Educational Opportunities for the Poor in Sri Lanka: Assessing Spatial Disparities

Transcription

1 Educational Opportunities for the Poor in Sri Lanka: Assessing Spatial Disparities Ganga Tilakaratna 18 th March, 2009 Outline 1. Objective and Methodology 2. Educational Resource Availability : District Level Analysis 3. Educational Resource Availability : Micro- Level Analysis 4. Conclusions and Policy Implications

2 Objective To analyze the availability of resources (both physical and human ) at school level to assess the extent of disparity across and within districts Methodology 1) District Level Analysis (inter-regional disparities) Secondary data (e.g. School Census data of the Ministry of Education) 2) Micro-Level Analysis (intra-regional disparities) A small sample of schools covering all the 4 Types of schools and urban, rural and remote areas in 4 selected districts Interviews with the Principals (and teachers) FGDs with students, teachers and parents Type of Schools according to Functional Grade District Urban Rural Remote Matale 1AB Type 3 1C Type 2 Type 2 Type 2 Kurunegala 1C Type 2 1AB Type 3 1C Type 2 Monaragala 1C Type 3 1AB Type 2 Type 2 Type 2 Colombo 1AB Type 2 1C Type 3 Type 2 Type 2 4

3 Government schools are classified into four types : Type 1AB - Schools with classes up to grade 13 and A/ L Science stream Type 1C - Schools with classes up to grade 13 and with A/L Arts and/or Commerce stream(s) but no Science stream Type 2 - Schools having classes only up to grade 11 Type 3 - Schools having classes only up to grade 5 or 8 Source: Ministry of Education Types of Schools 5 Distribution of Schools by Type Source: School Census % of schools are primary or secondary schools. About ¼ have A/L classes while only 6% have A/L science classes

4 Distribution of Schools by Type: District-wise Analysis In N Eliya, Vavuniya, Batticaloa : over 50% of schools are Type 3. ( In Colombo: Type 3 schools <15%) Schools with A/L classes: N Eliya, Vavuniya, Mullativu <20% ; Colombo, Kandy and Galle ~1/3. 7 Distribution of Schools across Districts The number of schools in a district varies from < 100 in Mannar and Kilinochchi to over 600 in Kurunegala and Kandy. ( Kurunegala has 9% of schools while many districts in the North has <1%) The number of schools in a district may depend on various factors such as population and land area. For the distribution to be fair, the distribution of different types of schools should match the general distribution. However, considerable disparities exist with regard to distribution of Type 1AB schools. 8

5 Distribution of Type 1AB & All Types of Schools across Districts Disproportionately higher share of Type 1AB schools in Colombo, Gampaha, Galle, Jaffna, Kalutara and Kandy. Colombo 4.3% of total schools and 10.6% of Type 1AB Almost one-fourth of Type 1AB schools are in the Western Province & 52% in 7 districts. Density of Schools On average 1 school for every 6 Km 2 Colombo= 1.6 Km 2. Gampaha & Jaffna 1: <2.5 Km 2 Monaragala, Mannar, Mulativu : over 20 Km 2 Reasons for low density of schools : lower number of schools, larger land area, lower population density 10

6 Density of Schools with A/L Classes (Type 1AB & 1C) Scatter of Type 1AB/1C Scatter of Type 1AB In Colombo & Gampaha density of schools with AL classes is high. In Monaragala, Anuradhapura, Polonnaruwa and many in districts in North: Density is low- 1 school for Km 2. (1 Type 1AB school for over 250 Km 2 ) High costs of school education after secondary level. 11 Library Facilities MAP 1 MAP 2 Over 75% of the schools in the districts of North & East, N Eliya, Anuradapura, Matale, Kegalle are without a permanent library (Map 1). In the majority of these districts, over 60% of schools don't even have a temporary library /reading room (Map 2).

7 Schools without Lab Facilities Districts in North & East have a higher% of schools without any lab/science room % of schools without lab facilities is lowest in Colombo (11%), Gampaha (20%) & Kalutara (27%) Note : Only for schools with secondary level and above Computer Facilities Limited facilities in districts of Kilinochchi and Mullativu followed by Monaragala, N Eliya, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa

8 Other Facilities District Level Analysis % of schools without drinking water % of schools without electricity % of schools without telephone facilities % without adequate sanitary facilities for Teachers % of schools without principal s quarters Colombo Gampaha Galle Kalutara Matara Ampara Mannar Trincomalee Polonnaruwa Mullativu Monaragala Nuwara Eliya Kilinochchi Vavuniya Sri Lanka Human Resources/Teachers Student-teacher ratio is 20:1 and no significant variations across districts. Notable disparities with regard to student-graduate teacher ratio : Trinco (133:1), N Eliya (130:1) Polonnaruwa (115:1) and Ampara (116:1 ). In Colombo, Kalutara, Kandy & Kurunegala : around students per graduate teacher. Around 1/4 of graduate teachers are in the Western Province and over 50% are in 6 districts 16

9 Teachers for English, Science & Mathematics A shortage of teachers for English Language at primary level in many districts. On average, 1.2 English teachers per school In the district of N Eliya and many districts in the Northern province, more than 50% of the schools have no English teachers (In Mannar, 6 teachers for 93 primary schools) In the Western Province and districts like Kandy, Galle and Matara: approximately 2 English teachers per school Overall situation is better at the secondary level: 5 English teachers per school on averarge (Colombo- 10 & many districts in the North ~1.5) For Science and Maths (for Grades 6-11): 7 teachers per school on average. (Colombo around 15, Gampaha around 10 and many districts in North 2-3) District averages miss out disparities among schools within a district. 17 Educational Resource Availability: Micro-Level Analysis

10 Human Resources/Teachers : Intra-Regional Disparities District Urban Schools Rural Schools Remote schools Matale Kurunegala Monaragala - Adequate number of teachers in all schools - Extra teachers for Science and English in some schools - Extra teachers for English and Maths in some schools - Adequate in some schools - Shortage of teachers in one (Type 1C) school for Science, Maths & Aesthetics Colombo - Extra teachers for Maths and English - Adequate in some schools. - Shortage of teachers for Maths, English, Science and Aesthetics in some schools - Shortage of teachers for English and Maths in some schools - Shortage of teachers for Maths and English/Science - Grade 2 & 3 classes are combined due to the shortage of teachers - Shortage of teachers especially for English and Science. - Primary classes are combined due to the shortage of teachers - Adequate - Adequate - Shortage of teachers for English, Maths/ Aesthetics in all the schools studied. - Shortage of teachers for Maths, English and Science in all the schools surveyed. Disparities in Human Resources: Some Key Factors Reluctance to work in remote schools due to: Poor accessibility Lack/inadequacy of teacher quarters (and difficulty in finding alternative accommodation) Poor quality of basic facilities (e.g. electricity, drinking water and sanitation facilities) Consequences: High turnover of teachers and experience of new teachers Many teachers from outside can teach only 3days a weeks End result : poor quality of education poor performance at exams; discourage student to attend school & high drop-outs 20

11 Physical Resources : Intra-Regional Disparities Class rooms & Furniture Compared to human resources, intradistrict disparities in physical resources (e.g. classrooms, furniture) are less significant in some districts. The majority of the schools in Matale had inadequate classrooms and furniture. In Kurunegala- urban schools had better facilities than rural and remote schools In Colombo : - Rural : adequate space & classrooms - Urban : Inadequate space & classrooms - remote ( poor ) schools : extra classrooms & furniture due to decline in the student population Library Facilities : Libraries & Computer Facilities No visible disparities between urban and rural schools. Many schools (except few Type 3 rural schools ) have a permanent/temporary library with 1, books. Many remote schools have a reading room/temporary library with around books (though space was inadequate in most of them) Computer Facilities: Computer facilities are available in many Type 1AB and Type 1C schools (that are mainly in urban & rural areas)

12 Labs/Science Rooms No visible disparities between urban and rural schools : many schools have a lab or a science room In remote schools : 1) No science rooms or in very poor condition 2) Science rooms are available BUT no teachers for science subject. Hence, labs/science are used as classrooms/ teachers quarters. (e.g. in Monaragala and Matale), Other Facilities : Electricity, Drinking Water and Sanitation Facilities: Visible disparities in many districts: many remote schools have no electricity and telephone facilities and have inadequate drinking water and toilet facilities. In Colombo, all schools surveyed have access to drinking water, sanitation and electricity. Facilities for Teachers (Quarters, Staff Rooms) : Facilities for teachers (e.g. Teachers quarters, staff rooms, etc) are inadequate in many schools. In many schools, teachers quarters are non-existent, inadequate or in poor condition. However, lack of teachers quarters is more detrimental to schools in remote and rural areas where limited alternative accommodation facilities are available for teachers.

13 Conclusions and Policy Implications Significant disparities in terms of physical and human resources both across and within districts. District-level Analysis: Overall facilities/resources available in the majority of districts in the Northern Province, N Eliya, Monaragala, Anuradhapura and Polonnaruwa are limited. Better facilities/resources in Western Province, Kandy and Galle. Micro-Level Analysis: visible disparities among urban, rural and remote schools Human resources: shortage of teachers in remote and rural schools particularly for English, Maths, Science and Aesthetic subjects while additional teachers in many urban schools Physical Resources: Disparity between urban and rural schools is less significant. Overall facilities in remote schools are very poor/inadequate. Policy Implications : Physical Resources Important to improve facilities in schools in lagging districts and remote schools to ensure equitable educational opportunities for students of all schools and districts. Physical resources/facilities depend largely on the level of funds available to schools. Sources of funds are of two types: i) External sources: government/provincial council funds, funds from the Quality Input (QI) project and NGOs/INGOs. ii) Internal sources: school development society, facilities fees Priority should be given to (remote) schools which lack basic facilities such as classrooms, furniture, water and sanitation and with limited internal funds. Upgrading selected schools at divisional level to provide A/L education and A/L science stream in particular (Navodya programme). Also important to improve hostel facilities in these schools particularly to help poor children from remote areas. 26

14 Policy Implications : Human Resources Policies by the government to fill the shortage of teachers in remote areas: The policy requiring new teachers to serve in remote areas: - Need for strict enforcement of regulations/ policies related to transfers from one school to another. - important to apply to all categories of teachers, irrespective of the scheme under which they are recruited. Provision of a special allowance for teachers working in remote areas Allocation of teachers to schools from the same district - help minimize problems related to transport and accommodation to some extent. Policy Implications : Human Resources Measures to improve allocation of teachers qualified in subjects like English, Maths and Science (across and within districts) Identify appropriate personnel/volunteers from local areas and provide them with necessary training to serve in remote schools A mechanism to monitor and evaluate performance and attendance of teachers Improve facilities for teachers including teachers quarters and other basic facilities (e.g. water and sanitation facilities) in remote and rural schools.

15 Thank you 29