Around 24% of children enrolled in Grade 1 in the Central Province drop out before completing 13 years of school, Central Province Governor Dr. Harsha Suranga Fernando said yesterday (27).

Speaking at an event at the Kandy District Secretariat to award President’s Fund scholarships to children of low-income families engaged in selling lottery tickets, the Governor cited rural poverty as the root cause of the province’s high dropout rates. He emphasized that these figures cannot be improved without first resolving underlying economic hardship.

Highlighting regional statistics, Dr. Fernando noted that while Sri Lanka’s national literacy rate stands at 97.4%, the Central Province lags slightly behind at 96.1%. Computer literacy among individuals aged five and above is 32.7% in the Central 

Province, dropping to 23% in the Nuwara Eliya District compared to the national average of 34.7%, according to the 2024 Census of Population and Housing. Furthermore, unemployment in the province stands at 7%, with Nuwara Eliya recording 9.1%, both higher than the national figure of 6%.

The Governor added that only 74% of students in the Central Province complete the full 13 years of education. Reaffirming the government’s commitment to implementing targeted programs, he stated that the National People’s Power is actively working to eradicate rural poverty and fulfill its mandate to improve living standards across the region. (Eduwire)