Public Seminars to nail problems within SL's Education system

The University Teachers for Social Equity is conducting a series of public seminars to ferret discrepancies in the country's Education system.

The seminars, with the participation of Lecturers of the Rajarata, Ruhunu, Sri Jayawardenapura and Ruhunu Universities, including teachers, students and their parents, intends to identify the crises within the Education system and recommend measures to resolve them.

Coordinator Anura Karunatilake said that, in the inaugural seminar held on July 1, it was identified that syllabuses taught in the schools are at variance with the Social and Economic system of the country, hence, there needs to be a change.

Secondly, he said that tuition classes contributes to a discrepancy in Education among the children. “Tuition classes are expensive and beyond the means of the normal wage earners who send their children to a public school," he said.

As a result, there is discrimination among the students, with the affluent gaining access to Higher Education (HE) in the State run universities and private universities, while students from a lower income group are deprived of HE.

He said the system has to be changed from tuition- based education to schoolbased education, where teaching is done in the classrooms and will suffice to sit national exams.

Mr Karunatilake said the outcome of the seminars will be presented to the Education authorities for action. (CC)