Sri Lanka Human Development Report 2012.pdf

Figure 4.2: Distribution of Out-of-pocket Expenditure on Education, 2006-2007
Source: Arunatilake and Jayawardena 2011
Equitable Access to Quality Education
The 1990 World Declaration on Education for All
emphasized equitable access to quality education for
everyone. 151 Over the years, Sri Lanka has taken several
education measures to improve access to quality education
for all, irrespective of socioeconomic background. 152 These
have resulted in universal primary education 153 and the
access of most children to the junior secondary cycle.
After the primary level, however, participation rates fall
and diverge. While the enrolment rate for junior secondary
education ranges from 90 to 94 percent across most of the
country, it was only 84 percent for estates in 2009-2010.
An overall fall-off began at the upper secondary level, with
net enrolment at 80.6 percent for the country. Girls had
a slightly higher enrolment rate than boys: 82 percent
compared to 79 percent, respectively.
The disparity in access to upper secondary education was
greatest on estates, where only 54 percent of children were
enrolled, compared to 86 and 81 percent for urban and
rural areas, respectively. Across provinces, enrolment at
this level was lowest in the Northern Province, the main
scene of prolonged conflict, reaching only 70 percent,
followed by the North Western and Central provinces. It
was highest in Sabaragamuwa and Southern provinces, at
87 percent in both cases (Table 4.5).
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sri lanka Human Development report 2012