The Lack of the Sinhalese Language Literacy among the Students: A Case Study of a School in Kolonnawa Educational Division

Abstract

Sri Lanka has a commendable record for one of the highest literacy rates in the South East Asia. This achievement can be largely attributed to the free education system of the country which came into operation since 1945. The many decades since then the country‟s education system has evolved under various socio-political nuances. Kolonnawa is an area known for its complex social background. This isolated study which concentrates upon a cohort of 22 students assigned to a special Sinhalese language literacy class in a school located in Sedawaththa tries to unearth the reason as to what has made the particular student population lagging behind the required Sinhalese language literacy for their age. The study found out that the sheer lack of parent‟s concern for their children‟s education has mainly led for this predicament. In addition, the poverty, the disintegrated family setups, lack of effective educational policies on the part of relevant authorities corresponding to the above social setting have been the contributory factors for this issue. The methodology adopted for the study was face to face interviews with the relevant students and the teachers. It is not a high profile technical report but it is a simple case study which tries to highlight the current problems relating to the Sinhalese language literacy among the students in the concerned area.