English medium education to be improved

Dharma Sri Abeyratne

COLOMBO: The Ministry of Education has taken initiatives to regulate the English education system in Government schools aiming to upgrade standard of English medium education which could meet the modern educational trends in the world, Additional Secretory to the Ministry of Education W. Dharmadasa said.

Under this project the Ministry of Education has commenced a training programme for 450 teachers who are capable of teaching all subjects in English medium. According to statistics there are around 450 Government schools at which all subjects are taught in English medium from Grade Six to Grade Eleven.

In terms of the National Education Policy in Sri Lanka, primary education should definitely be in National Languages, Ministry of Education sources said. "Therefore English medium education is available from Grade Six while primary education is given in Sinhala or Tamil mediums" he added.

Moves are under way by the Ministry of Education to increase the number of schools which have necessary sources to conduct English medium classes. When selecting schools for this the Ministry of Education will consider students' eagerness, the teachers' availability and capability to teach all subjects in English.

Meanwhile the Ministry of Education has taken steps to increase the number of schools which can conduct Advanced Level streams in English Medium. The Ministry has already selected 50 schools to conduct Advanced Level classes in English medium and the teachers are being trained by the Ministry.