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Out-of-School Children in Sri Lanka: Country Study as at risk, had interests, for example, in drawing and practical work, which did not receive adequate, or any, support. One child, Sudhir, described his experience in joining a new school. Sudhir explained, “Due to a quarrel at home, my mother took us to my grandmother’s house at Illupadichenai and put me in school there. As I was new to the school, I did not know what to do and was a bit afraid. Teachers would start the lesson as soon as they entered the classroom, and not take any interest in my situation. I did not understand what was being taught and could not answer my homework. Since I could not do my work properly, the teachers would scold and beat me. I hated lessons and could not score good marks on tests. I did not like school.” Disability Another supply-side barrier to the inclusion of every child in school is the issue of appropriate schooling for children with disabilities. Disability appears to be an issue that prevents a substantial number of children from enrolling and continuing their education. The Child Activity Survey 2008/09 found that ‘disability/illness’ was the second highest reason given for non-attendance, with 13.0 percent of girls and 10.8 percent of boys reporting this (DCS, 2011c). DCS (2003) revealed that a large proportion (31.7 percent) of the disabled population had never attended school. As Mendis (2004) points out, more disabled females than males had never attended school. The proportions of disabled students attending school in 2000 were 59.5 percent for boys and 40.5 percent for girls. The Association of Women with Disabilities claims that one third of respondents to an unpublished study it conducted in 2009 reported that disability was the main reason for their non-schooling or early dropout. Saddhananda (2001) found that it is not easy for those with disabilities to enter the school system and there are few facilities for them to obtain an education. There is a scarcity of schools for the blind, and an inadequacy of teachers with competency in sign language. Lack of proper alternative facilities in educational institutions and provision of Braille equipment and audio tapes, etc., and insufficiency of teachers trained in inclusive education hamper the translation of inclusive education policies into practice. Ahuja and Mendis (2002) found that teachers very rarely identified children with disabilities as being within the Special Educational Needs Group. Instead, they focused on children with psychological, social and economic problems such as those whose parents were migrant workers or were poor, or those who had alcoholic fathers or other difficult circumstances. Teachers were of the opinion that children with disabilities should be placed in Special Education Units and had no place in the ‘normal’ classroom. Gunawardena’s (2009) study found that the identification of slow learners appears to be based solely on class assessment without any reference to the Standard Assessment carried out on entry to school. Zonal directors responding in this study attributed 63.6 percent of the responsibility for slow learning to school factors, while 21.7 percent of students felt the conflict had influenced their slow learning. The supply-side factors identified as associated with slow learning and children with special needs were (i) lack of human and physical resources; (ii) poor attendance by principals, teachers, and in-service advisers; and (iii) negative attitudes by principals and teachers. 42
Out-of-School Children in Sri Lanka: Country Study Disability emerged as an indicator of non-enrolment in the field survey for this study (see Annex 2). The following descriptions indicate how children had been affected by various disabilities. Farooque, a nine-year-old boy from Puttalam, cannot speak, cannot walk, his hands and legs do not function, and his mental faculties are impaired. He has a brother with similar disabilities. Neither has ever been enrolled in school. Prasad, a 15-year-old boy from Moneragala, has been mentally challenged since birth. He has never been to school. Yasas, an 18-year-old from Nuwara Eliya, never went to school, as he has a serious speech impediment with acute stammering. He uses both his hands to express himself. His parents and sister understand him easily. His parents did not know about speech therapy, although this could have helped Yasas to a certain extent. They did not have the time, money or awareness to take Yasas to Kandy or Colombo for treatment. Dravid, a 12-year-old boy from Badulla, fell sick and both his legs became paralysed. “I am unable to walk. I cannot play like other children. I cannot go to school. I have no friends. Someone has to carry me but it is not easy because I am fat. If the school were closer to my house, I could perhaps go and study.” Clearly, disability is not the only cause of non-enrolment for children with disabilities. Even when children with disabilities could have received some form of education, family poverty or parental lack of knowledge or some other circumstance has prevented them from doing so. Impact on 5DE Supply-side barriers that strongly correlate with the exclusion of children from education include disparities in basic school facilities, variable availability of services and teachers, poor quality teachers and teaching processes, and lack of educational provisions for children with disabilities. Children in Dimension 1 are heavily impacted by inadequate numbers of affordable ECD centres, particularly in rural areas. They also experience variable quality of teaching as a result of untrained ECD facilitators. Children in Dimension 2 are mainly impacted by the lack of adequate numbers of primary schools, particularly in rural areas and conflict-affected districts. Furthermore, the poor quality or lack of facilities for teachers and students discourage children from enrolling in school. Deficiencies in the teaching–learning process and harsh punishments can also deter children from entering school. The poor coverage of secondary schools, particularly in rural areas, and the lack of appropriate amenities and teaching staff result in large numbers of children in Dimension 3 being excluded from school. Children in Dimensions 4 and 5 are most affected by poor quality facilities and poor teaching–learning processes. Corporal punishment and poor teacher behaviour are most likely to impact these children, and are often cited as reasons for dropout. 43
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Sri Lanka - Institut de statistique de l'Unesco

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