Sri Lanka - Institut de statistique de l'Unesco

Out-of-School Children in Sri Lanka: Country Study
1.6 Methodology
The objectives of this study are as follows.
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To improve statistical information and analysis on OOSC.
To examine the factors that determine exclusion of children from school.
To review existing policies and programmes related to increasing participation in education.
The focus is on children in the 5DE.
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Children of pre-primary school age who are not in pre-primary or primary school
Children of primary school age who are not in primary or secondary school
Children of lower secondary school age (to 14 years) 3 who are not in primary or secondary
school
Children in primary school who are at risk of dropping out
Children in lower secondary school who are at risk of dropping out
This study had two components: (i) collection and analysis of macro-level and secondary data for
the global initiative as laid out in the CMF; and (ii) the conducting of a field study on
disadvantaged communities and analysis of field data.
Macro-level quantitative data on the education of children were available from administrative
records and household surveys conducted by the Department of Census and Statistics (DCS),
the Central Bank of Sri Lanka and the World Bank. In addition, official reports from relevant
divisions of the MOE, the National Child Protection Authority and the Department of Probation
and Child Care were used to gather information on enrolment, retention, attendance, dropout,
repetition, performance, teacher availability, school facilities and infrastructure, and educational
expenditure.
Qualitative data were also collected from secondary sources such as micro-level studies on
vulnerable children and their participation in education, children with disabilities, child labour,
poverty, access to social protection, impact of disaster and conflict, teacher deployment and
performance, and other information relevant to non-schooling and children at risk of dropping out
to help explain the 5DE profiles that emerged from national statistics.
The field study focused on children whose characteristics are associated with inequality and
marginalization in education. A total of 316 households with OOSC were purposefully selected in
12 locations of the nine provinces, representing urban, rural, agriculture, estate, fishing and
conflict-affected communities. The sample comprised 121 key informants, 48 principals, 316
parents/caregivers, 400 OOSC and 69 children in school who were considered at risk of dropping
out; they were interviewed and/or took part in focus group discussions.
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According the Education Act, compulsory education is defined as 5–14 years.
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