Karadiyanaru School – After School Program

Summary

This program provides academic, ilfe skills and leadership training for 75 youth in one of the poorest regions of Sri Lanka, the Badulla road area of Batticaloa District. The program was started in 2011 at the request of the Principal of Karadiyanaru School. Karadiyanaru was one of the “uncleared” areas of Batticaloa that had been cut off from the rest of the population during the war and the population was displaced in the last years of the war. The school in Karadiyanaru is a catchment school for several villages in the region. The Principal was concerned at the extremely low pass rate of 25% for students taking the OL exam. He, therefore, asked CACM’s support to organize after school classes for the Grade 11 students. Since the start of the program the OL pass rate has risen to 60%. As education is about the only means of social mobility for poor youth, this program has helped to provide a pathway to higher studies and training for hundreds of youth. In 2020 the Principal has also asked for CACM’s Youth Workers to start life skills and leadership programs for the OL students as well.

Challenge

Education though nominally free and available to all is profoundly unequal for poorer students in Sri Lanka. They have to travel a distance to get to school, and once there have schools that are not as well equipped as urban schools. Additionally these students living some distance from the nearest town can not easily access extra academic classes to further develop their capacity which programs are also expensive for their parents many of whom are daily laborers. The relative isolation from the

Solution

This program brings excellent teachers to teach extra classes to the students at their school, after school hours. Thereby, ensuring that students who come from distant villages can access this program before returning home at the end of the day. Special seminars and workshops are also provided to help the students develop skills for their OL exam. This year life skills and leadership skills training will also be provided for the students to help them prepare for higher studies and the work place

Long-Term Impact

This program has helped hundreds of students to pass their OL exams, and then go on to sit for their AL exams. Of those several have been able to gain admission to University and to better jobs because they got through their OL exams. If this program is stopped it will place a considerable financial burden on the parents to find extra academic support for their children and they will have to travel some distance to find such a program.