Abstract:
Sri Lanka, despite its relatively high literacy rate compared to other
South Asian nations, faces challenges in developing a workforce proficient in
English, aligning with labor market demands. To address this, Bilingual
Education (B.E) was introduced in 2001, aiming to enhance the English language
pass rate among students sitting for the GCE Ordinary Level examination
(G.C.E.(O.L.)). The study was conducted to assess the trend in the G.C.E.(O.L.),
English language performance of secondary students in Sri Lanka and to assess
the impact of bilingual education on the G.C.E.(O.L.), English language
performance of secondary students in Sri Lanka. The descriptive and
correlational research design was carried out using secondary data obtained from
Statistics reports published by the Department of Examination and Annual
census reports published by the Ministry of Education, Sri Lanka. Descriptive
statistics, Graphs, and Pearson correlation coefficient were used to analyze the
data. Between 2007 and 2021, G.C.E.(O.L.) English results exhibited a
consistent upward trend, with a growth rate of 2.16. The number of students
enrolled in B.E. has steadily increased since its inception. In 2005, 33,795
students participated in B.E., constituting 0.86% of the total student population;
by 2021, this percentage rose to 2.56%. Pearson correlation coefficients between
the number of bilingual students and those obtaining A, B, C, S, and W grades
were found to be 0.569, 0.905, 0.886, and -0.912, respectively. The study
establishes a robust correlation between the enrollment of bilingual students and
G.C.E.(O.L.) English language performance, highlighting the importance of
increasing the number of students enrolled in B.E.
