Schools Project School Observation
School Name: St. Thomas College
School Location: Matara, Southern Sri Lanka
School Enrollment: 3500 students –all boys grades 1-13: Students are mostly from the city of Matara, but scholarship students come from up to 15km away; there is grade 5 scholarships exams which brings 250 gifted students from the outlying areas to St. Thomas College
Name of Principal/Headmaster: R. Suraweera
Despite the Sri Lankan schools being closed for summer holidays, I was able to interview the Principal of St. Thomas College (in Sri Lanka, colleges are the main high schools/secondary schools), Mr. Suraweera at the St. Thomas campus in downtown Matara. The campus is a large, colonial-era compound of about 10 buildings, all in different states of repair. The college campus houses both primary and secondary schools, as well as athletic areas including a basketball court and cricket field. There were several students at the campus sitting for the National A Level Exams, which are the university entrance examinations. Additionally, I was able to talk to the chief guidance counselor for the school in a separate interview, posted below.
What are the main challenges being faced by the school?
There are 4 assistant principals who support the principal. Organizing a large school is the biggest challenge in the Principal’s day. There are about 25 different academic, sporting, and social subjects being taught, and these must all be organized under a hierarchical arrangement under the Principal’s chief direction. Maintaining the high standards needed is a constant challenge with an organization this large. The other main challenge for the Principal and the teachers is to get the students to go to university. This is an extremely competitive field, as he elaborated on further later on. Another challenge facing the school, which seems to be a very common problem in a nation with such a high birthrate and primarily colonial-era infrastructure is the overcrowding in the classrooms. There are currently about 45 students in each class. The principal thinks this is too many-35 would be more than enough for a teacher to handle. However, there is simply not enough room on the camps to create more facilities to bring down the class sizes at this point. When asked about the challenges of students with special needs, he responded that there is one Special Education teacher and about 5 moderate special needs students in the school (which seems like a very low diagnosed number for the population). The one teacher is trained and able to work with these students one on one and in their regular classes, an approach seen in the Western educational world as well. However, there are no facilities specially dedicated to these students at this time.. There are dedicated special education schools for these children as well about 2 km from St. Thomas, which is where the more severely disabled children are educated.
What has been the biggest success for the school?
The biggest success for the school is with the students sitting for the Advanced Level(university) examinations and successfully completing them. According to the Principal, 100 pupils from St. Thomas enter university every year. In this past year, he was particularly proud of the 16 students who passed the exams and went for engineering, the 3 for medicine,2 for veterinary science, and nine for management. These exams are very competitive in Sri Lanka, and he was noticeably proud of this success rate. Additionally, the Principal expressed his pleasure with the success of the athletic teams at the school. He stated that there is a very good soccer team as well and a lot of focus on various sports that are offered to the boys in the school. Sports can be an excellent way for some of the students to get into the armed forces or police forces. When asked about the students who do not get the opportunity to move onto the university level, he stated that about 50% who don’t go to university get the chance to go to technical training, computer science training, and private sector jobs.
What critical resources are missing? How would they be used?
According to the Principal, the school has very small computer science facilities- there are only 10 working computers for 3500 students. The computers were given by the education department about 3 years ago. There are teachers that are trained in IT for the students. The computers are connected to the internet. The school needs about 50 more computers and a server as well. These computers, if secured, would help the students to study for their IT examinations, and help prepare the students for possible careers in the IT sector, one that is booming in this part of the developing world. The school’s main hall is also in need of refurbishing, as well as several of the old buildings which I visited. Many of the classrooms are extremely old and crowded, and are mostly open to the elements. The buildings and offices are very old and have been in continuous use since 1844, when the school was opened by the British as a Christian Academy. The school and its buildings are the second oldest in the entire southern province, and the Principal was strong in his desire to see them retrofitted and/or rebuilt.
What resources are currently being best utilized? Why?
The dancing, music and arts areas are very strong, along with the science facilities. There were 3 students last year who placed first island wide in these areas. The teachers who provide the training in these areas are very passionate about their work, according to the Principal. Thus, the human resources of the campus are its most valuable asset.
What is the main goal of the school? What is your future goal for the school, looking five years down the line?
The main goal of the school, as per Mr. Suraweera, is university for the students. He was very adamant about this point, and this reinforced the strong image of the importance of higher education that I have seen from all the local people I have encountered. It is very unfortunate that in the country, there are inadequate facilities to cater to the demands for higher education; there seems to be a major, fundamental disconnect between the wishes of the people and the ability of the government to deliver in the area of education in this regard. The Principal’s future wishes for the school were extensive. His primary goal was to see 150 students entering university every year. The sports facilities would also be improved, such as cricket. There would be more cadet programs for the students to enter the civil services, such as the armed forces and public sector. Finally, his wish for the future would be for the school itself; he would love to see the environment improved, such as removing the old buildings and building new buildings.
Where does the school’s funding come from?
The education department is the main source of funding for the school. They are responsible for paying the teacher’s salaries and to provide for the general welfare of the buildings. Additionally, local authorities also contribute to the school, such as the MP’s from the Southern Province who contribute funds to the schools. When asked about the procurement of books for the students, the Principal responded that about 75% of the students have new books every year. The students must pay about 660 rupees per year for facilities fees to the school development board. When asked about students who were poor and were not able to pay the facilities fees, he commented on several alumni organizations that provide help; I was able to ascertain more information on this topic from the guidance department chairman.
What are the current partnerships with outside organizations-who/what/where/why?
According to the Principal, there are no current partnerships with outside organizations. The only organization that works with the school is an “old boys organization,” which is an alumni organization. They donate a lot of sports materials and sponsor cricket games for the students, and help to organize other sporting events which often cost a lot of money to organize. However, they are not involved with the academic side of affairs for the school.
Are there at risk programs for poor/disadvantaged students?
The Colombo Old Boys Association provides some scholarships for poor students to attend university, but this is the only outside organization, to the Principal’s knowledge, that provides for help for disadvantaged students and their families.
I was then able to get a few minutes of time with the head of the Guidance Department for the school Mr. Indika Leawal to ask him primarily about the role of guidance, and how they work with at-risk and disadvantaged students in the area.
What is the primary job of the guidance teachers here at St. Thomas, and in Sri Lanka in general?
The main duties In the school are psychosocial counseling, educational counseling, and career goals counseling. Not all the students are selected for counseling. Most of the students who use the counseling have bad family conditions, the main problem in this area being economic problems. The school is free, but these students tend to not be able to pay the tuition fees and fees for equipment. There are some welfare programs that will help these students, but these are not enough. This is a big problem in the country with the students, according to Mr. Leawal. The welfare programs that are currently in place to help the disadvantaged students are funded by the teacher’s contributions and NGO organizations, such as the local chapters of the Red Cross and the Sri Lanka Lions Club.
What is the main goal of career counseling for the students of St. Thomas College?
Most students want to go to university, but statistically in the country, only 2% of the students can go--there are simply not enough universities in the country to come close to handling the need. Only 26,000 students can attend yearly in the universities. For the rest of the students, the path is tough, as most students and families are so focused on university. The counselors thus have to motivate the students to see other options. Some of these options include career training institutes in areas such as hospitality management, a very quickly expanding part of the Sri Lankan economy, and other more generalized vocational training centers. Currently, the best opportunities are in IT training.
