“One language sets you in a corridor for life. Two languages open every door along the way”

─ Frank Smith ─

Sri Lankan Ministry of Education has conducted multiple activities for enhancing the skills of the graduates. Special emphasis has been given to strengthen the infrastructure requirements for enhancing the IT and English language skills. The HETC project; a World Bank funded project under the Ministry of Higher Education, has been not only in providing the necessary hardware for enhancing these skills but also in providing the required faculty training, etc.

An evaluation of skills is paramount to ensure the quality. To this extent one key performance indicator is to assess the IT and English skills of the university students. Establishing national standards for proficiency in IT and English language skills mandates common evaluation criteria for all universities. Two national level tests, the University Test for English Language (UTEL) and the Universities Students’ Competency Test of Information Technology (UCTIT) were developed to meet this requirement.

The tests were conducted for the first time during the academic year 2013/14 at all state universities. First stage of these examinations was conducted online with over 13,000 students participating at both examinations. Out of all university students who took part in these examination 1032 students were awarded Intermediate certification in the UCTIT Award Ceremony and 938 students were awarded certificates at the UTEL award ceremony.