Court of Appeal upholds private school's right to teach in English

The Court of Appeal (CoA) has quashed an order by the Secretary to the Ministry of Education (MoE) to a Government Approved Private Unaided (English Medium) School, to teach either in the mother tongue or bilingual medium, instead of in English.

CoA Judge Mahinda Samayawardhena issued the order, upholding a Petition filed by parents of students of Ashoka College, Horana.

Petitioners Weragoda Kapuge Priyantha, Hewage Don Ananda, Lalith Samantha Wijesinghe and Kurukulasooriya Oswal Chanditha Mario Fernando claim that the MoE Secretary had informed the Manager of the said school to teach, either in the mother tongue (Sinhala/ Tamil) or, in bilingual medium, in terms of the Education Policy of the Government or, face the consequences.

In his judgement, Judge Samayawardhena noted that competency in English is essential for personal success, in today’s globalized world. “English should not be the language of the urban elite to downgrade otherwise, talented rural youth. In my view, it is hypocrisy, to make it compulsory to the children of the underprivileged, to study in Sinhala or Tamil Medium, while making it possible for the children of the elite and affluent to study in English medium at International Schools or overseas, maybe to keep the distance,” the judgement states.

The judgement also notes that, "It is regrettable, that the National Education Policy (NEP) of the Government is to be understood on assumptions, in bits and pieces, from documents scattered everywhere, when Parliament passed the Law 28 years ago, in 1991, to establish the National Education Commission to recommend and advise His Excellency the President to declare a NEP.”

“It is distressing to note that we do not have a NEP, which, in my view, should be a top priority. Circulars are issued by the MoE, from time to time, giving various directives to the authorities concerned, in my view, without having a clear vision,” Judge Samayawardhena further notes that, looking through circulars issued by the MoE, submitted to court, it is heartening to note that the MoE has, since recently, understood the importance of changing the Medium of Instruction to English.

In its judgement, the CoA has also pointed out that Section 6 of the Assisted Schools and Training Colleges (Special Provisions) Act No.5 of 1960, used in the MoE Secretary’s decision to justify the order issued to Ashoka College, does not apply to all Unaided Schools. It applies only to former Assisted Schools, which had later become Unaided. Ashoka College, from the beginning, had been a Government Approved Private Unaided School.

While allowing the application of the Petitioners, the CoA also directed the MoE Secretary to pay the 4 Petitioners a sum of Rs.100,000 each as costs.