Annual Report 2010 - Ministry of Finance and Planning

1 | DEVELOPMENT PERSPECTIVESThe increase in the students who qualified for theuniversity education reflects the effort made by theGovernment to improve the education in the country.Opportunities for university education have increasedsignificantly with enhanced facilities, changes incurricula and other quality improvements.Chart 1.19 > No. of Students Qualified for University Entrance(% of Total Sat for Examination)7061.025000Chart 1.21 > New Admissions for Basic DegreesPercent60504030201048.9Number of Students200001500010000500012,40918,461020002001200220032004200520062007200820092010020002001200220032004200520062007200820092010attempts with an unwavering commitment of theGovernment under the “Mahinda Chintana – The Visionfor the Future” policy framework. It is a long term visionfor the future aimed at re-positioning the country stronglyin Asia and the world economy. The country that is to becreated under this vision will be one with reduced povertywith lower economic disparities among the regions,enhanced opportunities and access to basic human needs,domestic values and traditions and will be protected andblended properly with new societal developments andworld class economic and social infrastructure.Sri Lanka has come to a critical juncture in itstransformation to a middle income country. The level ofThe effectiveness of the changes introduced to improvethe quality of education is reflected in the increasedsuccess ratio of students.Chart 1.20 > No. of Students Qualified forPercentAdvanced Level706051.45040.94030per capita income expected makes it necessary to sustaina high economic growth of over 8 percent over the next6 years. In this context, the Government has directedits focus towards creating five hubs, i.e. Naval/Maritime,Aviation, Commercial, Energy and Knowledge activities,to attract investment and promote globally competenteconomic activities. Towards this end, investment hasbeen targetted to be raised from about 27-28 percent ofGDP to about 35 percent with public investment of about7 percent of GDP. This places a large scope for privateinvestment as well as foreign direct investment (FDI).Bio-diversity and the rich cultural heritage have placedthe country in a top position in the world and hence hasbeen recognized as a world class tourist destination. Thecountry’s infrastructure is being developed in many areasincluding the mega projects as well as rural developmentinitiatives. The tax system has been reformed to suitthe emerging environment to facilitate both private andpublic sector investments. The domestic value addition isalso being promoted through policy strategies to emergeas a strong value adding economy in the region.This will be supported by further fiscal and monetary cooperationto sustain the macroeconomic stability. At thesame time, necessary reforms in the markets, institutionsand other relevant areas have been announced in the 2011budget to complement this process.201002000200120022003200420052006200720082009201034