News Feature: Education in Sri Lanka

Saturday, 07 April 2007

The National Education Commission conducted a survey on the linguistic and mathematical skills of students in all schools except those in the north-east.

It has been revealed that 18% of the students in grade 6 are illiterates. 11% of the grade 10 students are also in such a pitiable plight. If the results of the GCE O/L examination are analyzed, they too point to such a drop in the educational standards.

The hand writing of most of the O/L or AL qualified youths employed in private and public sector is illegible. Yet, no remedial measures have been are taken by the authorities to improve the situation.

The Ministry of Education blames the teachers for this sorry plight of the students, while the Teacher’s Trade Unions blame successive governments for this plight.

They have said that after 1994, there have been political appointments to the teaching service and it was this that has caused the deplorable standards among students.

Political interference is nothing new in this country. The political interference has been in this country for a long time. But the political interference prevailing in the sphere of education is quite unprecedented.

We hope that authorities will take necessary steps to solve this urgent problem..

An English translation of the Editorial in Thinakkural, a Tamil daily based in Colombo.

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