Foreign-degree colleges in the east and the north, since almost all of them sit in Colombo

A first step

Ask the A-Level students in one school in Jaffna or the east how many would study a foreign degree locally if one were offered, and what their families could pay. Then write to three universities abroad that run degrees through partner colleges and ask their requirements for a new partner. Student numbers and a university reply are the proof.

Who pays first

A family in Jaffna or the east who would pay for a foreign degree if the child could study it at home instead of moving to Colombo.

What leaves today

Students in the north and east leave home for Colombo or abroad to study, and the fees and the graduates go with them.

The idea and the mechanism are from the book. The first step was written for this site as a suggestion; if you know a better one, say so.

The test

Does it keep value that now leaves the island, or build the proof that lets somebody else do so?

The only test any idea on this site has to pass. The four rules that go with it are here.

In the book

• Ch. OneThe Letter That Says Yes and Means No
  177,588 qualified, 45,000 placed

More from cluster 16

• 321Employer-owned technical colleges: the hotels train the chefs, the port trains the planners
• 322Apprenticeship brokers who match a firm to a student and handle the paperwork, for a fee from the firm
• 323Nursing colleges to the British and Australian standard, with the return clause built into the fees
• 324Electrician, plumber and welder certification centres whose certificates are recognised abroad
• 325English tutoring by video for the districts, at a price a family can pay, with a test at the end
• 326Tuition classes that publish their pass rates, so that parents can compare

All 20 ideas in this cluster