• Improving quality and equality in education

Given the lacklustre methods initiated by successive governments to address the mounting issues caused by Sri Lanka’s crumbling education system, ‘free education for all’ is becoming a distant dream for the children of this country.

While proposed education reforms have turned into mere reports and recommendations without implementation for decades, the Government is once again attempting to introduce a more updated and future-ready version of reforms that is expected to bridge the general education and higher education sectors and produce profession-oriented youth.

Glimmer of hope

After nearly six months of deliberation and calling for proposed recommendations, overseen by a Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) appointed by Parliament on ‘Expansion of Higher Education Opportunities in Sri Lanka,’ there seems to be a glimmer of hope for meaningful reforms for primary and secondary education as well.

To expand higher education opportunities, it is imperative to address the longstanding issues of equality and quality of primary and secondary education in the country and it is heartening to see the PSC acknowledge the fact that the Government requires a national policy on education. 

The PSC has further identified that the categorisation of schools needs to be abolished, in order to ensure better allocation of funds and resources.

Removal of categories

To understand how these recommendations will affect the general education sector, The Sunday Morning reached out to teacher trade unions on feasibility and the opportunities expected to open up following the removal of categorisations.

Government Teachers’ Association of Sri Lanka (GTASL) General Secretary Shehan Dissanayake speaking to The Sunday Morning commended the recommendation to remove the classification of State schools as ‘national schools’ and ‘provincial schools’. However, he raised concerns about whether it would be the line ministry or the Provincial Council that would oversee the operations and administration of these schools.

“It was with the implementation of the 13th Amendment to the Constitution that Provincial Councils were allocated the subject of education and we experienced the categorisation of ‘national schools’ and ‘provincial schools’. If the Government is planning to remove this categorisation, as teachers, we suggest that the operations and administration of all the schools be assigned to the line ministry instead of the respective Local Government body in order to eliminate the ongoing disparity of resource allocation.”

According to GTASL, the categorisation also seemingly limits the reassignment of teachers to the necessary schools as the transfer process of teachers from national schools to provincial schools is too complicated. This is due to the complex recruitment criteria that the line ministry follows in comparison to the provincial education offices. 

Should the categorisation be removed, then these recruitment processes too have to be relooked and synergised, allowing the education system to allocate the necessary teachers to the most needy schools within the province and, if necessary, across the country.

Elaborating on the matter, Dissanayake said: “Some of the provincial education offices in the Wayamba and Uva Provinces have at times acted against the constitutional amendment when approving student recruitments and teacher transfers, which has led to corruption taking root in the education system. We have also observed that some of the national schools and even the ‘popular’ schools in the Western Province tend to retain additional teacher resources because the categorisation prevents teachers from national schools from being reassigned to provincial schools.”

Upon standardising the schools, Dissanayake said that the Government would have to look at absorbing junior schools into primary schools/feeder schools as per the recommendations included in the PSC report. 

“When considering the provincial school structure, there are schools that are categorised under junior schools that educate children from Grades 1-5, there are primary schools which enrol students from Grades 1-8/9, and then these students have to enrol in a school that provides secondary education from Grades 9-13. This will lead to the closure of some schools and if we are to prevent that, we will have to relook at maximising the utilisation of existing infrastructure in schools located in estates as well as townships.”

Promoting private education?

Earlier last week, Ceylon Teachers’ Union (CTU) General Secretary Joseph Stalin speaking to The Daily Morning noted that some recommendations made by the PSC indirectly promoted private education instead of developing the State education system, which had been in a state of collapse for years due to various issues. 

He further noted that should the incumbent Government fail to implement these recommendations, this report would be added to the pile of neglected proposed education policy reforms.

No timeline

The Sunday Morning also spoke to Ministry of Education Secretary Nihal Ranasinghe and inquired whether the ministry could provide an estimated timeline for the implementation of these recommendations. 

Responding, Ranasinghe stated: “We cannot provide a timeline as to when each recommendation that we agree to implement will roll out, however, we will include these recommendations in the education reforms that the ministry will continue to roll out in the coming years. In the meantime, we will obtain the opinions of other stakeholders affiliated with the education sector on the recommendations that are published.

“Following the publication of the report, the Parliament and the ministry along with the stakeholders who were involved in listing the recommendations will need to discuss the implementation of the recommendations.”

PSC observations and recommendations on improving primary and secondary education

Although the report produced by the Parliamentary Select Committee (PSC) was aimed at providing suitable recommendations for the expansion of higher education opportunities in Sri Lanka, the committee deliberated on identifying the shortcomings in general education, which sets the cornerstone for higher education in the country.

In that regard, the PSC acknowledged that although the National Education Policy had been introduced by Dr. C.W.W. Kannangara in 1945, the said policy was distorted during implementation with constitutional and statutory reforms adopted and practised by successive governments.

The committee made the following recommendations regarding the reforms in primary and secondary education in the report:

1. To adopt a national policy to ensure the equality and the quality of education (removing the categorisation of national and provincial schools)

2. Gradually educate people of every stratum about the importance and the necessity of education for all on a level playing field (removal of school categorisation under ethnicity and religion).

3. Establishing a cluster school system where the primary schools take charge of education from Grade 1 to Grades 7/8 (feeder schools) and secondary schools (central schools) take charge of the responsibility of teaching students from Grades 7/8 up to GCE Advanced Level.  

4. Establish a centralised teacher service in the State sector schools and standardise teacher training.

5. Introduce modern education modules and curriculums with the inclusion of democratic and cultural norms and values while enhancing the intelligence and wisdom of the students instead of a learn-by-heart educational system.

6. Recognising modern trends in the field of technology and science and giving priority to including such trends in education with the aim of fulfilling job requirements.

7. Introducing soft skill training depending on the age of the students.

8. To simplify the curriculums by adopting a blended marks system of 50% on school-based assessments and 50% on examination-based assessments.

9. To prepare the students to sit for the GCE Ordinary Level examination in Grade 10 and the GCE Advanced Level examination in Grade 12 with re-defined and re-modelled curricula.

10. Enact legislation to monitor all private schools, which includes aspects such as registration, ascertainment of resources, infrastructure facilities, capacities, quality and standards, social responsibilities, etc.

11. Revamp the existing modules and syllabuses in primary and secondary education considering the modern trends in the field of technology and science.

12. Standardise curricula for mandatory subjects in both the State and private schools, without any distinction or difference.

13. To establish a coordination system between the curricula setters and examination paper setters to prevent the inclusion of questions that are not covered by the curricula and syllabi.

14. The subjects of language shall be interlinked with the literature in the given language.

15. Adopt a policy to provide equal opportunities to all students to learn both National Languages, while insisting on the importance of the English language.

16. The State Policy for Secondary Education shall include curricula aimed at promoting and encouraging vocational education and training in State as well as in private schools.

17. Encourage students to participate in physical and recreational activities to build a healthy nation.

18. Eliminate unjustified competition among students and their reliance on private tuition by improving opportunities for tertiary education.

19. Ensure that the GCE Advanced Level results are issued within a reasonable time, enabling the students to engage in higher education without wasting their valuable time.

20. Enact legislation to register and regulate all private schools, which are known as international schools, including their capacity, quality, and standard of education and curricula and modules.

The above recommendations for primary and secondary education reform are expected to enhance and expand higher education opportunities, ensuring the quality, efficiency and productivity of education. 

The committee also recommended that the Government and the educational authorities in charge should adopt a State policy based on these recommendations and the State Policy on Education as envisaged in the Constitution.