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| Tuesday, 6 July 2004 |
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Free education in Sri Lanka by W. T. A. Leslie Fernando Every year a good share of national expenditure in the Budget is set apart for education. This is because the State in Sri Lanka provides free education from kindergarten to the University. What is the effect of free education today? Could the State further afford free education to all the students irrespective of the income level of their parents? The British who subjugated the whole of Sri Lanka in 1815 brought about drastic changes in the social structure in the country. Their benevolent despotism no doubt brought about some material benefits and economic gains. Nevertheless the British domination made the majority of people vagabonds and outcasts in their own country. Waste Lands Ordinance The British broke the backbone of the Sinhala peasant by confiscating their lands under the Waste Lands Ordinance. They converted agricultural economy in Sri Lanka to mainly a plantation economy. They enthroned English and Sinhala, was treated as the language of the kitchen. As in most other colonies, the British made use of Christian missionaries for their imperial designs. The higher education which was in English became the prerogative of the rich. High fees were charged for English education which was the gateway for high positions in private and public sector. The imperial regime provide every opportunity for Christmas missionaries to dominate in the sphere of education. They in turn imparted Western way of life and trained people to be loyal to the British. In the beginning of the 20th century it was found that a minority of elite conversant in English were suppressing the majority in Sri Lanka. It was in this background that in early 1930's, a special committee on education headed by Dr. C.W.W. Kannangara recommended free education to provide equal opportunities to all. The education Bill that contained the free education scheme was obstructed from the beginning. It was delayed for years at the Legal Draftsman's Department and in the process of including it in the agenda in the State Council. When at last Dr. C.W.W. Kannangara presented the Bill on May 30, 1944 it was vehemently opposed by the vested interests. The opponents of free education did everything possible to sabotage the free education scheme. In this endeavour they were backed by the then Catholic Church and the national press. Dr. C.W.W. Kannangara anticipated such opposition and he was ready to meet them. Some of the opponents of free education, specially the Catholic Church suggested scholarships to poor students selected by a competitive examination. This would have been mere patchwork to maintain the status quo. The affluent with money, influence and better English would have easily outrivalled the poor in various fields. Dr. C.W.W. Kannangara and other sponsors of free education were too clever to be trapped in that manner. There were some others who lamented that there would be no youth to pluck the yield in their estates. That was the very type of inequality of opportunity that the free education scheme aimed to eliminate. Dr. C.W.W. Kannangara and his supporters carried out a vigorous and sensational campaign all over the country. They held meetings and answered all the arguments levelled against the scheme. They explained the benefits of free education to masses and generated a strong public opinion in its favour. Dr. C.W.W. Kannangara then won over the majority members of that august assembly and saw the free education scheme passed in the State Council. Pearl of Great Price The free education scheme called the Pearl of Great Price brought about a social revolution in Sri Lanka. It opened wide the doors of higher education which was in English to the poor. Education was made free from kindergarten to the University. The poor but clever students who earlier had only a bleak future could now reap the benefits of higher education. Today as a result of free education, there are University Dons, administrative officers, doctors, engineers, accountants, architects, lawyers and judges who hail from among the poor and humble citizens in this country. However his victory on free education was a personal disaster to Dr. C.W.W. Kannangara. When he contested Matugama seat in 1947 elections held two years after he introduced the free education scheme he had to fight the election with his back to the wall. The Leftists were influential in Matugama but they opposed him because he was the UNP candidate. The UNP gave only lukewarm support to him because he was the Father of free education. The opponents of free education on the other hand pooled all their resources, spent money and resorted to everything possible to defeat him. Ultimately Dr. C.W.W. Kannangara lost the Matugama seat to Wilmot A. Perera an independent socialist. The defeat of Dr. C.W.W. Kannangara was a severe blow to the progress of education in our country. As a result his far-sighted plans like vocational courses in education to further technological knowledge, and taking over of denominational schools were all shelved. In 1952 elections, Dr. C.W.W. Kannangara was returned to Parliament as the member for Agalawatta. But the vested interests saw to it that he was not made the Minister of Education. The opponents of free education did not stop at that. They set up private institutions charging high fees that provided education in English with better facilities employing highly qualified teachers to provide better opportunities for the privileged to compete with poor children benefitted by free education. Ironically at the death of Dr. C.W.W. Kannangara in 1969, one of the directors of such institutions went to the extent of suggesting that Royal College should be named 'Kannangara Maha Vidyalaya'. He was benumbed when J.R. Jayewardene quipped "Why not your institution which bears a foreign name be named after Dr. Kannangara?" The schools take over in 1960 was another landmark in education. This no doubt was a step in the right direction. In 1939, Christians both Catholics and other sects who comprised only 6.25 per cent of the population obtained 73.2 of the Government grant for denominational schools, whereas Buddhists, Hindus and Muslims who constituted 93.7 of the population received only balance 26.3 of the grant. The abortive coup in 1962 has been interpreted as a move orchestrated by those vested interests affected by the schools take over. Although the Catholic Church opposed schools take over it was indeed a blessing to the poor Catholics. Before schools take over, it was rarely a son of a poor fisherman or a carpenter could enter the University from a prestigious Catholic school. Now you could see higher education has reached the poorest of the poor Catholics. This is evident from Puttalam District that has the largest Catholic percentage in Sri Lanka. Every year so many from the poor pass out as professionals in the District. Free education scheme Whatever the faults of the educational system like the necessity for tuition, preferential treatment to prestigious schools, political interference and corruption, still you could see the free education scheme yielding results for the benefit of the poor. Nevertheless you could see the powers that tried to sabotage free education six decades ago are at it again. Now they set up International Schools that come up like mushrooms and branches of private schools that charge lakhs on admissions in the name of donations. They are a real threat to free education. Before the free education scheme was implemented vernacular education was free but you had to pay for higher education which was in English. Today to with the expansion of institutions to meet the international standards the knowledge of English has become the gateway for job opportunities for the public and private sector. In time to come students from International School and private schools with better English and other facilities would be placed in a better position than the beneficiaries of free education. What would be the solution to this anomalous situation? The fact that so much International schools and private schools thrive shows that there are so many parents in Sri Lanka who could well afford to pay for their childrens' education. The Government could limit free education only to the needy and charge students whose parents come above a certain income level. The funds so saved could be used to improve backward schools to avoid the rush for prestigious schools in the cities. The setting up of International schools are illegal under the Schools Take Over Act but they take cover under the Business Registration Act. It is well known that our Courts do an allow to circumvent Rent Restriction Act by letting houses on leases. In the same way the Government should not allow International schools to circumvent the Law. The private schools that extract exorbitant funds in the guise of donations should be absorbed into the state system conferring the religious authorities right to have religious instructions according to the percentage of the children who profess that religion. This would be a great relief to those low middle class parents, who sell and mortgage their property or send spouses to middle-east to raise funds for donations on admission of their children for prestigious schools. Re-organisation and re-orientation In any event the present education structure needs re-organisation and re-orientation for the benefit of the masses. In this process International schools and private schools should be regularised or absorbed into the state system. The present Minister of Education, President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga like her mother, has shown indomitable courage in affairs of State. Her Deputy Ministers of Education are Dinesh Gunawardena and Mangala Samaraweera who always have the interest of the poor at heart. All the three should make a combined effort to make education meaningful to the people at large. (The writer is a former High Court Judge) |
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