A Catholic education official in Sri Lanka has raised concerns about the difficulties Christian children face in accessing religious instruction and participating in faith-related activities in government-controlled schools.
Father Ranjith Madurawala, general manager of Catholic Private Schools in the Archdiocese of Colombo, said many Catholic pupils have limited access to religious education because of shortages of qualified Christian teachers and other restrictions.
In a statement issued on 6 October, Madurawala said the government takeover of Catholic schools under legislation introduced in 1960 and 1961 had created long-term challenges for Catholic education.
The state took control of 690 schools that had previously been managed by the Catholic Church, he said. Only 28 remained under Church management, including 22 in the Western Province, four in the Central Province, and one each in the Southern and Northern provinces.
Madurawala said some former Catholic schools had since deteriorated or closed, while the movement of qualified Catholic teachers through government transfer policies had also affected the availability of Christian religious education.
He said the government had previously assured the Church that the religious character of the schools would be maintained. However, Catholic children in some state schools now face difficulties receiving Catholic instruction and taking part in activities connected with their faith.
The concerns extend beyond Catholic pupils. Madurawala said Christian students in government schools can face limited religious instruction, a lack of qualified Christian teachers and pressure to attend classes in other religions.
Some Christian families have also reported difficulties securing admission to certain schools because of religious composition and admission quotas.
The concerns come against a wider backdrop of reported religious-freedom violations involving children from minority faith communities. The National Christian Evangelical Alliance of Sri Lanka has documented cases between 2023 and 2025 involving discrimination, intimidation and physical violence against children belonging to minority religions, with some incidents linked to religious tensions.
The government takeover of private schools was introduced under the administration of then Prime Minister Sirimavo Bandaranaike. Christian groups, including Catholics, Anglicans, Methodists and Baptists, opposed the move at the time.
Saradha Hasarangi, a teacher from Polonnaruwa, said some government schools continue to lack certified Christian teachers. As a result, she said, Christian students can be placed in classes covering other religions, including Buddhist studies.
Hasarangi also said Christian pupils had in some cases faced difficulties or been denied admission to formerly assisted schools because of concerns about religious composition and admission quotas.
She told UCA News on 7 October that Christian students living in predominantly Buddhist or Hindu rural areas could also experience social isolation and limited institutional support for Christian observances.
Such pupils may have fewer opportunities to mark Christian celebrations within their schools compared with the facilities and arrangements available to members of religious-majority communities, she said.
Sri Lanka has also introduced changes to its school curriculum this year. Grade 6 students receive an introduction to Buddhism, Hinduism, Islam and Christianity or Catholicism before moving towards more detailed study of individual faith traditions.
Sri Lanka has a population of about 22 million people and is predominantly Buddhist. Christians make up around 7 per cent of the population and include both Sinhalese and Tamil communities.
The Catholic concerns highlight continuing debate over how religious education and religious observance should be accommodated within Sri Lanka’s state education system, particularly for children belonging to minority faith communities.
Based on reporting by UCA News.
