{"id":115117,"date":"2021-06-11T16:44:12","date_gmt":"2021-06-11T23:44:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=115117"},"modified":"2021-06-11T16:44:12","modified_gmt":"2021-06-11T23:44:12","slug":"policy-innovation-providing-education-in-three-languages-why-the-government-and-policymakers-reluctant-to-implement-the-right-policy","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2021\/06\/11\/policy-innovation-providing-education-in-three-languages-why-the-government-and-policymakers-reluctant-to-implement-the-right-policy\/","title":{"rendered":"POLICY INNOVATION PROVIDING EDUCATION IN THREE LANGUAGES: WHY THE GOVERNMENT AND POLICYMAKERS RELUCTANT TO IMPLEMENT THE RIGHT POLICY?"},"content":{"rendered":"

BY EDWARD THEOPHILUS<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

Since\nthe 1930s policy changes in education with a bull\u2019s eye on a broader spectrum\nof policies that included expanding literacy skills of the population and\nability to use a second language, besides mother tongue. The accomplishment of\nthe policy was unsuccessful because of many reasons. Before the Donormore\nreforms, education provision stuck to religious organizations and the prime aim\nof the education was to provide literacy skills and professional skills that\nhave been provided by professionals in various trades. The invasion of British\nattitudes and caste dictions the ability to choose a profession restricted and\nthe government policy didn\u2019t change the vicious attitudes of society. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\npolicy of the State Council on education had been replaced by politics-based\nlanguage policy and the media of education provision was especially\ndisadvantaged to the Sinhala population, which comprised over 65%. Muslim and\nTamils gained language abilities in English because the SLFP government wanted\nto attract Muslim votes. Because of not expanding English medium education in\nsemi-urban and rural schools, Sinhala kids studied in Sinhala medium and gained\nan opportunity to receive higher education and gain administration positions\npurely based on subject knowledge, ignoring language skills.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\ncommunication abilities in English had been limited to few schools in urban\nareas, educated Sinhala people frustrated with this misguided policy, and many\nkids had to gain English communication skills through private tuition. If the\ngovernment education policy directed to provide education in Sinhala and\nEnglish medium in semi-urban and rural areas Sinhala community would have not\nbeing disadvantaged and the language issue in education might not arise. In the\nmeantime, financially advantaged urban people are associated with an imprudent decision\nthat people who can communicate in English are high-class people. This was not\naccepted in other countries. The government education policymakers would have\nreacted by offering education in English and Sinhala media in all schools in\nthe country, including schools in interior rural schools. However. Education\npolicy was not changed and the vicious system being continued by all political\nparties in power. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This\nissue has not been resolved by the authority and politics, class struggles,\nattitude of people, and many other factors involved in deciding on the media of\nprovision of education. If rural schools offered education in Sinhala and\nEnglish media, social changes, especially racism, language problems, caste\ndictions, class struggle, and many vicious divisions. Education policymakers\nreluctant to make the right decision and they are also involved in vicious\nattitudes.  <\/p>\n\n\n\n

I\nobserved many countries are successfully using three languages providing\neducation in Asia-Pacific countries, African, and Latin America and people have\navoided adoring one language over other languages and students have attached as\none nation, resulting from the offer of education in three languages. The three\nlanguages comprising traditional language, major of communication in the home\nenvironment, and a language that communicates at the international level\n(English or French or another). The experience in education policymaking and\nimplementation show it has failed to implement two languages (English and\nSinhala or Tamil and English) as the government did not give priority to the\npolicy. A certain group of people using religious and cultural factors\nprevented the policy implementation process in English and Sinhala or Tamil and\nEnglish.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In\nSri Lanka, Sinhala, Tamil, and English have been identified as national\nlanguages and the provision of education could be done in three languages in\nany area of the country. For example, kids can provide education using three\nlanguages from early childhood level to complete university education, and the\ncurrent problems related to communication, class struggle, socialization can\neasily resolve without becoming an issue to address on political platforms.\nNeither community group nor a religious group opposed to such language policy.\nThe reason public statement of the secretary to the ministry of education\nreflected education policymakers and agents are reluctant to three languages\npolicy and why such negative attitudes are major question in Sri Lanka <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Sri\nLanka has many facilities for this option, especially books on three languages\navailable, and teachers also ready for this situation and policymakers are\nreluctant to make the judgment because they are associated with vicious\nattitudes. I identified the major reason to averse to the policy is top\nofficers in the department of education hesitant to three language policy and\npoliticians don\u2019t motivate the three-language policy. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Education\npolicy development concerns with a broader aspect and needs to consider the\nexperience in other countries. Sri Lanka needs a policy revolution.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

  • Education could offer\nthree languages in all schools, from grade one and until university education.\nIf grade one student learns six subjects: two subjects in Sinhala, two subjects\nin English, and two subjects in Tamil could be offered. Some schools in Colombo\noffer education in this way and it is successful. The practice could be\nexpanded to the entire country. In this way, education policy can change. Some\ncountries in the world successfully offer education in this way.<\/li>
  • Sri Lanka can find\nresources such as books and teachers from India at a lower cost and the\ngovernment can stop scholarship examination and grade 10 examination to conduct\nat the school level and save a massive volume of funds. Saved funds in such a\nway could use for offering education in three languages.<\/li>
  • Vocational education at\ncertificates two and three could offer in secondary schools in English medium\nand students could be provided internationally marketable skills. For this\npurpose, schools can combine with technical vocational schools.<\/li>
  • School teachers should be\ngiven four-week training each year and the knowledge and skills should be\nupdated for the education policy.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    The\neducation department has not taken radical policy accomplishments and has not\ntaken steps to good policy development and education reforms have limited talks\nduring election periods.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    I\nwatched an interview with the secretary at the department of education it\nreflected that the secretary is not a capable person to change education\npolicies and lead the education system in Sri Lanka. He does not understand\neducation policies and experience in policy development.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    International\nschools in Sri Lanka are a joke either government should regulate them or\nshould organize to give returns to the cost of offering education. Many\nInternational schools do not offer education in three languages and they should\nbe regulated to respect national policies. International schools do marketing\nfor schools in developed countries and this should be stopped. For\nexample,  Australia has international\nschools but students are like studying in national schools. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

    School\nauthorities and parents need to understand fundamentals of education would not\nbe changed by the ownership style of education. The education should focus to\nprovide knowledge, skills, value practice at a high quality.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

    BY EDWARD THEOPHILUS Since the 1930s policy changes in education with a bull\u2019s eye on a broader spectrum of policies that included expanding literacy skills of the population and ability to use a second language, besides mother tongue. The accomplishment of the policy was unsuccessful because of many reasons. Before the Donormore reforms, education provision […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[124],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-115117","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-edward-theophilus"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115117","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=115117"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/115117\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=115117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=115117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=115117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}