Education reforms and challenges ahead

The Ministry of Education has issued the guidelines regarding the new curriculum reforms set to take effect for Grade 1 to Grade 6 starting from next year. The reforms are primarily aimed at creating citizens who can face the challenges of the 21st century and beyond, contribute to sustainable national development, and foster peace in the country.

The reforms for Grade 1-5 will see the introduction of an activity-based structure under nine main common learning areas. These include Mother Tongue, English Language, Mathematics, Religion and Value Education, Initial Science and Environment-related Activities, and Integrated Aesthetic Education.

The Junior Secondary Sector curriculum (Grades 6-9) will be module and credit based with students having to study 14 compulsory subjects with three subjects, namely Information and Communication Technology (ICT), Technology for Life, and Entrepreneurship and Financial Literacy introduced at Grade 6.

There are Government plans to close over 1,000 schools which have less than 50 students as they are no longer sustainable. There are schools with only one teacher for all students and hence it is logical to amalgamate them with bigger schools so that the student gets a better education and also for the teachers to do a better job.

These are laudable goals, and one must support the authorities who will have the challenging task of implementing these reforms but there is also the hard reality of the many shortcomings our State education system lacks and are not geared to handle such reforms.

For one thing there is a huge disparity in the facilities available for national schools when compared with provincial and rural schools. Some schools lack the most basic facilities including sanitary facilities as well as equipment for schools.

Then there are the trade unions in the sector who are already fuming against the decision to extend school hours from next year. The Teachers and Principals Trade Union Alliance this week strongly opposed the Government’s decision to extend school hours by 30 minutes under the proposed education reforms set to take effect in 2026.

Union representatives warned that if the authorities fail to revise the decision before 7 November, they will launch a one-day strike at the start of the upcoming school term and argued that the decision was made without proper consultation with educators and that the extended hours would place an additional burden on both teachers and students.

The unions urged the Education Ministry to reconsider the move and engage in discussions with stakeholders, warning that continued disregard for teachers’ concerns could lead to wider trade union action in the education sector.

The problems so far with the Government reforms for the sector has been the lack of engagement with all the stakeholders including principals and teachers.

Already there have been concerns raised regarding Government plans to amend the Penal Code (Amendment) Bill dealing with corporal punishment with educators saying they may be unable to enforce discipline in schools with the threat of legal action looming due to this amendment.

President Anura Kumara Disanayake hinted recently that the Bill may be shelved due to opposition. 

The education reforms will face many hurdles in the coming months. There seems to be a mighty rush on the part of the education authorities to push ahead with reforms without getting the basic necessities in place.

Technology is evolving at a rapid rate, and any new reforms will be outdated in a few years. What is important is to help children to become well-rounded adults who will become good citizens. Without the basics, all the reforms and technology will not help the future generations.