Internationalisation of School Education

Dr. Siri Gamage

Continued from August 30

Further changes in the global and local environments occurred during the 1980s and 1990s.

These included the ethnic conflict, resistance by the radical Sinhalese party JVP, economic liberalization, privatization of state enterprises, globalisation, relaxation of emigration restrictions and encouragement of overseas employment, and expansion of private educational services offered by international organizations and/or their local counterparts.

As a result of the expansion of private educational services a view exists that the country is going back to the system which existed during the British colonial period (1796-1948) where a few could afford to pay the fees to attend elite schools , and a majority were excluded from access to high quality education provided by such schools.

In our country's educational system the education system that the English gave us during their rule, the Christian missionary schools, and the free education system initiated by Mr. Kannangara still exists in an unequal manner. The mixture of these different educational systems and patterns has contributed to make our society unequal.

To make things more complicated, along with the liberalized economy the newly introduced international school system and private education system, foreign education etc., is turning the social system upside down.

In fact the inequalities in education influenced the 1971 rebellion and 1988-89 (youth) unrest. (Hewage A.S. 1999: 7-8) In the next section, I briefly look at the educational scene that existed before and after the independence and the issues identified by educationists and other commentators.

From Colonial to Free Education - A Brief Account of the Changes & Inequalities According to Jayasuriya (1969), two dualities existed in the organization of the education system during the colonial period (1796-1948).

1. schools managed by the government and those managed by denominational bodies and private individuals, 2. schools under all management, divided along linguistic lines ie. according to the extent to which English or other local languages were used.

This created various inequities eg. money provided, quantity and quality of educational facilities, opportunities for higher education and employment. Jayasuriya states that the missionary education was encouraged and supported by the government while the traditional Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim schools were deprived of such support and encouragement. Government heavily subsidized education in English medium schools.

'The differential opportunities associated with the language medium, for higher education as well as for employment, added to the inequity of the system' (Jayasuriya 1969: 6).

Curricula

In 1939, there were 3575 schools in Ceylon. Out of this, only 35 were prestigious schools. One of them was a government school established in 1836, and others were Christian missionary schools. The curriculum in these schools inculcated Christian and English ideals in the young people and prepared them for employment in government and commercial establishments.

The decision to conduct the Cambridge Senior examination and the London Matriculation examination in Ceylon and to prepare students in the prestigious Ceylon schools for thee examinations contributed to the legitimacy of this curriculum. They were examinations popularly taken by English Public School students.

They emphasized literacy and academic skills, the requirements necessary for the university studies in Britain (Jayasuriya 1969: 7). Commenting further on the rest of schools in the country Jayasuriya states, The mass of schools for the most part set their sights on the curriculum of the prestigious schools, but their resources were so limited as to permit its adoption only in a greatly adulterated form that provided no intellectual stimulation at all while being at the same time socially irrelevant.

The seal was thus set on the separation of education from life, and the only saving grace was that the basic literacy which the curriculum provided was of some value. A few from among these ranks emerged as a Sinhalese educated or a Tamil educated elite, socially inferior to the English educated elite and with fewer opportunities for economic mobility, generally holding appointments as Sinhalese and Tamil teachers, or practising Eastern systems of medicine. (Jayasuriya 1969: 8).

There was much unhappiness and frustration about this situation among the masses in the 19th and early 20th century resulting in significant changes to the system. Silva puts this in following words: By the early twentieth century the society of Sri Lanka was a complex one: being composed of various religious and ethnic groups-Buddhists, Christians (of various denominations), Hindus and Muslims as well as the Sinhalese, Tamils, Moors, Malays and Burghers. A key factor here was that the largest ethno-religious group, the Sinhala Buddhists, found themselves in the early twentieth century as an educationally underprivileged group.

The situation could not last very long especially as the introduction of universal suffrage in 1931 and the winning of independence by the mid-century placed them in a politically dominant position.

In fact one of the themes of the history of education in Sri Lanka in the present century is the successful attempt of the Sinhala -Buddhist leaders to change the educational structure of the country so that their group would have at least equal opportunities with those of other religious and ethnic groups. (Silva 1979: 475)

There were significant changes to the system of educational organization, as well as the curriculum after Sri Lanka gained independence from Britain. However, the continuation of certain elements of the prestigious school system, its values and norms, and the process of elite formation dividing the emerging generations of Sri Lankans into two broad strata is also a distinguishing feature of this period, i.e. Anglicized vs. vernacular educated.

After centuries of colonial administration where certain segments of the society who could afford their children's western-oriented education, and the growing frustrations of those segments who missed out, free education was seen as a victory when it became government policy in around the time of independence in 1948.

Both at the school and university level, through various policy changes including affirmative action measures, large numbers of children from rural areas, lower classes and caste groups were able to access publicly funded educational institutions.

Many of them in fact achieved considerable social mobility by securing academic qualifications from these institutions and full employment mainly in the state sector.

They became a powerful force in Sri Lankan politics, economy, bureaucracy, academia, security forces and other sectors often in leadership roles. Universities were transformed from elitist to a mass level.

Changes

However, along with these changes which were more evident and visible in the 1970s, the quality and standards of education started to suffer and decline. Questions about the usefulness of the kind of education received (eg. knowledge, capabilities and skills) started to occupy the minds of those who witnessed the trend eg. business leaders in the private sector.

Recognition of qualifications obtained from the public education system became problematic, especially when it came to employment of new graduates in the private sector that started to enter a new phase in its evolution since late 70s.

There was politicization of the education system through interferences in key appointments. Under these circumstances, the meaning and utility of free education to the masses started to change.

Many school going children started to attend fee-charging private tuition classes during and outside school hours, adding to, and highlighting the woes of the public education system. Free public education doesn't hold the same promise to the children that it once held after the reforms effected around the time of independence to various segments of society that look to the government for the provision of quality education leading to better employment prospects.

Commenting on the situation, two social scientists stated, In this age of the post-welfare state, reform is long overdue in a system of education which has already rendered itself obsolete and of no particular use to its recipients either in terms of employment or personal development.

If the existing system of school and university education were to continue for the sake of preserving the concept of free education, its immediate victims would be the vast masses of persons of lower and middle class backgrounds, whose children are destined to receive a low-quality, sub-standard and goal-less education through the public education system.

The historical period in which free education served the social interests of the Sri Lankan masses has effectively come to an end. What remains, with power to grip the emotions and more people and students on to the streets, is the mythology of free education. (Abeysekera and Uyangoda 1997)

This shows how certain institutions and practices established in one historical context can become irrelevant in another, but the populace who use the services offered by such institutions continue to use them almost out of necessity but also due to the powerful ideologies and mythologies surrounding such practices. Ideologies and mythologies continue even after the use by dates of corresponding services has passed.

However, not all the people follow such mythologies. Many academics and business executives, parents-especially those from urbanized and higher social classes do understand the situation and look to alternatives beyond the public education system, and the fee-charging tuition classes run by local teachers.

In this situation, the introduction and expansion of international schools along with the economic liberalization policies of the centre-right government of 1977 was seen by some parents as a blessing in disguise as they provided a better education with better English language training and future job prospects.

The changing economic policies from the late 1970s opened up the private sector in the economy to international players. The economy and employment base started to expand. State, unlike before, couldn't fulfil its traditional role as the provider of employment. Yet, the larger population did not understand this.

They continue to see free education as a right - although many who go through it are led to a dead end. On the other hand, notwithstanding the costs involved in paying tuition and other fees, significant numbers of children started to access international educational institutions at school and university levels.

In this respect, two factors are important: 1. Ability of the public education system at school and university levels to absorb those who wish to obtain education. 'At the higher education level, Sri Lanka has the lowest participation rates in Asia, less than 3 percent of the age group, versus the Asian average of 8 percent' (The World Bank Report 1996: 2).

2. Opportunities available to those who cannot or do not wish to continue in the public system eg. Drop outs at various points eg. Ordinary level examinations (O/L), advance level examinations (A/L).

It is believed that a significant number of those who enter the private/international systems of education are those who don't continue in the public system for a variety of reasons including the quality, and the recognition accorded to the qualifications in the society at large.

Asian Tribune

To be continued