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Private education has grown faster in South Asia than in other regions – UNESCO
A new UNESCO Report released last week (Nov 2) shows that non-state actors in South Asia are more involved in every aspect of education systems than in any other world region. Highly competitive examination pressures and dissatisfaction with public schools led to the highest levels of enrolment in private institutions in primary and secondary education than in other regions, but also to extensive private tutoring and an explosion of education technology companies.
With fragmented systems stretched during the pandemic, and evidence of a shift of students from private to public schools, the report calls for a review of existing regulations on non-state actors and how they are enforced. While access to education has grown faster than in any other region in the past few decades in South Asia, learning levels are more than one third below the global average and growing more slowly than in the rest of the world. It recommends that all state and non-state education activities be viewed as part of one system, supported and coordinated ministries of education so that quality and equity can be improved.
The report draws on the global comparative research by the Global Education Monitoring Report at UNESCO and six regional partners: BRAC; the Institute for Integrated Development Studies; theInstitute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka; Idara-E-Taleem Oaagahi(Centre of Education and Consciousness); the Center for Policy Research; and the Central Square Foundation. Combining the experiences of Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, the Islamic Republic of Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka, it looks at occasions where the growing advent of private education has put equity under pressure but also at positive practices that have created cohesion across all actors involved.
Non-state actors are influential across all education levels in the region. In early childhood, the private sector is often the main provider, educating 93% of children in the Islamic Republic of Iran, for instance. At the primary level, private schools educate a quarter of students in Nepal, over a third in Pakistan and almost half in India. Low-fee private schools have flourished. Out of all new schools established in India since 2014, 7 in 10 are private independent schools. In Bangladesh, a quarter of primary and almost all secondary school enrolment is in private institutions. International schools have grown alongside the demand for English-language education, effectively doubling in Sri Lanka between 2012 and 2019.
Tertiary education is increasingly private due to insufficient public supply, covering over half of enrolment in Afghanistan by 2020. In Nepal, the limited capacity of the main public university in the country led to the establishment of non-state campuses. Teacher training institutions are also often private with teacher education only provided exclusively by the state in two countries, Bhutan and the Islamic Republic of Iran. In 2020, more than 90% of recognized pre-service teacher education institutions in India were privately funded through student fees.
Competitive education systems and labour markets have led to a surge in private tutoring, putting pressure on household finances. In Sri Lanka, the percentage of households spending on private tutoring increased between 1995 and 2016 from 41% to 65% of urban households and from 19% to 62% of rural households; it increased in Bangladesh between 2000 and 2010 from 28% to 54% in rural areas and from 48% to 67% in urban areas. The popularity of private tutoring has led to a rise of coaching centres; in India, their number may run into the hundreds of thousands.
He was examining security officer’s new weapon while waiting for his wife to join him on a morning walk
Friday’s shock death of former IGP Chandana Wickramaratne due to gunshot injuries on his chest was possibly due to an accidental discharge of his personal security officer’s (PSO’s) pistol. Wickramaratne, who was kitted for his walk and waiting on the verandah for his wife to join him, was examining the PSO’s new weapon, knowledgeable sources said.
These sources said the wife who was putting on her shoes inside the house heard a bang and found Wickramaratne fallen on the verandah.
The retired IGP had noticed the security officer carrying a new weapon and had asked to examine it. Saying he carried a similar weapon years ago, he found no magazine and said, “are you planning to accompany me on my walk with a pistol without a magazine?”
The PSO had then handed the loaded magazine and gone into the house to fetch a requested bottle of water when the weapon had gone off.
The sources said that Wickramaratne was in no way depressed and had attended an Ananda College old boy’s event a few days ago, had dinner with friends and chatted with them. He had an appointment to meet a friend on Saturday.
Friends and family saw no reason for Wickramaratne to take his own life and there was no evidence whatever of an external agent shooting him. The former IGP was pronounced dead at the Colombo East Teaching Hospital to which he was rushed.
Police said investigations were proceeding and an autopsy report was awaited.
Wickramaratne was appointed the 35th Inspector General on November 25, 2020 and retired three years later in 2023. He had also set a record as the longest serving acting IGP since his naming to that position in May 2019 after his predecessor Pujith Jayasundara was sent on compulsory leave.
He joined as a trainee Assistant Superintendent in June 1986 after graduating from the Colombo University. He was absorbed to the National Intelligence Bureau where he worked till 1995. Thereafter he reverted to the uniform service and had been posted across the country, including the northern and eastern areas at the height of the war.
Former Colombo Mayor Rosy Senanayake appeared before the Presidential Commission of Inquiry appointed to investigate allegations of corruption and fraud at the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC) on Friday (17).
Speaking to the media after appearing before the commission, Senanayake said she had been summoned to provide information regarding a food voucher programme implemented during her tenure as Mayor amid the COVID-19 pandemic and the economic crisis.
She said the programme, carried out through state-owned Lanka Sathosa, was introduced to provide assistance to low-income and vulnerable families affected by the economic hardships during the period.
“We gave food vouchers from Sathosa to the poor during the pandemic and economic crisis.
They wanted answers to some questions they had regarding the programme,” Senanayake said.The Presidential Commission is currently investigating allegations relating to financial irregularities, corruption and other misconduct within the Colombo Municipal Council.
A police constable has been suspended from service following an inquiry into allegations that he sat on the lap of a female police constable while under the influence of alcohol at the Makalugaswewa Police Station.
Police said the constable had reported for duty at a musical concert held at the Dambulla Gam Udawa Stadium on July 15 and later returned to the police station to resume duties.
According to initial reports, the constable allegedly sat on the female officer’s lap after seeing her seated on a chair at the station.
The female police constable subsequently lodged a complaint with the Assistant Superintendent of Police (ASP) in charge of the area through the Officer-in-Charge (OIC) of the police station.
A preliminary investigation into the incident found that the constable had allegedly been under the influence of alcohol at the time of the incident.
Following the inquiry into the alleged harassment of the female officer and the constable’s conduct while on duty, police authorities took steps to suspend his service pending further action.
by Norman Palihawadane ✍️
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