Citizens of tomorrow
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During a cursory glance at the ruling National People’s Power (NPP) election manifesto, I was looking through the education segment and came across this statement: “…..serious social criticism exists on the education system’s failure to produce quality citizens. While education is not solely about preparing individuals for the job market, it should equip citizens to fulfil social responsibilities and contribute positively to the national economy.”This statement connected with a social media post I recently saw, which stated that “at the entrance gate of a university in South Africa the following message was posted for contemplation: Destroying any nation does not require the use of atomic bombs or the use of long range missiles. It only requires lowering the quality of education and allowing cheating in the examinations by the students. For example – Patients die at the hands of such (inadequate) doctors.//Buildings collapse at the hands of such engineers.//Money is lost at the hands of such economists and accountants.//Humanity dies at the hands of such religious scholars//and Justice is lost at the hands of such judges.”
While I was browsing through the education section of the NPP manifesto, the phone at home rang. It was ‘human resource’ pundit HR Perera, popularly known as HR, who was calling on this Thursday morning.
“I was interested in recent comments made by Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya where she has said that education is a key area in which the new government will give its highest priority,” he said, opening the conversation. “Indeed, education is a vital cog in economic development and needs to be addressed as an urgent priority,” I said.
“What is worrying is whether our education is geared towards meeting the needs of the marketplace. For example, are we having an exam-oriented education system without the acquisition of knowledge on various aspects geared to moulding students to have a rounded education,” he asked. “Passing only examinations will not help; it puts a lot of pressure on a student, adds stress and only prepares students to pass exams; not geared towards creating civic minded citizens,” I said.
“The market place has changed radically and now the demand is for more IT professionals which means our education structure should also be geared towards meeting these new challenges and new avenues of employment,” he said.
In her comments, Dr. Amarasuriya, who is also the Education Minister, reportedly said that children no longer believe in the importance of education nor do they feel as committed to the education system as perhaps a generation ago. “We need to change this. We need to establish trust in the system again. We need to make sure that children feel excited about their education. That parents are able to handover their children to the education system and have the faith that the education system will deliver,” she has said.
Education has had many challenges in recent times with alleged cheating at the Grade 5 scholarship examination being one of them. This matter has been contested in the Supreme Court. It is not a compulsory exam for students in the age group 9-10 years and based on the results of the exam, students could get transfers to prominent national schools.
Why such an exam is also held for students in prominent schools (they don’t need any transfers) beats me. At this young age, parents force their children to take tuition classes putting enormous pressure on students who should be having a rounded personality – engage in sports and also creative and fun activity and have enough rest – also for their brains and mindset.
This was also a topic discussed by the trio during their weekly conversation under the margosa tree. I happened to walk into the kitchen to pick up a ‘maalu paan’ and mug of tea when I was drawn to their conversation.
“Apey adyapana kramaya gatalu sahithai (Our education system is a problem),” said Kussi Amma Sera. “Ei, oya ehema kiyanne (Why do you say this?,” asked Serapina.
“Magey nedey kenekuta pas weni panthiye lamayek innawa. Den eh vibagey avalangu karala ney. Lamayinta vibagey apahu ganna wewi wagey (One of my relatives has a child in Grade 5 and now that examination has been cancelled due to some problem. They may have to take the exam again),” replies Kussi Amma Sera. “May davas wala lamainta sellam karanna ho viveka kriyakarithwa wala yedenna wela nae. Tuition, tuition saha tuition thama. Wena kisiwak nae (Nowadays, children don’t have enough time to play games or get involved in other leisure activities. It’s all about tuition, tuition and tuition and nothing else),” added Mabel Rasthiyadu.
Here is another alarming information in the NPP manifesto which the planners hope to address in the next five years of their governance: “A major issue is the high dropout rate, with many students leaving school before completing at least 13 years of education. For example, in 2008, 11.3 per cent of children who entered the first year left school before sitting for the GCE O/L examination in 2018. By 2020, only 64.7 per cent of students who sat for the GCE O/L examination proceeded to the GCE A/L level, meaning that 35.3 per cent of those who entered the first year did not reach the GCE A/L examination. Only 35.4 per cent of these students passed the GCE A/L examination and merely 12.7 per cent secured university entrance.
“Another significant problem is the disparity in the distribution of human and physical resources within the school system, which has led to a breakdown in parental trust in the system. According to the 2022 school census report, out of 10,126 schools, 1,473 (14.5 per cent) have fewer than 50 students and 5,204 schools (51.4 per cent) have fewer than 200 students. This means that over half of the schools are under-utilised and lack basic facilities. Only 396 schools are classified as national schools, and just 2,959 schools (29 per cent) offer GCE A/L subject streams. The high cost of education that has to be borne by parents, despite the policy of free education from the first year to the first degree, is another major concern.”
Another bold initiative by the NPP is to create Royal-like and Visakha-like schools in districts and rural areas where schools will have the same facilities and infrastructure as Colombo schools, making sure rural students have the same access to education and facilities. This is a tall order and requires an investment of billions of rupees in education which the rulers may not have access to within a 5-year (tenure of the government) framework.
Winding up with my second mug of tea and a second ‘maalu paan’, I leave these thoughts with the reader with a final comment: Focus on the need for government teachers to be paid a living wage – and re-establish their revered status in society that was evident more than 50 years ago, particularly in rural Sri Lanka. This is while serious attention should also be addressed by the planners on the ‘tuition-mania’ that controls education and deprives students of being rounded citizens of the future.
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