In recent times, the world is experiencing enormous improvements in all walks of life due to the rapid development in education. It has achieved a state of “knowledge explosion” in the present world order and education has created a novel global society of intelligence. However, these developments are, in general, found in the almost developed western nations. The third world countries, though marked some substantial improvements in education, are faced with several still unsolved issues, particularly in relation to primary and secondary education. This paper attempts to compare and contrast the contemporary challenges involved in enhancing the quality of education at primary and secondary levels in two South Asian countries, Sri Lanka and India and to make suggestions to solve this issue. The first section of this paper deals with the challenges and hurdles in primary and secondary education in India and Sri Lanka and the second section gives potential suggestions to solve these issues in these two countries.

Keywords: Knowledge explosion; Substantial improvements; Contemporary challenges.