<P> A National school (Sinhalese: ජාතික පාසල, Jathika Pasala, Tamil: தேசியப் பாடசாலை) in Sri Lanka is a school that is funded and administered by the Ministry of Education of the central government as opposed to Provincial schools run by the local provincial council . These schools provide secondary education (some including collegiate), with some providing primary education as well . The classification began in 1985, with 18 schools being designated as national schools . Today, there are 342 National Schools in country constituting 3 percent of total National and Provincial Schools . </P> <P> With the decentralization of government administration following the establishment of provincial councils from the 13th Amendment to the Constitution in 1987, the central government transferred control of government schools, with the exception of 18 elite schools that had been designated as national schools by the Ministry of Education in 1985 . The criteria for listing as a national school were as follows: </P>

How many national schools in sri lanka 2016