Governance 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.

Ministry of Education
Battaramulla
Tel: +94 11 278 4832
Email: bandulagunawardana@yahoo.com
Minister: Bandula Gunawardena
Secretary: Anura Dissanayake

Ministry of Higher Education
Colombo
Tel: +94 11 268 8776
Minister: S B Dissanayake
Secretary: Thamara Dissanayake

Public spending on education was 8.3 per cent of GDP in 2011.

The Ministry of Finance and Planning has established a ten-year development framework (2010-20) in which to realise the Mahinda Chinthana vision for Sri Lanka – that growth in GDP alone will not bring economic prosperity to the people. The current medium-term development plan, published in 2010 and spanning the period 2010-16, came out of a broad stakeholder consultation process, including ministries, agencies, trade chambers, civil society organisations and trade unions. Among the key goals of the medium-term national development policy is universal secondary education.

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.

Pan-Commonwealth

In 1980 Sri Lanka hosted the Eighth Conference of Commonwealth Education Ministers in Colombo. Commonwealth education ministers meet every three years to discuss issues of mutual concern and interest.