Sri Lankan children have been kept away from school from time to time, (for nearly two years and a half) since March 2020, predominantly because of the global pandemic and recently because of the disturbances caused by the economic crisis the country is facing at the moment. It is evident that millions of children are undergoing a very tough time owing to the learning loss created by this loss of quality learning time. Although the Ministry of Education made arrangements to reopen schools several times, to continue the educational process was a challenge owing to several reasons. Further, it is difficult to guarantee the children were able to minimize the gaps in learning with such intermittent schooling. Though the time loss created as a result of long periods of school closure can be clearly calculated it is not easy to calculate the actual learning loss created among students because of a number of reasons. One such reason is the various interventions implemented by the MOE, NIE and the PMOEs to reach the children using a number of strategies such as the Gurugedara television programmes, Channel NIE, E Thaksalawa, and Home-Based-Learning programmes etc. However, the impact of these programmes has not yet been clearly measured and at the same time, it is evident that these programmes have not been reached by all the students owing to reasons like connectivity and coverage, children not being able to afford to have devices etc. While appreciating all these interventions to keep the country’s education moving forward, it is felt that a strong nationwide learning recovery programme should be implemented parallel to the school reopening anticipated from 25/07/2022. Considering the global guidelines issued regarding school reopening followed by the Covid 19 pandemic and the current situation of the country it is suggested that the school reopening plan in Sri Lanka should consider the following key points.
- Bringing all the children back to school
- Identification of the readiness of children to start education in their current grades
- Identification of vulnerable groups and providing them additional support
- Obtaining community support for school reopening plan
- Focusing mainly on essential learning content (competencies and outcomes) stipulated for the school reopening programme until recovery is made
- Implementing a realistic, learner friendly, and a context specific assessment system until the recovery is made
As an immediate response to school re-opening the National Institute of Education (NIE), in collaboration with the Ministry of Education (MOE) and Provincial Departments of Education, has developed the Essential Learning Content (ELC) for grade from Grad 1-11. These ELC plans are considered as compulsory for each student to master in order to reach the next grade successfully. The rest of the content identified in the normal curriculum is considered as the desired learning content for the respective grades.
The main objective of the proposed learning loss recovery program attached herewith is to address the point No.5 given above. Schools are expected to organized their learning-teaching program to help students;
- to master the essential learning levels given in the recovery program, and
- to recover the learning loss that has been accumulated over the past two years and a half, paying special attention to Literacy & Numeracy Skills students are expected to achieve in order to master the curriculum content intended for each grade.
If you have any queries please contact
Mr. H. U. Premathilaka
Additional Secretary Education Quality Development Division
Ministry of Education
Contact no: 0718076888
Dr. Sunil Jayantha Nawaratna
Director General
National Institute of Education
Contact no: 0773823261
Dr. Darshana Samaraweera
Deputy Director General, Humanities Languages & Social Sciences
National Institute of Education
Contact no: 0773131987
Mr. Ranjith Padmasiri
Deputy Director General Science & Technology
National Institute of Education
Contact no: 0714497131
