The way forward for Sri Lanka

Addressing International Day of Persons with Disabilities, Education Minister Susil Premajayantha said the Government is about to make education compulsory for all children between the age of five and 16. Minister Premajayantha said in 1998, an Act was passed making it compulsory for all children between the age of five and 14 to attend school. The latest rule will enable them to study up to Ordinary Level Examination.

The main intention of the Government is to increase the percentage of children who attend schools, up to 100 per cent which is only 98 per cent at present.

This is one of the excellent decisions made by the Government because education is a must for every human being. Without education, there is no difference between human being and a beast.

Therefore this is a blessing for all Sri Lankans especially for the future generation. Without an educated population no country can march forward.

Making education compulsory up to the age of 16 is very timely. It is because more and more children prefer to drop out from school before their Ordinary Level Examination not because of poverty but for certain other reasons. When it comes to girls they drop out from schools due to marriage, getting pregnant and similar problems while boys drop out from school to get into odd jobs not because they need money but due to the environment they live. According to a teacher attached to one of the Government primary schools in the Bandaragama Educational Zone, some boys are not interested in schooling even up to grade eight because they already have a job in their hand, such as driving three wheelers of their fathers.These segments can be curtailed by the new law.

Sri Lanka’s literacy rate stands high among the other countries in the region. According to the Human Development Report 2008, the adult literacy rate of Sri Lanka stands above 90 per cent. The country achieved this status a long time ago. This is a very good indication of the level of education of Sri Lanka.

Youth literacy rate is around 97 per cent. The rate of children reaching grade 5 is almost 92 per cent. But when it comes to gender, still there is a difference. Male adult literacy rate is 92.5 per cent and female adult literacy rate is only 89.1 per cent.

Education is the base of human life. But the majority of us see only one side of the importance of education. It is the qualifications that one can acquire and its benefits. But it is very interesting to analyse how education makes a difference in a human being. Educated people have an idea about justice and thereby demand for it. There is a direct connection between social justice and education.

It is education what matters all the time for a human being. There is a huge difference between literate and an illiterate. Being with an educated person is a blessing.

Associating with an educated person becomes a blessing because they can understand things very easily and often educated people see all the sides of a story.

They can be biased but it is because their own policy and not because they are not see the other side of the story. Anyone can explain anything to them because they are very good listeners. No one can cheat them because they know almost everything to a certain extent. Educated people are methodical and less violent.

When it comes to crimes most of criminals do not have a sound education. This does not mean that educated persons do not commit crimes. Some of them can commit crimes in a very intelligent way. But generally less educated people commit more crimes. Uneducated people can be misled very easily and are not intelligent enough to judge something himself or herself. Because of this uneducated people always depend on others for almost everything.

This type of persons always live with suspicion because they feel insecure. Because of this they cannot make use of their strengths and talents. They can be very easily fooled.

There are differences in education when it comes to gender. Still there are persons who think that higher education is for men. And women should end their education as soon as possible. Some persons see higher education as a disqualification for young women. There is a saying in Sinhala culture to describe a son and a daughter. It says `Kata athi puthai, Ruwa athi duwai’ which means a son with courage and intelligence and a pretty daughter. But the time has come to make education compulsory for both son and daughter no matter how beautiful she is. This is the way forward for Sri Lanka.