Death of English medium in schools Source:Island There have been several articles on the deterioration of the English education in the country. My friend Dr. Weeraratne has pointed out some relevant facts about the need to improve English Education ( The Island, 14/11/2022) but it also has some factual errors. English medium in the sciences was abolished in the early 1970s and not in1957. This was due to an ill-conceived action taken by Mrs. Bandaranaike with the help of the then minister of education, Baduideen Mohomad. Almost overnight English medium was abolished and this had an enormous impact on the science education of this country. It is true that some students who followed science courses in the swabasha medium have excelled in their relevant fields. However, those who could not enter the universities lost the golden opportunity of learning English in the schools which would enable to those left out ...
Blog Archives
Home ⁄ Tag Archives: English Education
English-medium education: Fantasy and reality-By Gunadasa Amarasekera Source:Island “Once again the same anti-English Education lobby of two decades ago has won the battle. It is interesting how the same wheel turns 20 years later” (The island 25/06) Dr. Tara de Mel has admitted that the pro-English, lobby, including herself, has lost the battle. Losing the battle should not come as a surprise to her. Battles are lost when they are based on fantasy and not on reality, and vice versa; they are won when they are based on reality and not on fantasy. It is time she realized this at least after 20 years. Since Dr. de Mel has admitted defeat, I need not labour to present the case for the mother tongue in primary and secondary education for children. This case has been very convincingly presented by educationists the world over, including our own, during the past so many years. ...
