March 09, Colombo (LNW): Prime Minister Dr. Harini Amarasuriya has emphasised that the ongoing issues within Sri Lanka’s education system largely stem from flawed policy implementation and undue political influence.
She assured the public that swift measures would be taken to investigate the controversial practice of collecting funds in schools for various purposes, in response to concerns raised in Parliament.
The Prime Minister’s comments were made during the inaugural session of the Advisory Committee for the Ministry of Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Education.
Addressing questions from lawmakers, Dr. Amarasuriya expressed her commitment to tackling the root causes of these challenges.
She went on to outline the government’s ambitious educational reform plans, which are set to unfold in 2026. These reforms will be built around five critical pillars: introducing an updated curriculum, enhancing the development of human resources, improving infrastructure, increasing public awareness of the changes, and instituting regular evaluations to monitor progress and effectiveness.
A consensus was reached during the session to establish subcommittees that will work on the practical implementation of these reforms, according to a statement from the Prime Minister’s Media Division.
These subcommittees will be tasked with developing concrete steps and timelines for each of the reform pillars.
In addition to addressing systemic concerns, the Prime Minister acknowledged the urgent need to address disparities between schools. She proposed conducting physical inspections of educational institutions across the island to assess their infrastructure needs.
Priority will be given to resuming stalled construction projects and ensuring that schools with unsafe conditions are renovated and upgraded.
Furthermore, the Prime Minister highlighted the growing shortage of teachers, particularly in rural and underserved areas.
She outlined plans to facilitate the transfer of teachers to areas in need, fill vacancies for principals, and resolve ongoing administrative issues that have hindered the smooth operation of both national and provincial schools.
The meeting was attended by a range of key stakeholders, including Deputy Minister of Education Madhura Senawirathna, government and opposition MPs, Secretary to Parliament Kushani Rohanadheera, Secretary to the Ministry of Education Nalaka Kaluwewa, and various senior officials from the Ministry of Education, Higher Education, and Vocational Education.
