Schools reopen tomorrow, but confusion on the syllabus and who will do what?
Some schools starting their first term, but others still stuck in last year's third term
From January 3, schools will begin their third term for last year. Schools have been instructed to continue completing the syllabus of 2021 until April 8 which will mark the end of the third term and the school year.
National Principals' Association Secretary Mohan Weerasinghe said the instruction had come with the aim of ending the school year in time for the O/L exams that will be held in May this year. However, concern has been raised about the practicality of the content that teachers will be expected to cover during this period.
"A new concise syllabus was initially introduced by the National Institute of Education on November 9 last year, but this circular was later revoked by another circular reverting to the longer syllabus coverage," Ceylon Teachers' Union General Secretary Joseph Stalin said.
The circular reverting teachers to the coverage of the whole syllabus was issued on November 26 last year. The Grade five scholarship exam would be held this month. This would mean that students would not be benefiting from the extra time that the third term was meant to grant, he said.
"Students have requested guidance on the areas that will be covered by the exam since the syllabus was not completed in school," Mr Stalin said.
But this has not received a response from the Education Ministry.
"There is a disturbance about being in the dark because the Ministry has not provided clear instructions on how the syllabus coverage should be approached," said Mr. Stalin.
Education Secretary Kapila Perera said schools which managed to complete their syllabus could begin the new year with the first term while others could begin the third term. This had not been communicated to stakeholders when the Sunday Times checked.
The Sunday Times inquired after the reasoning for the differing policy that was in place and the Education Secretary said some schools had not been able to complete the syllabus due to resource issues. When asked whether any schools in Sri Lanka had managed to cover their syllabus for 2021, Prof. Perera said he did not have the information.