Education in Sri Lanka aims to promote democracy, moral, physical, and spiritual development through lifelong learning while developing an understanding of culture and religious heritage. Historically, monasteries and temples provided education to Buddhist clergy and villagers in reading, writing, and practical skills. Under colonial rule, European powers introduced schools teaching Christianity in their respective languages. Today, Sri Lanka provides free education at all levels through a system of government, national, provincial, and private schools culminating in university degrees.

1. EDUCATION in

2. Aim is to promote democracy with regards to
education; moral, physical and spiritual development,
and lifelong learning. It should also help to develop
deeper understanding of the environment, culture and
the religious heritage of Sri Lanka, whilst producing a
population who have the skills necessary to meet the
country’s needs.

3. Education In Sri Lanka
(6th century – 20th century)
Monasteries and temples were the first
educational centers for both the Buddhist
clergy and the lay people in Sri Lankan
villages.

4. education was limited only to an exclusive
group of individuals, which primarily
included Buddhist monks
These monks would, in turn, instruct individuals from the
upper echelons of the villages in reading and writing

5. The Curriculum
Traditional schools mostly involved religious
studies, and practical or technical skills, which
included metalworking, weaving, architecture,
and geometry. Art and painting were also among
the subjects that were taught

7. •Outside of these schools, knowledge
was inherited from father to son. Yet,
the vast majority of the population did
not have formal education, and
remained unlearned and illiterate.

8. European colonizers in Sri Lanka’s Eductional
System
• Portuguese missionary groups set up ri Lanka to
promote Roman Catholicism.
•when the Dutch captured the island, they
introduced a Christian primary school system.

9. •The British took over the country in the late 18th
century, and they proceeded to change the medium of
instruction in Christian missionary schools to English
language.
• This greatly reduced student attendance, as most of
the Sri Lankans did not know English at the time.

10. -Modern Education-
Education in Sri Lanka
• Ministry of
Education
schools, Teachers
Training Colleges
and Colleges of
Education and
even the
pirivenas, the
schools for
Buddhist priests
• Ministry of
Higher
Education
supervises
Universities
and Technical
Colleges
• Ministry of
Education
Services
supplies the
facilities
required for
general
education

11. The Educational System of Sri Lanka

12. Three different kind of schools
• Government owned schools (public schools)
• National Schools
• Provincial Schools
• Piriven (Buddhism school
• Private schools
• International schools

13. • Schooling is compulsory for children from 5 + to 13 years of age.
• Education is state funded and offered free of charge at all levels,
including the university level.
• The government gives high priority to improving the national
education system and access to education.
• The medium of language could be Sinhala, Tamil or English.
• English is taught as a second language.
• Students sit the G.C.E O/L at the end of 11 years of formal education and
G.C.E. A/L examinations at the end of 13 years.

14. Education Structure
• primary,
• junior secondary,
• senior secondary,
• collegiate and tertiary

15. • Primary Ed.
Grade 1 to Grade 5
Junior
secondary
Grade 6 to Grade 9
Senior
secondary
Grade 10 to Grade
11
• it is compulsory to attend up to at least Grade 9 and after that
students may opt for an apprenticeship on a skilled job or become a
farmer
• a 2 year preparatory course to obtain a General Certificate of
Education Ordinary Level, which is from Grades 10 to 11
• another 2-year preparatory course for a General Certificate of
Education Advanced Level, Grades 12 to 13 are strictly needed to be
completed.

16. Primary Education
The first 5 years are spent in primary school.
At the end of this there is an optional
scholarship examination that may permit
access to a superior grade of school.

17. Middle Education
•Four years of middle school follow
to complete the compulsory
education phase. The curriculum
comprises pre-determined academic
subjects with little or no choice
allowed.

18. Secondary Education
•Grades 10 and 11 prepare secondary
school students who wish to attempt
their GCE O-Levels. However they must
continue at collegiate levels for a
similar period, and complete their A-
Levels too, if they wish to subsequently
enter university to study further.

19. Vocational Education
•The state provides a number of vocational
and technical training centers, and
programs for apprenticeship training too.
These take place within a system of seven
levels of qualifications, of which the upper
one is rated equivalent to degree level.

20. Tertiary Education
•certificates through to doctorates. The most
venerable of these is the University of Colombo, which
is also the largest institution on the island and is
illustrated here.
It was established in 1921 in affiliation with the University of
London. Today its students study in independent faculties
that include medicine, science, law, education, arts,
management & finance, graduate studies, and computing.