 | |
| Ministry of Education Ministry of Higher Education | |
|---|---|
| National education budget (2012) | |
| Budget | 2% of GDP[1] |
| General details | |
| Primary languages | Sinhala,Tamil andEnglish |
| System type | Provincial |
| Literacy (2017[2]) | |
| Total | 93.2% |
| Male | 94% |
| Female | 92% |
| Enrollment | |
| Total | 350,000 |
| Secondary | 200,000 |
| Post secondary | 14,000 (10-12%) |
Education inSri Lanka has a long history that dates back two millennia. While theConstitution of Sri Lanka does not provide free education as a fundamental right, the constitution mentions that 'the complete eradication of illiteracy and the assurance to all persons of the right to universal and equal access to education at all levels" in its section on directive principles of state policy at (27(2)(H). Sri Lanka's population had an adult literacy rate of 96.3% in 2015, which is above average by world and regional standards. Computer literacy in 201728.3% and phone users in 2017 105%, website users 32% in 2017.[note 1] Education plays a major part in the life and culture of the country, which dates back to 543 BC. Sri Lanka's modern educational system modeled after Christian missionary system was brought about by its integration into theBritish Empire in the 19th century. Education currently falls under the control of both theCentral Government and theProvincial Councils, with some responsibilities lying with the Central Government and the Provincial Council having autonomy for others.
The Human Rights Measurement Initiative (HRMI)[3] finds that Sri Lanka is fulfilling 95.5% of what it should be fulfilling for the right to education based on the country's level of income.[4] HRMI breaks down the right to education by looking at the rights to both primary education and secondary education. While taking into consideration Sri Lanka's income level, the nation is achieving 97.7% of what should be possible based on its resources (income) for primary education and 93.3% for secondary education.[4]
Primary school to higher education are primarily funded and overseen by three governmental ministries.[5]
Exceptions to this system exist — mostly when it comes to tertiary with several public universities and institutes coming under the purview of different ministries. These divisions have led to a high degree of mismanagement and inefficiency over the years.
The National Institute of Education (NIE), Sri Lanka, based inMaharagama, was established in 1986 under the provisions of the National Institute of Education Act No. 28 of 1985. The aim of the institute is to "provide leadership for the development of general education with quality, equity and relevance in a pluralistic society".[6]
Education in Sri Lanka has a history of over 2300 years. It is believed that theSanskrit language was brought to the island from North India as a result of the establishment of theBuddhism in the reign ofKingDevanampiya Tissa from the Buddhist monks sent byEmperor Asoka of India. Since then an education system evolved based around the Buddhist temples andpirivenas (monastic colleges), the latter primarily intended for clergy (even to this day) and higher education. Evidence of this system is found on theMahawamsa andDipavamsa, the Chronicle of Lanka that deals with the history of the island from the arrival ofPrinceVijaya and his followers in the 6th century BC.[7]
With the outset of thecolonial expansion on the island, first in the coastal provinces and then interior, Christian missionary societies become active in education. The monopoly of Christian missionaries in education ended following the Colebrooke Commission set up by the British administration.
A standard system of schools were begun by the British based on the recommendations of theColebrooke Commission in 1836. This is regarded as the beginning of the government's schooling system in the island. It started with the establishment of theRoyal College inColombo (formerly the Colombo Academy) and lead to the formation of severalsingle sex schools constructed during the colonial period, by the British.[8] Some of these schools were affiliated to the Anglican Church. These includedS.Thomas' CollegeMount Lavinia,Trinity CollegeKandy, andBishop's CollegeColombo. The education invernacular schools was largely free due to government grants to cover the cost of teaching and localphilanthropists providing the buildings, equipment and the books.[9] Colebrooke decreed that all government schools be discontinued. The order did not apply to denominational Missionary schools and they continued to function unceasingly.
In 1938 the education system in Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) was made formally free following the granting ofuniversal franchise in 1931. The Minister of Education, late Hon. Dr.C.W.W. Kannangara, and the Executive Committee of Education which included members such asH. W. Amarasuriya took the initiative in establishingfree education. Under this initiative the government establishedMadhya Maha Vidyalayas (MMV, Central Colleges) that were scattered around the island to provide education to all. The medium was eitherSinhala orTamil.
In 1942 a special committee was appointed to observe the education system and, among the suggestions that followed, the following play an important role:
After independence, the number of schools and the literacy rate substantially increased. According to the Ministry of Statistics, today there are approximately 10,012 public schools serving close to 4,037,157 students, all around the island.
During the colonial times, latenational heroes likeAnagarika Dharmapala with foreigners likeColonelHenry Steel Olcott andMadame Blavatsky of theBuddhistTheosophical Society installed Buddhist schools to fosterSinhala students with anEnglish education rich in Buddhist values and to bringBuddhism to life, at a time when it was slowly fading away. Most of these schools were established in the capitals of the majorprovinces of Sri Lanka. The first of these wereAnanda College, Colombo (formerly English Buddhist School);Dharmaraja College,Kandy (formerly Kandy Buddhist High School);Maliyadeva College,Kurunegala (formerly Kurunegala Buddhist Institution);Musaeus College, Colombo[10] andMahinda College,Galle (formerly Galle Buddhist Theosophical Society School);[11] which were followed decades later byVisakha Vidyalaya, Colombo (formerly Buddhist Girls College),Nalanda College, Colombo andMahamaya Vidyalaya, Kandy.
During the late 20th century, Hindu revival leaders began showing interest in establishing schools that emphasized Saiva values while also offering instruction in English. This movement led to the founding of numerous Hindu English-medium schools.Arumuka Navalar played a particularly significant role in this initiative. He founded the Saiva Paripalana Sabai, which led to the establishment of Jaffna Hindu College.[12] The organization continued to enhance the provision of Hindu education in the Tamil regions of the country, which were under colonial influence.
Meanwhile, in Colombo, there was a notable lack of Hindu schools. Tamil leaders such asQ.C. Nagalingam took inspiration from Navalar's work and established the Hindu Educational Society. This organization spearheaded the founding ofHindu College, Colombo in Bambalapitiya, as well as a branch in Ratmalana.[13] The society remains active today, continuing its mission to promote Hindu education in the surrounding communities.[14]
Sri Lanka also has manyCatholic schools such asSt. Joseph's College,St Bridget's Convent,Good Shepherd Convent,St Peter's College,St. Anthony's College, Kandy and theJoseph Vaz College named after the Sri Lankan saintJoseph Vaz. The earliest schools such asRichmond College, Galle,Jaffna Central College,Wesley College, Colombo,Kingswood College, Kandy(formerly Boys' High School, Kandy);Girls' High School, Kandy andMethodist College, Colombo were started by theMethodist Church.[15] Many schools were built in the post-colonial era. However, the established schools who had their origins in the colonial era dominate social life in Sri Lanka mainly due networks of old boys and old girls.[citation needed]
Several superficial changers to the school system took place in the post-independence era. These include the change of the primary medium of education to the national languages, nationalization of private schools and the introduction of national/provisional school system.[citation needed]
There are 749 Muslim schools in Sri Lanka, 205 madrasas which teach Islamic education, and an Islamic university in Beruwala (Jamiya Naleemiya).Zahira College, Colombo is considered to be one of the oldest and the most prominent Muslim school in the country initiated byM. C. Siddi Lebbe, while Al Iman Schools in Colombo was the first Islamic to teach an integrated Islamic curriculum since 2008.[16]
The post-independence era saw the establishment of secular multi-religious schools, such asD. S. Senanayake College for boys andSirimavo Bandaranaike Vidyalaya for girls.
Higher education in Sri Lanka has been based on the many prominent pirivenas during the pre colonial times. The origins of the modern colonial university system in Sri Lanka dates back to 1921 when aUniversity College, theCeylon University College was established at the former premises ofRoyal College Colombo affiliated to theUniversity of London. However, the beginning of modern higher education in colonial government of Ceylon was in 1870 when the Ceylon Medical School[17] was established followed byColombo Law College (1875),[18] School of Agriculture (1884) and theGovernment Technical College (1893).
TheUniversity of Ceylon was established on 1 July 1942 by theCeylon University Ordinance No. 20 of 1942 which was to be unitary, residential and autonomous. The university was inColombo. Several years later a second campus was built inPeradeniya. The University of Ceylon became theUniversity of Sri Lanka follow in theUniversity of Ceylon Act No. 1 of 1972 resulting in a more centralized administration and more direct government control. This gave way for creation of separate universities after theUniversities Act No. 16 of 1978. Even though new universities of independent identities were created, the government maintained its direct control and centralized administration though theUniversity Grants Commission. Late Hon.Lalith Athulathmudali as Minister of Education developed an initiative to develop the higher education of the country in the 1980s, the Mahapola Fund, established by him provided scholarship and much-needed founding to higher education institution to this day. Until amendments to the University Act were made in 1999 only state universities were allowed to grant undergraduate degrees; this has since changed.
Sri Lanka's education structure is divided into five parts: primary, junior secondary, senior secondary, collegiate, and tertiary.Primary education lasts five years (Grade 1 to Grade 5) and at the end of this period, the students may elect to write a national exam called the Scholarship exam. This exam allows students with exceptional skills to move on to better schools. After primary education, the junior secondary level (referred to as middle school in some schools) lasts for 4 years (Grades 6-9) followed by 2 years (Grades 10-11) of the senior secondary level which is the preparation for theGeneral Certificate of Education (G.C.E)Ordinary Level (O/Ls).According to the Sri Lankan law, it is compulsory that all children go to school till grade 9 (age 14) at which point they can choose to continue their education or drop out and engage in apprenticeship for a job or farming. However, the Ministry of Education strongly advises all students to continue with their studies at least till the G.C.E Ordinary Level.Students who are pursuingtertiary education must pass the G.C.E O/Ls in order to enter the collegiate level to study for another 2 years (grades 12-13) to sit for theG.C.E Advanced Level. On successful completion of this exam, students can move on totertiary education, therefore the GCE A/Ls is the university entrance exam in Sri Lanka.[19]
NB: In some cases, students may be slightly younger.
Most of the schools in Sri Lanka are maintained by the government as a part of the free education. Currently (as of 2021) there are 10,155 government schools (373 national schools and 9,782 provincial schools)[20] with a student population of 4.2 million and 235,924 teachers, 736Pirivenas and also 104 private schools with 127,968 students. With the establishment if the provincial council system in the 1980s the central government handed control of most schools to local governments. However the old schools which had been around since the colonial times were retained by the central government, this creating three types of government schools;
National schools come under the direct control of theMinistry of Education and therefore have direct funding from the ministry. Most of these schools were established during the colonial period and therefore are established institutions. These few are referred to as famous schools or elite schools since they have a rich history and better maintained facilities than the average public school. This is mainly due to the support of their alumni. In recent years newer schools and several central colleges have been upgraded to national schools from time to time, thereby making the total number of national schools 373 (as of 2021).[19][20]
Provincial Schools consists of the vast majority of schools in Sri Lanka, which number 9,782 (as of 2021).[20] Funded and controlled by the local governments many suffer from poor facilities and a shortage of teachers.
Piriven are monastic colleges (similar to aseminary) for the education ofBuddhistpriests. These have been the centers of secondary and higher education in ancient times for lay people as well. Today 561 Piriven are funded and maintained by the Ministry of Education under thePirivena Education Act, No, 64 of 1979. Young priests undergo training at these pirivenas prior to being theirOrdination and study for GCE O/L and A/L examinations. They may gain entrance to State Universities for higher religious studies.
There has been a considerable increase in the number ofprivate schools in Sri Lanka, due to the emergence of the upper-middle class during the colonial era. These private schools follow the local curriculum set up by theMinistry of Education in the local language mediums ofSinhala,Tamil orEnglish. Many of the private schools have access to newer facilities than state run schools. Currently there are 66 Private schools (registered before 1960 and not since then) of these, 33 non-fee-levying Assisted Private Schools (also known as semi-government schools) and 33 fee levying autonomousPrivate Schools, in addition to the Government Schools.[19]
International schools in Sri Lanka are not restricted to the expatriate community, anyone with the ability and willingness to pay can join these schools. Starting in the late 1980s these schools have no regulation or control by the Ministry of Education as it comes under the Board of Investment (BOI),[19] due to this the standard of education varies greatly between schools. The schools are mainly for the children of the expatriate community, charge high tuition fees and can therefore provide good facilities and high standards.
The majority of International schools prepares students for theEdexcelGeneral Certificate of Education (IGCSE) Ordinary, Advanced Subsidiary (AS) and Advanced (A2) Level examinations, which is the most popular qualification. Preparation forCambridge International Examinations is also offered by a few schools but it is less popular. Both exams are offered under the supervision of theBritish Council, whereas some schools offer a direct partnership with the examination body in order to improve standards.
As of 2013, there are 205madrasas registered under the Department of Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs providingIslamic education in Sri Lanka.[21] These have been built and maintained by independent Islamic foundations such asAll Ceylon Jamiyyathul Ulama and the Thareeqathul Aroosiyyathil Qaadhiriyyah Association in Sri Lanka which propagateSunnah wal Jamaah.[22] This is in addition to the 749 Muslim Schools in Sri Lanka.
There are quite a few semi-government schools in Sri Lanka that are run as a government-private collaboration, where the government provides the textbooks, uniforms, and other facilities such as the ability to sit for national exams and the government-paid teachers.
The prominent semi-government schools areZahira College, Colombo,Wesley College, Colombo,St. Joseph's College, Colombo,St. Peter's College, Colombo,St. Benedict's College, Colombo,Holy Family Convent, Bambalapitiya
Due to the high competitive nature of exams such asyear 5,GCE O/L andGCE A/L as well asLondon O/Ls and A/Ls; parents seek additional help at home and at group/mass classes to improve their children's grades and performance. In recent years this has become a lucrative enterprise, which has resulted in successive governments attempting to regulate it. Many scholars have also accused tuition classes of robbing the childhood and having a negative impact on the child's health.
These Private Educational Institutes or Tuition Centers are concentrated in Major cities of Sri Lanka: Colombo, Gampaha, Kalutara, Negombo, Kurunegala, Kandy, Galle, Matara, Tangalle, Kegalle, Badulla and Ratnapura.[23]
With the rise of digital learning, several online platforms have emerged to help students find tutors more efficiently. Websites like tuteclass.com provide a directory of tuition teachers, allowing students to filter by grade, subject, medium, class type, and location. These platforms aim to improve accessibility to private tutoring, especially in urban areas.[24]
Online tutor directories have gained popularity due to their convenience, wide selection of tutors, and detailed information on tuition classes. Some platforms also integrate virtual learning tools to support remote education.[25]
Undergraduate education in state universities is free but extremely competitive, limited and standardized. Fewer than 16% (less than 16,000 students) of those who qualify get admission to state universities[26] and of that only half graduate.[27] Admission to the university system is based on the highly competitiveGCE Advanced Level examination. Selection of students is done on the basis of rank order on average Z Scores obtained by candidates at theGCE Advanced Level under a transparent national policy to replicate a district basis representation. Only the top students from each district get admissions.
The top students from urban and rural districts get the chances of having tertiary education. However, top students who got qualified under the minimum Z Scores requirements for admissions from remote districts may get in with relatively lower marks than those from urban districts. As a result, many students who are not granted admission find other means of higher education. Around 8% those qualified but could not get admission for higher education go abroad to pursue their studies,[28] others enroll themselves at theOpen University of Sri Lanka
Some study for entrance/membership forprofessional bodies both foreign (such asCIMA,BCS,ACCA, etc.) and local (such asICASL, SLIM) or do studies at vocationaltechnical colleges that specialize in mechanical and electronic subjects. Government has schemes to provides financial aid in addition to free education to financially support to those qualified to get admission to state universities.[29]
There are only 15 state universities in Sri Lanka. The prominent ones areUniversity of Colombo,University of Peradeniya,University of Kelaniya,University of Sri Jayawardhenapura,University of Moratuwa andUniversity of Ruhuna. In recent years, with changes to the University Act, a few institutes have been given permission to grant their own degrees: The most prominent is the government-ownedSri Lanka Institute of Information Technology.[30]
Still, there areunemployed graduates in Sri Lanka, except in the fields of medicine, information technology, commerce, law and engineering disciplines. Many claim that if state university graduates are unemployed or causesbrain drain that is because of limited exposure in the country for the degrees they have.
Many intellectuals express the need forprivate universities in the country, where students who chose not to attend or do not gain admission to state universities could study in their home country at a lower cost. TheNorth Colombo Medical College (NCMC) was one such institute. But efforts to establish private universities have been blocked due to protests conducted by many parties claiming that it would create more competition for state university students. In recent years this has become a reason for students who do not attend state universities to prefer going abroad or study at other institutes andprofessional bodies.
There are three types of Degree Awarding Private Higher Education Institutes in Sri Lanka[31]
For a complete list, seeSri Lankan universities
Vocational education and training in Sri Lanka is managed by theTertiary and Vocational Education Commission of the Ministry of Vocational & Technical Training. Training includes course based curriculum at vocational technical training centres and apprenticeship at private or public organisations. Higher education in vocational fields could be archived though several universities. The National Vocational Qualifications Systems in Sri Lanka (NVQSL) provides a structured seven levels of qualifications from Level 1 to Level 7. Vocational education and training is carried out for degree level at theOpen University, Sri Lanka and theUniversity of Vocational Technology, as well as at diploma level at37 technical colleges,Sri Lanka Institute of Advanced Technological Education and the Sri Lanka School of Agriculture.
Apart from these, theMinistry of Education has launched a non-formalvocational education program which allows school drop-outs and adults who did not complete their school education, to earn a living, throughself-employment. Most of these courses are held atcommunity centres and they cover a wide range of fields such asdressmaking,beauty culture,hairdressing,stitching,carpentry,plumbing,painting and so on.
Tertiary and Vocational Education Commission monitors the registration of private course providers in the development of the sector. A number of private course providers have propped up in this qualification segment. Hospitality courses, basic accounting and management courses has been offered.
Critics of the education system, including academics andparents, state that the education system is too competitive and rigid unlike education systems in other societies.[32]
Efforts to establish private universities have been blocked, resulting in only state universities awarding local degrees.[citation needed] Opponents of private universities claim that private universities as privatization of education and damaging the standard of the education. However the demand for higher education has created several private institutions that conduct courses for degrees in foreign universities, these are not regulated or evaluated for proper standards by the government or independent organizations.[citation needed]
In 2011, the government made it mandatory for all students selected for undergraduate courses in state universities to undergoCompulsory leadership training for undergraduates at military and police bases. The government cited the need for residential three-week training to increase employability thus reducing the high graduate unemployment in state universities. This move has drawn criticisms from the opposition, student groups and human rights groups as the nature of compulsory military type training seen inconscription.[33][34][35] However, shortly after the2015 presidential election, the president at the time,Maithripala Sirisena along with the Sri Lankan Parliament put an end to this training in 2015.[36]
