Sri Lanka has been rocked by a series of student protests against the government’s plans to allow foreign universities and private higher-education providers to operate in the country, report the Colombo Page and The Hindustan Times. Protests have erupted at six of Sri Lanka’s universities and almost 200 students have been suspended. Students and others are concerned that the changes will undermine the country’s higher-education system, where public universities do not charge tuition. The government’s overtures to foreign and private players are “not just an attempt to expand educational opportunities but rather an attempt to replace the existing educational institutions with others where admission will be based on the capacity of the students and their families to pay for their tuition,” says an editorial in the Sri Lanka Guardian. The government has threatened to deal with the protests by force if they continue.