International School Education in Sri Lanka

by S.H.M Shafeek

Deputy Commissioner of Examination
(Organization and Foreign Examinations)
Department of Examinations
Pelawatta, Baththaramulla.

There are so many issues related to the education sector in our country, wanting urgent attention of the education authorities. The phenomenon of "international school education" is clearly one such issue in view of significant numbers of international schools that are currently operating outside the approved system of schools to serve the educational needs of a section of our school going children. Moreover, the current trend appears to be in favour of forming more and more such schools in spite of the fact that these schools have neither been duly recognized nor been banned altogether. Obviously, the hung situation of this nature is not only harmful to the future of the children who are being educated at these schools but also will have adverse impact on the educational wellbeing of the country.

The emphasis on the vernacular education, in line with sound principles of education, towards the end of and early post colonial era, saw the gradual replacement of English medium education by vernacular education in our schools. Hence, during the early post colonial years one or two international schools came into being, basically in order to cater to the educational needs of the children of foreign residents in the country. Diplomats, members of their staff and ‘economic migrants’ such as planters, industrialists and multinational company staffers in particular were served by these international schools. The students of these schools were prepared for foreign qualifications such as London O/Ls, A/Ls and Cambridge matriculations. English was the medium of instruction. During the subsequent decades no new international schools were established and this trend continued up to the time the open market economy was introduced in the early 1980’s.

By then, consequent to the developments that had taken place in the education sector, most schools in the country had become state (government) schools while a few continued to remain approved private schools. Wesley College, Musaeus College and St. Peters College in Colombo and Trinity College in Kandy are examples of approved and recognized private schools. Although these schools are private in terms of their self financing nature either in part or in full and of their autonomy in management, they implement state policy on education, regulated by state educational authorities, follow government curricula and prepare the students for government examinations. The government not only takes regulatory measures on these schools but also assists them by providing opportunity to share its resources such as teacher training facilities, supervision and advisory services for quality assurance and also treats their students as ‘school students’ for all purposes. Even at school examinations conducted by the government, they are treated as school candidates and not as private candidates.

In the meantime, with the introduction of open economy in the country a new class of schools, generally known as international schools, though they were not always international in nature, emerged and remarkably grown to share a significant section of the student population with our traditional school system. This class of schools found relatively a fast growth and now widespread throughout the country, commanding notable degree of popularity. Thousands of children are educated in these schools where the medium of instruction is English contrary to the laws governing education in this land.

It is true that some government schools and approved private schools also provide so called English Medium Education" in a limited manner. However, they abide by the government regulations. None of such schools educate primary students (upto grade five) in the English medium. Even at the junior secondary level (Grades 6 to 11) ‘ only specified subjects namely Mathematics, Science, Health Science and Social Studies ( History, Geography and Citizenship Education) are taught in English and the rest either in Sinhala or in Tamil. Their first language is also not English but either Sinhala or Tamil. When these students sit for G.C.E. (O/L) Examination at the end of grade eleven they sit for the same English language paper as do the other students. These students can learn all three subjects in the English medium only at the advanced level (Grades 12 and 13) if they choose Science, Maths or Commerce streams. These regulations are not followed by the International Schools. They teach all the subjects in the English medium right from the beginning from grade one onwards or even before that at nursery level.

Establishment of schools for the education of young children by non state sector is in itself a violation of existing laws. Section 25 of the Assisted schools and Training Colleges (supplementary provisions) Act number 8 of 1961 states;

" No person shall, on or after the date of the commencement of this Act (a) establish any school for the education of persons who are between the age of five and age of fourteen years (both age inclusive); or (b) establish any school, other than a school referred to in paragraph (a) for the education of persons who are below the age of 18 years without the prior approval of the Director."

It is clear that non government schools cannot be established for the education of children under 14 years of age. Private schools for educating children above 14 years of age and below 18 years of age must have prior approval of the Director (The Secretary to the Ministry of Education in the present context) before being established.

However, those entities which establish and run international schools do so with the approval of the board of investment and registration under the company law (Act No. 17 of 1982), making the legal status of these schools more as business ventures than as schools. There is no proper scheme for check and balance with regard to the quality of education provided by these schools except the spontaneous business competitiveness among them. Amazingly, such a state of affairs continues for more than thirty years with no remarkable intervention from any quarters including the educational authorities, successive governments, human rights activists, civil society and peoples’ representatives, leaving the destiny of international schools, whether to flourish or to perish, to their own hands. Their establishment, sustenance , their growth or decay and the way they guide the children all appear not to have drawn the serious attention of any.

The reasons for their relative success with regard to sustainability and popularity are many fold and originate from a multitude of perspectives that the parents have on them.

Deterioration of the knowledge and skills related to the English language among the people with the displacement of English medium education by vernacular education led to an increasingly greater emphasis on the importance of English in contemporary society. In fact the state itself gave great prominence to English education. Such a background was conducive for the establishment of numerous international schools providing English medium education and helped them become lucrative and popular. Educational entrepreneurs seized such an environment to their benefit and established international schools which steadily grew unchecked and unhindered in size and in number.

Another reason for parents to opt for international schools was the difficulty in getting their kids admitted to good state schools or approved private schools. The numbers seeking admission to such schools far exceed the seats available. It is not uncommon that the so called prestigious schools receiving thousands of applications for admission while they can admit only a few hundred students due to limited resources. On the other hand, there are also under populated schools which are incapable of providing quality education to a desirable level due to a variety of challenges they face, and hence attract fewer applications for admission than they can actually accommodate. Naturally, parents do not like to educate their children in such schools.

The popularity of international schools may also be attributed to the common belief that the English medium educated will be at an advantage over the others in the world of work and employment and also to the notion that while seeking employment too they will have a competitive edge over others. Though this applies to public sector employment to a lesser extent its manifestation is much stronger in respect of private sector and overseas employment which are thought to provide more attractive perks.

Perceived wider scope of higher education, both within the country and outside, for English medium educated persons also can be cited as a reason for many parents opting to educate their children in international schools. Increasingly higher numbers of Sri Lankan students, reading for foreign university and professional qualifications, indicate the existence of such thoughts. In fact, some of the international schools prepare their students to seek direct admission to certain foreign courses of study.

Feeling of an element of prestige, very well utilized to their advantage by astute marketers of international schools, is one more reason that prompts parents to educate their children at the international schools.

However, not all the parents who wish to educate their children in international schools can afford to do so due to the higher costs involved. Only children from well to do families can seek admission to international schools. Others cannot, as they do not possess requisite financial resources. This contravenes with our most cherished ideals of providing equal opportunity in education for all the children irrespective of their economic background and the concept of "free education for all".

Moreover, there is the fear that the different ‘opportunities to learn’ provided for the affluent and for the destitute will enhance the creation of class difference in the society, somewhat similar to that maintained by the colonial rulers. This is quite a reasonable fear indeed. But on the other hand, so many measures taken over so many years to ensure equity in education have not fully succeeded. For example, we still see vast differences between prestigious schools, national schools, urban schools, rural schools and so on and so forth. Some thinkers argue in this light that the fear mentioned above is not totally justifiable. Instead, they think that measures taken to promote alternative educational opportunities such as the international school education could complement the existing system which is seemingly incapable of providing all the resources and facilities required for educating all the children in an equitable manner.

The early day English education had a definite bearing on culture and religion in a way that was detrimental to the indigenous cultures, heritage and religions. Some foresee a similar impact of present day English medium education as well and on this ground they vehemently oppose international school education. But they do not object an English medium education system free of such effects.

There are some extremist thinkers who share the view that the phenomenon of international school education could be ignored without paying any attention to it because it is not legally constituted. Nor is it provided to children of ordinary and poor parents. This is illogical because children should never be discriminated on the grounds that they are poor, ordinary or affluent. Afterall, children of the international schools too will be part and parcel of our future society. Whatever the merits or otherwise of the international school education in its present form, the cardinal point is that it affects the lives of the children to whom it is provided and therefore this issue needs to be urgently and appropriately addressed. It should not be left alone to proceed as it is, according to the whims and fancies of those who manipulate it. In this respect we can think of two options to choose from.

The first is to ban outright and close down all international’ schools and no one should be allowed to form new ones either. However, appropriate procedures should be adopted to ensure that the students already in international schools are not adversely affected. They should be smoothly absorbed into the traditional system. This would certainly be a tough decision to arrive at in view of the extensive spread of international schools across the country. Finding suitable alternative placement for thousands of current students is not going to be an easy task either.

The second option, which appears to be more prudent, is to take appropriate measures to recognize and legalize international schools and treat their students in a fair and equitable manner. The existing laws and regulations should be amended appropriately. In such an event, a very well constituted unit, with regulatory powers and represented by all stake holders, either at the ministry of education or at provincial level should be established. This unit must be the sole authority for approval, registration, accreditation, monitoring and supervision of international schools. The current practice of approval and registration of international schools as business ventures should immediately be terminated. This unit should also assist the international schools in matters like teacher training, awareness of curriculum changes, text books, school management, school based assessment and public school examinations.

It should also be emphasized that the above two are not the only options but lie at the extreme ends of various possibilities and that any decision, in spite of the seriousness and urgency of this issue, should necessarily be arrived at after making appropriate and thorough study of the issue. Because hasty decisions often lead to further problems rather than to solutions, we must be cautious not to be pushed from the pan to the fire. Let us hope that we provide all possible opportunities to learn to all our children with maximum possible equity and ensure no door to any opportunity to learn be closed to any child.

  Courtesy - The Island