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| ‘Aye,
aye’ This vidyalaya is off the Kuliyapitiya-Kurunegala Road, way interior, past Anukkane. To reach the school, the tarred road has to be left behind and a sandy track taken for quite a distance, through acres and acres of paddy fields. "Dushkara", it has been dubbed and the children are from among the poorest of the poor. The fathers are brick cutters, hired labourers who work in other people's fields and daily-earners not holding down proper jobs. But the children are happy. The educational field is being levelled out. Though they do not understand and cannot express in so many words, an indirect instrument of oppression is gradually being removed. They are moving slowly but surely to be on par with the elitist system, which gave a distinct advantage to the children of the rich, well-to-do and influential families, which had the privilege and the resources to live in Colombo and the developed cities around the country. Today, these underprivileged children not only in Mohoththawagoda but in other remote and rural areas have been accorded the opportunity of studying not only the English Language but also several other crucial subjects like Science and Maths in English. And the children who are part of this programme in Grade 6 and 7 are enthusiastic and confident. A random check from schools in Bandarawela, Akurana, Gampaha, Galle and Matara brought up the same result with Education Ministry officials indicating that requests were flowing in to allow more and more schools to launch the programme. "It has opened the world to them and in this modern era English is essential," stresses C.D. Karunatilleke, a trader whose child is attending Mohoththawagoda school, while the knot of fathers gathered at the gate nod vigorously in agreement. Karunatilleke regrets that it was not started earlier, for he felt compelled to send his two elder children to Panduwasnuwara Central College. "We need to develop our village schools like this. See the trouble my other children are going through. They have to go one mile by bicycle and then by bus to get to that school.” Another parent, R.K.M.S. Bandara chips in that those days children had to go for tuition to learn English, now not only is it being taught properly in schools, but some subjects are also being taught in English. A few other parents were fearful that with political changes, this too like many other programmes in the country, would fall by the wayside leaving their hapless children as victims. Education Minister Karunasena Kodituwakku is quick to allay such fears. "There is absolutely no reason to worry. This is national policy and we are bound by national policy. More than 1,000 students sat the Science ALs in the English medium last year and some of the children who have passed very well are from the outstations," he says adding that Sri Lanka needs English to be part of the modern world. Examination data reveal that 1,035 students sat the ALs in English last year with 207 qualifying to enter university. Among the top scorers is a girl from Bandarawela Madhya Maha Vidyalaya. Of the 540 schools having AL Science across the country, 68 have begun the teaching of these subjects in English. "English has been neglected for about 40 years and it will take time to correct the situation. But a start has been made," says National Education Commission (NEC) Chairman Prof. R.P. Gunawardane. "We cannot get away from the fact that English is the global language of the 21st century. In information technology, 84% of the servers are in English and in science and technology 80% of the literature is in English. Translations are difficult to come by and even countries like China, Russia and Japan are promoting English." AL Science in English and the teaching of three subjects (Maths, Environmental Studies and Health & Physical Studies) in English in Grade 6 have been introduced under the educational reforms that were implemented in 1999 countrywide. The learning of these subjects in English is the choice of the student but a Sunday Times survey found that there is such a clamour that schools hold a minor test to select students. At the same time schools are laying a strong emphasis on the teaching of the mother tongue, Sinhala and Tamil. "There is no compulsion for the child to learn these subjects in English. Even after doing so for a while, if they want to revert to the Sinhala class they can do so. We are also trying to strengthen the teaching of English Language. It is however not at the cost of the mother tongue," explains Polonnaruwe Sumana Ransi Thera who teaches religion and Sinhala in the Mohoththawagoda school. The consensus among policy-makers at the time these proposals were considered was that thousands of children were attending mushrooming tuition classes where the teaching of English was questionable. A large number of graduates were unemployable, with the private sector shunning them because of their lack of even a basic knowledge of English. In a climate where more and more reliance is being placed on advanced computer and information technology along with such facilities like the Internet, Sri Lanka was being left behind. How did the teaching of subjects in English come about? "At the end of 2000, a survey was conducted in the schools having Science ALs and we found that the teachers were science graduates who had studied for their degree in English in the universities. AL Science books were not being given to the students, they had to buy them from the market. These books were in English," says Dr. Tara de Mel, Advisor to the President. It also found that 25% of the students wanted to study in English, while 50% of the teachers wanted to be trained to teach in English. In January 2001 a comprehensive teacher training programme was launched at the National Institute of Education (NIE) and all 540 schools were offered the choice. Even if the students studied in the English medium, it was not compulsory for them to sit the ALs in the English medium. They had the freedom of choice. This was a pilot project," explains Dr. de Mel. At the same time in 2002, some subjects were taught in English at Grade 6 with the hope that at some point the two programmes would meet, along with amity classrooms, which would in turn prevent segregation of children on racial or religious lines. Adds Dr. de Mel, "When the zones were sounded out the principals were confident, with over 90% being positive.” At the Ibbagamuwa Central College, among the first central colleges to be set up way back in 1942, the 'subjects in English' programme is underway. Grade 7 has a class of 40 doing four subjects in English and 12-year-old Duminda Jayathilaka says confidently, "I am in the class to develop my knowledge and also because it is interesting." For Maths teacher Janaka Ratnayake it has been an enlightening experience. He has opened the cupboards stocking Maths books in English in the school library, after 40 years, dusted off the silver fish from books and looked at them to check out their relevance now. "The last entry stamp1962," he says recalling an incident where several years ago someone who had topped the batch at a local bankers' selection exam lost the opportunity to secure a job there. "That person was rejected at the oral interview because he didn't know English." The eye-opener lies in the words of the little girls and boys in that remote school in Mohoththawagoda. When asked why they are doing some subjects in English, 12-year-old W.A. Koshila gives voice on everyone's behalf: "Loku rassaawak karanna" (To do an important job). The answer lies there. |
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