US embassy cable - 05COLOMBO1253

UNCLAS SECTION 01 OF 02 COLOMBO 001253 
 
SIPDIS 
 
DEPT FOR INR/MR, SA/INS (CAMP, DEAN) SA/PD (SCENSNY, 
ROGERS, STRYKER); 
 
E.O. 12958:N/A 
TAGS: SCUL, KPAO, EAID, OIIP, PREL, CE 
SUBJECT:  World Bank Report Details Weaknesses of Sri 
Lankan Educational System 
 
 
1.  Summary:  The World Bank issued its long-delayed report 
on education in Sri Lanka at a conference in Colombo June 
30, painting a grim picture of the state of education in a 
country once known for its relatively progressive and 
equitable system.  The study, compiled in the past year by 
a team of researchers in Sri Lanka and Washington, lays 
blame for this deterioration largely on the lack of 
sufficient resources invested into the system during the 
past 30 years, although many other factors have also 
contributed to the decline.  The following is an overview 
of some of the salient points of the report.  End summary. 
 
2.  Forty years ago, according to the World Bank, Sri Lanka 
had one of the best education systems in the developing 
world, generations ahead of its time and renowned for its 
ability to provide widespread access to primary and 
secondary education.  The literacy rate was amongst the 
highest in the world.  Today, however, both the government 
and the private sector readily acknowledge that the system 
lies in disrepair, battered by insufficient investment to 
meet the expanding population and adverse policies 
regarding language instruction and teacher salaries.  High 
school and university graduates frequently do not possess 
the skills the current labor market requires.  Whereas 
other Asian countries such as South Korea, Singapore and 
Thailand have improved their educational systems as their 
economies have grown, Sri Lanka?s economy ? hard hit by two 
decades of civil conflict ? has stagnated, and investment 
in education has consequently decreased. 
 
3.  Perhaps remarkably, Sri Lanka still maintains a fairly 
high literacy rate (92.3 percent) in one of the two 
vernacular languages, although fluency in English is low 
(10 percent).  Yet the system suffers not only from lack of 
funding, but also from lack of management skills at both 
the central and provincial levels.  In addition, 
counterproductive past policies, such as the elimination of 
English as the medium of instruction in 1956 and the ban on 
the establishment of private schools and universities have 
both contributed to the decline of the country?s education 
system. 
 
4. Another problem cited in the report is the low number of 
university admissions compared to the number of students 
who pass their qualifying exams.  There are simply not 
enough universities in the country (13 at present) to 
accommodate all those who qualify. ?Due to lack of 
infrastructure,? notes Prof. Lakshman Ratnayake, Vice 
Chairman of the University Grants Commission, ?the intake 
of students for university education is only 2%.? He told 
the CAO that he agreed with the Report?s conclusions and 
the funding allocated for primary and secondary education 
is insufficient, while tertiary education is funded 
marginally better.  He also said that the World Bank-funded 
IRQUE (Improving Relevance Quality of Undergraduate 
Education) Project launched an in-depth study of the World 
Bank report in order to make policy changes. IRQUE?s goal 
is to raise the intake of students for university education 
to 8-10%. The World Bank report also notes that those 
fortunate to graduate are not being trained adequately to 
fill the available positions in the market. The result is 
persistent unemployment among university graduates.  The 
report observed: ?Slow economic growth has resulted in poor 
expansion of the demand for educated labor, resulting in 
several episodes of social unrest and political instability 
led by frustrated, unemployed educated young people.? 
 
5.  Teachers present another concern.  The report says that 
in order to satisfy unions and political parties, the 
government has hired more teachers than it needs. 
Therefore, it is dedicating resources to hiring unqualified 
teachers in order to satisfy the unions and parties rather 
than paying fewer teachers a higher salary and purchasing 
adequate supplies for the students.  And the low salaries 
for teachers, claims the report, provide little incentive 
for them to come to work, resulting in a deleterious 
absenteeism rate of nearly 20 percent nationwide. 
 
6.  The government has developed plans for dealing with 
some of these deficiencies, including modernizing the 
curriculum, introducing modern teaching methodologies, 
developing more effective leadership and management 
capabilities among heads of education institutions, 
reforming the examination and assessment processes, and 
strengthening research, monitoring and evaluation.  It is 
also moving toward privatization of universities by 
allowing some private technical and specialized colleges to 
expand into full-blown degree-awarding institutions. 
 
7.  The World Bank Report, entitled ?Treasures of the 
Education System in Sri Lanka: Restoring Performance, 
Expanding Opportunities and Enhancing Prospects? contains a 
wealth of other pertinent information and statistics.  It 
may be accessed at 
http://www.worldbank.lk/WBSITE/EXTERNAL/COUNT RIES/SOUTHASIA 
EXT/SRILANKAEXTN/0,,contentMDK:20569083~menuP K:232812~pageP 
K:141137~piPK:141127~theSitePK:233047,00.html 
 
Lunstead