The World Bank (2009) also suggests strategic initiatives for the development of the
higher education sector that would make it more responsive to the needs of the labour
market. One of these initiatives is expansion of access to higher education in areas of
economic and social importance. Another is improving teaching and learning in higher
education by strengthening the skills of academic staff in student-centred and activitybased
teaching. However, as Sri Lanka is a developing country it is unclear how it can
carry out these suggestions because it has limited resources. Specifically in the context of
IM education, it is unclear how to establish better and closer linkages with the IM
industry, increase access to IM education and reduce regional imbalances, and improve
IM education.