Editing Sri Lanka (section)

=== Education ===
{{Main|Education in Sri Lanka}}
[[File:SLINTEC060917.jpg|thumb|The [[Sri Lanka Institute of Nanotechnology]] is a research institute specialising in the field of [[nanotechnology]].]]

With a [[literacy rate]] of 92.9%,<ref name="Annual Report 2020" /> Sri Lanka has one of the most literate populations amongst developing nations.<ref>{{cite journal |title=Problems of Illiteracy in a Literate Developing Society: Sri Lanka |author=Gunawardena, Chandra |year=1997 |volume=43 |issue=5/6 |pages=595–609 |journal=International Review of Education |jstor=3445068 |doi=10.1023/A:1003010726149 |bibcode=1997IREdu..43..595G |s2cid=142788627}}</ref> Its youth literacy rate stands at 98.8%,<ref>{{cite web |title=Literacy rate, youth total (% of people ages 15-24) – Sri Lanka |url=https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/SE.ADT.1524.LT.ZS?locations=LK |publisher=World Bank | access-date=24 February 2021 |date=September 2020}}</ref> computer literacy rate at 35%,<ref name="daynwsl">{{cite web |url=http://archives.dailynews.lk/2011/07/29/cdnstory.asp?sid=20110705_01 |title=Govt targets 75% computer literacy rate by 2016 |work=The Daily News}}</ref> and primary school enrollment rate at over 99%.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/sri_lanka_statistics.html |title=Sri Lanka – Statistics |publisher=[[UNICEF]] |access-date=13 November 2010 |archive-date=30 August 2018 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180830142313/https://www.unicef.org/infobycountry/sri_lanka_statistics.html |url-status=dead }}</ref> An education system which dictates nine years of [[Compulsory education|compulsory schooling]] for every child is in place.

The [[free education]] system established in 1945<ref>{{Cite book |author=De Silva, K.M. |title=A Short History of Sri Lanka |publisher=[[University of California Press]] | year=1981 |place=Los Angeles |page=472 |isbn=978-0-520-04320-6 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=dByI_qil26YC}}</ref> is a result of the initiative of [[C. W. W. Kannangara]] and A. Ratnayake.<ref name="autogenerated1">{{cite web |url=http://archives.dailynews.lk/2009/06/08/fea26.asp |title=Honouring the Father of Free Education |work=The Daily News}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://transcurrents.com/tc/2009/10/who_was_father_of_free_educati.html |title=Who was "Father" of free education in Sri Lanka?: C.W.W. Kannangara or A. Ratnayake? |publisher=Trans Currents |access-date=21 November 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160304065821/http://transcurrents.com/tc/2009/10/who_was_father_of_free_educati.html |archive-date=4 March 2016 |url-status=usurped }}</ref> It is one of the few countries in the world that provide universal free education from primary to tertiary stage.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://countrystudies.us/sri-lanka/46.htm |title=Education: Traditional and Colonial Systems |publisher=[[Library of Congress Country Studies]]}}</ref> Kannangara led the establishment of the [[Madhya Vidyalaya]]s (central schools) in different parts of the country in order to provide education to Sri Lanka's rural children.<ref name="daynwsl" /> In 1942, a special education committee proposed extensive reforms to establish an efficient and quality education system for the people. However, in the 1980s changes to this system separated the administration of schools between the central government and the provincial government. Thus the elite [[National school (Sri Lanka)|national schools]] are controlled directly by the [[Ministry of Education (Sri Lanka)|ministry of education]] and the provincial schools by the provincial government. Sri Lanka has approximately 10,155 government schools, 120 private schools and 802 [[pirivena]]s.<ref name="Annual Report 2020"/>

Sri Lanka has 17 public universities.<ref>{{Cite web |date=28 October 2021 |title=Universities and Higher Educational Institutions established under the purview of the University Grants Commission |url=https://www.ugc.ac.lk/index.php?option=com_university&view=list&Itemid=25&lang=en |access-date=28 October 2021 |website=UGC}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ugc.ac.lk/downloads/statistics/stat_2010/Chapter1.pdf |page=3 |title=Sri Lanka University Statistics 2010 |publisher=[[University Grants Commission (Sri Lanka)|University Grants Commission]]}}</ref> A lack of responsiveness of the education system to labour market requirements, disparities in access to quality education, lack of an effective linkage between secondary and tertiary education remain major challenges for the education sector.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://portal.unesco.org/geography/fr/files/10905/12353682765Sri_Lanka.pdf/Sri%2BLanka.pdf |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130623172848/http://portal.unesco.org/geography/fr/files/10905/12353682765Sri_Lanka.pdf/Sri%2BLanka.pdf |url-status=dead |archive-date=23 June 2013 |pages=3–4 |title=Facing Global and Local Challenges: The New Dynamics for Higher Education – Sri Lanka Country Report |publisher=[[UNESCO]]}}</ref> A number of private, degree awarding institutions have emerged in recent times to fill in these gaps, yet the participation at tertiary level education remains at 5.1%.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.ugc.ac.lk/en/statistics/educational-indicators.html |title=Educational Indicators 1980–2009 |publisher=[[University Grants Commission (Sri Lanka)]] | url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110222203802/http://www.ugc.ac.lk/en/statistics/educational-indicators.html |archive-date=22 February 2011}}</ref> Sri Lanka was ranked 89th in the [[Global Innovation Index]] in 2024.<ref>{{Cite book |author=[[World Intellectual Property Organization]] |year=2024 |title=Global Innovation Index 2024: Unlocking the Promise of Social Entrepreneurship |url=https://www.wipo.int/web-publications/global-innovation-index-2024/en/ |access-date=2024-10-06 |website=www.wipo.int |page=18 |publisher=World Intellectual Property Organization |language=en |doi=10.34667/tind.50062 |isbn=978-92-805-3681-2}}</ref>