A Study on the Relationship between Education Level and Criminality in Sri Lanka (With Special Reference to Prison Statistics of Sri Lanka 2019-2023)

Over the years, researchers across various parts of the world have actively engaged themselves in a lot of academic literature regarding education and delinquency correlation as education has been a principal factor portraying an individual’s life path. Education significantly contributes to the formation of attitudes, the enhancement of socio-economic conditions, and the improvement of decision-making capabilities. Additionally, poverty of educational opportunities or low attainment of education generally characterizes countries with high levels of delinquency and crime. Based on the fact, prison data from 2019 to 2023 was used to explain whether criminal activities and educational attainment are related or not in Sri Lanka. The paper also tries to explain if educational attainment and type, frequency, or seriousness of criminal behavior among prisoners correlate significantly. The research problem is what is the distribution of educational levels among prisoners in Sri Lanka between 2019 and 2023? The research objectives are to find the relationship between education level and crime, whether low education level individuals are more likely to engage in criminal activities, and to examine the educational backgrounds of those who were detained in Sri Lanka between 2019 and 2023. The research has been designed based on secondary data. For many years, high rates of crimes have been committed by those who have passed grade 8 and GCE ordinary levels. There are low crime rates among those with higher education levels. For that situation, it has so many reasons, such as biological, sociological, and psychological. The results show a strong relationship between low levels of education and increased criminal activity, with a considerable concentration of criminals having little or no formal education. This research has a few limitations, as it is mainly desk research. Also, it has used statistical data for five years to analyze. The research concludes that the government should establish quality education, and it must help to find good jobs for school leavers. Then it may help to reduce the crime rate in Sri Lanka. Similarly, if the functions of institutions such as family, education, religion, politics, and the economy are fulfilled properly in society, there is a possibility of minimizing the incidence of crime in a country. This study emphasizes how crucial it is to address educational disparities as part of a larger initiative to lower crime and enhance social cohesion in Sri Lanka.