UGC says “no” to Colombo School of Economics

In today’s context where a doubtful university in eastern Batticaloa hasn’t got permission from the University Grants Commission (UGC) to offer accredited courses, comes news of how a legitimate offer to set up an economics school in Colombo was shot down by the higher education authority.

In 2016, the UGC rejected a proposal by the University of Colombo to establish a Colombo School of Economics, University of Colombo saying, “it is not appropriate to establish schools/institutes under each department of study”.

The January 11, 2016 UGC letter to the University Vice Chancellor also noted that “the Commission also decided as an alternative, a separate Postgraduate Institute of Economics could be established to facilitate Postgraduate Studies, which shall be self-financing, provided that all the Economics Departments attached to (all) universities (in Sri Lanka) are in agreement to do so”.

Economists said this was a strange decision since many countries including the UK (London School of Economics attached to the University of London) have economics schools attached to universities, and that is the growing trend. In South Asia there is the Delhi School of Economics and the Lahore School of Economics, amongst others.

“It is also strange that all universities have to agree to have a postgraduate course based on a proposal made by one university,” one economist said, adding that the Moratuwa University has developed several private sector-based initiatives on its own which must have got UGC approval.