We are drawing your attention to a public consultation launched by the Ministry of Education on education reform in Sri Lanka.  UK institutions who consider they have expertise relevant to education reform may wish to participate in the public consultation

Context and Opportunity

The Government of Sri Lanka (GoSL) has prioritised education reform as a priority in delivering its national action plan for economic and social development.  A separate State Ministry of Education Reforms has been established alongside two task forces, the Educational Task Force approved by the Cabinet and the Presidential Task Force.   

The Ministry of Education Reforms and the Ministry of Education have worked with the task forces to identify nine key domains for the reform programme:

• Pre-school Education
• Administrative reforms
• Curriculum reforms
• Health First
• 1000+ National Schools
• Professional Development
• Bridging with Vocational Education
• Promotion of Distance Education
• Higher Education.

The reforms take an inter-related approach to include different levels and types of education in addition to secondary education: pre-school; vocational, higher; professional; non-state and affiliated; international and private schools; and Dhamma, Bhikku and Pirivena education.

GoSL is now seeking feedback on the reform proposals and has launched a digital platform for public consultation at https://egenuma.moe.gov.lk/.  There is a category for contributions from the international community and INGOs.  Each submission is limited to 3000 characters and we expect the platform to be open till approximately the middle of June.  Please reference British Council if your submission relates to any interventions you have carried out in Sri Lanka funded by or in partnership with British Council.

Potential benefit for UK institutions

Participating in the public consultation allows UK institutions to showcase their own expertise and that of the UK education sector more widely, thus consolidating the UK as a possible strategic partner of choice for Sri Lanka.  It may also serve as an indirect marker for institutions who may be interested, if conditions permit, in supporting the Government of Sri Lanka in its education reform process.