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are in MDGs
in Sri Lanka > Goal
2: Achieve Universal Primary Education |
| MDGs
in Sri Lanka |
| Goal
2: Achieve Universal Primary Education |
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“As leaders we have a duty therefore in particular…to the children of the world, to whom the future belongs.” Millennium Declaration “…will not deprive our children of their right to free education.” Mahinda Chintana
Since 1943, education in Sri Lanka has been considered a basic right.
Universal primary education means that every girl and boy should be enrolled and completes primary school education in full.
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| The net enrolment
ratio in primary education was 97% in 2000 - 2001, which
is much higher than the south Asian regional average.
The literacy rate of 15 - 24 year olds has increased. |
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| Sri Lanka needs to ensure the following in order to achieve Goal 2: |
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Every household must ensure that their children attend and complete primary school |
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Poor households must be able to afford to send their children to primary school |
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What are the targets?
Goal 2 comprises the following target to be achieved by 2015 : |
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| Target 3 Ensure that by 2015, children everywhere, girls and boys alike, will be able to complete a full primary schooling |
| Primary school enrolment rates are almost at target but there is still a small proportion of children that has been denied the right to education. These children live in extreme poverty; are street children, children living in public institutions (orphanages) and in rural and plantation areas, children displaced by the ethnic conflict and belonging to marginalized groups. These children should be brought into the education system in order for Sri Lanka to achieve Target 3. |
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The following indicators are used to measure progress towards the target:
The Key Indicators are:
6. Net enrolment ration in primary school
7. Proportion of students in Grade 1 who reach Grade 5
8. Literacy rate of 15-24 year olds |
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| Current status |
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Sri Lanka is the best performer in South Asia in primary school indicators and is on track towards achieving universal primary education, with a net enrolment ratio in primary education in 2003 of 98.35%. Primary, secondary and tertiary education is free in Sri Lanka and, since 1997, education for the 5-14 year age group has been mandatory and facilitated through an islandwide network of 10,475 primary and secondary schools. However Sri Lanka needs to ensure that policies promoting the participation of poor, rural, street and other disadvantaged children are in place.
In 2002, 97.6% of the children enrolled at primary school reached Grade 5 and youth literacy rates reached 95.6%. |
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| If available data are disaggregated by gender, more boys than girls appear to drop out after completing junior secondary education. Drop-out rates are prevalent in low-income urban neighbourhoods, the plantation sector, remote deprived villages and the conflict areas of the North and East. |
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Government Strategies and Progress
Investment in education is the nucleus of government policies to increase national income, reduce poverty and promote human development. Right now several strategies are being followed. Incentives include scholarships, mid-day meals, free textbooks, fabric for school uniforms and easy access to schools. Deserving but poor students are also provided with financial support up to university level.
Public funding favour areas of low learning levels, with the North and East receiving the highest expenditure per student. Policy initiatives include modernising the primary school curriculum, focusing on language, mathematics, religion and environmental studies and upgrading teacher training courses. Educational outcomes are evaluated by two research centres: the National Education and Evaluation Centre and the National Institute of Education.
The National Action Plan for Children has been formulated for the period 2004 to 2008, to ensure universal access to services that are necessary for the full development of children. These services range from early childhood care to secondary education, to education services in conflict-affected areas. These plans also include programmes to assist marginalized children within the ambit of the education system. |
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Support District budgets linked to MDG targets
NCED
Clusters Link
to District Map |
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Challenges
The challenges facing Sri Lanka in reaching Goal 2 include the following : |
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Shortage of qualified teachers and disparities in teacher deployment, which has caused a lack of teachers in schools in disadvantaged areas |
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Incompetence of teachers and non-adaptation of school curricula to local needs |
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Serious deficiencies in the quality and efficiency of education are masked by Sri Lanka’s impressive education indicators |
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Disparities in educational standards between rural and urban children , with only 37% of rural children mastering local language skills and a mere 38% having numeracy skills |
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Extreme poverty causes children to drop-out and seek employment to support families |
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Insufficient government funding to schools in poor areas to improve staffing and facilities |
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Enforcement of mandatory primary education for all |
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Improving the quality of education |
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Marginalized children out of education system |
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Lack of adequate education infrastructures & services for children in the conflict areas
(North and East),. |
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(Source: MDGs Country Report 2005 – Sri Lanka) |
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