The School Education system in Sri Lanka

Today education has become a very important aspect in our lives. Without proper education it is impossible to find a better occupation and earn a sustainable living. Nowadays even labourers and masons are expected to have their degrees mastered. Although, the people are not fully qualified for the present industry, the future requires exceptionally qualified workers.

As a globally recognized country, Sri Lanka too has its own education system. Sri Lanka has two divisions of the educational curricula and three divisions of school. The one with the higher percentage of participants is the local education curriculum and the other is the international school curriculum that follows the British syllabus. Government/state schools, semi-government schools and private schools all three offer studies in the local system while only semi-government and private schools offer the international curriculum.

The local education system is the common one, because the government provides the support materials and educations is mostly free of charge. Studies are also available in all three languages: Sinhala, Tamil and English. This system can be considered cost effective and more affordable than the expensive international system taught in expensive semi-government and private schools. This brings a disparity between schools because a lot of government schools in rural areas do not have enough facilities to teach properly or the governments budget cuts for education pays a lot more attentions in developing its star schools instead of developing schools that need actual development. While private schools on the other hand have enough money to bring the latest technological developments into their teaching and provide better facilities for students and staff.

The reason for this disparity is that Sri Lanka is not financially or economically stable enough to provide such facilities. Poverty exists and is common in Sri Lanka. The local system is much versatile for the poor people. They do not have to give away their money to the schools in torrents.

But then again, the private education system is ongoing at a steady pace because wealthier and people who can afford it want their children to study in English medium. It is difficult to fit into the world without any knowledge of the global language. People want their children to study what the foreigners study. They think it has a better standard compared to the local one. As far as we know, all private and international education systems are expensive. So it is only available for parents who can afford it which is a mere percent of the country's population.

Sri Lankan education systems, although they are different, offer proper education for our next generation. It is important to keep in mind that, that whichever education system you are studying under, it is your duty to study well and complete what your forefathers have missed and fulfill your parents' and your dreams.

This article was written by Nipun Senaratne