Government Agencies in Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka provides free primary and secondary education through a network of around 10,000 schools. The Sri Lankan Ministry of Education is charged with developing and implementing education policy at the national level. Each of the country’s nine provinces also has a Ministry of Education, headed by a Minister of Provincial Education. Provinces are further divided into zones which are headed by a Zonal Director of Education. The Ministry of Higher Education is responsible for the development and implementation of policy and funding for the country’s higher education sector. It also helps to procure foreign scholarships for Sri Lankan students to study overseas. The Department of Examinations is tasked with maintaining an efficient and effective examination system in Sri Lanka.

Public spending on education was 2.1% of GDP in 2009. The tsunami of December 2004 and its aftermath affected over 350,000 children and around 650 schools, and rehabilitation and modernisation programmes were vigorously pursued. The Sri Lankan government, donor organisations and the international community have worked together to restore education facilities and to address the enduring psychological effects of the disaster.