ABSTRACT
However convenient it may be, the postulation of a unitary cause for multiple phenomena is usually misleading, because it is an over-simplification of the situation. Thus the recent events in education in Ceylon, though they have been brought to a head by what appears solely a religious issue, are nevertheless the outcome of interaction between several factors. Many of these reach far back into the island’s history and extend beyond the educational field into the demographic, economic, and cultural aspects of life. Without some understanding of these factors as the determinants of the present situation, it would be difficult to offer a description of it and interpretation would inevitably be misleading.
