Digital horizons: Blueprint for educational equality, unleashing potential, and revolutionising learning

IN the heart of Sri Lanka, education is more than just schooling; it’s a deeply ingrained aspiration, a pathway to a better future for our children and our nation.

- By Athula R. Samarasinghe

Yet, we grapple with persistent challenges: uneven access to quality teaching, disparities in resources between schools, and the pervasive culture of private tuition that often burdens families and highlights perceived gaps in formal schooling.

The promise of truly equal educational opportunity remains a work in progress.

But what if a strategic embrace of technology could offer a powerful solution, not just improving access, but fundamentally reshaping how we teach, learn, and certify knowledge across the island? The proposed digital learning model has the potential to do just that — standardising quality, empowering educators, engaging students, and providing parents with greater assurance.

Let’s delve into this model and understand its transformative potential from different perspectives.

For the Ministry of Education: A strategic investment in standardisation and sustainability

From a policy perspective, this digital model represents a unique opportunity to leapfrog traditional limitations and build a truly standardised educational backbone. By providing well-structured video lessons online, meticulously aligned with the national curriculum, the Ministry instantly ensures that every secondary school student has access to the same high-quality core content, regardless of their school’s location or current resources. This addresses a critical aspect of equality in education at scale.

Crucially, the Ministry should view the underlying Learning Management System (LMS) platform as a strategic asset to be monetised. A tiered financial model could be established: offering the full suite of digital resources as a paid service for local fee-levying secondary schools, while providing free and unfettered access to Government-run schools. This creates a sustainable funding mechanism.