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Education Ministry circular denies private school O/L students entry to govt. school A/Ls
Sixteen-year-old Chaturi attended an English medium private school in Galle which conducts local syllabus classes up to Ordinary Level (O/L). Having sat for her O/Ls last December, she passed with 8 As and 1 B and was expecting to gain admission into a well-known government school in the area, to pursue her Advanced Level (A/L) studies. She sent in her application but was told that a recent circular sent by the Education Ministry, prohibits any student who studied in such schools from being admitted to an English medium A/L class in a State-run school.
This left her and her parents distraught. “We did not send our daughter to a private school because we have money, but we were unable to admit her to a government school. For 11 years we paid for her education, and now when we want to get two years of free education, we are being denied that opportunity,” said Hemantha, who was hesitant to divulge his full name.
Similarly, 16year-old Rukshi who attended a private school in Nugegoda, is faced with the same situation. She says her dream of attending a national school at least for two years, after completing her O/Ls, has been shattered. “I should also have the right to free education in my country, like all other students. Just because my parents sent me to a private school up to O/L, that does not mean I should be stopped from attending a national school for my A/Ls,” she said.
Several parents the Sunday Times spoke to said they sent their children to private schools because they could not find placements in government schools. “On one hand, the Governments says it encourages English education and on the other, when we give them a private English education to a level where they are competent in the language, our children are turned away when they try to gain admission into a national school,” Hemantha said.
He added that most English medium classes in government schools have many vacancies, while in some provincial schools they are facing closure due to lack of students.
Despite the concerns expressed by the parents, Education Minister Bandula Gunawardena was adamant that he would stand by the decision to stop admission into A/L classes for students who had studied up to O/L in private institutes. “My job is to safeguard the right to free education and that is what I am doing,” he said.
The Minister added that international school or private schools in Sri Lanka can only have classes to prepare students for foreign examinations and not for local examinations. ”If the parents choose to send their children to international schools, that is their concern. There is room in government schools, but if they chose not to admit their children to them, there is nothing I can do,” he said.
Asked why government schools, in previous years, admitted students from private schools into the English medium A/ L classes, the Minister said they had used a loophole in the law to do so.” I have warned that if anymore children are admitted starting this year, I will take disciplinary action against those who do so,” he added.
Ceylon Teachers Association General Secretary, Josef Stalin said that, while they were opposed to private school education, it was due to the fault of the education authorities that such educational institutes have sprung up all over the country and continue to grow each year. “We have asked the Government to take measures to stop education becoming a business, but this has been ignored. The Government has also not done enough to improve the national school base and hence, some students are forced to go into private institutes,” he added.
Some of the parents alleged that the reason their children were refused entry into government school A/Ls is due to the influence of Deputy Minister of Education Mohan Lal Grero who runs a chain of private schools in the country.
“The Deputy Minister wants more students to come to his schools’ A/L classes, which is why he is supporting this move,” Hemantha said.
When the Sunday Times contacted Mr Grero over the matter, he said he was unaware of such a circular and said he would query and give a comment. Since then repeated attempts to contact him via telephone failed.
Minister Gunawardena when queried about the Deputy Minister’s links to an international school chain said that his deputy has no role to play in policy matters. “I decide on policy, not the Deputy Minister,” he said. Asked if it was plausible that he was influenced by his deputy, Minister Gunawardena said that he is not influenced by anyone and takes decisions based on the powers given to him under the Education Ordinance. “I only listen to the people of this country,” he aserted.