https://www.scribd.

com/document/333264605/UNESCO-Must-Urgently-Revise-School-
Textbooks-in-Sri-Lanka-to-Stop-Hate-mongering-and-to-Start-Peace-building

Teaching and Learning Hatred as the Role of Education in Sri Lankan Ethnic Conflict: UNESCO must
revise school textbooks in Sri Lanka to stop hate-mongering and to start peace-building

1.''In Sri Lanka, textbooks have long promulgated ethnic enmity. Sinhalese textbooks portrayed
Sinhala kings as heroes defeating the Tamils, who were depicted as invaders. Sinhalese Buddhists
were presented as the only true Sri Lankans (Cardozo, 2008). Six history textbooks spanning grades
7 to 11 published in 2007/8 no longer included overt Tamil stereotypes but largely brushed over
Tamil history, culture and religion and presented almost exclusively Sinhalese role models. The
absence of Tamil or Muslim role models offered minority students few figures with whom to
identify. Textbooks also failed to recognize alternative interpretations of historical events or
encourage students to engage critically with the past (Gaul, 2014).- Accountability in Education:
meeting our commitments, UNESCO, 24 October 2017,
http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0025/002593/259338e.pdf

2..''Sri Lanka’s history curriculum needs serious revisiting, as it perpetuates the ‘othering’ of
minority communities. …..''According to Sasanka Perera, the legend of battles between ancient
kingdoms documented in the Mahāvamsa promotes Sinhalese-Tamil antagonism, and suggests ‘a
long and bloody tradition’ between the two races. Thus the reproduction of this version of the past
in the Sinhala Grade 6 history syllabus is highly problematic. It claims that the Sinhalese King
Dutugemunu defeated the Tamil, ‘foreign’ ruler Elara in a war to protect Buddhism, to ‘reunite the
country’ and ‘liberate the country from foreign rule’ By contrast, the Tamil Grade 6 history syllabus
cites Elara as a leader that ruled ‘with justice.’ How do the Sinhala and Tamil, Ministry of Education-
sanctioned, textbooks carry such opposing interpretations of history? '' - The Danger in Distorted
Education: Sri Lanka’s History Curriculum, Shamara Wettimuny, 29 October 2016,
http://groundviews.org/2016/10/29/the-danger-in-distorted-education-sri-lankas-history-
curriculum/

3. According to UNESCO and UNICEF post-conflict peacebuilding engages with controversial

material on conflict, promotes discussion and gives students the skills to interpret the violent past.
But Sri Lank has been avoiding it: therefore it can be said to be Passive War Education according to
Education experts:

i.''In a review of 90 Grade 1-11 textbooks related to language, history, citizenship and and life
competencies, Perera(2009) found that 48 contained no references to history, ethnicity and conflict.
Conflict is addressed in textbooks but with reference to other contexts such as East Timor, Ireland,
Rwanda and Kashmir(ibid). The omission of the historical roots of its own war is described by
Davies(2006) and Cardozo(2008) as passive war education.'' - Learning peace (and conflict): the role
of primary learning materials in peacebuilding in post-war Afghanistan, South Sudan and Sri Lanka,
Catherine Vanner, Spogmai Akseer and Thursica Kovinthan, August 2016,
http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17400201.2016.1213710?
scroll=top&needAccess=true&journalCode=cjpe20

ii.Four causes of national conflicts are discussed and examples(Rwanda, South Africa,
Israel/Palestine, Russia, Somalia, Ethiopia, Middle East) are given (Sri Lanka is not considered at all)
in Chapter 5, Conflict Resolution in a Democratic Society, in 2016 syllabus textbook for Civic
Education, http://www.edupub.gov.lk/Administrator/English/10/Civic%20Education-G10-E/PDF
%205.pdf

4.On 9 November 2016 during the Festival of Arts on Reconciliation at Bandaranaike Memorial
International Conference Hall, Colombo, Sri Lanka, one teacher showed the audience hate-
mongering History in a secondary school textbook in Sinhala medium during a panel discussion.

5.‘’This article analyses how a recent series of Sri Lankan history textbooks construct and
disseminate a particular form of nationalism that is both exclusively Sinhalese and authoritarian. It
argues that their use of language and storylines perpetuates a Sinhalese-centric historical narrative
that presents disputed myths, symbols and heroes as official history. This narrative legitimises the
Sinhalese claim for sovereignty and the protection of the territorial integrity of Sri Lanka as a major
goal of Sinhalese nationalism. This article also highlights how the textbooks further encourage
authoritarian patriotism, potentially mobilising future citizens into participation in the reproduction
of an exclusive and ethnocentric version of Sinhalese nationalism.’’ - Security, Sovereignty,
Patriotism—Sinhalese Nationalism and the State in Sri Lankan History Textbooks, Anne Gaul, May
2015, http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/17449057.2015.1041834

''The issues addressed in this article concern a period in which ambitious educational reforms are
being implemented that envision textbook as a tool for the creation of a new generation of citizens
in a post-war society. It reveals that the general lack of recognition of minority communities and the
negative representations of the Tamil community in particular, that appear in these textbooks are
not compatible with the proclaimed vision of a multicultural yet integrated society. Instead of
following social cohesion these textbooks may deepen ethnic divides and stereotypes and therefore
thwart reconciliation and long-term peace.'' - Where Are the Minorities? The Elusiveness of
Multiculturalism and Positive Recognition in Sri Lankan History Textbooks, Anne Gaul, 2014,
http://www.berghahnjournals.com/view/journals/jemms/6/2/jemms060205.xml

6. ‘’Education must rise on the agenda of peace building. We know the wrong type of education can
fuel conflict. The use of education systems to foster hatred has contributed to the underlying causes
of conflicts, from Rwanda to Sri Lanka, but also in Guatemala and Sudan’’ - Why education matters
for global security, Irina Bokova(Director General, UNESCO), 1 March 2011,
http://www.unesco.org/new/en/unesco/about-us/who-we-are/director-general/singleview-
dg/news/education_and_security_dawn_pakistan/

7. ’’The production of single textbooks for different linguistic communities also can present
difficulties. For example, textbooks produced by Sinhalese authors in Sri Lanka were
translated to produce copies for Tamil pupils. However, the Tamil Teachers’ Union
identified inaccuracies in the translated versions and claimed cultural bias in some of the
illustrations and content matter. This led to demands for greater involvement of Tamil
authors in textbook production.’’ - Alan Smith, The influence of education on conflict and peace
building, 2010, http://unesdoc.unesco.org/images/0019/001913/191341e.pdf

8. '' Peace education is an imperative at this stage of our national history ....'' - Justice C. G.
Weeramantry tells Lessons Learnt and Reconciliation Commission(LLRC), 29 November 2010,
http://www.scribd.com/doc/127226195/Sri-Lanka-Justice-Weeramantry-to-Lessons-Learnt-and-
Reconciliation-Commission

‘’After almost 30 years of conflict, it also has to rebuild a Nation, a Sri Lankan Nation united in its
diversity, where communities and individuals feel at ease. For this, there is not much foreign friends
can do. This is the responsibility of Sri Lankan people, their political leadership, in the government
and in the opposition, and also their civil society, and this is where academics and researchers have
an important role to play, particularly those who are working in the fields of history, law, economy,
sociology and political sciences’’ - Address by Christine Robichon, Ambassador of France, at the
Peradeniya University Research Sessions (PURSE) - 2010, 16th December 2010,
http://www.ambafrance-lk.org/spip.php?article839

9. ''Building a consciousness of nationhood is not a responsibility that can be left to politicians and
constitutional lawyers. .... It is pre-eminently an educational task, to be initiated at the level of our
schools. It requires a new way of looking at history, and helping young minds climb out of the
constraints placed on their understanding by the sectarian myths, legends, and memories that are
embedded in their ancient chronicles, whether they relate to their Aryan origins or to their
Dravidian origins. This does not mean that children should be ignorant of, much less that they
should reject, their rich historical inheritance, but that they should acquire a more global view of
history and be equipped with a critical sense that will enable them to stand back and look at their
respective narratives more objectively. .... Unless and until Sri Lanka can produce leaders who can
realize that truth, and are willing to act on it, it will continue to be dismembered by conflict, long
after the LTTE and Pirabhikaran have passed into history '' - Why Sirimavo refused to visit Jaffna
after 1964 cyclone By Neville Jayaweera, 18 January 2009,
http://transcurrents.com/tc/2009/01/why_sirimavo_refused_to_visit.html

10. ‘’It is necessary to trace briefly the historical links between the development of the education
system and the development of an ethnic -based politics, leading to armed conflict. .... Divisions
were exacerbated by successive government policies discriminating against the Tamil minorities. ....
Divisive ethnic politics and loss of confidence in non-violent and democratic politics fuelled the
desire for autonomous, separatist solutions through the 1970s .... The Government dominates the
educational publications sector in Sri Lanka through its provision of free textbooks to all students
from grade 1 to 11 .... Tamils not involved in writing the textbooks - Textbooks written in Sinhala,
and then translated into Tamil .... full of spelling, grammatical and factual errors .... distortion of
history .... the history of Sri Lanka is confined to a few selected Sinhala kings .... the textbooks do
not educate the child about the various characteristics of a multi-religious and a multi- racial
society; the majority of Sinhala medium textbooks emphasize Sinhalese Buddhist attitudes;
distorted maps under-represent North and Eastern Provinces; "geographical, social, economical or
cultural features" of Tamil communities (including the plantation sector) are not adequately
discussed or presented; in studying art, the Tamil student only studies Sinhalese Buddhist aspects of
art; the textbooks encourage children to develop "apartheid attitudes" ..... War is shown as patriotic
while peace is portrayed as cowardice’’ - Respect for Diversity in Educational Publication - The Sri
Lankan Experience, Ariya Wickrema and Peter Colenso, 2003,
http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EDUCATION/Resources/278200-1121703274255/1439264-
1126807073059/Paper_Final.pdf
11.‘’. ..….Ethnic intolerance makes it appearance in the classroom in many ways…… Textbooks have
often been shown to contain negative ethnic stereotypes..... A review of the textbooks used in the
segregated schools of Sri Lanka in the 1970s and 1980s, for example, found Sinhalese textbooks
scattered with images of Tamils as the historical enemies of the Sinhalese, while celebrating ethnic
heroes who had vanquished Tamils in ethnic wars. Ignoring historical fact, these textbooks tended
to portray Sinhalese Buddhists as the only true Sri Lankans, with Tamils, Muslims and Christians as
non- indigenous and extraneous to Sri Lankan history. This version of national history according to
one commentator, has been deeply divisive in the context of the wider state’’ - The Two Faces of
Education in Ethnic Conflict: Towards a Peacebuilding Education for Children, Kenneth D. Bush and
Diana Saltarelli(2000), http://www.unicef-irc.org/publications/pdf/insight4.pdf

12. ‘’The New Series raises the same fundamental problem as that posed by the Old: Why is there
this immense gulf in attitudes, outlook and objectives between the Sinhala and Tamil readers
produced by the same state institution? Why must a sense of common nationhood be taught only
to Tamil children, and why must Sinhala children be infected with a sense of Sinhala-Buddhist
dominance?’’ - NATIONAL IDENTITY, CONTENT OF EDUCATION AND ETHNIC PERCEPTIONS, Reggie
Siriwardene, March 1992, http://www.sangam.org/ANALYSIS/national_identity.htm (The text of
this article is an amalgam of extracts from two separate papers of Mr. Reggie Siriwardene, which he
had presented on two different occasion at the Marga Institute and also at the International Centre
for Ethnic Studies in May and August 1984 respectively).

13. “Millions of school children are taught, in the name of social studies, through text-books
published by the state, the myths of divergent racial origins which will help to divide the Sinhalese
and Tamils for more generations to come... What this lesson does is to evoke the child's memories
of being frightened by his parents with threats of the mysterious and fearful `billo' to identify these
bogeymen as Tamil agents, and thus to enlist the deep-seated irrational fears of early childhood for
the purpose of creating apprehension and hatred of Tamils.” - Reggie Siriwardene, a well-respected
Sinhalese writer, in a well-documented analysis of the effects of school textbooks on ethnic relations
in Sri Lanka, 1984’’ –Scarred Communities: Psychosocial Impact of Man-made and Natural Disasters
on Sri Lankan Society by Daya Somasundaram(2014)

14.. ‘’As far as the Sinhala and Tamil readers are concerned, therefore, the three questions
formulated at the beginning of the study have to be answered as follows: the Tamil readers (with
whatever degree of success) do seek to create an understanding of and respect for the way of life
and culture of non–Tamil and non–Hindu linguistic and religious groups, and do attempt to project
the sense of a common national identity, while the Sinhala books not only fail to do this (except in a
solitary lesson in the whole series of ten readers) but contain an abundance of material which will
strengthen communal attitudes and reinforce communal antagonisms. ‘’ - ‘Teaching pluralism to
Tamils, chauvinism to Sinhalese’, February 1999,
http://www.sabrang.com/cc/comold/feb99/cover4.htm (Excerpted from School Text Books and
Communal Relations in Sri Lanka, published by the Council for Communal Harmony Through the
Media; authored by Reggie Siriwardena, K. Indrapala, Sunil Bastian & Sepali Kottegoda).

15. In the 1950s and 1960s Tamil and Sinhalese scholars vehemently protested the hatred-
mongering in textbooks but the Education Department that produces the textbooks dismissed their
concern.