Ever increasing demand for the prestigious schools has created several problems. It has led to overcrowding of urban, prestigious 1AB and National schools, malpractices in admissions and imposed a threat of closing down on small rural schools. Innovative exercises suggested and implemented such as clustering and establishment of National and Navodya schools have not proved effective and acceptable substitutes. Therefore, a clear policy to restructure the school system in Sri Lanka should be advocated and pursued .

Inequities and inequalities in the distribution of resources has been and oft-spoken issue in Sri Lanka. Since there are wide disparities in the Sri Lankan school system and also among the socio-economic backgrounds of the parents and school communities, mere number based allocation of resources seems irrational. This surfaces the need to study the policy of allocation of resources and advocate for a better policy for resourcing the entire school system .

Changes in the educational process have been made for the betterment, but the structure of the system remains rigidly the same. This mismatch debars the effective implementation of the proposed change. For instance, same school calendar may not be suitable for all social settings and the same time table with identical number of periods for respective subjects may not be appropriate for all the pupils. Thus space should be crated to make the structure of the system more flexible .

Compulsory education up to the age of 14 is an accepted policy. Nevertheless several causes hinder its successful implementation (e.g. lack of birth certificates, child labour etc.). These shortcomings should be remedied by bringing them to the notice of authorities. Advocacy to identify and remedy the factors which impede the enforcement of compulsory education regulations is a requirement .

Education decisions should be objective, equitable and free of biases and prejudices. As the top-level decision makers are politicians but always not statesmen, chances are open for political influences. Advocacy is essential to depoliticize the decision making in education .

Top-bottom approach in the formulation of policies had not been always effective. Representation of bottom-level stakeholders in the exercises of planning and decision making would generate broader outlook. Widening opportunities and avenues for all stakeholders to place their opinions and participate in school-level planning is worth advocating . Mapping out cooperate development plans at provincial level with the participation of SDS members and CSOs may be encouraged in this regard.

Advocating to give the subsidy to all students who get through the grade 5 scholarship examination.

Even today, the core law of education is the Education Ordinance of 1939 whose provisions are obsolete and outdated. This has been followed by several Acts which were promulgated to address limited specific areas. This necessitates the preparation of a document with proposals on revision, amendment and removal of outdated sections of the acts and a framework for a new Education Act

Teacher shortage especially in remote rural schools and estate sector is a commonplace situation. Teacher Education and Teacher Deployment Project established to seek solutions for this problem too couldn't find satisfactory solutions for the problem, yet its pursuances should be reviewed in the light of which a course of action for better teacher deployment at the national level would be advocated .

The ideology of constructivism aiming at the transformation of the child is contemplated to be the quintessence of today's education. If quality education is the focus, it is indispensable to introduce and strengthen child-centred learning teaching strategies at the classroom lever. Hence Advocacy for child-centred learning has to be underscored.

Advocating an efficient and effective supervision scheme in schools is a must to streamline its activities. This aspect has been overlooked and has to be revived.

Although punishments for teachers are common in the system, commendation and motivation for their good work is not a frequent custom. This necessitates advocacy for a reward structure for good performance of teachers . The dissemination of good practices and achievements too is a motivation not only for their generators but also for others who have initiative and inclination towards them.

Home background plays an important part in the child's education. Ignorance, negligence and vices of parents greatly hinder the intellectual and moral development of the child. Creating a home environment conducive to education is and important aspect in education. Advocacy for a programme to raise the awareness of parents emerges as a need in this connection.

Since there are wide disparities among the schools, they are not equal performers with respect to their potential in retention and achievement. Low performing schools need special inputs and attention. Therefore need to advocate for special programmes unique to schools is and essential step for their improvement.

Quality of education basically relies on the competency of teachers. The teacher development is a must for the improvement of quality in education. An advocacy programme for establishing a system of teacher development is thus justified

It has been shown that establishment and enrichment of an information base for advocacy is of great use for underpinning reforms proposed for upliftment of education. This can be initiated by disseminating information about successful advocacy programmes and policies adopted both locally and overseas.

Organisation of Civil Societies as pressure groups is necessary to carry proposed changes into effect. This helps them take initiative to pressurise state and other responsible authorities for action.

The School Based Assessment introduced to the school system is not only a method of formative evaluation of children but also a strategy which helps on-site remedial action that supports achievement of the pupil. After its introduction, time has elapsed for its institutionalisation. Nevertheless there is no clarity as to its current situation and it is understood that advocacy is needed to revive this practice.

Site-based management is thought to increase efficiency and effectiveness of a system, so several attempts were proposed and implemented to introduce it, by way of the School Based Management (SBM) in the school system and was reported to be a successful practice. Advocacy helps promote and compound it further.

Utilization of quality inputs at school level is said to have surmounted obsolete financial barriers enabling principals to take prompt action on-site. Properly advocated and implemented with accountability, the practice would increase efficient mobilisation of resources.