Education in Sri

Lanka

This article needs additional citations for

verification. Learn more

Education in Sri Lanka has a long history

that dates back two millennia. The
Constitution of Sri Lanka provides free
education as a fundamental right. Sri
Lanka's population had an adult literacy
rate of 96.3% in 2015, which is above
average by world and regional
standards.Computer literacy in 2017
28.3% and phone users in 2017 105%,
website users 32% in 2017 [note 1]
Education plays a major part in the life and
culture of the country and dates back to
543 BC. Sri Lanka's modern educational
system was brought about by its
integration into the British Empire in the
19th century. Education currently falls
under the control of both the Central
Government and the Provincial Councils,
with some responsibilities lying with the
Central Government and the Provincial
Council having autonomy for others.
 Education in Sri Lanka

Budget 2 % of GDP [1]

Primary languages Sinhala, Tamil and

English

Total 93.2%

Male 94%

Female 92%

Total 350,000

Secondary 200,000

Post secondary 14,000 (10-12%)

Administration of the system

Primary school to higher education are
primarily funded and overseen by three
governmental ministries.[3]

Ministry of Education: for schools,

pirivenas (schools for Buddhist priests),
teachers training colleges and colleges
of education
Department of Examinations:
National examination service
Ministry of Higher Education &
Highways: for universities
Ministry of Education Services: for
supplying the physical facilities required
for general education
 Ministry of Skills Development and
Vocational Training: for vocational
education and technical colleges

Exceptions to this system exist — mostly

when it comes to tertiary with several
public universities and institutes coming
under the purview of different ministries.
These divisions have led to a high degree
of mismanagement and inefficiency over
the years.

History
Education in Sri Lanka has a history of
over 2300 years. It is believed that the
Sanskrit language was brought to the
island from North India as a result of the
establishment of the Buddhism in the
reign of King Devanampiya Tissa from the
Buddhist monks sent by Emperor Asoka of
India. Since then an education system
evolved based around the Buddhist
temples and pirivenas (monastic colleges),
the latter primarily intended for clergy
(even to this day) and higher education.
Evidence of this system is found on the
Mahawamsa and Dipavamsa, the
Chronicle of Lanka that deals with the
history of the island from the arrival of
Prince Vijaya and his followers in the 6th
century BC.[4]
With the outset of the colonial expansion
on the island, first in the coastal provinces
and then interior, Christian missionary
societies become active in education. The
Anglican Church's monopoly of
Government Schools and in education
ended following the Colebrooke
Commission set up by the British
administration.

Primary and secondary schools …

A standard system of government schools

were begun by the British based on the
recommendations of the Colebrooke
Commission in 1836. This is regarded as
the beginning of the government's
schooling system in the island. It started
with the establishment of the Royal
College in Colombo (formerly the Colombo
Academy) and lead to the formation of
several single sex schools constructed
during the colonial period, by the British.[5]
Some of these schools were affiliated to
the Anglican Church. These included S.
Thomas' College in Mount Lavinia and
Trinity College in Kandy. The education in
vernacular schools was largely free due to
government grants to cover the cost of
teaching and local philanthropists
providing the buildings, equipment and the
books.[6] Colebrooke decreed that all
government schools be discontinued. The
order did not apply to denominational
Missionary schools and they continued to
function unceasingly.

Royal College Main building

In 1938 the education system in Ceylon

(now Sri Lanka) was made formally free
following the granting of universal
franchise in 1931. The Minister of
Education, late Hon. Dr. C.W.W.
Kannangara, and the Executive Committee
of Education which included members
such as H. W. Amarasuriya took the
initiative in establishing free education.
Under this initiative the government
established Madhya Maha Vidyalayas
(MMV, Central Colleges) that were
scattered around the island to provide
education to all. The medium was either
Sinhala or Tamil.

In 1942 a special committee was

appointed to observe the education
system and, among the suggestions that
followed, the following play an important
role:
i. Make available to all children a good
education free of charge, so that
education ceases to be a commodity
purchasable only by the urban affluent.
ii. Make national languages the media of
instruction in place of English so that
opportunities for higher education,
lucrative employment open only to small
number of the urban affluent, would
become available to others as well.
iii. Rationalize the school system so that
educational provision is adequate,
efficient and economical.
iv. Ensure that every child is provided
with instruction in the religion of his/her
 parents.
v. Protect teachers from exploitation by
managers of schools.
vi. Make adequate provision for adult
education.

After independence, the number of

schools and the literacy rate substantially
increased. According to the Ministry of
Statistics, today there are approximately
10,012 public schools serving close to
4,037,157 students, all around the island.

During the colonial times, late national

heroes like Anagarika Dharmapala with
foreigners like Colonel Henry Steel Olcott
and Madame Blavatsky of the Buddhist
Theosophical Society installed Buddhist
schools to foster Sinhala students with an
English education rich in Buddhist values
and to bring Buddhism to life, at a time
when it was slowly fading away. Most of
these schools were established in the
capitals of the major provinces of Sri
Lanka. The first of these were Ananda
College, Colombo (formerly English
Buddhist School); Dharmaraja College,
Kandy (formerly Kandy Buddhist High
School); Mahinda College, Galle (formerly
Galle Buddhist Theosophical Society
School);[7] Musaeus College, Colombo[8]
and Maliyadeva College, Kurunegala
(formerly Kurunegala Buddhist Institution)
which were followed decades later by
Visakha Vidyalaya, Colombo (formerly
Buddhist Girls College), Nalanda Maha
Vidyalaya Colombo and Mahamaya
Vidyalaya, Kandy.

Sri Lanka also has many Catholic schools

such as St. Joseph's College, St Bridget's
Convent, St Peter's College, St. Anthony's
College, Kandy and the Joseph Vaz
College named after the Sri Lankan saint
Joseph Vaz. The earliest schools such as
Richmond College, Galle, Jaffna Central
College, Wesley College, Colombo,
Kingswood College, Kandy(formerly Boys'
High School, Kandy); Girls' High School,
Kandy and Methodist College, Colombo
were started by the Methodist Church.[9]
Many schools were built in the post-
colonial era. However, the established
schools who had their origins in the
colonial era dominate social life in Sri
Lanka mainly due networks of old boys
and old girls.

Several superficial changers to the school

system took place in the post-
independence era. These include the
change of the primary medium of
education to the national languages,
nationalization of private schools and the
introduction of national/provisional school
system.

There are 749 Muslim schools in Sri

Lanka, 205 madrasas which teach Islamic
education, and an Islamic university in
Beruwala (Jamiya Naleemiya). Zahira
College, Colombo is considered to be the
oldest Muslim school initiated in the
country by T. B. Jayah, while Al Iman
Schools in Colombo was the first Islamic
to teach an integrated Islamic curriculum
since 2008.[10]

University …
Higher education in Sri Lanka has been
based on the several prominent pirivenas
during the local kingdoms. The origins of
the modern university system in Sri Lanka
dates back to 1921 when a University
College, the Ceylon University College was
established at the former premises of
Royal College Colombo affiliated to the
University of London. However, the
beginning of modern higher education in
Ceylon was in 1870 when the Ceylon
Medical School[11] was established
followed by Colombo Law College
(1875),[12] School of Agriculture (1884)
and the Government Technical College
(1893).
Sri Jayewardenepura University, Faculty of Humanities
and Social Sciences Building

The University of Ceylon was established

on 1 July 1942 by the Ceylon University
Ordinance No. 20 of 1942 which was to be
unitary, residential and autonomous. The
university was in Colombo. Several years
later a second campus was built in
Peradeniya. The University of Ceylon
became the University of Sri Lanka follow
in the University of Ceylon Act No. 1 of
1972 resulting in a more centralized
administration and more direct
government control. This gave way for
creation of separate universities after the
Universities Act No. 16 of 1978. Even
though new universities of independent
identities were created, the government
maintained its direct control and
centralized administration though the
University Grants Commission. Late Hon.
Lalith Athulathmudali as Minister of
Education developed an initiative to
develop the higher education of the
country in the 1980s, the Mahapola Fund,
established by him provided scholarship
and much-needed founding to higher
education institution to this day. Until
amendments to the University Act were
made in 1999 only state universities were
allowed to grant undergraduate degrees;
this has since changed.

Primary and secondary

education

Structure …
School Girls of Jaffna Hindu Ladies' College

Sri Lanka's education structure is divided

into five parts: primary, junior secondary,
senior secondary, collegiate, and tertiary.
Primary education lasts five to six years
(Kindergarten through grade 5) and at the
end of this period, the students may elect
to write a national exam called the
Scholarship exam. This exam allows
students with exceptional skills to move
on to better schools. After primary
education, the junior secondary level
(referred to as middle school in some
schools) lasts for 4 years (Grades 6-9)
followed by 2 years (Grades 10-11) of the
senior secondary level which is the
preparation for the General Certificate of
Education (G.C.E) Ordinary Level (O/Ls).
According to the Sri Lankan law, it is
compulsory that all children go to school
till grade 9 (age 14) at which point they
can choose to continue their education or
drop out and engage in apprenticeship for
a job or farming. However, the Ministry of
Education strongly advises all students to
continue with their studies at least till the
G.C.E Ordinary Level. Students who are
pursuing tertiary education must pass the
G.C.E O/Ls in order to enter the collegiate
level to study for another 2 years (grades
12-13) to sit for the G.C.E Advanced Level.
On successful completion of this exam,
students can move on to tertiary
education, there for the GCE A/Ls is the
university entrance exam in Sri Lanka.[13]

Due to the variety of ethnic groups in Sri

Lanka, many schools teach only in either
Sinhala medium or in Tamil medium and
not the English medium. The elite colleges
in major cities such as Colombo and
Kandy, teach in all three media.

Normal ages …

Primary E…

Kindergarten: 4-5 year olds

 Grade 1: 5-6 year olds
Grade 2: 6-7 year olds
Grade 3: 7-8 year olds
Grade 4: 8-9 year olds
Grade 5: 9-10 year olds - Scholarship
Examination
Secondary E…

Junior secondary
Grade 6: 10-11 year olds
Grade 7: 11-12 year olds
Grade 8: 12-13 year olds
Grade 9: 13-14 year olds
Senior secondary
Grade 10: 14-15 year olds
 Grade 11: 15-16 year olds - G.C.E
Ordinary Level Examination
Collegiate
Grade 12: 16-18 year olds
Grade 13: 17-19 year olds - G.C.E
Advance Level Examination

Vincent Girls' High School Batticaloa

NB: In some cases students may be

slightly younger.
Government schools …

Most of the schools in Sri Lanka are

maintained by the government as a part of
the free education. Currently there are
10,012 government schools with a student
population of 4.2 million and 235,924
teachers, 736 Pirivenas and also 104
private schools with 127,968 students.<>
With the establishment if the provincial
council system in the 1980s the central
government handed control of most
schools to local governments. However
the old schools which had been around
since the colonial times were retained by
the central government, this creating three
types of government schools;

National Schools
Provincial Schools
Pirivenas-Schools for Buddhist priests
National schools …

Main Building of St. Michael's College National

School, Batticaloa. It is an example for national
schools in Sri Lanka
Iconic Buddhist Vihara at Ananda college. One of the
leading national schools in Colombo

National schools come under the direct

control of the Ministry of Education and
therefore have direct funding from the
ministry. Most of these schools were
established during the colonial period and
therefore are established institutions.
These few are referred to as famous
schools or elite schools since they have a
rich history and better maintained facilities
than the average public school. This is
mainly due the support of their alumni. In
recent years newer schools and several
central colleges have been upgraded to
national schools from time to time,
thereby making the total number of
national schools 350.[13]

Provincial schools …

Provincial Schools consists of the vast

majority of schools in Sri Lanka. Funded
and controlled by the local governments
many suffer from poor facilities and a
shortage of teachers.

Piriven …

Piriven are monastic colleges (similar to a

seminary) for the education of Buddhist
priests. These have been the centers of
secondary and higher education in ancient
times for lay people as well. Today 561
Piriven are funded and maintained by the
Ministry of Education under the Pirivena
Education Act, No, 64 of 1979. Young
priests undergo training at these pirivenas
prior to being their Ordination and study
for GCE O/L and A/L examinations. They
may gain entrance to State Universities for
higher religious studies.

Non-government schools …

Private schools …

C.M.S Ladies College one of Sri Lanka's private girls'

school as seen from its grounds

There has been a considerable increase in

the number of private schools in Sri Lanka,
due to the emergence of the upper-middle
class during the colonial era. These private
schools follow the local curriculum set up
by the Ministry of Education in the local
language mediums of Sinhala, Tamil or
English. Many of the private schools have
access to newer facilities than state run
schools. Currently there are 66 Private
schools (registered before 1960 and not
since then) of these, 33 non-fee-levying
Assisted Private Schools (also known as
semi-government schools) and 33 fee
levying autonomous Private Schools, in
addition to the Government Schools.[13]

International schools …
International schools in Sri Lanka are not
restricted to the expatriate community,
anyone with the ability and willingness to
pay can join these schools. Starting in the
late 1980s these schools have no
regulation or control by the Ministry of
Education as it comes under the Board of
Investment (BOI),[13] due to this the
standard of education varies greatly
between schools. The schools are mainly
for the children of the expatriate
community, charge high tuition fees and
can therefore provide good facilities and
high standards.
The majority of International schools
prepares students for the Edexcel General
Certificate of Education (IGCSE) Ordinary,
Advanced Subsidiary (AS) and Advanced
(A2) Level examinations, which is the most
popular qualification. Preparation for
Cambridge International Examinations is
also offered by a few schools but it is less
popular. Both exams are offered under the
supervision of the British Council, whereas
some schools offer a direct partnership
with the examination body in order to
improve standards.

Madrasas …
As of 2013, there are 205 madrasas
registered under the Department of
Muslim Religious and Cultural Affairs
providing Islamic education in Sri
Lanka.[14] These have been build and
maintained by independent islamic
foundations such as All Ceylon
Jamiyyathul Ulama and the Thareeqathul
Aroosiyyathil Qaadhiriyyah Association in
Sri Lanka which propagate Sunnah wal
Jamaah.[15] This is in addition to the 749
Muslim Schools in Sri Lanka.

Tuition
Due to the high competitive nature of
exams such as year 5, GCE O/L and GCE
A/L as well as London O/Ls and A/Ls;
parents seek additional help at home and
at group/mass classes to improve their
children's grades and performance. In
recent years this has become a lucrative
enterprise, which has resulted in
successive governments attempting to
regulate it. Many scholars have also
accused tuition classes of robbing the
childhood and having a negative impact on
the child's health.

These Private Educational Institutes or

Tuition Centers are concentrated in Major
cities of Sri Lanka: Colombo, Gampaha,
Kalutara, Negombo, Kurunegala, Kandy,
Galle, Matara, Tangalle, Kegalle, Badulla
and Ratnapura.[16]

Tertiary education
Undergraduate education in state
universities is free but extremely
competitive, limited and standardized.
Fewer than 16% (less than 16,000
students) of those who qualify get
admission to state universities[17] and of
that only half graduate.[18] Admission to
the university system is based on the
highly competitive GCE Advanced Level
examination. Selection of students is done
on the basis of rank order on average Z
Scores obtained by candidates at the GCE
Advanced Level under a transparent
national policy to replicate a district basis
representation. Only the top students from
each district get admissions.

The top students from urban and rural

districts get the chances of having tertiary
education. However, top students who got
qualified under the minimum Z Scores
requirements for admissions from remote
districts may get in with relatively lower
marks than those from urban districts. As
a result, many students who are not
granted admission find other means of
higher education. Around 8% those
qualified but could not get admission for
higher education go abroad to pursue their
studies,[19] others enroll themselves at the
Open University of Sri Lanka

Some study for entrance/membership for

professional bodies both foreign (such as
CIMA, BCS, ACCA, etc.) and local (such as
ICASL, SLIM) or do studies at vocational
technical colleges that specialize in
mechanical and electronic subjects.
Government has schemes to provides
financial aid in addition to free education
to financially support to those qualified to
get admission to state universities.[20]

There are only 15 state universities in Sri

Lanka. The prominent ones are University
of Colombo, University of Peradeniya,
University of Kelaniya, University of Sri
Jayawardhenapura , University of
Moratuwa and University of Ruhuna. In
recent years, with changes to the
University Act, a few institutes have been
given permission to grant their own
degrees: The most prominent is the
government-owned Sri Lanka Institute of
Information Technology.[21]
Still, there are unemployed graduates in Sri
Lanka, except in the fields of medicine,
information technology, commerce, law
and engineering disciplines. Many claim
that if state university graduates are
unemployed or causes brain drain that is
because of limited exposure in the country
for the degrees they have.

Many intellectuals express the need for

private universities in the country, where
students who chose not to attend or do
not gain admission to state universities
could study in their home country at a
lower cost. The North Colombo Medical
College (NCMC) was one such institute.
But efforts to establish private universities
have been blocked due to protests
conducted by many parties claiming that it
would create more competition for state
university students. In recent years this
has become a reason for students who do
not attend state universities to prefer
going abroad or study at other institutes
and professional bodies.

There are three types of Degree Awarding

Private Higher Education Institutes in Sri
Lanka[22]

1. Private Institutes which offer Sri

Lankan degrees recognized by
 University Grants Commission
2. Private Institutes which offer Foreign
Degrees in affiliation with Foreign
Universities
3. Professional Institutes which offer
Degree Equivalent Professional
Qualifications

For a complete list, see Sri Lankan

universities

Classification of tertiary qualifications

Certificate: 1 year or less than 1 year of
study.
DiplomaL 1–2 years of study.
Bachelor's degree
 General degree: 3 years of
coursework without a major.
Honours/Special degree: 4 years of
coursework and research with a
major/specialization in a field.
Master's degree: undertaken after the
completion of one or more bachelor's
degrees. Master's degrees deal with a
subject at a more advanced level than
bachelor's degrees and can consist
either of research, coursework, or a
mixture of the two.
Doctorate: most famously Doctor of
Philosophy (Ph.D.), which are
undertaken after an honours bachelor's
 or master's degree, by an original
research project resulting in a thesis or
dissertation.

Vocational education and

training
Vocational education and training in Sri
Lanka is managed by the Tertiary and
Vocational Education Commission of the
Ministry of Vocational & Technical
Training. Training includes course based
curriculum at vocational technical training
centres and apprenticeship at private or
public organisations. Higher education in
vocational fields could be archived though
several universities. The National
Vocational Qualifications Systems in Sri
Lanka (NVQSL) provides a structured
seven levels of qualifications from Level 1
to Level 7. Vocational education and
training is carried out for degree level at
the Open University, Sri Lanka and the
University of Vocational Technology, as
well as at diploma level at 37 technical
colleges, Sri Lanka Institute of Advanced
Technological Education and the Sri Lanka
School of Agriculture.

Apart from these, the Ministry of

Education has launched a non-formal
vocational education program which
allows school drop-outs and adults who
did not complete their school education, to
earn a living, through self-employment.
Most of these courses are held at
community centres and they cover a wide
range of fields such as dressmaking,
beauty culture, hairdressing, stitching,
carpentry, plumbing, painting and so on.

Tertiary and Vocational Education

Commission monitors the registration of
private course providers in the
development of the sector. A number of
private course providers have propped up
in this qualification segment. Hospitality
courses, basic accounting and
management courses has been offered.
Criticisms
Critics of the education system, including
academics and parents, state that the
education system is too competitive and
rigid unlike education systems in other
societies.[23]

Efforts to establish private universities

have been blocked, resulting in only state
universities awarding local degrees.
Opponents of private universities claim
that private universities as privatization of
education and damaging the standard of
the education. However the demand for
higher education has created several
private institutions that conduct courses
for degrees in foreign universities, these
are not regulated or evaluated for proper
standards by the government or
independent organizations.

Compulsory leadership training for

undergraduates
…

In 2011, the government made it

mandatory for all students selected for
undergraduate courses in state
universities to undergo Compulsory
leadership training for undergraduates at
military and police bases. The government
sited the need for residential three week
training to increase employability thus
reducing the high graduate unemployment
in state universities. This move has drawn
criticisms from the opposition, student
groups and human rights groups as the
nature of compulsory military type training
seen in conscription.[24][25][26] However,
shortly after the 2015 presidential election,
the newly elected president Maithripala
Sirisena along with the Sri Lankan
Parliament put an end to this training in
2015.[27]

Non Profit Education

Organisations
 Coalition for Education Development -
Quality Education for All
SL:Education Trust - Investing
intelligently in Education
Sustainable Education Foundation -
Let's rethink Education

Notes
1. In 2013 South Asia's literacy rate was
67.55, Asia 84.32% and the world
85.20%.[2]

References
1. "Public spending on education, total (%
of GDP)" . The World Bank.
2. "Adult literacy rate, population 15+
years (both sexes, female, male)" . UIS
Data Centre. UNESCO. August 2017.
Retrieved 19 November 2017.
3. Historical Overview of Education in Sri
Lanka, Ministry of Education
Archived 16 July 2007 at the Wayback
Machine
4. Historical Overview of Education in Sri
Lanka - Ancient Period (543 BC - 1500
AD) Archived 24 November 2010 at
the Wayback Machine, Ministry of
Education
5. "Historical Overview of Education in Sri
Lanka - The British Period: (1796 -
1948)" . Ministry of Education.
Archived from the original on 11 April
2011. Retrieved 20 November 2008.
6. Jayawardena, Kumari (17 December
2000). "When the 'nobodies'made their
mark" . The Sunday Times. Retrieved
25 February 2015.
7. Kulatilaka, Justice P.H.K. (12 May
2013). "Ushering in the Buddhist
Revival in Ceylon" . Sunday Observer.
Archived from the original on 5
October 2013. Retrieved 5 September
2013.
 8. "Historical Context" . Embassy of Sri
Lanka-Washington DC. Retrieved
7 September 2013.
9. Mendis, Rev. Nimal (9 July 2012).
"Methodists serve the people at all
times" . Sri Lanka. Daily News.
Retrieved 1 October 2013.
10. "Analysis: Tamil-Muslim divide" . BBC
News World Edition. Retrieved 6 July
2014.
11. "Archived copy" . Archived from the
original on 27 January 2012.
Retrieved 8 December 2011.
12. "Archived copy" . Archived from the
original on 29 August 2010. Retrieved
8 December 2011.
13. Present Education System and
Management Structure, Ministry of
Education Archived 16 July 2007 at
the Wayback Machine
14. Department of Muslim Religious and
Cultural Affairs.
15. Thareeqathul Aroosiyyathil
Qaadhiriyyah Association in Sri Lanka
16. "Major Tuition Institutes Centers in Sri
Lanka" . Student Sri Lanka Education.
28 August 2012. Retrieved 16 May
2017.
17. Jagdish Hathiramani. "8% of Sri
Lankan students study abroad –
University don" .
18. Undergraduate statistics 2000-2007
Archived 16 July 2011 at the Wayback
Machine
19. Lakshmi de Silva. "Over 7,000 go
overseas annually for studies, Island" .
20. "Mahapola Scholarship" .
21. කමල ස, ශා ත (15 November
2015). " ග ක ව යාල
දහ අ යාපනෙ මළගමද?" .
Ravaya (in Sinhala). Retrieved
29 November 2015.
22. "Private Universities and Degree
courses in Sri Lanka" . Student Sri
Lanka Education. 7 June 2011.
Retrieved 16 May 2017.
23. Free Education vs. Freedom of
Education
24. Leadership training for university
undergrads at 28 centres Archived
26 May 2011 at the Wayback Machine
25. Consider postponement of leadership
training - SC
26. University students get marching
orders for leadership programme
 27. "Sri Lanka terminates military
leadership training in education
sector" . Sri Lanka. Colombo Page. 24
January 2015. Retrieved 7 August
2015.

External links
Official Website of the Ministry of
Education, Sri Lanka
Official Website of the Ministry of Higher
Education, Sri Lanka
Department of Examinations, Sri Lanka

Retrieved from
"https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?
title=Education_in_Sri_Lanka&oldid=934845982"

Last edited 1 month ago by GreenC bot

Content is available under CC BY-SA 3.0 unless

otherwise noted.