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| Saturday, 3 January 2004 |
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Commission proposes New Education Act by Manjula Fernando The National Education Commission (NEC) in a document outlining its policy proposals to the Government has recommended that the existing 1939 Education Act should be replaced with a new development oriented, simple and broadbased Act to meet current challenges. Presenting the report, 'Proposals for a National Policy Framework on General Education in Sri Lanka', at Isurupaya yesterday, NEC Chairman Prof. R.P. Gunawardena said: "The existing Act is outdated, not applicable and irrelevant to the current needs." He said it was necessary to include new areas to the proposed Education Act to meet emerging challenges and all relevant aspects in the existing legislature should be incorporated in the new Act. The proposals were handed over to Education Minister Dr. Karunasena Kodituwakku, Tertiary Education and Training Minister Kabeer Hasheem and School Education Minister Suranimala Rajapakse at Isurupaya yesterday. The first copy of the report has already been handed over to President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. The proposals have been prepared following a sectoral review on general education in Sri Lanka during 2002/2003 to ascertain its current status and to plan another phase in national education policy reforms. The review has recognised extreme politicisation of the system at all levels as the reason for the overall inefficiency and ineffectiveness of the country's education system. "This has happened gradually over the past 50 to 60 years," Prof. Gunawardena said. It has suggested a single Minister to handle the entire subject of education. It has also recommended that the expenditure on education should be increased from the current three per cent GDP to at least four per cent to improve equity and quality in education in the State sector. Sri Lanka expenditures on education as a percentage of GDP is one of the lowest in the region. Prof. Gunawardena said the commission also recommends the Government should increase its expenditure on education, as a proportion of total Government expenditure, from the current nine per cent to 12 per cent in the next three years, to reach about 15 per cent in the long-term. The report has observed: "Unless the Government set targets and develop a strategy to increase public finances to education the much talked about quality improvement in education will remain a distant goal." The report has also made recommendations to improve schools structure, introduce new laws to ban private tuition classes by teachers during school hours, compulsory education for children from five to 16 years and improving education governance and teacher education. The Education Minister thanked the NEC for the in-depth analysis of the current state in the education sector noting that this report would be a good foundation to rectify the shortcomings. Education Ministry Secretary V.K. Nanayakkara, School Education Ministry Secretary H. Sirisena, National Schools Director H.P. Geeganage and Commissioner of Appeals R.B. Amarakoon were also present. |
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