International schools should come under Education Ministry’s thumb says Sectoral Oversight Committee

The Assisted Schools Act of 1960 and 1961 should be amended so the Government gets more powers to monitor and regulate international schools, the latest report by Parliament’s Sectoral Oversight Committee on National Security said.

The re por t, presented to Parliament last week, said various types of international schools currently function under the Companies Ordinance. The Committee said this situation had created a major mismatch within the whole education system as the Education Ministry had no right to regulate or monitor any education institutes that fall under the Companies Act.

“Accordingly, international schools have gained the ability to function without being subject to the regulations and monitoring of the Education Ministry. The Government cannot be certain the national goals in education are achieved through such schools," the Report said.

Even though the teaching of the mother tongue and history had been made mandatory by the Education Ministry, the Committee found the teaching of these subjects at international schools are at a poor level, because these schools are registered under the Companies Act and not under education laws.

The Committee had also raised concern over a group of schools registered as international schools, that would not enroll non- Islamic students under any circumstances. Another observation made was the mushrooming of such schools in towns with a large Muslim population.

"The recent developments related to those schools have shown a tendency that mislead Muslim children through lectures delivered in English through the internet by the orators like Jainul Abdheen, the leader of Thouheed Jammad in South India, and Sakeer Naik, the founder of Peace TV channel."

"Peace TV is prohibited in Sri Lanka after the Easter Sunday attack and allegations have been made against Sakeer Naik for spreading Islamic extremism, using Mumbai as the Centre," the Committee said.

"It seems the possibility of developing a new, young Muslim generation with a propensity against Sri Lankan national values and Islamic values can be a threat to Sri Lankan nationality, inter- ethnic harmony and national security,” the Report said.

Accordingly, the Committee had recommended all international schools registered and run under the

Companies Act at present, and new international schools to be opened in future, should be registered under a new Act which will be implemented by the Education Ministry.

The Committee had laid out some criteria to be observed in this matter. The Criteria includes: providing an education compatible with the national education aims, providing education on the mother tongue, history and comparative religious and cultural education, encouraging children of all ethnicities and religions to be enrolled and considering it illegal to limit only enrolling children of a particular ethnicity or religion.

The Committee also recommended international school presently named with a religious or ethnic identity to remove those names and rename themselves.