Education

In terms of education, Sri Lanka has some similarities to the Canadian system of education. In Sri Lanka, education is mandatory and primary and secondary education is free in government schools. There are private and international schools too, in Sri Lanka.  All students in the government schools get free text books like in Canada but Sri Lanka has gone further by giving free uniforms to all the students as well. Thus, the money the Sri Lankan government spends on education is considerably huge.  It is a vast allocation of funds from the country’s national treasury.

As a result of free education in Sri Lanka the majority of young population is fortunate to complete their education at least up to the secondary level. That is why the country could boast 94% of the youth literacy level throughout its history.

However, the problem Sri Lankans faces comes after the secondary education. Unlike in Canada the tertiary education too is free in Sri Lanka but there are only few state universities in the country which cannot accommodate all the students who are qualified for higher studies. This creates a situation which can result in a bottle neck.

Compared to Canada the grade 12 examination in Sri Lanka is very tough and challenging. The students of the entire country face a common examination conducted by the government. Due to the lack of opportunities, only qualified students get university admission and the rest of the students will be cut off and they have to find a way for higher studies in a foreign country or one of the very few private colleges which have opened recently.   Unfortunately, many students put a halt for their studies because of financial problems and find some kind of a job.

In Canada there is no free education for students after secondary education but each student who qualifies for university education gets different types of financial assistance from the government. This paves the way for students to achieve their goals in education. Also compared to Sri Lanka, Canadian universities offer well designed updated courses with practical knowledge to their student targeting the current job market.

In Sri Lanka most of the courses in the universities are still stagnating and not geared to the needs of the country therefore, the degrees they offer don’t have much weight compared to the degrees the Canadian universities offer.