The development of the higher education sector is of central importance to enable Sri Lanka to develop from a Lower-Middle Income Country (LMIC) to an Upper Middle-Income Country (UMIC). Recognizing this, the Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) and the World Bank have agreed, as part of the Bank’s Country Partnership Strategy (CPS) FY17-FY20, to support the higher education sector through a Bank funded Accelerating Higher Education Expansion and Development (AHEAD) operation.
THE AHEAD PROGRAM
Accelerating Higher Education Expansion and Development (AHEAD) operation is organized into two components. The first is a Program Component that supports the national Higher Education Development Program (HEDP). The second is a systems strengthening, capacity building and technical assistance component that will assist GoSL to strengthen the higher education sector and achieve the objectives of the AHEAD program component. This second component will also cover monitoring and evaluation, policy analyses, program coordination and communication.
The implementing agency is the Ministry of Higher Education and Highways (MHEH). The MHEH will be assisted at the national level by the University Grants Commission (UGC) and the Sri Lanka Institute for Advanced Technological Education (SLIATE). The Operations Monitoring and Support Unit (OMST) of the MHEH will coordinate and support all AHEAD activities between the MHEH, UGC, SLIATE, Universities and Advanced Technological Institutes (ATIs).