Sri Lanka - Institut de statistique de l'Unesco

Out-of-School Children in Sri Lanka: Country Study
and Sabaragamuwa Provinces only around 50 percent of schools had access to water from
either source. Of all schools in the country, 73.6 percent had student toilets, ranging from a high
of 93.9 percent in Western Province to a low of 64.9 percent in North Central Province. Access
to electricity was available in 80.9 percent of schools countrywide, ranging from in 97.5 percent
in Western Province to 59.0 percent Northern Province. Telephone facilities were grossly
inadequate in all provinces, with only 32.8 percent of schools having this facility. Laboratories
for GCE O Level studies were available in 26.9 percent of schools and science rooms in
another 16.9 percent. Schools in Western (32.4 percent), Southern (33.0 percent), North
Western (33.4 percent) and Uva (34.9 percent) Provinces had percentages higher than the
national average with regard to laboratories, while again Northern Province (17.2 percent) was
the lowest. On the whole, distribution of essential facilities does not appear to be equitable,
although the situation has improved when compared with 2008 data.
Jayaweera and Gunawardena’s (2009) study showed that essential amenities such as safe
water, separate toilets and electricity were not available in 35 percent of the 80 conflict-affected
schools they sampled. More than 30 percent lacked science laboratories, workshops, computer
centres, playgrounds, school gardens and telephones. Principal’s quarters and teachers’
quarters, which can attract teachers to schools even in remote locations, were not available in
more than 70 percent of schools. There were evident disparities between schools in Colombo
district and more disadvantaged districts such as Nuwara Eliya, Moneragala, Jaffna, Vavuniya
and Ampara. The quality of infrastructure also differed between more privileged schools (1AB
and 1C) and Type 2 and 3 schools. Fifty percent of schools in conflict- and tsunami-affected
communities needed improvement. Furthermore, Little (2003) highlighted the lack of housing
for teachers in plantation schools, and the cramped working conditions for students and
teachers. Gunawardane and Jayaweera (2004) found that ‘lack of sufficient classrooms’ and
‘lack of playing facilities’ were factors in the non-attendance of children in the schools that they
sampled.
Teacher deployment and training
Teacher supply also impacts exclusion and dropout from school. MOE et al. (2009) found that
the lack of an adequate number of teachers in a school and the absence of a guidance and
counselling teacher were linked to dropout. High teacher absenteeism is another challenge
faced by the education system (World Bank, 2005). The highest rates of teacher understaffing
occur in economically disadvantaged rural communities, which typically have less voice and
less power.
Gunawardane and Jayaweera (2004) indicated that, among other things, lack of teachers for
some subjects and transfer of teachers without replacements were factors likely to increase
dropout in affected schools. Jayaweera and Gunawardena (2009) found that insufficiency of
teachers was experienced mostly by Grade 5 children in Type 2 and Type 3 schools and by
Grade 9 children in Type 2 schools. A shortage of teachers at primary level was experienced in
the districts of Matara (Southern) and Vavuniya (Northern) and, at secondary level, in the
districts of Batticaloa (Eastern), Moneragala (Uva) and Nuwara Eliya (Sabaragamuwa). Perera
et al. (2003) found that, for Grades 6–9, severe shortages of teachers were experienced by all
school types in three subjects: health, aesthetic studies, and technical studies. Teacher
shortage was more pronounced in Type 2 and 1C schools. Arunatilake (2005) attributed lower
participation in education by Sri Lankan Tamil, Indian Tamil and Muslim children when
compared to Sinhalese children to teacher shortages in Tamil-medium schools.
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