A Survey Conducted Focusing the Educational Development of a War Affected Zone in Sri Lanka (With reference to Ampara Education Zone)

Abstract

In 1987 the 13th Amendment of the Constitution was enacted followed by the passage of the Provincial Councils Act No. 42 of 1987 which provided for the establishment of Provincial Councils. Divisional Education Offices were established and was responsible for the implementation of all educational programmes within the division. In 1992 Education Zones each headed by a Director of Education were created by amalgamation of several Education Divisions. Ampara Education Zone is one of the six education zones situated in Ampara District in the Eastern Province in Sri Lanka. This Study was conducted in the Ampara Education Zone which has four Education Divisions. // The population in Ampara Education Zone is multi–ethnic, multi-religious and multi–cultural in nature, where Sinhalese, Muslims and Tamils live together. Farming is the main livelihood and fishing and dairy farming are optional livelihoods. Ampara is a war affected area, which is situated in the Eastern Province of Sri Lanka. It consists of war threatened villages where most of the villagers were wiped out by terrorists. Due to this, war threatened families in most of these villages have spent their nights in nearby jungles and the normal livelihoods and the education system were disrupted. This survey was conducted in the intention of identifying strengths and barrios in education in the Ampara Education Zone and to develop an action plan targeting the educational development in the zone.