Sri Lanka has had a free educational system since 1945, providing education from primary to tertiary level in all state schools and universities, which includes medical and Nursing degrees.

The country’s education system has attempted to respond to the demand of healthcare workers by increasing the intake of medical / Nursing students and establishing new medical/ Nursing schools across the country.

Overseas training has also contributed to an improvement in training outcomes and producing better, up-to-date healthcare specialists who meet international standards.

In terms of Nurses, formal nursing education was started in 1939 in Sri Lanka at Nurses training school (NTS) in Colombo. Thereafter, it was expanded to 17 other Schools of Nursing throughout the country conferring a Diploma in Nursing and Five (05) state universities offer BSc in Nursing degrees.