Comparison

India vs Sri Lanka

Side-by-side comparison of how these places approach childhood.

At a glance

India

In India, children in the same city can attend schools ranging from under a tree to campuses rivaling Silicon Valley.

India's education system spans extraordinary extremes โ€” from world-class tech academies to open-air classrooms โ€” reflecting the country's vast economic diversity.

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka has provided free education from kindergarten through university since 1945.

This early commitment to universal education gave Sri Lanka a 92% literacy rate, the highest in South Asia.

How they compare
School systems
Exam-driven model

India

A vast system spanning 1.5 million schools with enormous variation in quality. The 2020 National Education Policy (NEP) aims to shift from rote learning to conceptual understanding, restructuring schooling into a 5+3+3+4 model beginning at age 3.

Free universal model

Sri Lanka

Sri Lanka provides entirely free education from primary through university, including free textbooks and uniforms. The 5-4-2-2 system operates in Sinhala and Tamil medium schools. A highly competitive grade 5 scholarship exam determines entry to prestigious schools.

Planning a move from India to Sri Lanka?

Get a personalised Family Integration Playbook โ€” your parenting style mapped to your destination's culture.

Get your playbook โ€” $99
or $149/year for unlimited playbooks
โ† India profile ยท Sri Lanka profile โ†’