Education in Sri Lanka

Education in Sri Lanka has a long history dating back to 300 BC. Western education became ingrained into Sri Lankan society with the integration of Sri Lanka in to the British Empire. Education in Sri Lanka falls under the control of both the Central Government and the Provincial Councils, with some responsibilities lying with the Central Government and the Provincial Council having autonomy for others. The Constitution of Sri Lanka provide for education as a fundamental right. Sri Lanka's population has a literacy rate of 92%, higher than that expected for a third world country and it has the highest literacy rate in South Asia and overall, one of the highest literacy rates in Asia.

The Educational System of Sri Lanka

The present educational system of Sri Lanka derives from the British educational system, which was introduced by the British colonial masters in the 19^th century. The British colonial government established colleges for boys and girls separately. These colleges consisted of Primary Schools, Lower Secondary and Higher Secondary Schools.
In 1938 the education in Government schools made free of charge as consequence of the Universal Franchise granted in 1931.Subsequently many government schools called Maha Vidyalayas and were started in all parts of the country. The medium of education of Maha Vidyalaya’s was either Sinhala or Tamil.

Today primary education lasts six years, after which the pupils sit a scholarship examination. Those who passed scholarship examination are qualify themselves to be admitted to popular schools and are granted monthly financial support until they pass out from the university.
After primary education there is Junior Secondary education which lasts for five years, after which pupils have to sit government examination namely G.C.E. ordinary level to qualify for Senior Secondary education which last another two years. Then comes the competitive university entrance examination which is called G.C.E. Advanced level examination.
Those who are not admitted to the universities can either enter vocational technical schools or be employed in companies or in government departments as apprentice or trainees. They can also pursue higher education as external students of traditional universities or at the Open university of Sri Lanka. The open university of Sri Lanka was established in early 1980’s with the idea of conferring degrees and diplomas to the working population who can do part-time studies by paying tuition fees.
Medium of study in schools today is either Sinhala or Tamil depending on the native language. The first language and the mathematics are compulsory subjects. all primary junior secondary pupils get their schools uniforms and text books free of charge from the government.
In the universities the medium of study of the Medical and engineering faculties are in English and, in other faculties it can be Sinhala, Tamil or English depending on the University. Some Universities do have post graduate institute that confer second degrees, for example Post Graduate Institute of Medicine attached to the University of Colombo.
In addition these system lots of private international schools are being introduced to the present day education.

Sri Lankan Universities Web Sites

Open University of Sri Lanka
http://www.ou.ac.lk

The University of Peradeniya
http://www.pdn.ac.lk

University of Colombo
http://www.cmb.ac.lk

University of Moratuwa
http://www.mrt.ac.lk

University of Ruhuna
http://www.ac.lk/ruhuna

University of Kelaniya
http://www.kln.ac.lk

Univrsity of Jayawardanapura
www.sjp.ac.lk

Sri Lankan Schools Web Sites

Ananda College Colombo
http://www.anandanet.org

Maliyadeva College Kurunegala
http://www.lk/Schools/Maliyadeva

Trinity College Kandy
http://www.geocities.com/thrithva

Colombo International School
http://www.cis.lk

Dharmaraja College Kandy
http://www.rajans.co.uk

St. Thomas College Colombo
http://www.lanka.net/stc

Hindu college Colombo
http://www.hcc.4mg.com

Hindu College Jaffna
http://www.jhc.lk