Abstract:
With a high number of migrant mothers as domestic workers and engaged in other employments in the Kurunegala District as
in other districts of Sri Lanka, information on the education performance and welfare status of their left behind children
reminds the need for a proper intervention. This study examines the key factors that affect the education performance of left
behind school age children whose mothers have migrated. The study was conducted in Kotawehera, Rasnayakapura and
Polpithigama Divisional Secretariat areas which are the high sending Divisions in Kurunegala District. An interviewer
administered questionnaire and case study method were used to gather data. Univariate and multivariate analytical methods
were used to analysis the data. Findings of the study reveal that the demographic and socio-economic profile of the migrated
mothers and the children left behind are related to age, marital status, religion, educational level, income and expenditure and
poverty. The study shows that nearly 60% of the children are female and 40% of the children are male, out of which 54% of
the children are at the age of attending primary education. Further, the study has found a significant relationship between the
migration of mothers and the impact on the education of the children who have been left behind. The marks obtained by the
children are not significantly related to the teachers at their schools, but is related to the status of the migrant families at home.
The roles of guardians and caregivers at home do not successfully help the children attain their education, physical and
psychological well-being. Given the situation in the families where the mother has migrated, the fathers and elder people who
stay at home should be responsible for the care and protection of the children left behind by their mothers.
