Sri Lanka : Support for Human Capital Development Initiative

Education / Education sector development

Health / Disease control of communicable disease - Health system development

The Asian Development Bank (ADB) has been a long-term partner in education sector development in Sri Lanka, covering school education, skills development, and higher education. In the education sector, ADB currently supports the (i) Skills Sector Enhancement Program to ensure equitable access to high-quality and relevant demand-driven skills training; and (ii) Science and Technology Human Resource Development Project to strengthen science and technology education and research facilities, in order to nurture technology-oriented graduates equipped with market-relevant skills and an entrepreneurial spirit. With the Health System Enhancement Project in 2018, ADB re-engaged in the sector after 20 years and currently supports the development of an equity-based, more responsive, and comprehensive primary health care system in Sri Lanka, in particular, in rural areas and lagging regions. New support has been proposed to ADB, namely the (i) Secondary Education Sector Improvement Program to enhance the quality and relevance and learning outcomes of STEM subjects along with 21st century skills at the senior secondary level, essential for preparing Sri Lankan graduates for a knowledge-centered economy; and (ii) proposed Innovation Capacity Development in Higher Education Project.

The government appreciated the design and implementation of ADB's prior technical assistance (TA), which provided strategic technical inputs through resource persons and expert consultants to project preparation and implementation and is nearly completed. The government has requested similar support for project implementation and future project processing. Two key lessons emanated from the previous TA implementation. First, it is important to enhance the capacity and competencies of executing and implementing agencies in ensuring quality project design, effective project implementation, and overall portfolio performance. Successful outcomes of ADB support in the health and education sectors require consolidating and sharing lessons and good practices, combined with dedicated capacity building for project design and implementation. ADB support in strengthening government capacity can add value in terms of sharing lessons across projects, introducing innovative approaches, strategic planning, and implementation support in selected areas. Second, ADB is in a strategic position to provide integrated and coordinated technical inputs across the three subsectors in education (secondary, TVET, and higher education) and health. Working across these three subsectors and with the health system, ADB can promote synergy, effective implementation, expanded private sector participation, and enhanced relevance and quality of education and health services, all of which will lead to the outcome of a stronger and healthy workforce to support national economic goals.