• The enduring effect of SL’s economic crisis 

Sri Lanka was gripped by a severe economic crisis in 2022, marking its worst economic downturn since 1948. Thus, this was primarily driven by the confluence of the deeply-rooted structural drawbacks exacerbated by the exogenous shocks and the policy reform-related mistakes. Further, the crisis has led to high inflation, the near depletion of foreign exchange reserves and soaring prices of basic commodities, that have had far-reaching consequences leading to a domino effect across various sectors. 

Notably, the Sri Lankan economic crisis aggravated the challenges faced by the education sector rendering such as one of the most severely affected domains. As a result, 54.9% of Sri Lankan students have been adversely affected leading to a cascade of repercussions in the education system in Sri Lanka. Accordingly, the economic crisis has exacerbated the following long-standing consequences within the education sector.

Consequences 

Subsequently, while the following consequences are not new, the crisis has amplified their severity and scope, resulting in more peculiar and far-reaching consequences in the education sector.

Econ. crisis on access to edu.

The education system in Sri Lanka has long been a cornerstone of national development, offering free education from primary to tertiary levels in the country. It has been impacted with unequal access to education becoming a compelling issue where it affected specific segments of the student population in Sri Lanka.

According to the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS), one out of every six persons in Sri Lanka is multidimensionally poor. Thus, this inequality was further exacerbated by the daily issues caused by the crisis. The economic crisis disproportionately impacted children from socio-economically impoverished backgrounds, with the desperately poor students experiencing a 57% learning loss higher than that of their wealthier counterparts. According to the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF), fuel-related scarcity and the high cost of learning materials stopped the students from going to school regularly, especially the students of the farmers and the daily-wage labourers. This issue has persisted even when the economy began to recover with many students from disadvantaged backgrounds continuing to face significant barriers to education. Absenteeism among primary schoolchildren has surged by 4% as many are compelled to work and contribute to their family's income. On the other hand, the high food prices led to absenteeism as children suffered from hunger with 43% of children under the age of five experiencing undernutrition. The burden of transportation costs has further aggravated this issue, leading to a 20% increase in irregular attendance. This situation starkly highlights the widening educational divide, where children from vulnerable communities are disproportionately affected, threatening their future opportunities and deepening societal inequalities. 

Consequently, the social issues which exacerbated within families from impoverished backgrounds forced many children to make difficult choices including the withdrawing from school since they cannot afford the expenses. Thus, this has led to significant increase of dropout rates particularly from vulnerable communities, further perpetuating unequal access to education. Notably, the Annual Census Summary Report issued by the DCS, demonstrates a decline of student enrollment in Government schools from 4,063,685 in 2020 to 3,969,597 in 2022, emphasising the challenges faced by students.

Increased risk of child labour

The existing situation in the economic crisis was further intensified with children dropping out of school for economic reasons to support their families financially, leading to a 20% rise in child labour, across the agriculture, fishing, and manufacturing sectors. According to the analysis of the United States Department of Labour, 28, 515 of children have worked as child labourers in Sri Lanka in 2022, where the majority of 42.1% were employed in the agriculture sector. Further, the department mentioned that the worst forms of child labour in 2022 in Sri Lanka can be seen in human trafficking and forced domestic work. This alarming increase in child labour, driven by economic hardships, is a stark reminder of the crisis and its devastating impacts on the most vulnerable members of the society. 

Accordingly, this surge in child labour due to the economic consequences in Sri Lanka is a critical factor perpetuating generational poverty. When children are forced by economic factors to enter into the workforce prematurely, their educational opportunities will be severely curtailed. Thus, without formal education, it will be difficult to develop the skills and knowledge necessary to secure stable professions in the future. Hence, this lack of human capital development restricts their earning potential and their ability to lift themselves and their families out of poverty, leading to the reinforcement of the cycle of poverty. On the other hand, the hazardous working conditions can have long-term physical and psychological consequences which further hinder the children’s ability to contribute meaningfully to the country’s economy. 

Effects on learning outcomes

Further, the Sri Lanka economic crisis has cast a lasting impact on the quality of education. A critical factor that exacerbates the negative effects on quality education is the acute shortage of teachers resulting from the mass migration with the economic recession in the country. According to the statistics available this year , this scarcity of teachers is particularly acute in several provinces including the Eastern, North Central, Uva, Central, Northern and North Western with 40,000 vacancies overall. Further, 5,000 teachers have been granted a ‘five-year no-pay leave’ during last year (2023) by the Government with the new leave scheme. Accordingly, this can lead to a frequent disruption of education continuity further affecting the quality of the education that they receive. Thus, this represents a significant barrier to effective learning and related outcomes as having access to a qualified educator is foundational in quality education which is further emphasised by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organisation (UNESCO). 

Root causes 

The devastating consequences of the economic crisis have obviously exposed the underlying weaknesses in the existing education system in Sri Lanka. Yet, the Sri Lankan education system has the potential to be a catalyst in national development, but, it has been hindered by structural weaknesses. Though the aforementioned consequences are often perceived as unavoidable outcomes, these weaknesses can be strategically addressed through comprehensive structural changes in the education system. 

Accordingly, a critical aspect of this transformation lies in recognising the key challenges intertwined with the absence of robust social safety nets as a fundamental barrier to education equity and the acute teacher shortages as a significant impediment to education quality in Sri Lanka.

Even though the Sri Lankan Government provides free text-books, free meals in some schools and free school uniforms as initiatives in the social safety net, these initiatives don’t fully address the multifaceted challenges faced by the students. Further, it is evident that the countries with robust social safety nets have demonstrated remarkable progress in the education sector including the neighbour country, India, which is providing comprehensive social safety nets for children including cash transfer programmes providing the financial support, the public distribution system card that could purchase food and non-food items below the market prices, and food-for-work programmes.

At the same time, the Government needs to be well-versed with the strategies to address the acute shortages of qualified teachers, enhancing the working conditions as further emphasised by UNESCO. Evidently, countries such as Australia and the Netherlands have successfully improved the teacher retention rates by introducing financial incentives, scholarships and professional development programmes. 

Even though the socio-economic disparities and teacher attrition are inherent challenges in any country, the way other nations have managed these issues without having a strong impact on the education in the country is far more strategic. Accordingly, this underscores the imperative of Sri Lanka to implement targeted strategies to address these challenges. 

Conclusion 

Accordingly, Sri Lanka's education system faces a pivotal moment. The educational challenges triggered by the severe economic crisis, emphasise the urgent need for systemic reforms. Though the acute phase of the economic crisis may have eased, its repercussions in the education sector continue to exist as ominous shadows impact the very nature of the country's education fabric. Further, it is evident that the Government initiatives at present are insufficient to address the multifaceted educational challenges. Thus, at the same time, it is obvious that drawing from the experiences of the international arena, particularly the neighbouring countries, can provide valuable insights for Sri Lanka in how to address these educational perils, by strategically prioritising social safety nets in the country. By addressing these critical issues now, Sri Lanka can pave the way for a more equitable, resilient, and prosperous future for its youth and the nation as a whole.

The way forward 

To address the peculiar condition in the existing educational sector in Sri Lanka, it is recommended to address both the root cause of the issue and the immediate consequences to mitigate their impact, and to prevent further damage from being caused to the education sector. 

Strengthen the existing social safety nets

It is a critical priority that requires a commitment to ongoing reforms to ensure that the strengthening of the existing social safety nets remains effective in addressing the needs of the population. In that, the Government should allocate sufficient funding in the annual budget to strengthen the existing social safety nets, ensuring that they reach the most vulnerable populations and provide adequate support.   

Expand the safety nets

To enhance the effectiveness of the social safety nets, it is pivotal to diversify the types of support provided, offering the services tailored to the specific needs.

Improve access to edu.

It is crucial to strategically address student drop-outs from school by introducing additional support for the struggling students to keep them motivated, implementing flexible learning options, accommodating students with evening classes, while strengthening the student-parents-teacher partnership to create a supportive environment and to address the issues early on.  

Mitigating child labour

Implementing effective child labour laws and enforcing them rigourously can reduce the prevalence of child labour while providing comprehensive rehabilitation services such as counselling, and medical services to child labour victims. Further, implementing vocational training programmes could offer the students with alternative livelihood options to reduce their vulnerability to child labour. 

Addressing the teacher shortages

Deploying the strategies of teacher retention and attraction could enhance the quality of education. Thus, for that, the Government needs to address the existing salary related issues, introducing career advancement paths within the education system to encourage teachers to stay in the profession. Further, it would be better if it introduced alternative teaching arrangements such as community based education, encouraging community members with the relevant skills to volunteer as teachers or tutors in the underserved areas.

(Both writers are undergraduates at the University of Kelaniya. The opinions expressed herewith are solely those of the writers and don’t reflect the views of the University) 

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The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author, and do not necessarily reflect those of this publication