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by Kushani Ratnayake

Introducing history as a subject in secondary schools is favoured by the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Human Resources Development, Education and Cultural Affairs.

History was removed from the school syllabus in 1994 and was taught in schools combined with Social Studies. "In November 2002 after having a meeting with the educationists we decided to have history as a separate subject from year one, we thought that it will be better to introduce the subject from early years" a spokesman for the Education Ministry said.

"Children should learn the history of our country, and according to the educationists we should enlighten children about our heritage and culture, this will help mould the child morally. The significant effects of introducing a history of over 2500 will enable the child to have some kind of an idea about what their forefathers have done for the benefit of our country," he said. "History will be introduced to the school syllabus as a separate subject from year 1 to 13. From year one to year five history will be related like a story in the textbooks so that students can learn it very easily and it will be interesting for them to learn the subject in a story telling way, whereas from year 5 to 13 there will be detailed information".

The Ministry will also set up museums at provincial level to assist schoolchildren and undergraduates who study history as a subject. History and literature belonging to each province will be illustrated in pictures and will be displayed in these museums for the benefit of the schoolchildren.

At present there are History Departments in the state universities but very limited number of undergraduates select history as a subject for their basic degree. The main reason for this situation he said is that most of the graduates who study history as a subject hardly get any employment due to the vast gap between the job market requirements and the university syllabus.

"In past years history was related as a story by the elders of the family but now the situation has changed. Parents do not have the time to relate stories to their children. It is through the education system that one must introduce history. Having it as a subject from grade one will help students to have a vast knowledge when they leave school", he said. "Although history was removed from the School syllabus in 1994 it was taught combined with Social Studies. This was not enough for the students. Parents and educationists complained about the plight to the Ministry. Therefore we thought of re-introducing history as a separate subject.

"In this case each child will get the opportunity of learning history in schools and also get the patriotic feelings," he said. "Today children do not know about their past, where they came from. Though we live in the new millennium we cannot forget our history, what we inherited from our forefathers who once saved the country and about other religions and people, since this is a multinational country, and about temples, ruins and other important events that had occurred".

"In Sri Lanka, particularly the younger generation is thoroughly unaware of the history of their motherland, leaving alone the history of the world. This is mainly because for many years in the recent past history was not taught as a separate subject in schools" Dr.Lorna Devaraja said.

"If one is unaware of the history of one's motherland he will cease to be a patriotic citizen and will attach no value at all to his country's culture, tradition and heritage. The knowledge of the history of one's motherland forms the base of the culture of that land. Thus it is high time that Sri Lankan history be re-introduced as an individual subject to all school students at least till the G.C.E Ordinary Level examination.

"With no understanding of the past, the country's youth have no vision of the future and will live in an impoverished and uncertain present. In America, even medical students have to learn history. They only have a 200-year old history. Japan despite its technological advancement attaches great importance in its school curriculum to the teaching of Japanese and world history. History can be taught in pre-schools, by showing pictures and relating historical events as stories to children. One can make it an interesting subject, teachers can educate children by taking them on field visits," she said. "Teaching history from pre-school level will give children the foundation or the background and the child will have a fair knowledge on the subject.

According to Dr. Ratnajeevan Hoole, Professor of Electrical Engineering at the Peradeniya University, in Grade six and seven Tamil textbooks there have been some parts where they have accidentally included wrong information on history. "Especially when it comes to religious history one should be more careful about the facts, myths and legends. If they are going to introduce history to secondary schoolchildren it is favourable to be sure of the facts, myths or legends," he said.

Introducing history in secondary schools is a good concept, but one should be careful to teach the correct facts. I believe that today, lot of racism is taught with history. When teaching children one should be more careful; if the foundation is wrong, the child can get a wrong impression of other races of the country. Conflict situations can occur because of this. As for my point of view it will be more appropriate if an outsider can write on our history. We badly need a foreign scholar to write about the history of the country, he explained.

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