The A level results that were published
a few days ago, highlighted the fact that in Sri Lanka, the girls perform at a
much better level than boys. Be that as it may, whether right or wrong, another
fact that emerges is that boys from single sex schools perform better, as there
are hardly any boys from mixed schools at the top rung.
Another statistic that psychologists
would attest to, is that age for age girls are more mature than boys, and by
this it would imply that girls are more able to concentrate on their studies,
set themselves achievement targets, and as they are in general less sporty, are
able to focus on their studies as compared with boys. These are of course
highly subjective, but would nevertheless fortify the reasons for the
unbalanced entry into Universities for most subjects by girls, where even the
Agriculture Faculties of Universities comprise many more girls than boys.
Just to explain one other point on the
latter statement, the education system boxes people depending on their results,
and if people get into Agriculture as the highest Z score course of study, no
matter that most of these girls do not show any aptitude for that subject,
after graduation do not use it in any form, rendering this National Investment
a waste of scarce resources.
There was an article in the internet
today, on this subject, and I show the link below which reinforces my
hypothesis, and Educationists in Sri Lanka should take this into account in re
drafting the National Education Policy, which should concentrate on giving our
youth an appropriate education to suit both the Country’s needs and the
personal aptitudes and goals of the students.
The article however implies that up to
the Grade 5 exam it does not matter what the gender is, and also if the classes
are mixed. It is at adolescence that this becomes a problem, where hormones and
maturity may collectively play its part.
Most Colombo schools are single sex, and
most provincial schools are mixed, this may further aggravate the performance indicators
of these schools, due the hypothesis above. The largest mixed school in Sri
Lanka is Dharmapala Pannipitiya, with over 2,000 students. With increasing population
shift to the Western Province and its resulting need for more classrooms, it is
wise to consider the effects gender separation has on the education of the
students there.
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