Education in Sri Lanka
Primary and secondary education - Structure
Sri Lanka's education structure is divided into five parts: primary, junior secondary, senior secondary, collegiate, and tertiary. Primary education lasts five years (Grade 1 to Grade 5) and at the end of this period, the students may elect to write a national exam called the Scholarship exam. This exam allows students with exceptional skills to move on to better schools. After primary education, the junior secondary level (referred to as middle school in some schools) lasts for 4 years (Grades 6-9) followed by 2 years (Grades 10-11) of the senior secondary level which is the preparation for the General Certificate of Education (G.C.E) Ordinary Level (O/Ls). According to the Sri Lankan law, it is compulsory that all children go to school till grade 9 (age 14) at which point they can choose to continue their education or drop out and engage in apprenticeship for a job or farming. However, the Ministry of Education strongly advises all students to continue with their studies at least till the G.C.E Ordinary Level. Students who are pursuing tertiary education must pass the G.C.E O/Ls in order to enter the collegiate level to study for another 2 years (grades 12-13) to sit for the G.C.E Advanced Level. On successful completion of this exam, students can move on to tertiary education, therefore the GCE A/Ls is the university entrance exam in Sri Lanka.
Due to the variety of ethnic groups in Sri Lanka, many schools teach only in either Sinhala medium or in Tamil medium and not the English medium. It is compulsory to do the primary education in Sinhala medium. However since 2002, there are English medium classes conducted in majority of government schools. The elite colleges in major cities such as Colombo and Kandy, teach in all three media.
Normal ages
Primary
Kindergarten: 3-5 year olds
Grade 1: 5-6 year olds
Grade 2: 6-7 year olds
Grade 3: 7-8 year olds
Grade 4: 8-9 year olds
Grade 5: 9-10 year olds - Scholarship Examination
Secondary
Junior secondary
Grade 6: 10-11 year olds
Grade 7: 11-12 year olds
Grade 8: 12-13 year olds
Grade 9: 13-14 year olds
Senior secondary
Grade 10: 14-15 year olds
Grade 11: 15-16 year olds - G.C.E Ordinary Level Examination
Collegiate
Grade 12: 16-17 year olds
Grade 13: 18-19 year olds - G.C.E Advanced Level Examination
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