Different aspects of education

Title: Facets of Sri Lankan Education

Authors: S. Sandarasegaram and M. Karunanithy

Publisher: Kumaran Book House Publication

Pager: 205

Price: Rs. 900

‘Facets of Sri Lankan Education’ by Prof. Sandarasegaram and Dr. Karunanithy provides valuable insights into different aspects of education in general and facets of Sri Lankan education in particular. The book contains 14 chapters with the first six addressing aspects of education such as Education and Social Transformation and Bureaucracy in Education.

The authors, Professor S. Sandarasegaram, Dean of the Faculty of Education, University of Colombo and Dr. Karunanity, Director of National Education Research and Evaluation Center (NEREC), display the vast experience they have in the field of education in every chapter.

With years of research experience, the authors discuss several key issues arising from the educational sector in Sri Lanka from chapter seven to chapter twelve. Although the last two chapters specifically deal with educational problems in South Asia and the Third World, the bulk of them present a graphic account of how poverty settles in on account of former colonial policies and the current practices of multilateral organizations. The authors then go on to analyze the impact of poverty on education and well-being of the disadvantaged groups in such regions.

Chapter one concerns the role of education where schools at present are expected to depart from their conservative role in transmitting relatively static, cultural and traditional knowledge and skills. Instead what is expected from schools today is to become agents of social transformation and reform, building a new social order which is capable of taking up challenging and innovative tasks in the process of development.

While chapter two discusses the all important question of Education and Economic Development, chapter three focuses on education’s role in human resource development.

In chapter four, the authors show how bureaucracy can limit more participation of teachers and students in decision making drawing examples from Norway and Sweden where decentralization of education has given more powers to teachers and students.

The authors have also shown the importance of integrating research into teaching by university academics while highlighting the advantages of the concept of open learning for marginalized groups.

The book contains a very comprehensive account of the skills and the particular type of knowledge required in an ever-changing global labour market and how educational institutes in Sri Lanka should train personnel for such an environment. Though the book does not contain a separate chapter on globalisation and education, much of the analysis of the educational reforms and policies is presented from a theoretical framework of globalisation entering the educational sector. If fact, training of individuals with skills required to operate in a global labour market as opposed to producing individuals with traditional knowledge is termed as competitiveness-driven reforms.

The authors have discussed such matters quite adequately. They have also presented critical thoughts on improving teacher education and its relevance to an era of knowledge economy. What is of even more significance is the book’s chapters on education for disadvantaged communities with a special focus on the recent trends in the education of Indian minorities in Sri Lanka. Researchers looking for specific details and statistics related to the education of Indian minorities will find ample information and data for their specific studies in these chapters.

The book, as the authors have acknowledged in its preface, contains an assortment of articles written at various times on various issues in education and, therefore, seems to lack continuity. Furthermore, although the title says ‘Facets of Sri Lankan Education’, the book contains articles on aspects of Education which are not necessarily ‘Facets of Sri Lankan Education’.

Nevertheless, the book is of tremendous value not only for the foreign researcher who is in search of recently published books in English on educational development in a developing country like Sri Lanka but also the undergraduate as well as the postgraduate student engaged in educational studies in English medium.

Yet another attractive feature of the book is its appendices. These provide statistics of schools and students, related to various themes ranging from subjects learnt at school level to student performances and test results.

Looking for statistics and specific details while engaged in research is an arduous task. The authors have made this task much easier for both the student and the researcher by carefully selecting data which are often looked for and given them in tabular forms.

The book is written in simple yet delightful langauge which makes the reader want to continue reading. Despite few tables which produce quantitative data, all articles are descriptive presentations of various aspects of education.

Thus the narrative style of the book is quite enjoyable. Kumaran Book House should be commended for sponsoring this publication which is an invaluable and timely requirement for those engaged in current educational studies.

- Dr. Lakshman K. Wedikkarage