Education reforms have long been a key political issue in Sri Lanka. However, little progress has been made over the years. The NPP made significant promises to change the status quo and evolve the education system to a world class one, once they are in power.
Recently, Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya announced plans to recruit teachers based on actual vacancies and reform the education system starting 2026. Speaking in Kurunegala, she highlighted the need for updated curricula, improving teacher training to improve the national educational system. Amarasuriya opined that such improvement would also help improve good governance from grassroots to national level.
The crisis in education is serious, and one area that has often been overlooked are schools with a handful of children, and functions with little or no resources. An example is the Kohonawala Primary School of Madulsima in the Passara Educational Zone which has 15 students. Despite its student number being seven in 2021, Principal R.M. Jayasena, who has served there for 20 years, has managed to increase the student number. This school is among the 1,471 schools in Sri Lanka with fewer than 50 students. Most of these schools are in rural and remote areas. All the schools are primary schools with classes from Grades 1 to 5. Reports allege that 100 such schools are at risk of permanently closing down. However, the Ministry of Education Director in charge of the school modernisation programme told The Sunday Morning that no decisions had been made to close any school.
The Budget for 2025 allocated Rs. 500 million to review the current school system and prepare a national plan to relocate schools. During his Budget speech, President Anura Kumara Dissanayake said that the Government’s policy was to develop a primary school within a 3 km radius of the child’s residence or their parent’s workplace. According to the Education Ministry Director, there are around 1,506 schools with less than 60 students. “We have been instructed by the President to do an assessment to see what the quality of education is in these schools,” the Ministry Director said. Accordingly, 194 schools in nine educational zones representing the nine provinces are to be developed under the programme. The zones are Homagama, Galewela, Galle, Thunukkai, Batticaloa, Puttalam, Galenbindunuwewa, Bandarawela, and Dehiowita. Ministry and zonal educational officials will be assessing the schools with a focus on their teaching and learning process. As a pilot project, 33 schools are to be developed with plans to expand based on learnings from the project.
As a solution, the ministry is to develop one school for each education division with the required facilities recommended for primary education. It is expected that the students from that zone will be encouraged to attend that school. “This school could be one out of the small schools we have identified. This will be decided by the provincial authority,” the ministry official added. In order to attract students to the developed schools, in addition to infrastructure facilities recommended for primary education like a play area, the ministry is considering transport allowances and student grants.
While many such schools have relied over the years on philanthropic support, it alone is not sufficient to remedy the situation. It has also been noted that while few students attend specialised schools like primary and secondary schools, many are willing to attend the school available close by in their village. “For the children of this village, this is the most convenient school to attend. The other schools are situated a 7-10 km walk away. Closing this school down is not practical,” a teacher from a rural village school said. This is indicative of many communities in Sri Lanka, where poverty and unemployment has seriously impacted education, especially in already vulnerable communities. As such, it is vital that the Government move quickly to develop well-debated policies crafted by educationists, and enable its roll out with effective funding and resources.