As a school Principal and a parent, I fully agree with the statement of Dr. Sarath Amunugama, Minister of Special Assignment recently at his Galagedera office that the current burning unemployment crisis in Sri Lanka is due to the improper educational system. Although we proudly boast of a high literacy rate of 93% as compared to other countries, the dividend we get from education is almost the lowest, with 90% unemployed youth from schools and universities. This has been alarming, and a challenging scenario for successive Governments to find sustainable employment for the unemployed youth, and a severe burden on the country’s economy .
Since independence, Sri Lanka hasn’t changed her educational system conducive to the country, and continues the same text book oriented education from primary to secondary. The schoolchildren carry big bags of books and are confined to the classrooms listening to the monotonous lectures of the teachers. Students do not have an opportunity for practical learning where they can find a vocation, on leaving school .Even after learning science, a student cannot change a bulb at home or fix a switch /a plug when needed . That is the sad situation of our educational system. Every year, nearly 47% of students hardly pass the GCE (O/L ) examination and the rest are compelled to become three wheel drivers, waiters in hotels, salesmen in boutiques or go abroad as unskilled workers. In the A/L too only about 42% pass and 15% are admitted to the universities. After graduation, many are jobless as they depend on Government employment which is limited. They are unable to find employment even in the private sector as most of them are not competent enough in English.
As the Minister emphasized, there should be a new system of education to produce youth who fit into the country’s development process.
Hence , I request the Minister of Education to formulate a new educational system to cater to the present needs of the country.
Z. A. M. Shukoor
Aranayaka