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Taskforce to roll out major reforms across secondary schools
The taskforce appointed by the government to bring reforms to the education sector has come up with major reforms to around 1,000 secondary schools.
The head of the taskforce, Dr. Upali Sedera, said critical outcomes of the programme will be to provide quality education across the board and prevent congestion in popular and overcrowded national schools.
“For 40 years there have been no reforms, and this needs a major change,” Dr. Sedera said.
As a pilot project, 124 secondary schools with more than 750 students each have been earmarked across the 212 education divisions. The criteria on which these schools were chosen include children’s access to schools from home, building capacity and land available for expansion. Past investments by the schools in building construction and other development projects will be taken to consideration.
Once the pilot project is completed the number of national schools in the country will increase to 500 in 2021.
This includes the 373 national schools already under the direct administration of the Education Ministry.
The reforms will be fully implemented across all target schools in 2022.
Rural schools will receive priority under this programme, Dr. Sedera said. Certain districts that do not have even a single school with 750 students will also be considered, one example being Kilinochchi. “The emphasis will be on the demography of the area,” Dr. Sedera said.
Under the reforms, primary schools with fewer than 100 students will be networked with the closest national schools to ensure the smooth transition of students to secondary grades. It is hoped this would lessen the clamour for entry to popular national schools.
Schools with fewer than 100 students will receive fair representation based on categories such as district, mixed schools and Muslim schools.
Learning in all national schools will be bilingual or trilingual to accommodate all communities.
All secondary schools will be networked so that streams with few students can be amalgamated.
“There are some schools that have, in certain Advanced Level streams, three teachers to teach four students or four teachers to teach five students. Plans are afoot to bring them under one roof. Students in different streams will be brought under one umbrella and to one school. This will minimise waste of resources,” Dr. Sedera said.
Curriculum reforms will be centred on 21st-century needs, focusing on skills, with the emphasis on language speaking skills, social considerations and knowledge.
To make these far-reaching changes work effectively, the reforms committee advocates education training for school administrators, teachers and other staff.
Education Minister G.L. Peiris said the reforms would be presented to school administrations across the country next week, and views of principals, teachers and also students obtained by the first week of next month before implementation of the reforms begins.