|
|
 |
  |
| Sunday, 19 September 2004 |
 |
|
 |
Features |  |
| News Business Features Editorial
|
The business of school admission A problem most parents face today is to find a good school for their
children. The admission process itself has turned out into a fiasco of
sorts with both administrators and parents guilty of transforming the However, the irregularities taking place are countless. Parents feel compelled to prepare false contact addresses, false telephone, electricity bills, take leave from office to do school security duty and even coach their children to tell lies. Hence school administrators become Shylock at work- coaxing parents to pay to gain admission. First its the 'We are sorry school admissions are over' which turns into 'A donation would go a long way'. With all the donations being given, schools should be having plush set-ups by now. However, walk into most school toilets and you will wonder where all the donations are going? The basics are often put into the background. The following statistics taken from the School Census-2003 Preliminary Report by the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Education and Cultural Affairs reveal the status quo of government and private schools in Sri Lanka. Government schools There are 9790 government schools, 3,941,685 pupils and 185,036 teachers in Sri Lanka. A total of 315,606 seek admission to Grade 1 each year throughout Sri Lanka. Colombo District has 418 government schools and 347,659 pupils taught by 14,567 teachers. A total of 28,935 seek admission to Grade 1 (Sinhala medium- 25,552, Tamil medium- 3,336, and English medium- 47) in the Colombo District each year. Private schools Sri Lanka has a total of 86 private schools (fee levying-26, non-fee levying-42 and special education-17). A total of 99,476 (males-48,247 and females-51,229) students gain admission to private schools throughout Sri Lanka. There are 4,906 teachers in these private schools. Out of the 99,476 private school students, 54,826 students are from the Colombo District and they are taught by 2,692 teachers. Thus, each year around 83,761 pupils compete to gain admission to Grade 1 in the Colombo District (for Government and Private schools). With parents vying to gain a place for their children in any of the popular schools the administrators seek to gain the maximum from the situation. Admission Interviews turn into business deals with parents being directly asked exactly how much they can give to admit the child. The highly regarded convent schools too are lately guilty of starting a new trend in openly claiming no admission for Buddhists, Muslims and Hindus. Now where is the ethics and morality that they are supposed to be preaching? So the easy solution for parents not wanting to beg or go through the hassles of admission to government schools or to give a pound of their flesh is to knock on the doors of international schools. There are plenty of them too and some that will cater to ones purse as well. However irregularities in these international schools are also taking place but no proper authority is available to take action against these International schools. Is the government satisfied with the trend that is taking place. International schools do not come under the purview of the Education Ministry. They function like any other private enterprise. Often, the students passing out from such schools end up leaving the country for further studies and thereafter it is goodbye to Sri Lanka forever. Is this the sort of culture that Sri Lanka wants to create? Why are we intentionally encouraging our children to leave our island? In early 2003 an estimated 92 government schools closed down in the South. An estimated 35,000 students had dropped out of these schools. Dr. Karunasena Kodituwakku, the then Education Minister blamed the provincial council administrators. It is easy to pass the blame but real action must be taken to ensure that government schools function under proper administration procedures, processes handled by conscientious administrators who are qualified and equipped to handle the responsibilities expected of them. Parents too must rethink the lengths to which they go to admit their children. - Shenali Waduge |
|
| News | Business | Features
| Editorial | Security
| Produced by Lake House |
admission process into a business. Administrators are encouraged to take
money because parents are ready to give it. If all parents unite to stop
this ugly practice the admission process will turn into a happy process
for all the administrators, parents and most of all the child who is about
to start his/her life education.
