A topic of conversation these days is education reforms. There is talk about the appointment of a Parliamentary Select Committee to look into reforms in the education sector. The need for a new national Education Act to suit the needs of the present society is being stressed. Minister Bandula Gunawardena has also spoken of the need to have a knowledge-centred education system in the island. A new system of school admissions is to be formulated.
Of course, when a new Minister takes over, there is always new ideas, new plans and new approaches. The Education Ministry has a new Secretary too. His outlook too may be different from the previous incumbent. What the public would want is positive action and measures to improve the current system.
With such an interest building up, it is an opportune time to study the Report on ‘Corruption in the Education Sector’ released last year following the findings of an in-depth survey done by Transparency International Sri Lanka (TISL). The forms and extent of corruption in the education sector has been dealt with in detail in the study conducted by a team headed by Professor Amarasiri de Silva of the Peradeniya University.
Findings are revealing. Comments by the interviewees are interesting.
Here are some extracts:
• “How do principals in popular schools maintain private vehicles and live in luxury houses? We all get the same salary,” a principal from a school in a difficult area asks.
• “Although I gave Rs 80,000 to a go-between to get my daughter admitted to a well-known popular school in the area, it didn’t work out. Now the go-between is repaying the money to me in small installments,” laments a parent in the central hills.
• “Students are given study leave for three months before they sit the A level examinations. What do the teachers do? Very often they conduct tuition classes. Many teachers do so in the afternoons for the same students who attend their classes in the morning. This is a gross violation of ethics and it is also a form of corruption,” a civil society organisation points out at a group discussion.
• “People from developed districts rent houses in Siyambalanduwa and Moneragala on the pretext they live there and send the children to schools there. Actually they send them to schools in Kandy, Matara and Colombo. Finally they sit the exams in Moneragala district…The teachers and principals in some of the less developed schools try to show the Ministry that they have the required number of students and good results at O level and A levels examinations. They are given various gifts and rewards by the parents of those children. This is corruption,” a community leader explains the malpractices related to the district quota system to gain admission to the university.
• “Teacher and other Ministry transfers are not properly done. There are many malpractices. Politicians directly promote third-grade teachers as additional directors,” an additional director of education admits.
The topics covered in the Study include school admissions, teacher appointments, transfers and promotions, activities of School Development Societies (SDS), fees and payments, tuition classes and abuse of the district quota system. A representative sample of parents, teachers and education officials had been interviewed during the study.
The consensus among those interviewed was that the government school system had declined when compared to what it was several decades ago. This was attributed to politicization of the education system including appointments and transfers and a shift in the view that teaching was a vocation, making this profession less prestigious. They viewed school admissions as being highly corrupt. The allegations included bribing principals; having to seek favours from politicians and education directors; roping in intermediaries at a high cost; nepotism and mandatory ‘donations’ to schools or SDSs.
The study found that all children did not get a level playing field with regard to education. The status of the parents and their level of education played an important role in securing better educational opportunities for children, compromising the principle of equality in education. There was a firm belief among those interviewed that the richer the household, the better the chance of the child performing well.
Referring to politicisation, it was pointed out that many posts for acting principals and subject directors were filled with political appointees, even though some of them were not qualified. There was much dissatisfaction among both teachers and officers with regard to salary increments and loans, with claims that the system was highly politicized. Every study location reported delays in increments, with many teachers and officers stating that bribes had to be offered or political influence sought to expedite increments.
As for the misuse of power by principals and officials, it was revealed that in the absence of regulations on the recruitment of volunteer teachers, principals were appointing them at school-level without following a transparent procedure.
The Report was launched at an open forum attended by Education Ministry officials, educationists, academics, trade union representatives and media personnel.
At the forum Education Ministry Additional Secretary (Policy & Planning), S.U.Wijeyaratne discussed some of the issues raised in the Report. Reminding that corruption occurs in every sector, he said that no one can say that it is the sole responsibility of the administration of the Education Sector, as there are two parties namely education givers and receivers.
Admitting that there is some misunderstanding with regard to the admissions to the primary sections, he said that many parents believe that more the number of students the better the school. Based on this thinking, many parents attempt to admit their children to these schools. As a solution to this, a networking system for primary and secondary schools had been proposed. As a result, a few primary schools will set up a secondary school equipped with adequate facilities at provincial level.
He stressed that the the Ministry of Education has “a good plan with few mistakes in comparison with other ministries.” Some are unhappy with the examinations system and the focus now is to enhance the examinations system using technology to improve quality and transparency of examinations.
Accepting that equity of education is a very important factor he pointed out that the Ministry concentrates on distributing resources without making a mistake. The problem of preparing and distributing text books has been solved. Teaching aids are being provided to the schools and the focus is now on empowering schools to prepare this aid within the school system based on their requirements.
He suggested that TISL should take the initiative in forming a professional association in the Education Sector similar to the professional bodies of lawyers and doctors in Sri Lanka. The professional body can deal with issues like ethics, quality of service, qualifications of officers, and action against corruption in education. It will help to improve standards of officers, principals, teachers, and the education system as a whole.
So here is food for thought.
by D C Ranatunga