Sri Lanka

Room to Read implemented our Literacy Program in Sri Lanka in 2005. Since then, we have become the only nonprofit organization operating within Sri Lankan schools during the school day. Our partnership with the government has resulted in transformative improvements to the national literacy curriculum. 

But challenges remain. A lack of highly skilled and qualified primary school teachers across Sri Lanka means children often struggle to build critical reading and comprehension skills. Though many children are taught the mechanics of reading and writing, these skills are limited to those that will enable children to pass national examinations. Too few can translate reading into meaning. Lacking a strong foundation for learning, many children, especially girls, leave school early.

Severe inflation and persistent climate-related crises pose additional hurdles as children attempt to secure their fundamental right to a quality education. In recent years, Sri Lanka has experienced the most severe economic crisis in history. In 2022, the government announced the economy had effectively collapsed — fuel, food and other necessities were inaccessible to families for months as the country took steps in the slow work of economic recovery.

Today families are still grappling with severe inflation as the costs of goods remain extraordinarily high. The cost of eggs has increased by over 60 percent and basic school supplies by over 300 percent in the past two years. This economic crisis poses extreme challenges to families unable to afford the cost of education for their children. Crises like these threaten the immediate well-being of children and families — and cause lasting generational effects.