THE IMPORTANCE OF EDUCATIONAL REFORMS FOR COUNTRIES LIKE SRI

LANKA TO FACE THE CHALLENGES OF 21ST CENTURY

Educational reforms are essential in countries like Sri Lanka so as to meet the demands of the
public and to face the challenges of 21 st century. C.W.W. Kannangara provided education
free of charge by implementing the policy of free education in October 1945. But, now the
stake holders merely provide education free of charge without bringing new changes or
essential reforms into the education. The quality of the education is not concerned by them.
The budget required for a quality education is not allocated and also the budget is not
sufficient to fulfill the demands of the society. The present government failed to fulfil the
demands of the public due to which there were many protests by trade unions requesting for
increment in funds for education. Lack of educational reforms in producing skilled graduates,
salary increments of teachers, improving the quality of the curriculum, providing resources to
schools and etc. are some of the contemporary issues in the society of Sri Lanka. Recently,
the ATUMO (Alliance of Trade Union and Mass Organization) warned of asocial decline that
may arise in the country due to reforms made by government in which the government aims
to provide part time employment opportunities to school children. Most of all, the recent fuel
issue and economic crisis followed by the COVID-19 pandemic has brought a great loss to
the educational sector and affected the students vastly. Traditional system of education has
been replaced by the Smart educational system at present that was caused due to the
pandemic of COVID-19.

Present system of education has undergone several changes recently. Traditional system of
education has changed into smart education as the usage of digital devices has increased as a
result of the pandemic and economic crisis that resulted in school closure. Even after the
school commenced physically, the private tuitions and classes are still conducted via online
as the society is used to it now and it is very cost effective and beneficial. The youth literacy
rate of Sri Lanka needs a special mention as it was recorded 97% in the recent years due to
which the World Bank has provided funds to Sri Lanka to improve the quality of the
education further. Further, the educational level of the students are very low compared to that
of the years before the pandemic and economic crisis. Migration of students to foreign
countries for higher studies has increased recently because of the economic crises and fall of
educational sector. In addition, the usage of digital devices has increased due to which the
students are effected in negative ways and are addicted to it at present. Also, the
postponement of examinations has also effected the society in many ways.

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There are ample of demands which the society put forward to be concerned instantly. Trade
unions protested government to allocate 6% of its GDP for education sector. As the current
economic crisis has caused a great loss in the educational sector, they demanded for more
funds to be allocated for the education sector. Also, the major issue that arouse recent days
was the insufficient time to cover the curriculum as the school was closed for several days
due to the pandemic and the economic crisis. Further, the online system of education is not
applicable for rural areas, as they are not accessible to certain networks and they are deprived
of smart devices. Therefore, they demand for resources and infrastructure facilities that could
facilitate their online learning at home or the school must function physically where the
traditional teaching is applicable. In addition, there is always a demand from the public that
the university intake percentage is not sufficient as there are enough qualified students who
do not get the chance of pursuing their higher studies in a state school. Also, the students who
are studying in state universities have a demand to increase the Mahapola scholarship that is
given as an allowance for the university is still the same amount which was given 10 years
before, which is not sufficient as the prices has increased and the needs are diverse. In
addition to it, the job opportunities for the qualified students who pass out universities are
also not sufficient. Most of them fly overseas looking for employment, whereas the students
who are able to fly face a serious problem in choosing their career which suits their
qualifications. Recruitment of unskilled teachers are also one of the major issues faced by the
society, thy demand the teachers to be a graduate and hold a degree as their minimum
qualification.

The change of leadership of the country and the cabinet ministers has caused an instability in
educational sector in which the reforms that were proposed will be delayed to be
implemented. The challenges faced by the public in this 21 st century are innumerable. The
closure of school was a major challenge faced by the parents in recent years as the
educational performance of the children has reduced as a result and the usage of digital
devices has been a serious issue they faced. Unskilled and non-graduated teachers are also a
major challenge they faced. Also, unequal distribution of resources within the urban and rural
schools is one among those challenges which affect the education of rural students. Outdated
teaching methods and outdated syllabus which do not match the skills required for jobs also
effect the education of children. The university students too face several challenges in
continuing their studies as their boarding fee, transportation charge and cost for food has
increased and the Mahapola scholarship provided is not sufficient to meet all these expenses.

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The government has to find solutions to these by forming reforms and taking necessary
actions. Already. The free education system introduced by C.W.W.Kannangara has benefited
the children by providing free text books and uniform. The Navodya School Development
Program has facilitated school with infrastructure like new buildings, labs, classrooms,
libraries etc. This was formed to reduce regional disparities and provide quality education to
rural schools as well. Also, the Mahindodaya program which was commenced by Mahinda
Rajapaksa was to facilitate 1000 schools without the discrimination of rural or urban. He
formed this reform and provided several infrastructure to the school like computer unit,
language unit, math unit, science unit etc. Still, there is a need for some more reforms that has
to be proposed by the government to improve the infrastructure and other facilities that has to
be provided for rural schools. Resources must be shared equally among urban and rural
schools because of which the parents do not have to stress the children to pass the scholarship
exams in order to go for an urban school which is highly facilitated. Reforms must be formed
to recruit teachers who at least have a degree qualification as unskilled and unqualified
teachers would affect the quality of the education provided. Steps must be taken to update the
curriculum content and the syllabus must be compatible so as to match the skills that is
required for their endeavors. The traditional teaching methods has to be replaced by efficient
and interesting teaching methods due to which the engagement of students in the lessons will
increase has to be facilitated by the government by providing required resources for it and
educating the teachers about the need for a change is also a task of government. The GDP
allocated for education must be increased to 6% as requested by the union so as to increase
the resources, infrastructure for school education and also for higher education. Although the
free education provides textbooks and uniforms free of charge, the free education is not
quality education. Necessary steps must be taken to change this and provide quality free
education. The teacher centered traditional learning must be changed into student centered
learning so as to increase the quality education and smart methods could be used in
enhancing the quality of the education. Modern technology must be used in improving the
quality of the education. Necessary steps must be taken to educate the teachers on how to
cover the syllabus efficiently within the available time. Further, extra educational materials
and free educational programs could be distributed all over the country apart from the
syllabus without the discrimination of rural and urban. The Mahapola allowance has to be
increased by the government so as to facilitate the university students to manage their
expenses. The employment opportunities for the students who pass out the universities must

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be increased or Ministry of Higher education must provide scholarships for the students to
study overseas free of charge.

In conclusion, the Sri Lankan education system requires instant solutions for the prevailing
issues that has occurred due to the economic crisis and COVID-19 pandemic in order to
recover soon. They must form necessary reforms to overcome this issue as mentioned above.
By increasing the GDP by 6%, almost all of the above issues could be solved due to which
the challenges of 21st century could be successfully faced.