- 85% Grade 3 children not meeting minimum literacy/numeracy proficiency
The Ministry of Education and the United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund (UNICEF) have embarked on a national initiative to help 1.6 million primary-schoolchildren impacted by prolonged school closures and sporadic disruptions to their education over the past three years, catch up on their learning.
To mark this initiative, an event was held in Colombo yesterday (16), where it was noted that according to a Ministry-led national assessment, 85% of Grade Three children are not achieving the minimum proficiency in literacy and numeracy, which is essential in their transition to secondary school and beyond, both in life and work.
During the event, it was also noted that currently, Sri Lanka allocates less than 2% of its Gross Domestic Product (GDP) on education, which falls well below the international benchmark of 4-6% of the GDP and is among the lowest in the South Asia region.The learning crisis has affected vulnerable children the most, including younger children in the primary grades and those in the plantation estates.
“There is an urgent need to increase the national budget allocation for education, especially for the primary grades, where we need to boost foundational learning for children, while also ensuring the implementation of vital education reforms so that we can build the solid human resource skills needed to support the country's development,” Education Minister, attorney Dr. Susil Premajayantha said.
Meanwhile, adding that the basics of literacy, numeracy, and social economic skills are the platform on which children build themselves, their families, communities, and the country’s future, the UNICEF Representative for Sri Lanka Christian Skoog commended the Ministry for its commitment to undertake urgent efforts to reverse the widening disparities in learning achievement for children who are lagging further behind, including slow learners, and are missing out due to the continued hardship that the country faces.