Ministry of Education Out-of-School Children in Sri Lanka: Country Study UNICEF Sri Lanka Colombo February 2013 © United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) Sri Lanka February 2013 United Nations Children’s Fund 35, Balapokuna Road Colombo 5 Sri Lanka Tel. : +94 11 2555270 Fax : +94 11 2555133 www.unicef.org Cover photo: © Suzanne Davey, 2013 Permission is required to reproduce any part of this publication. Permission will be freely granted to educational or non-profit organizations. Others will be requested to pay a small fee. ii Message of the Hon. Minister of Education When a high literacy prevails in a country it is possible to come to the conclusion that the country has a high level of education. Sri Lanka already has a literacy rate of 92.3 percent. It is our expectation to bring it up to 100 percent by 2015. With this in view, the Ministry of Education and the Provincial Education Departments are implementing various programmes. The study promoted by UNICEF on non-school-going children is a timely contribution to reinforce these efforts. By conducting this survey in several selected Divisions, it has been possible to identify much analytical information about children of school-going age who do not attend school. The contributory factors to this situation are analysed thus providing an opportunity to adopt remedial measures. The survey has identified poverty, illiteracy of parents, distance to school and various disabilities as the main reasons for some children avoiding school. The best approach to provide education to these children is formal school. It is therefore important that principals and teachers do their best to make education available to all children in their respective feeder areas. In this context, more admission to school is not only sufficient. It is equally important to adopt suitable, student-friendly teaching methods and to use modern technological equipment. While drawing the attention of all education professionals to this need, I would like to express my appreciation of the Non-formal and Special Education Branch of this Ministry which has helped in this study with great commitment and also of the Provincial Education Departments which have provided much valuable assistance. I would also like to express my thankfulness to UNICEF for sponsoring this study and to CENWOR for handling it. Bandula Gunawardane Minister of Education iii Message of the Hon. Deputy Minister of Education This study, covering several selected Education Divisions in the country to ascertain the causes for and the background in which some children of school-going age avoid school and also as to why having entered the school stream some children leave prematurely, addresses a very important and timely need. In spite of the availability of wide facilities in the formal education system, it is evident that there is a section in our society that is unable to reap the intended benefits from this system. Several factors underlying this situation have been identified in this study which also includes some proposals to improve the situation. The Sri Lankan government, which is committed to the concept of ‘Education for All’, considers making education facilities available to these children who have dropped out from the system as an important responsibility. It is thus necessary to act to make both formal and non-formal education opportunities available for this purpose. I would like to express my thankfulness to the Non-formal and Special Education Branch of the Ministry of Education for their commitment to this cause, to UNICEF for sponsoring this study, and to CENWOR for conducting it. It is my wish that it will be possible for all to benefit from our education system by 2015. Gamini Vijith Vijayamuni Zoysa Deputy Minister of Education iv Message of Hon. Mohan Lal Grero the Monitoring MP for Education When people possess the advantage of literacy they become empowered; they are open to the world and will be encouraged to be vigilant about their fundamental rights. At the same time, a high literacy rate reflects the progress achieved in the country’s development process. Sri Lanka’s literacy rate compares well with that of the other South Asian countries. The contribution of school education to this commendable achievement is praiseworthy. Nevertheless, it is seen that still there are children who remain outside the education stream and also children who leave the education stream prematurely. In our efforts to achieve 100 percent literacy by 2015, this lagging group cannot be ignored. In this context, the study, which sought to provide an insight to the living conditions and the factors that contributed to their failure to benefit from the country’s educational system, is extremely timely. It is hoped to use this findings of this study in future education planning and policy decisions. I would therefore like to make use of this opportunity to express my respectful thankfulness to all who made this study possible. Mohan Lal Grero Monitoring MP of Education v Message of the Secretary to the Ministry of Education There is a need for further special programmes to ensure a literacy of rate of 100 percent in Sri Lanka. Since we are working towards this target by 2015, it is our responsibility to ensure that a higher literacy rate is reached in all categories of persons—the young, adults and the old. In our endeavor to achieve this target, the survey that has been conducted with UNICEF sponsorship will shed light on many aspects of the problem at hand. By analysing the results of this study, effective planning to achieve ‘Education for All’ will be facilitated. According to this study, among the important factors that keep some children away from the school system are poverty, distance to school, low education level of parents and difficulty in satisfying special needs. It is our responsibility to get to grips with these problems and seek plausible solutions. Education for all is a matter that should receive the attention of the general body of citizens. I would like to take this opportunity to offer my thanks to UNICEF for providing financial sponsorship, to CENWOR for conducting the survey, to the Provincial Education Departments for making the relevant information available, and the Non-formal and Special Education Branch of this Ministry for discharging, coordinating, directing and supervising activities effectively with a great sense of responsibility. S.M. Gotabhaya Jayaratne Secretary Ministry of Education vi Message of the Additional Secretary, Education Quality Development Non-formal Education provides educational opportunities to children, young people and elders who are confronted with difficulties and who couldn’t make use of appropriate educational opportunities from the formal school. I sincerely appreciate the conduct of a survey study by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with UNICEF in the Education Divisions selected by CENWOR. In this survey study, central attention has been paid to identify reasons as to why children in the age of compulsory education do not attend the school and to come up with proposals to address the issue. The factors like economic difficulties, education for parents being at a low level, unavailability of permanent residencies, unavailability of nearby schools, being with special needs have been identified by this study as reasons for students not attending school. Here, the need of undertaking a special course of action by the government in providing education to students with difficulties of this nature has been emphasized. Accordingly, the need for broadening educational opportunities to all children, creating awareness among parents, enhancing health facilities within the school, providing the students with special needs with appropriate equipment and facilities, implementing productive education programs with the proper coordination of Governmental and Non-governmental organizations and monitoring educational programs without any interruption has been identified by this survey study. It is my expectation to take measures to provide education for all by means of implementing education programs of high quality as per the needs of relevant areas through the analysis of information relevant to Non-formal Education sector. I would like to express my heartfelt thanks to Non-formal & Special Education Branch under the Ministry of Education, to UNICEF and CENWOR for the efforts made to conduct the survey study successfully. H.U Premathilake Additional Secretary (Education Quality Development) Ministry of Education vii Message of the Director of Education, Non-formal & Special Education Branch Directing all students in the age of compulsory education (5 – 14 years) to education is a policy of the government. However, only 98% of students are admitted to the formal school out of the qualified owing to different reasons. Our overriding aim is to guide to education all the children belonging to the rest of 2%, through formal or non-formal education. In implementing this process, it has been possible to acquire the information necessary to channel the group referred to above who are out of the education stream towards the system through a survey study conducted jointly by the Ministry of Education and UNICEF in the Education Divisions selected by CENWOR. This survey has revealed reasons for children in the age of compulsory education are out of education stream. Further, in this study, an emphasis has been given to a special area to be undertaken in addressing this issue. Accordingly, a need has been identified for further broad implementation of activities undertaken at present under Non-formal Education such as surveys at Provincial level, basic literacy programs, functional literacy programs, adult literacy programs, programs to enhance personality, vocational training programs, consultancy programs and awareness programs. It is my main intention to take possible measures to reach the target of 100% of Education for All by 2015 by mobilizing required human and financial resources.