EDUCATION IN GLOBALIZING SRI LANKA: THE CASE OF SRI

LANKAN INTERNATIONAL SCHOOLS

Virandi Wettewa
University of Sydney (Australia)

Abstract
Sri Lanka is a multi-cultural state comprising of four major ethnic groups speaking three languages.
Post colonial Sri Lanka endorses free state-managed education in the vernacular languages. State
owned, semi-governmental and private schools follow the National Curriculum under the Ministry for
Education. In 1961, Sri Lanka banned the establishment of any new private schools in the country.
Private schools started by Christian missionaries during British rule were seen to evoke colonial pro-
elitist sentiments and a driving force for social stratification.

However since this ban on private schools, there has been a profusion of institutions claiming to be
‘International Schools’ existing within a loophole in the legal framework. This research looks at the
ramifications that international schools have for the state as well as the various stakeholders via a
mixed method study conducted in four contrasting case studies and the Ministry for Education, Sri
Lanka. The research explores the popularity, concerns and rationale behind this growing industry in
contemporary globalizing Sri Lanka. The theoretical basis lies on Bourdieu’s concepts of Social
Reproduction Theory and Cultural Capital; the verdict being that English proficiency and foreign
credentials allow for a competitive edge in neo-liberal times.

Keywords: International Schools, Sri Lanka, cultural capital, School Choice, Globalization

1. INTRODUCTION
School choice is often limited to mere commodification (Robenstine 2001) and in a market driven
system, schools compete for the best students while the parents invest in most profitable outcome
generating institutions. This choice however is restricted along lines of class, socio-cultural and
economic capital (Kelly 2002). As Stromquist and Monkman (2000) observe, globalization has
resulted in an era where schooling is used as a platform to differentiate students at an early age into
those that emerge victorious and those who become the future supply of missing labour that is made
up of low skilled menial jobs.

International schools are one such privileged system that caters for a minority that can afford the high
school fees. In Post-independence Sri Lanka, resentment to private education that is a reminder of
colonial (and English speaking native elite) supremacy has resulted in a ban on private education.
Lately, within this backdrop, ‘International Schools’ have begun to mushroom throughout the island.
Registered under the Company’s Act, these private schools exist within a loophole in the legal
framework.

Research was carried out in four International schools of varying standards in four cities in Sri Lanka.
With each case study, interviews and focus groups were carried out with an administrator, teachers
and students as well as telephone interviews with parents. In addition, the research also involved
conducting an interview with the Secretary for Education from the Sri Lankan Ministry for Education.
The researcher was interested in finding out:

1. Why parents choose to send their children to International Schools and what the perceived benefits
and drawbacks of this system of education are.

2. What are the viewpoints of the students who attend international schools in Sri Lanka in terms of
why they have chosen this particular path of education and how it impacts their future?
3. How the state mediates the growth of International Schools or what the key concerns of the
government are in regard to Sri Lankan International Schools.

The following article examines the emergence of these International schools and the rationale behind
their popularity in Sri Lanka. It unpacks some of the economic, social and cultural repercussions that
this novel education system has for both the various stakeholders of the International School Industry
as well as for the government of Sri Lanka.

2. SRI LANKA

2.1 An overview of the island

Sri Lanka is a multi-cultural state comprising of four major ethnic groups (Sinhalese, Tamils, Muslims
and Burgers) belonging to four major religious groups (Buddhists, Hindus, Islamists and Christians)
and speaking three national languages (Sinhala, Tamil and English). The ‘Mahavamsa’ (an ancient
text) portrays a special bond between Buddhism, the Sinhalese people and Sri Lanka. This
connection depicts a portrayal of Sri Lanka as the exclusive homeland of the Sinhalese emphasizing
an anxiety to ‘revive, preserve and strengthen’ this alleged ownership by the Sinhalese ‘Lion’ race.
The Tamils on the other hand are characterized as a threat with historical antecedents that generate
and sustain hostility (Sharma 1976). Hence, as Udagama (1990) criticizes, Sri Lanka does not seem
to have a national identity but an ethnic one.

The island was plagued by a 30-year civil war that lasted from 1983 until 2009, claiming the lives of
over 60,000 Sri Lankans and displacing over a million (Levinson and Stewick 2007). It was a war
fought between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of the Tamil Elaam (LTTE) that
demanded a separate state in the North and East of the country for the Tamil population. The roots of
this civil dispute lay in post-independence political decisions of which education was a significant
contributing factor.

2.2 History of education

Sri Lanka’s colonial history dates back to Portuguese, Dutch and British rule. The British introduced
mass education and at the same time promoted a dual system of education. Vernacular primary
schools continued to function, however, more attention was placed on high fee levying private schools
that operated in the English medium. These schools were limited to a few urban areas and those who
went to these schools gained most of the white-collar jobs during the colonial period (Ranasinghe
1999). Moreover, the ‘English educated Sri Lankans began to look down upon their own people who
did not speak English’ (Punchi 2001, p.367). Simultaneously, the British strategy of ‘divide and rule’
meant that the Tamil ethnic minority received preferential treatment and held high-ranking jobs in
comparison to the majority Sinhalese ethnic group. All this exacerbated social inequality.

Upon gaining independence in 1948, one of the first reforms that the national government
implemented was that of free education in the Sinhalese and Tamil languages. One of the immediate
effects of this was a rapid rise in educational participation. As Jayaweera (1989) notes, urban, rural
and gender discrepancies declined unlike any other country in South Asia. Figures such as a 90%
literacy rate and a 72-year life expectancy were all possible because of this freely available education
in the native language.

Post independence Sri Lanka also saw a number of other changes. In 1956, Sinhalese was made the
official language giving it prominence over Tamil. Bourdieu and Thompson (1991) highlight the
significance of education in the creation and reproduction of socio-linguistic hierarchies when he
states that, via agents of regulation and imposition, ‘legitimate languages’ are produced and thereby
social inequalities are generated. The ‘Swabhasha’ policy of 1956 required students to be educated in
their ‘mother-tongue’. As Davies (2004) notes, this segregation promoted inter-ethnic enmity and
mistrust.
The Sinhalese majority government also passed a number of other educational policies at the direct
expense of the ethnic minorities. The Act of 1956 made fluency of Sinhalese a requirement for all
government jobs. This meant that migrant Sinhalese people occupied the government jobs of the
majority Tamil areas. Furthermore, the government introduced quotas for university entrance that
required Tamils to get much higher scores than the Sinhalese. Adding to this problem, mistranslations
from Sinhalese to Tamil in textbooks for example, made the physical infrastructure of Tamil schools
much poorer compared to the Sinhalese schools (Stewart, Barron, Brown and Hartwell 2006). The
national schooling system thus contributed to the creation and perpetuation of conflict.

2.3 Ban on private education

Private schools started by Christian missionaries during British times were seen to evoke colonial pro-
elitist sentiments. In Sri Lanka, most of the political leaders soon after independence were those that
were educated in private English schools. However, affiliations with the English language were seen
as unpatriotic and at odds with the emerging sense of nationalism. Thus, English was subdued and
the shift to education in the national languages took place.

For those that grew up within the free national education system, private schools continued to be a
reminder of colonial power and a driving force for social stratification. In 1961 therefore, the
government of Ceylon decided to ban the establishment of any new private schools under a special
act. Existing private schools were given the option of abolishing fees and receiving state grants to
become semi-government or continue to remain as unaided fee levying schools.

The Sri Lankan education system is thus a unique case where the private sector is discouraged from
financing and delivering education. There are legal restrictions concerning the establishment of
private schools and government reluctance to accredit private universities. This has weakened the
flow of resources in Sri Lanka when even former communist countries such as Russia and China
have thriving and expanding private education sectors today (Aturupane 2009). Hence Sri Lanka has
about 9790 national schools in the government sector and only 78 private schools (Ministry of
Education 2004).

By the 1970s, youth educated in the vernacular languages were still not able to reap the benefits of
free education, as jobs required a high standard of English proficiency. English, referred to as
'kaduwa' (the sword) needed to be overthrown. These sentiments stemmed from a notion of inequity
and elitist views associated with private schools. Thus there was a rise of insurrections by the JVP (a
leftist group) in 1971 and 1988. As Wickramanayake (2009:99) observes, ‘English has been, and
sometimes still is viewed as the language of the colonial master and the privileged elite in society,
rather than an international language that is useful in a global world’.

Any attempts to improve the quality of English education or the setting up of private education
institutions were viewed as reforms that challenged the status quo of post independence Sri Lanka.
These issues were politically very volatile and as Wickramanayake (2009:99) note, had a strong
element of inhibition. As one of her research interviews revealed, ‘people tend to look at these things
not in a cerebral way but in an emotional manner, and then governments in power are reluctant to get
involved in these issues because they feel the political fallout will be very negative and
uncomfortable’. Progressive change therefore was met with opposition influenced by past colonial
sentiments.

2.4 The National Schooling System

Sri Lanka has about 9800 government schools, 600 pirivenas (monastic schools), 25 special
education schools and about 80 private schools. The government schools are further categorized into
national schools and provincial schools. The Ministry of Education is directly responsible for the
administration of the 327 national schools. The provincial council department of education supervises
the provincial schools. The Sri Lankan schooling structure is a 13-year program where Years 1-5
constitutes of Primary Education while years 6-13 include Secondary Education. Education is
compulsory for all students aged 5-14 and hence the schooling years 1- 9 are considered mandatory.
At Primary Level, the focus of education is developing mother tongue, mathematics, religion and
environment through play and desk based activities. At this stage the class teacher promotes English
via conversational and situational approaches.

In Years 6-9 (also known as the junior secondary level), the curriculum is organized on a subject basis
where in addition to mother tongue teaching, a second national language (Sinhalese or Tamil) and
English is included. The next two years focus on the GCE Ordinary Levels for which students take 8-
10 subjects and the final two years focus on the Advanced Levels for which the students select three
subjects from the streams science, commerce and arts. In addition, students are also required to sit
for a common general paper and a paper in General English. In addition to the general path, it is also
possible for students to follow a vocational path after Year 9.

Amarasinghe and Ratnayake (2008) note that attempting to provide free education to an entire nation
has come at the cost of poor quality. The government expenditure on Sri Lankan education in 2008
amounts to about US$175 million annually. The education budget has accounted for approximately
3% of national income and 10% of government spending. However Amarasinghe and Ratnayake
(2008) also observe that the government expenditure has been on recurrent expenditure rather than
capital accumulation. The majority of investment is on textbooks, teacher salaries, uniforms and
scholarships while little is spent on building new infrastructure or putting in quality inputs such as
equipment, technology or furniture.

Moreover, not all schools however are of a similar standard. Schools from the major cities such as
Colombo, Kandy and Galle are generally of a higher standard with better infrastructure. There are
regional variations in cognitive achievements with the more affluent schools from the Western
Province having the highest achievement levels. Small schools do not have the same facilities as
some of the well-known urban schools. Thus there is an increased demand for popular prestigious
urban schools. Parents force residency details in order to gain access to these popular national or
central schools despite government restriction. This has meant that most urban schools are
overcrowded (Amarasinghe and Ratnayake 2008). As Hettige (2004) note, the ban on private
education did not necessarily lead to equalization but reinforced the importance of privileged urban
schools.

In Sri Lanka, English continues to be the path for upward mobility. The expanding corporate sector for
example use English as their language of business and hence employ English educated youth.
Hettige (2004:1) states, ‘English education is the most significant avenue of upward social mobility
irrespective of one’s class position and has come under the influence of a competitive market that
naturally favours the well to do’. However, the ‘need for competence in English has been downplayed
in an attempt to provide equal opportunity for the rural child’ (Wickramanayake 2009:94).

Not only is there an apparent lack of English teaching in the island, but the field of Information and
Communication Technology (ICT) is also criticized for being rather poor. Furthermore, the curriculum
is criticized for not being par with modern day needs and the lack of teachers and teacher
absenteeism are adding to the problem of quality. In Sri Lanka, teaching is one of the lowest paid
sectors of government employment. This coupled with the availability of 40 days personal leave
annually for teachers in addition to their normal school vacations and public holidays raises several
red flags about the quality of the national schooling system.

3. DEFINING THE INTERNATIONAL SCHOOL

Research on international schools is still in a budding state and finding an agreed definition is like
finding the ‘holy grail for international educators and academics’ (Richards 2004). International
schools are not ‘static institutions’ but rather ‘living organisms that continue to develop and change as
the world changes’ (Bagnall 2008:1). For Hayden and Thompson (1995), international schools were
those schools that catered for the children of foreign diplomats and expatriates that were based
temporarily in major global cities. Consequently, international schools were places that celebrated the
diversity. They were also institutions that had an embedded element of quality in them, mainly
because the private fee levying international school was accountable to its ‘customers’ (Fertig 2007).

Both national and international schools alike can provide an international education but what sets
international schools apart is the presence of a more culturally varied student population that allows
for greater interaction between different groups. While national schools strive to unify the population
around a civic responsibility, international schools realize the limitation in doing so when the average
number of years a student attends one international school is about three years. However all schools
have imagined communities that they wish to envision for their students (Bagnall and Cassity 2011).
When schools foster intercultural tolerance, it is likely to manifest in society at large as well. Hence as
Gellar (1993) observes, they are places that ‘build bridges and not walls’ and can act as ‘agents for
change’ where the hidden curriculum of friendships and cross-cultural communication contribute in
creating multicultural societies (Bagnall 2008). In an attempt to define international schools, Terwilliger
(1972) came up with four prerequisites for a school to be defined as international. He notes that not
only should a school have a certain percentage of foreign students, but the administration board
should also comprise and deal with a local and foreign blend. Furthermore, teachers should have
experience with cultural adaptation and the curriculum should be one that enables university entrance
to other parts of the world.

At the same time, International Schools are also described as similar to ‘educational department
stores’ that cater for a varying audience with varying needs (Jonietz and Harris 1991:6). As
Cambridge (2002) notes, they are ‘brands’ where the concept of branding distinguishes them from the
rest of the national schools that are its competitors. Hence, International schools are, above all, a
‘global multi-billion dollar industry’ where the lines between education and businesses are blurred
(MacDonald 2006). As Leach (1969:2) summarizes, ‘the problem of definition lies in the dichotomy
between expatriate and local populations, in the decision as to which language is to be used as the
language of instruction, in the gap between privilege and under privilege and in the tension between
attachment to known national systems of examination for university entrance and the desire to
experiment with genuine multilaterally international certificates’.

In Sri Lanka, Punchi (2001) points out that with globalization and the implementation of trade
liberalization in 1977, English nevertheless became a vital tool for participation in the greater neo-
liberal economic sphere. Thus, in recent times, a new set of co-educational (most of the time), fee-
levying private schools that teach foreign curriculums (and more recently the Sri Lankan Curriculum)
in the English Language have emerged to be known as International Schools. They have diverse
modes of instruction, fee structures, curriculums and standards. However one thing that all Sri Lankan
International Schools share in common is that their medium of instruction is English. Sri Lankan
International Schools hence are primarily a language driven response to education with a secondary
finance driven element that is a response to increasing competitiveness. International schools are
attractive due to the gateways that English medium educations open to their students. International
students have an ability to speak English, which holds much prestige. Those who attend international
schools are more likely to get better-paid jobs. However, it is a luxury that only a privileged minority
can afford.

As Castles (1988:4) notes, the state is ‘at one and the same time the guardian angel of the capitalist
economic process and the chosen instrument for protecting society from the corrosive impact of that
process’. This is evident in the Sri Lankan government’s stance on establishing private international
schools. While the establishment of private schools is banned in Sri Lanka since 1961, international
schools operate under a loophole in the system. Initially, International schools were established under
the Board of Investment (BOI), which is an administrative body that accepts and manages foreign
investment. Lately, they are set up under the Companies Act and operate as private businesses. This
has meant that International Schools are not regulated by the Ministry of Education and therefore
show vast diversity in quality. However the popularity of International Schools reflect the demand that
is present for English education.

One of the functions of these schools is to downplay ethnic differences by welcoming students from
all backgrounds. However, by imposing very high fees, these schools accentuate class-based
discrimination. The average term fees of vary from Rs.8000-40000 to institutions that charge even
higher rates in US dollars. Class, in this instance, can be purchased if one possesses enough capital
(Jayawardena 2000). Thus international schools cut across the traditional schooling system by
producing socially constructed knowledge of what it means to be classy. They are criticized of
creating a new kind of privilege. However, a vital point to note is that the majority of students that
attend Sri Lankan International Schools are locals. This is particularly true for newer less well-
established international schools in out of Colombo areas where almost all students are locals
seeking an English medium education.

4. THE CASE STUDIES

The researcher conducted fieldwork in four schools from the Capital Colombo, second largest city
Kandy and two other cities from the Northern and Southern provinces of the country known as Jaffna
and Matara.

The International School in Colombo, at first glance was a high rise complex which seemed to expand
vertically with little space for children to play. Located in the heart of Colombo, this was the main
branch of several schools which were owned by the same entrepreneur who is the founder of a
leading private tertiary education provider in the country. This school offered its students both the Sri
Lankan and the British curriculum in English Medium. Facilities included the availability of numerous
extra-curricular activities and the provision of transport to a modern sporting complex built away from
the urban metropolis where the students had access to tennis and basketball courts as well as a
swimming pool.

The case study in Kandy was a branch of a chain of well-known international schools in Sri Lanka.
This school was owned by a group that was reputed in Sri Lanka for providing not just International
School education but ICT schools, language schools and teacher training institutions. The school
provided a British curriculum in English medium. Apart from all basic facilities such as numerous
extra-curricular activities, ICT labs and transport provision to swimming pools elsewhere, the school
also took senior students annually to the Universities of Hong Kong and Canterbury, New Zealand for
them to get a taste of foreign university education.

The School in Matara was relatively smaller. It was again a branch of another chain of International
Schools. The Matara Branch was initially a converted old manor house. The bedrooms were
converted to offices and classrooms. Upon further expansion, the back garden was converted into two
high rise modern buildings that currently hold most of the classes. This school provided the British
curriculum once again in English medium.

The fourth case study was a Christian International School built soon after the 2004 Indian Ocean
tsunami as a relief school for those displaced with the help of German Aid. Compared to the rest of
the schools, this internationally school charged lesser fees and provided scholarships to students
from low socio-economic backgrounds. Jaffna was in the centre of the 30-year civil war that plagued
the island and as a result has experienced massive depopulation; particularly of the Sinhalese. Thus
the majority of students at this school were Tamils. Since the school had affiliations with the church,
there were several foreign Christian volunteer teachers who were teaching there short term. The
school provided both the Sri Lankan curriculum as well as the Cambridge curriculum in English
medium.

5. EMPIRICAL FINDINGS
The empirical findings of International School choice in Sri Lanka as derived from preliminary analysis
of the data collected from the four case studies can be categorized into three broad themes; namely,
economic impacts, social outcomes and cultural repercussions.

4.1 Economic impacts

Since International Schools are registered companies, they contribute to income generation of the
country. School (or in this case company) owners are required to pay taxes which in turn bring income
to the nation. In addition, the comparatively superior level of English of the international school
student means that they have a greater chance of gaining employment in the private sector where
English proficiency is a must. Fluency in English opens many doors to the international school
student. They are able to access a wider variety of resources through the World Wide Web, become
more globally mobile as a result of their international qualifications and have a better chance of
participating in the global economy as a result of the global exposure that they receive in these
schools.

Another argument is that when those who could afford international school education shift to this
education system, it takes pressure off the existing national education system. The state has the
possibility to improve the quality of education as overcrowding and intense competition for entry to
national schools reduce. As the interview with the secretary for education revealed, it is in the best
interest of the state to produce Sri Lankan children who are both grounded locally yet able to portray
their talents in the international arena. Most students who attend Sri Lankan International students
tend to go abroad for their higher studies. Jenkins, Berman and Jenkins (2005) states that nearly 90%
of those who leave Sri Lanka do not return. This is a major cause of concern for the country as it
indicates brain drain as human capital is lost in the hands of global competition. However, by the
same token, foreign revenue received from those who currently live abroad is benefitting the Sri
Lankan economy.

4.2 Social outcomes

When asked why parents chose to place their students in International schools, the three most
common responses were: a) because they couldn’t gain entry to a prestigious national school, b)
because of the avenues that an English education and foreign curriculums open to a child c) because
the education that students receive in an international school allows them to fit in anywhere in the
world.

The international school student is fluent in English, familiar with actively engaging with students from
different religious and ethnic backgrounds, exposed to a global culture and hence described as
emitting a sense of confidence that makes them stand out and at the same time fit in anywhere. As
Edise and Sichel (2003) describe, this raises certain issues about the identity and belongingness of
the international school student. They are hence described as being both ‘rootless’ and ‘rooted to
many places at once’.

The research revealed that international school students were both the perpetrators and victims of
social stereotyping. Since international schools charge much higher fees than the existing private
schools or the free national schools, international school students were perceived as rich students.
This concept of wealth was again split into the ‘rich, English educated upper class elite category’ as
well as the ‘nouveau riche’ who were described as belonging to a lower social class yet able to gain
status in society as a result of buying an international education. This was evident in some of the
comments that the research unveiled about international schools giving rise to ‘rich spoilt kids’ with
little class who believe that ‘money could buy them anything’. Anecdotes about students who
requested the teachers to braid their hair or clean up after them were hence brought to light. Focus
groups with international school students also revealed a perceived sense of superiority compared to
students that attended national schools. This ‘us versus them’ categorizing had certain negative
effects for the international school student as well. As one female international school student noted,
her relatives regarded her in a promiscuous manner simply because she attended a co-ed
international school and not the majority of single sex schools that national school students attend.
This student stated that her parents were concerned that ‘no one would want to marry her’ as she had
many ‘male friends’ from school.

4.3 Cultural repercussions

From a pro-international school stance, it can be argued that international schools foster a tolerant
and heterogeneous society that belongs to a global culture. All four case study schools encouraged
students to take part in multiple religious and cultural celebrations that Sri Lanka celebrates. The
majority of international schools have no religious affiliations and no quota restrictions based on a
Child’s ethnicity or religion. Extracurricular activities such as the Model United Nations also exposed
the students to global issues.
One major criticisms of Sri Lankan International Schools however was that the foreign curriculum
produced Western students with little knowledge of the local culture. The International student was
described as being brought up in a ‘cultural bubble’, unable to survive in the local setting. The
International school curriculums sometimes lacked teaching the local languages, Sri Lankan history,
geography or religions. This produces a future generation of Sri Lankan, with a good Knowledge of
the global arena but little knowledge of the local settings. As one teacher noted, these students grow
up in alienated from their own localities similar to ‘broiler chickens’! This was something that the
Ministry for Education was particularly concerned about as well. As the secretary for education noted,
most of these students were Sri Lankans who were growing up with little nationalistic sentiments as
the curriculum overlooked this.

Another cultural repercussion of receiving an international education was that students grew up with
Western cultural values that were sometimes in contradiction with local values and norms. Sri Lanka
values children who obey and respect their elders, dress conservatively and generally behave in a
culturally accepted manner. There were several instances where the research revealed that parents,
teachers and even the government was unhappy with the way Sri Lankan International school
students dressed or behaved. Western clothing, especially wearing short skirts and makeup to school
or having mobile phones and texting during class or going clubbing with friends of the opposite sex
were some factors the International School student was found guilty of. As one parent claimed, ‘the
western exposure of International Schools makes students so advanced that they want to do
everything while they are children that when they become adults they have nothing new to
experience’.

4.4 Future trajectories

Currently, the Sri Lankan government is in the process of trying to pass an amendment that allows the
Ministry of Education to implement certain base rules for International schools such as making mother
tongue compulsory in International Schools. It has not yet been finalised, however talks are underway.
Another rationale for Ministry intervention is due to the fact that there is no regulating body for
International schools and hence concerns of accountability. While some International Schools are
reputed institutions having several branches, others can even be a person’s private garage that has
been converted into an ‘international school’. According to Somarathna (2012), the National Child
Protection Authority (NCPA) of Sri Lanka has received numerous complaints of poor overall standards
at certain International schools. These include complaints about child abuse, negligence, poor
teaching standards and some schools even allowing smoking. As Jenkins et al. (2005) observes,
International schools employ teachers purely based on their English language skills and sometimes
teachers have little pedagogical knowledge. It is therefore a tendency for International Schools to
overcome the issue of lack of experienced teachers with English proficiency by employing retired
th
government school teachers with good English skills. These teachers were trained in the early 20
century and hence practice archaic teaching methods (Jenkins et al. 2005).

In February 2013, as a response to the deteriorating reputation of Sri Lankan International Schools,
The International Schools of Sri Lanka (TISSL) was set up. This is a group consisting of 23 ‘Premier’
International Schools. These 23 member schools coordinate with each other in order to ensure that
certain standards are maintained and that they provide a high quality international education.
According to TISSL (2013), their main objectives are:

1. To enhance and promote the goodwill and relationships between member schools

2. To contribute to the development of the international education in Sri Lanka

3. To provide holistic international education while promoting and upholding the values and
culture of the country

4. To assist the Government in promoting and delivering the English Medium education in Sri
Lanka

5. To organize special events to enhance the quality and efficiency of the member schools
Students attending these schools are given ID cards that help recognize them as belonging to TISSL.
The member schools also organize inter-international school sporting and social events so that
students can compete and interact with each other and the wider Sri Lankan community.

5. CONCLUSIONS
Neoliberal ideologies have pressured individuals to gain a more global education in order to remain
competitive in the face of globalization. The rise of international schools is therefore widespread and
gaining momentum. An international education trumps existing national schooling systems by
reproducing privileges and proliferating cultural and social capital. This paper examined international
school popularity in Sri Lanka via a series of mixed-method case studies from a variety of stakeholder
perspectives.

Here is an island that was under colonial rule for centuries and struggled for freedom. Since
independence in 1948, the country strived to suppress most things colonial by outlawing English and
switching back to the vernacular languages, reframing its education system as a reaction to the
colonial period. Yet once again there are western forces bringing in western ideologies this time in the
form of neoliberal imperialism through these global educational institutions called international
schools. The repercussions of International Schools for Sri Lanka are mixed; displaying both the
advantages of a global education as well as drawbacks particularly as a result of the lack of proper
International School governance.

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