No More Rainy-Day Dropouts

After years of being drowned out, Sri Lanka’s National Education Coalition is making waves in transforming education. With a new government open to change, civil society is stepping in to tackle the challenges facing schools—bridging the gap between local struggles and national reform to give students a brighter future.

In a small, pink-painted classroom in the village of Kandagolla in Sri Lanka’s Uva province Badulla district, a handful of brightly coloured wooden desks and chairs create a cheerful atmosphere. On dry, warm days, a pleasant breeze drifts through the open window frames, stirring the chalk dust on the old blackboard and gently lifting the pages of the books the students are bent over, deep in concentration. But whenever it rains — and in this highland region, rain is frequent — the drumming on the tin roof drowns out voices, and water seeps in through gaps in the worn-out structure, leaving students drenched and struggling to concentrate.
“Lack of proper facilities is a challenge, making it nearly impossible to teach at times,” says Shirantha Suraweera, principal of the school, B/Ampitiya Vidajalaya.

At the same time, students are being absent for long periods of time. They miss school to help their families earn a living, causing them to fall behind and sometimes drop out of school altogether. “We do everything we can to keep them engaged, but with limited resources and the economic strains on the families in poorer areas such as this, it is an uphill battle,” says the principal.

A Breakthrough for Civil Society

The situation in Kandagolla is not unique in Sri Lanka, where almost 25 per cent of the population have incomes below the poverty line after years of political and economic crisis. On the bright side, Kandagolla no longer faces its challenges alone.
“We have a new government who has signalled a willingness to strengthen and modernise the education system and to collaborate with civil society on what to prioritise and how,” says Shantha Kulathunge, National Coordinator of Sri Lanka’s National Education Coalition (CED), representing more than 60 civil society organisations across Sri Lanka.

For years, civil society in Sri Lanka struggled to gain a voice in shaping education policies, as previous governments preferred to handle policy development, and implementation without external input. However, the new government, which took office in November 2024, demonstrates what Shanta Kulathunge describes as ‘considerable openness to hear the voice of the civil society’.
“This government is made up of people who don’t come from the traditional elite but from civil society. They are also new to governing and recognise the need for the expertise that civil society offers,” explains Kulathunge.

As a result, the coalition has shifted its advocacy strategy from that of a watchdog to that of a knowledge provider to the government. Recently, their study, “Analysis of Education Policies, Policy Frameworks, and Reform Initiatives in Sri Lanka: Strengths, Relevance, and Gaps”, led to an invitation by the Ministry of Education and related other actors, and Kulathunge hope to continue this dialogue and ultimately give an opportunity to influence the upcoming reform efforts.

Local Solutions to National Problems

Another focus area for the coalition has been the establishment of provincial education committees in all provinces. To connect national policy with the reality on the ground, the committees have recently done a mapping identifying: lack of infrastructure facilities, high dropout rates and declining quality as the main challenges faced by the local schools.
“This knowledge is brought to the authorities along with our proposals. For example, many schools in the Uva province have a surplus of teaching staff but a shortage of teaching materials or lack of facilities. These schools should be allowed more leeway to allocate resources as they see fit, and we use this mapping to advocate this view,” says S J M Dhanapala a member from the Uva provincial education committee.

Lack of proper facilities is a challenge, making it nearly impossible to teach at times.

Shirantha Suraweera Principal of the school, B/Ampitiya Vidajalaya

We have a new government who has signalled a willingness to strengthen and modernise the education system and to collaborate with civil society on what to prioritise and how.

Shantha KulathungeNational Coordinator of Sri Lanka’s National Education Coalition

Many challenges remain for Sri Lanka’s path to quality education, but so much positive change is happening right now that it is difficult to be pessimistic

Mr Wajira UmagaliyaProvincial coordinator of CED

According to Shanta Kulathunge, the inputs has generally been welcomed by the education authorities, and in many districts the answer has been a pledge to take action to solve the most pressing issues. “Meanwhile, the coalition members are changing things on the ground and case by case,” says Shanta Kulathunge.

Currently, members are connecting with those schools and communities that see high absenteeism and dropout rates, identifying children at risk and working with each of the families to inform them about the importance of education and help them find solutions to keep their children enrolled. Other members are offering support to the local education authorities on, for example, the drafting of the required risk reduction plans in exchange for influence on the implementation of the education policies and programmes.
“Many challenges remain for Sri Lanka’s path to quality education, but so much positive change is happening right now that it is difficult to be pessimistic,” says Mr Wajira Umagaliya, Provincial coordinator of CED  

With funding from Education Out Loud, the coalition has regained the resources to push for a more inclusive education policy, and with the new government there is a space for civil society to influence. For students in schools like B/Ampitiya Vidajalaya, this could mean that a rainy day no longer equals a lost school day — but a step towards a brighter future.