Sri Lanka : Supporting Secondary Education Sector Improvement Program

Education / Secondary

In 2019, Sri Lanka was classified as a lower middle-income economy with a per capita income of $4,020, just under the upper middle-income category of $4,046. It faces macroeconomic challenges, with growth at an 18-year low (2.3% in 2019) and a budget deficit of 7.9% of gross domestic product (GDP). COVID-19 has exacerbated these challenges. Its impact is expected to contract GDP by 3.2-4.7% in 2020, disrupt labor markets, increase the deficit to over 10% of GDP, and sharply increase poverty. The government has so far contained the outbreak, with 2,511 confirmed cumulative cases and 11 deaths as of 12 July 2020.

Compared with other middle-income countries, Sri Lanka ranks high in access to primary and secondary education with gender parity at both levels. Despite high access, improving quality and labor market relevance of secondary education is a key issue. There is a mismatch between the graduates that the education system is producing and the needs of the labor market. Sri Lanka faces a shortage of trained workers. The unemployment rates among youth (21%) and women (7%) are higher than the national average of 4%. The percentage of youth not in employment, education, or training is 22% (29% for females, 14% for males).

Secondary education should play a key role in building the pipeline for post-secondary education and the labor market, but the Sri Lankan secondary education faces several challenges. One key challenge is the limited and inequitable access to STMC subjects in senior secondary schools. Only about a third of senior secondary students were enrolled in science and technology streams in 2018. This means that secondary education is not building a foundation in science and technology which form the basis of modern jobs. Inadequate quality and relevance of education also pose significant challenges. Secondary education learning outcomes are poor. The curricula are generally heavy on content and lack an inquiry-based approach and practical applications. Inadequate quality of teaching contributes to poor learning outcomes. The assessment system relies solely on high-stakes testing, associated with information recall, rather than analysis and problem-solving. Secondary education is not producing graduates with critical thinking, problem-solving, team work and communication skills that are needed to survive and thrive in the modern economy. The third key challenge includes the need to strengthen educational leadership and sector management capacity.

The COVID-19 outbreak has disrupted education delivery. Over 5.57 million learners have been affected by school and university closures across the country, of which 2.73 million are at secondary level. To minimize learning disruptions, the government has prepared a CERP for general education and employed e-learning platforms and/or classes through television. However, not all children and teachers have access to the devices, digital-based learning platforms, and connectivity required for distance education. Only 34.1% of Sri Lanka's population (ages 5-69 years) are able to use the internet. Many teachers lack practical experience in using such approaches effectively. Thus, the pandemic has exacerbated pre-existing challenges in education, including low learning outcomes and rural-urban inequity. The loss of learning will delay children's attainment of age-appropriate learning competencies, and as children are unable to keep pace with learning, more dropouts are likely.