The Educational Achievement Level at G.C.E O/L in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka

The Educational Achievement Level at G.C.E Ordinary Level in the Northern Province of Sri Lanka

Education in Sri Lanka date back to the Ithikasa, Purana periods. Sri Lanka was named after King Ravana as ‘Ravana Bhoomi’. There are stone inscriptions and other evidences which indicate how Gurukula education was conducted in Sri Lanka. The sons of kings when they attained the age of 12 were sent to Gurukulams to learn all the skills and all the fields in education under great gurus such as Vasishter and other Rishis. In earlier times along with the Gurukula education there were other places such as the front veranda (Thinnai). Pandits taught the children excluding females. This education is called in Thinnai palli. On the other hand, the Indian brahmins and pandits initiated and conducted the temple Pooja and taught Sanskrit.

In Sri Lanka various foreign regimes who ruled for considerable years until its independence have promoted and provided educational facilities. Sri Lanka has direct influence of India not only in industries but also in education. During the regime of Sera, Chola, Pandia we get the best literature on art, history, religion, aesthetics and education.

It was during the Britishers rule that various types of educational initiatives taken in Sri Lanka. The higher education in Sri Lanka commenced in the early 1800s. In 1870 the Ceylon Medical College was opened. In 1884 the School of Agriculture was established and in 1875 the Colombo Law college was established. After 1893 the Government Technical Colleges were established.  in 1942, July first University of Ceylon, the Colombo campus and University of Peradeniya were established. Today there are 15 universities in Sri Lanka.

There are 10,390 Government schools in Sri Lanka today. The curricular offered is approved by the Ministry of Education. The structure of the educational system is divided as primary, junior, secondary, senior secondary, collegiate and tertiary. Schooling is compulsory from 5 to 13 years of age. Education is given free of charge at all levels including the university level.

Literacy levels and educational attainment levels rise steadily year by year. Today the literacy rate of youth stands by 97%. The medium of education could be Tamil, Sinhala or English.

In this article the educational achievement levels in G.C.E O/ L from 2015 to 2018 are analysed. The G.C.E O /L is an abbreviation of General Certificate Examination in Ordinary Level. This article discusses the attainment, and achievement levels at G.C.E O/ L examination conducted from 2015 to 2018.

In Addition to the government schools there are 33 non fee levying, assisted private schools and 33 autonomous private schools. There is another category of English medium International Schools approved and registered by The Board of Investment in Sri Lanka. The tertiary level has 15 universities. The admission to the university today is based on the results of the G.C.E A/L examination and Z score (which considers the difficulty level of the subject due to facilities) and therefore the admissions have become extremely competitive.

Report from Department of Examination Sri Lanka 2018

These tables clearly display the fact that there is remarkable increase in the performance in 5 or more subjects at the G.C.E O/L from 2015 to 2018.The thirty years of the war, economic crisis, lack of employment, high cost of living in the north of Sri Lanka have direct impact on the gradual but striking increase in obtaining the achievements of educational goals G.C.E O/L.

Bavvatharani Ravindran

Nallur

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