Quality of Education
Sri Lanka’s investment since the 1940s in universal access to education from primary school through university has resulted in high rates of enrolment and literacy. But while access to basic education is good, elements such as the lingering impacts of war, displacement and poverty continue to contribute to low learning achievement in schools. These shortfalls result in many missed opportunities for the people of Sri Lanka. Despite a stupendous primary school enrolment rate of over 98 per cent and school completion rates hitting 97.7 per cent for the primary and 83.8 per cent for the secondary level in the 2003/2004 school year, many children around the country still struggle to learn. While the current situation could pave the way for the development of a qualified labour force and informed citizenry, very few children are reaching levels of mastery in their first language (37 percent) or mathematics (38 percent). In the conflict-affected areas of the North East, mastery levels drop even lower to 23 and 25 percent respectively. [source national assessment provided by pushpa] Education around the country is also being hampered by a severe shortage of qualified teachers. Shortfalls in the North and East of the country are estimated at about 5,000. Low standards of teaching exacerbate the problem – only about 62 percent of teachers around the island are trained. Learning Years and Adolescence
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