LITERACY IN SRI LANKA

Background Information on the Sri Lankan Educational System

The educational system in Sri Lanka remains largely based on the system developed during the country's colonial period. The three-tiered system includes a six-year primary level, a seven- year secondary level, and a tertiary level at a different set of institutions.

The control of public education by religious groups ended in Sri Lanka in 1960. Even prior to 1960, the government provided almost all funding for education. Since 1960, the government no longer provides funding for religiously-controlled schools; however, religiously-controlled schools now play a much smaller role in the Sri Lankan educational system. Tuition at governmentally-funded schools and colleges is free through the first degree level at universities.

With political independence, the Sri Lankan government, formed by the majority Sinhelese population component, implemented the Official Language Act which established Sinhelese as the country's official language. Following the designa

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of education within Sri Lanka, coupled with relatively bleak job prospects and ethnic and political violence has produced two additional detrimental phenomena. First, Sri Lanka has one of the highest emigration Table 1 Population-Related Factors: Selected Asian Region Countries ================================================================= Country Geographic Population Projected Urban Areas Size (*) Population Proportion (sq. mls-- (millions) (2000) (*) millions) (millions) (percent) ------------ ---------- ---------- ---------- ----------- China (P.R.) 3.71 1,143.3 1,239.0 14 India 1.27 880.8 1,000.5 28 Indonesia .74 183.0 220.0 21 Japan .14 124.0 130.0 79 Korea (R.K.) .04 43.3 53.0 56 Malaysia .13 18.6 20.0 30 Philippines .12 62.9 75.0 38 Sri Lanka .03 17.0 20.0 22 Taiwan (R.C.
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