Rising School Dropouts: The Plight of Estate Children in Sri Lanka

Although Sri Lanka has performed well in basic education indicators such as a high literacy rate and near-universal participation in primary and secondary schooling, there are striking disparities across regions in the country. Specifically, the education performance of the estate sector consisting of plantation communities is dismal, with a high level of school dropouts. Notably, the prevalence of child labour in a community is revealed to significantly impact estate children dropping out of school. The worsened financial difficulties suffered by these estate children post-pandemic, along with the ongoing economic crisis in the country, have led them to engage in economic activities to earn income so that they can afford their basic needs. Based on a study carried out by the Institute of Policy Studies of Sri Lanka (IPS), this blog discusses the issue of school dropouts in the estate sector and how prolonged school closures following the COVID-19 outbreak and the ongoing economic crisis have increased school dropouts in estate regions.