The local education sector is still in dire need of a holistic and multi-pronged approach to the inclusive delivery of education services amid the “unique” circumstances, the Central Bank of Sri Lanka (CBSL) said.

The ‘Recent Economic Developments: Highlights of 2021 and Prospects for 2022’ released today stressed the need for essential policies to facilitate and support students’ learning process rather than simply delivering content.

“This will require improvements to syllabi and pedagogy, both of which needed improvements even before the COVID-19 pandemic,” the report stated.

Some suggestions for improvement include curating existing ‘open’ content and aligning the same to the national curriculum instead of attempting to develop new content.

Small yet timely efforts by education policymakers and teaching staff are of utmost importance to minimise any ‘learning poverty’ arising from the pandemic, especially among young children and students with special needs, both of whom tend to derive higher benefits from face-to-face pedagogy, the report highlighted.

Furthermore, with the increased reliance on technology, especially for educational purposes, significant disparities in education outcomes are highly likely in the period ahead due to this ‘digital divide’. The CBSL said this divide in turn will have detrimental effects on long term earning potential and living standards of those affected.

 In the midst of the strike of schoolteachers over the last three months, online tuition classes and fee levying private schools have continued their education activities.

While education services were and are being offered by the private sector for a fee, the disruptions observed in public provisioning of education services can pave way for disparities in educational outcomes of the groups of students.