al language in the country's primary and secondary schools, also caused problems at the tertiary level of education. Mastery of English is a basis requirement for college entry in Sri Lanka, and the superiority of the schools generally and the English language instruction specifically at primary and secondary schools in Tamil areas meant that both traditionally and in the contemporary period more Tamil students than Sinhelese students gain admittance to university. Thus, the majority Sinhelese government implemented a quota system in which Sinhelese students were guaranteed a majority of the places in university. This action was viewed by the Tamil majority as further evidence of an attempt to disenfranchise them, and worsened the ethnic violence in Sri Lanka. The language dispute does not appear susceptible to resolution in the near future.
In 1993, 4.4 million students were enrolled in 9,998 governmentally-funded primary and secondary schools in Sri Lanka. Attendance levels at Sri Lankan primary schools exceed the number of children in the appropriate age group within the population because many older students have returned to complete primary education. Attendance levels at the country's secondary approximate two-thirds of the appropriate age ground within the Sri Lankan population.
At the tertiary level of the Sri Lankan educational system, there are nine universities, five post-graduate institutes, four undergraduate institutes, and 30 technical training institutions. Attendance at these postsecondary institutions represents three-percent of the appropriate age group within the Sri Lankan population.
Sri Lanka's principal resource is its people. The country does not possess a rich physical resource base. A low literacy rate is a serious deficit for a country seeking greater economic development. The literacy rate in Sri Lanka of 88 percent, however, is equal to or higher than t...