,8,7,5 subheadings under development activities and 13,9
subheadings of operational activities of Ministry of National Policies, Economic Affairs, Resettlement & Rehabilitation, Northern Province Development,
Vocational Training & Skills Development and Youth Affairs Budget Estimate 2019 and expenditure of year 2018,2019,2020, 2021 are based on the expenditure
of DTET, expenditure of Vocational Training and Skills Development under development activities and Administration and Establishment Services (Skills
Development and Vocational Education) under operational activities of State Minister of Skills Development, Vocational Education, Research and Innovation
Budget Estimate 2020 and 2021

Figure 2-8: Comparison between Percentage recurrent and capital Expenditure over GDP on Technical, Vocational Education and Training
Source: University Statistics 2020, UGC
Source: University Statistics 2016, 2017, 2018, 2019, 2020, UGC

Figure 3-2: Comparison between Percentage Undergraduate Admissions by admission

policy in each academic year
 Year
Item
2015 2016 2017 2018 2019(b) 2020(f)
No. of Universities 15 15 15 15 15 15
(c)
No of other Higher Institutions 18 18 19 19 20 20

No of Students (Undergraduates) 109,182 110,287 116,296 121,863 129,833 136,740

University 83,778 84,451 88,527 93,730 100,944 106,641

Institutes 3,307 3,290 3,423 3,680 3,724 3,844
Open University 22,097 22,546 24,346 24,453 25,165 26,255
No of Lecturers 5,199 5,440 5,669 6,003 6,321 6,525
University 4,661 4,863 5,095 5,376 5,677 5,881
Institutes 242 268 270 300 303 306
Open University 296 309 304 327 341 338
(d)
New admissions for basic Degrees 25,676 29,083 30,668 31,451 31,902 41,669
(e)
No of Graduates 29,545 28,808 26,015 29,094 25,727 24,565
Arts & Oriental Studies 16,387 14,082 10,305 13,851 9,907 11,795
Commerce & Mgt. Studies 5,152 5,630 5,648 6,072 5,469 3,842
Law L.L.B 337 414 627 728 771 814
Science 2,711 3,027 3,142 3,280 3,634 1,849
Engineering (Eng.) 1,344 1,617 1,713 1,810 1,026 1,516
Medicine 1,145 1,135 1,176 182 1,433 969
Dental Surgery 79 91 148 12 87 87
Agriculture 710 799 742 662 927 1,142
Veterinary Science 69 73 79 77 54 10
Architecture & Quantity Surveying 77 224 355 421 242 115
Computer Science/ IT/ICT/MIT 1,043 946 1,153 1,109 1,210 1,175
Indigenous Medicine 227 169 186 171 248 245
Paramedical Studies 264 601 741 719 749 1,006
Source: Economic and Social Statistics of Sri Lanka 2021, CBSL
Note:
(a).Information given here is about the University and higher education institutes established under the Universities Act. In
addition, there are universities established under various other acts of parliament, such as Buddhasravaka Bhikshu
University, Buddhist and Pali University of Sri Lanka, General Sir John Kothalawala Defence University and the University
of Vocational Technology.
(b).Provisional
(f). Revised
(c). Includes postgraduate institutes and higher educational institutions which are under UGC. Out of these institutions only
4 institutions namely Institute of Indigenous Medicine, University of Colombo School of computing, Gampaha
Wickramarachchi Ayurveda Institute and Swamy Vipulananda Institute of Aesthetic Studies admit students for
undergraduate programs under the UGC intake.
(d). Excluding the Open University of Sri Lanka and external degree courses
(e).Incudes External & Open University also.
 Source: Economic and Social Statistics of Sri Lanka 2021, CBSL

Note: Information given herein is only concerning universities and Higher Educational Institutes Established under the Universities Act.

(a) Special and Additional Intake refers to the students admitted based on special categories such as blind and differently-abled, excelled in
a field other than studies, armed forces, foreign, teachers, etc., on the recommendation of the Appeals Committee and additional intake,
for special subjects such as Japanese, English, History etc. However, 2019/20 admission data excludes students admitted under Special
intake (excelled in fields other than studies) and Teachers intake as those intakes are in progress while including 510 additionally
increased numbers.
(b) Provisional
(c) Includes both new and old syllabus admission numbers
Figure 3-4: Students admission to Universities and Higher Educational Institutes by Province in
the Academic year 2019/20
Source: Economic and Social Statistics of Sri Lanka 2021, CBSL
Note: Undergraduate enrollment is based on the calendar year and admission is based on academic years relevant to their G.C.E (A/L) Examinations
(a) Information given here is only concerning Universities and Higher Educational Institutes established under the Universities Act.
(b) 'Eligible' refers to all the candidates who attained the minimum requirements laid down by the UGC for admission to the Universities of the G.C.E (A/L) examination.
(c) 'Other' refers to the added subject combinations introduced from G.C.E (A/L) 2011.
(d) Excludes 21 students who were admitted under foreign intake and teachers intake
(e) The technology stream as offered from the academic year 2015/16
(f) Provisional
(g) Excludes students who admitted under special intake (excelled in fields other than studies), foreign intake (28), teachers intake and additionally increased number (510)
Figure 3-5: Admitted percentage out of eligible students for Universities and Higher Educational Institutes in each year
Source: University Statistics 2020, UGC
Note: (1) Provisional
(2) GDP at Current Market Prices. Data is based on the base year 2010 GDP estimates of the Department of Census and Statistics
Provincial Councils, Ministry of Higher Education and University
Education
the actual expenditure of the Ministry of Higher Education and University Education.
the University Grants Commission which includes expenditure from
government grants and generated income
(6) Revised
Important- Some of the calculations were made by NHRDC
Figure 3-6: Comparison of percentage of Expenditure on Education to GDP with the percentage of
Expenditure on Higher Education to GDP
 ISBN 978-624-5939-02-2

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