The Politics of Education!

The Politics of Education................................by David Bandara

Education is too important to be left to politicians. Scarcely a day passes without some new announcement or initiative from the hierarchy in Colombo that controls most aspects of education. One of the most recent is the appointment by the President of "youths as English teachers to serve in difficult areas" and a further batch to be appointed next year. No information is available as to qualifications or training, so can we assume they attended a one day seminar to equip them with the skills and knowledge for teaching English. Since a large number of teachers and school Principals are deficient in English, hopefully these "youths" will also apply their skills to this group.

A further announcement informs us that 8000 acting schools principals are soon to receive their appointments. Since there are only few more than 9700 schools in the entire country, does this mean that the majority of schools only had acting principals? A reliable source at the Ministry of Education suggests that there are now over 30,000 Principals in the education system. When it comes to appointing a new Principal, school management and parents have no say as to the appointment. Positions are not advertised and "who you know or don’t know" probably plays a part in the selection.

In little over two years, according to the Minister of Education, every school in the country will have a computer laboratory. That must include the 1500 schools with less than 50 students and almost the same number with 51-100 students. Apparently, at some well known schools, computer studies are restricted to students with high marks in maths and English. According to the Ministry 38% of teachers are "computer literate" whatever that implies, but surely this figure is difficult to accept. The fact that well under 38% of teachers have reasonable English language skills, means that their access to the Internet is seriously restricted. Certainly, far less than 38% have a computer at home. Maybe the government should prioritise and get the railway system and police department into the computer age.

Statistics can be meaningless unless they seriously reflect the true and actual information they display. The often quoted literacy figure of 95% in Sri Lanka, must be open to question. What is literacy and who is literate? The ability to decode a simple text and write a short message is certainly of value but does not indicate literacy in developed countries. Does the magic figure of 95% apply to everyone or just those who have left school?

Not that long ago the Minister of Education decried the fact that on any one day 25% of teachers were on leave. If a Poya day or public holiday falls on a Thursday or Tuesday, then it is certain that over 25% will take extra leave to create a four day break from teaching. 40 days leave is permitted and according to statistics 60,000 teachers, or one third of all teachers, took over 32 days leave.

The government education statistics on their excellent website are a gold mine of information. Of the students sitting the "O" level examination in grade 11, approximately 20% fail or only pass in one subject and in 2005 dropouts accounted for 80,000 students from grades 8,9,10, who obviously do not take "O" level GCE. Though the figure is not given this would indicate that well over one third of students fail in their education. (No doubt they are still included in the 95% literacy).

The Minister of Higher Education, Prof. Warnapala, who can always be counted on to purvey an accurate and intellectual appraisal of education, was recently forthright in declaring that "the (Open University) has been built in such a way so as to produce poor quality graduates who are coming out of the mill without academic competence and intellectual ability". Prof. Warnapala decries the system of teaching, examination and marking for the external degrees as being little more than worthless. On more than one occasion he has criticized the standards of English of those entering university. His many carefully considered speeches show intellectual honesty and thought, but apparently have little influence towards vital changes.

Few Ministers will outwardly criticize the need for thousands of students having to attend tuition classes often from grade one. These classes are big business and more than one senior government officer benefits from them. International schools, rather than being the illegal institutions they are, are attended by many of those of influence in government and commerce. Well over 300 of these private schools now ensure that their students gain a solid grounding in English, something successive governments have failed to achieve. An interesting legal case is now being pursued by a number of residents in a smart residential area of Colombo. Several International Schools have set up businesses contrary to planning regulations and causing traffic and noise problems for the locals. It remains to be seen if their fundamental rights have been violated.

It was the Minister of Education who recently praised the quality of the "A" level examinations in that these were accepted as the entry requirements for foreign universities. He surely must realize that many universities, especially those in the U.K. are desperate to attract Sri Lankan students to boosts the university’s financial deficits, and decreasing government subsidies. They have not sunk to the level of accepting every applicant who has the large finance to pay for three years in the U.K., but they offer various incentives such as one thousand pounds scholarships (which still leaves them a healthy profit) and "on the spot acceptance". Poor examination results at school can be excused to get "bums on the university seats". Generous commissions are offered to recruiters and many a British academic spends a fully paid working holidays here interviewing prospective students.

Without the massive grants and donations from the World Bank, Asian Development Bank and the Japanese government, the education system would be the far worse for wear. During the past 10 years The World Bank has probably contributed up to $200,000,000 (two hundred million dollars) towards educational improvements. Numerous schools have been rebuilt by foreign NGO’s since the devastating Tsunami. The current push towards ICT in schools is being mainly funded from non-government resources.

If 2009 is to be the year of English and IT, the Ministry of Education and NIE will need to make some very fundamental changes in the way English is taught. No doubt there will be a dearth of seminars and rich pickings for consultants from within and outside the country. There may even be another curriculum and textbook change to show initiative. But all is not gloom and doom. The very facts that close to 100% of children attend school for the first eight grades, is an achievement. Free education, uniforms (but why white?) and a free daily meal to many poor students, is far better than many neighbouring countries can offer. Many parents may be misguided about what constitutes good education, and they may go without in order to pay for tuition classes and special school events, but they value education even if they were unable to have the same advantages themselves. If only the government were more self-critical and open to real educational reforms, Sri Lanka would be well on its way out of the "Third World".

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