Policy of standardization

Policy of standardization

The policy of standardization was a policy implemented by the Sri Lankan government in 1973 to rectify disparities created in university enrollment in Sri Lanka under Colonial rule.

The reasoning for the law

Under the British, English was the state language and consequently greatly benefited English speakers. However the majority of Sri Lankan populace lived outside urban areas and did not belong to the social elite, and therefore did not enjoy the benefits of English-medium education. The issue was compounded further by the fact that in Northern and Eastern regions of the island, where a largely Tamil populace resided,cite book | last =Jayasuriya | first =J. E. | title =Education in the Third World | publisher =Indian Institute of Education | date =1981 | location =Pune | id = OCLC|7925123] students had access to English-medium education through missionary schools regardless of their socio-economy strata. This created a situation where a large proportion of students enrolled in universities throughout the country were English speaking Tamils and Sinhalese from urban centers like Colombo, particularly in professional courses such as medicine and engineering.

The implementation of the law

The government policy of standardization in essence was an affirmative action scheme to assist geographically disadvantaged students to gain tertiary education. The benefits enjoyed by Sinhalese students also meant a significant fall in the number of Tamil students within the Sri Lankan university student populace. This was an affirmative action program to help the majority Sinhalese who had been sidelined during European colonial times due to a consistent policy of divide and conquer by the Europeans; who had promoted the minority Tamils and lower-caste Sinhalese Christians over the Sinhalese Buddhists and the Muslims due to the latters' obedience and propensity to accept Christianity and foreign rule more willingly.

The effect of the law

30% of university places were allocated on the basis of island-wide merit; half the places were allocated on the basis of comparative scores within districts and an additional 15% reserved for students from under privileged districts.

In 1969, the Northern Province, which was largely populated by Tamils and compromised 7%"Department of Census and Statistics", [http://www.statistics.gov.lk/PopHouSat/PDF/Population/p9p1%20Growth.pdf Population by district, size, intercensal increase and average growth rates] ] of the population of the country, provided 27.5 percent of the entrants to science based courses in Sri Lankan universities. By 1974, this was reduced to 7%. However, the hardest hit population group were the urban Sinhalese in the Western Province, which contained 26% of the islands population. In 1969, the Western Province provided 67.5 percent of admissions to science based courses. This reduced to 27% in 1974, after the law came into effect.

Reaction

When the policy was implemented, the urban Sinhalese population had reconciled themselves to the fact that the position of privilege they had enjoyed under the British would not last forever, and the situation had to stabilize at the population level. However Tamils saw the policy along communal terms, and strongly opposed the move.

Abolishment of standardization

The standardization of university entrance was abandoned in 1977, and 80% of the university places were filled in accordance with raw marks scored by students. The remaining 20% of places was allocated to students in districts with inadequate educational facilities.

ee also

* Education in Sri Lanka
* Sri Lankan universities
* Sri Lankan Civil War

References

External links

* [http://www.mohe.gov.lk Ministry of Higher Education Sri Lanka]
* [http://www.ugc.ac.lk/statistics/Student/Enrolment%20MIS%20Pub-2007.pdf Undergraduate statistics 2000-2007]


Wikimedia Foundation. 2010.

Игры ⚽ Поможем сделать НИР

Look at other dictionaries:

  • Standardization of Office Open XML — Office Open XML Office Open XML file formats Open Packaging Conventions Open Specification Promise Vector Markup Language Office Open XML software Comparison of Office Open XML software Office Open XML standardization The Office Open XML file… …   Wikipedia

  • Standardization Administration of China — The Standardization Administration of China (SAC; Chinese: 国家标准化管理委员会; pinyin: guó​jiā​ biāo​zhǔnhuà ​guǎn​lǐ ​wěi​yuán​huì​) is the Standards organization authorized by the State Council of China to exercise administrative responsibilities by… …   Wikipedia

  • International Organization for Standardization — Infobox Organization name = International Organization for Standardization Organisation internationale de normalisation image border = size = caption = msize = mcaption = list of members abbreviation = motto = formation = 23 February 1947 type =… …   Wikipedia

  • European Committee for Standardization — Members, affiliates, and partner standardisation bodies of the ECS. The European Committee for Standardization or Comité Européen de Normalisation (CEN), is a non profit organisation whose mission is to foster the European economy in global… …   Wikipedia

  • Romany language standardization — There are independent groups currently working toward standardizing the Romany language, including groups in Romania, Serbia, the USA, and Sweden.Where it is being pursuedA standardized form of Romany is used in Serbia. In Serbia s autonomous… …   Wikipedia

  • Terminology planning policy — Terminology planning is a planning activity for developing domain communication largely according to the needs and requirements of knowledge representation. Domain specific conventions of knowledge representation mdash; depending on the domain as …   Wikipedia

  • Origins of the Sri Lankan civil war — Sri Lankan Civil War (1983–2009) Background Sri Lanka · History of Sri Lanka Origins of the Civil War Origins of the Civil War · Sri Lankan Tamil nationalism …   Wikipedia

  • Saeed Sulub Mohamed — the current Minister of Public Works and Transport, is one of the most important ministers of Somaliland.The Minister s principal ministerial responsibilities include: *Government Accommodation and Public Service Residences *Government buildings… …   Wikipedia

  • Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications — 総務省 Sōmushō 2nd Building of the Central Common Government Office, the building which houses the ministry …   Wikipedia

  • Sri Lankan Tamil people — Sri Lankan Tamils ஈழத் தமிழர் …   Wikipedia

Share the article and excerpts

Direct link
Do a right-click on the link above
and select “Copy Link”