Poor schools on chopping block

The Opposition asked the government, in Parliament on Friday, whether the latter would go ahead with its plan to close down low-attendance schools, and if so, what would happen to the students in them.

- 

The government said the number of students would not be the sole criterion for what it described as 'school restructuring', and factors such as population density and transport would also be taken into consideration. Its response smacked of obfuscation.

President Anura Kumara Dissanayake, speaking in Parliament, in July 2025, said 98 state-run schools were without new admissions. Pointing out that about 15% schools had fewer than 50 students each, and about two-thirds of schools had fewer than 100 students each, the President said a strategy to overcome the problem might necessitate the permanent closure of some of those seats of learning. According to teachers' trade unions and organisations dedicated to protecting universal free education, most of these low-enrolment schools are situated in rural areas. The predicament of these schools is usually attributed to several factors such as the development of public transport, which has enhanced students' mobility and lessened their dependence on rural schools which are in a state of neglect.