Direct challenge to Sri Lanka’s educational leaders

“If we want a different country, we must first imagine a different classroom” | Bold new framework confronts policy makers and academics with uncomfortable truths about educational failure and demands immediate transformation

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SRI Lanka’s educational establishment faces its most direct challenge yet with the release of “The ‘why’ of education: A framework for transformation”—a provocative blueprint that questions fundamental assumptions about learning and demands that policy makers and academics answer a critical question: Are we preparing students for our past, or for their future?

The framework pulls no punches in its assessment of current educational priorities, asking stakeholders to confront an uncomfortable reality: while other nations have transformed their educational systems to meet 21st-century challenges, Sri Lanka remains trapped in colonial-era thinking that prioritises conformity over creativity, memorisation over meaning, and grades over genuine growth.

“When we teach our students today, the way we were taught yesterday, we are stealing their tomorrow.” This stark warning encapsulates the moral crisis facing Sri Lankan education—every day spent maintaining outdated systems is a day stolen from the future our students deserve.

The economic implications of this theft are staggering, and the numbers tell a devastating story of squandered potential against a ticking demographic clock:

The demographic countdown: By 2037, Sri Lanka’s elderly population (60+) is projected to double, reaching 5.2 million, up from 2.5 million in 2012. By 2042, nearly 1 in 4 Sri Lankans will be elderly—making Sri Lanka one of the fastest-aging countries in South Asia. This demographic shift is happening before the country reaches high-income status—a phenomenon described as “growing old before becoming rich.” The country has a narrow window to maximise its youth potential before the dependency ratio reverses and economic strain intensifies.