Sri Lanka Human Development Report 2012.pdf

Many problems and inequities are graver in conflictaffected
areas, where several hundred thousand families
have been displaced from their homes, and children have
been forced to leave schools. Many have been exposed to
violence, lost family members, become disabled, lived for
extended periods in welfare centres, and suffered physical
and emotional traumas. Education facilities have been
damaged, repairs and maintenance have not kept pace,
and teacher shortages continue unabated. 159
With the end of the conflict, government education
authorities at all levels, with support from the United
Nations and other local and international agencies, have
worked to uphold children’s right to education in conflictaffected
areas. Almost all schools have reopened, and a
recent census in the Northern Province found that 90.9
percent of children required to go to school were now
doing so. 160 The quality of education is still an issue; it will
take time to resolve. In conflict affected areas, UNICEF
Box 4.1
The Education Sector Development Framework and Programme 2006-2010
The Education Sector Development Framework and
Programme strategy was developed on the basis of a sectorwide
approach. 162 It paves the way for sustained development
of the sector by mainstreaming and coordinating external
donor investments with government budgeting at the central,
provincial and school levels. Bottom-up planning gives a
greater focus to the needs of schools.
Key initiatives and achievements under different dimensions
of the programme include:
Promote equitable access to basic education (grades 1-9)
and secondary education (grades 10-13).
• Provision of school meals to primary school children in
poor areas: In 2008, the programme covered 6,024
schools, benefitting 575,745 children. The extension of
school feeding activities to primary grades in the Northern
and Eastern provinces started in 2009.
• Delivery of special education programmes for children with
special learning needs.
• Non-formal education programs for non-school-going
children and adolescents included surveying and identifying
non-school-going children, providing facilities and training
staff.
• The number of out-of-school children declined by
approximately 68,000 against the target of 50,000 (a
146 percent achievement).
• The passage of students through the compulsory basic
education cycle continuously improved from 78 percent
in 2005 to 91 percent in 2010, against the programme
target of 88 percent.
Improve the quality of education.
• Child-centered pedagogical methods were promoted. Both
curricula and teacher instructional manuals were revised
and updated for all grades.
• 110,501 in-service advisors were trained to help teachers
by providing practical guidance on pedagogy.
• There were significant improvements in the national
assessment of grade four students.
Enhance the economic efficiency and equity of resource
allocation and distribution within the education system.
• A medium-term budget framework was developed for
basic and secondary education.
• The Public Expenditure and Quality Education Tracking
System has been established to promote equity and
transparency in resource distribution. It tracks the flow
of expenditures to, and through, the various levels of the
central and provincial education system down to schools.
Theme 4: Strengthen education governance and service
delivery.
• The Government introduced a balanced-control model of
school-based management.
• Local communities, parents and guardians are able to
participate in school management and make the delivery
of school services more sensitive to the needs of local
children.
Source: Ministry of Education 2007, Aturupane 2009 and
The World Bank 2011b.
Chapter 4 Bridging Human Development Gaps: EDUCATION 69