Hon. (Dr.) Madhura Senevirathna, M.P.

Jathika Jana balawegaya (JJB)· Nuwara - Eliya

Deputy Minister of Education and Higher Education

Profession: Medical Doctor

Roster profile ↗

Speeches 125 #36 of 225·#17 in party

Attendance 5/8 days present (of recorded)

Speech history

125 speeches

10 April 2025 AI summary A primary school is proposed within a three-kilometre radius, with locations currently being identified. The Deputy Minister stated that the relevant figures will be presented in due course. Oral Question 10/2024: National Schools - Lack of Qualified Principals Education Read →
10 April 2025 AI summary The Deputy Minister said uneven demand for posts is linked to better-resourced urban schools attracting more applicants, while vacancies in other schools remain difficult to fill. He noted that some schools had been designated as National Schools without adequate facilities, creating deployment challenges across grades. He informed Parliament that the Public Service Commission has approved recruitment of 550 new Education Administrative Service officers, with appointments to be made shortly to address shortages. Oral Question 10/2024: National Schools - Lack of Qualified Principals EmploymentEducationPublic Finance Read →
10 April 2025 AI summary On behalf of the Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, the Deputy Minister stated that Sri Lanka has 398 National Schools and tabled an annex listing them, with a category-wise summary of schools with and without qualified principals. He said vacancies persist because eligible officers are reluctant to apply due to the responsibilities of the posts, and because SLEAS Class I officers have not applied for some schools requiring that grade. He indicated that the appointment procedure will be revised, in consultation with the Education Service Committee of the Public Service Commission, to allow SLEAS Class II officers to apply where SLEAS Class I officers do not. Oral Question 10/2024: National Schools - Lack of Qualified Principals Education Read →
21 March 2025 AI summary On behalf of the Prime Minister and the Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, the Deputy Minister requested two weeks to provide an answer to the question. The question was ordered to stand down. Questions Nos. 4-5 - Stand Down (294/2024, 305/2024) Parliamentary Procedure Read →
18 March 2025 AI summary The Deputy Minister, answering on behalf of the Prime Minister and Education Minister, said the teacher-principal salary anomaly caused by the 2022 salary revision is under discussion with relevant institutions as public service anomalies are being handled service by service. He outlined measures to address delays in teachers’ efficiency bar requirements, including PSC-approved relief, reducing modules from 20 to 10, moving to an examination-based system, and implementing it from 1 July 2025 after Service Minute amendments. He also detailed the status of SLEAS and Teacher Educators’ Service recruitment approvals, examinations, interviews and PSC referrals, stating that differing exam and interview dates do not amount to separate recruitment timeframes. On placements and rural schools, he said vacancies and transfer data are being collected, priority will be given to officers in difficult areas, and primary school rationalization will focus on maintaining access within a 3 km radius rather than closures. Oral Questions: Teachers' Service and Principals' Service Salary Anomalies (Q.502/2025), Estates in Badulla District Drinking Water Projects (Q.505/2025), Damage to Cultivations by Wild Animals (Q.498/2025) Public FinanceEducation Read →
17 March 2025 AI summary On behalf of the Chairperson of the Ministerial Consultative Committee on Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, the Deputy Minister presented committee reports on four referred annual reports. These covered the University of Ruhuna, Swami Vipulananda Institute of Aesthetic Studies of the Eastern University, Eastern University for 2022, and the Postgraduate Institute of Agriculture of the University of Peradeniya for 2023, which were ordered to lie upon the Table. Ministerial Consultative Committee Reports EducationParliamentary Procedure Read →
14 March 2025 AI summary Hon. (Dr.) Madhura Senevirathna acknowledged the decline in Grade 1 admissions, attributing it partly to falling birth rates and broader demographic change. He said the issue had been discussed repeatedly and that authorities were studying other social factors while working to make schools more attractive to children rather than relying on compulsion. Oral Questions and Answers Education Read →
14 March 2025 AI summary Hon. (Dr.) Madhura Senevirathna stated that students will continue to seek education abroad unless Sri Lanka strengthens its university system, even if the country develops as an education hub. He acknowledged a role for private universities, particularly in disciplines not offered elsewhere, and argued that the Budget’s focus should be on expanding quality higher education opportunities. Oral Questions and Answers Education Read →
14 March 2025 AI summary Hon. (Dr.) Madhura Senevirathna argued that higher education pathways should be viewed beyond universities, noting that many students enter vocational institutions such as SLIATE, which currently has about 26,000 students and around 7,500 annual progressions. He stated that vocational education is being aligned with global trends and higher education, and contended that students choosing private, state, or vocational routes should not be treated as a significant loss of opportunity. He also challenged the assumption that students go abroad solely because of degree requirements. Oral Questions and Answers Education Read →
14 March 2025 AI summary Hon. (Dr.) Madhura Senevirathna clarified statistics on university access, stating that about 87,000 students apply annually, with roughly 65 per cent of applicants entering state universities, including institutions outside the UGC framework such as NSBM and KDU. He noted the existence of 28 non-State universities and around 130 affiliated entities linked to overseas institutions, raising concern that affiliated models may result in larger foreign currency outflows. Oral Questions and Answers Education Read →
14 March 2025 AI summary The Deputy Minister of Education and Higher Education provided statistical answers on school admissions, examination outcomes, university eligibility, and higher education pathways. He reported declining Grade One admissions from 343,912 in 2019 to 298,959 in 2023, and stated that in 2023, 173,444 A/L candidates qualified for university admission while 42,282 were selected to state universities. He outlined alternative higher education routes, including external degrees, the Open University, vocational and technology institutions, and recognized non-state degree-awarding institutions, which had about 49,146 local degree students in 2024. He also stated that overseas study is privately financed and not fully traceable by the Ministry, and gave education expenditure figures rising from Rs. 340 billion in 2020 to an estimated Rs. 622 billion in 2025, with GDP share ranging from 1.6 to 2.2 per cent. Oral Questions and Answers Education Read →
10 March 2025 AI summary Hon. (Dr.) Madhura Senevirathna said education reforms should focus on changing assessment methods to reduce stress on children and allow them to enjoy childhood, noting that some countries avoid examinations in early years. He suggested that such reforms could eventually make the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination unnecessary. He also acknowledged the role of teachers, principals, teacher advisors and Ministry officials, particularly those serving in difficult and remote schools, in implementing these reforms. Appropriation Bill, 2025 – Seventeenth Allotted Day – Committee Stage Education Read →
10 March 2025 AI summary Dr. Madhura Senevirathna briefly requested the Deputy Chair for one minute to speak. No substantive policy issue, proposal, or argument was presented in the excerpt. Appropriation Bill, 2025 – Seventeenth Allotted Day – Committee Stage Parliamentary Procedure Read →
10 March 2025 AI summary Dr. Madhura Senevirathna said the Budget sets a direction for education reform aimed at continuity, sustainability and balance, contrasting it with past policies that emphasized either free education, technical education or ICT without a durable roadmap. He argued that the education system must reduce exam pressure, develop soft skills and citizenship from early childhood, and orient higher education toward global employability. He highlighted planned reforms including a pre-school education policy, strengthened special education units, and a regulatory framework for private and international schools. He added that the Grade 5 Scholarship Examination remains necessary only because of unequal school resources, and should become unnecessary once equity is achieved. Appropriation Bill, 2025 – Seventeenth Allotted Day – Committee Stage Education Read →
10 March 2025 AI summary As part of education reforms, the Deputy Minister said a scientific, needs-based categorization of schools is being developed to ensure students have access to a well-equipped nearby school, generally within a 3 km radius, while accounting for geography and equity. He stated that a pilot profiling exercise covering 98 schools with fewer than 50 students across all nine provinces is in progress and that data compilation is continuing, with implementation expected to begin next year. Oral Answers to Questions Education Read →
10 March 2025 AI summary The Deputy Minister acknowledged problems in teacher placements between National and Provincial schools, particularly in districts with few National Schools, where teachers may receive undesirable appointments. He said cross-category transfers remain difficult despite service requirements, and stated that forthcoming education reforms would introduce subject-wise, systematic teacher deployment. He also noted that the transfer policy is under review to reduce these issues and place teachers in nearby schools where possible. Oral Answers to Questions Education Read →
10 March 2025 AI summary Government teacher transfers are governed by the National Teacher Transfer Policy, though recent implementation lapses were acknowledged; inter-zonal transfers were conducted in several years, with annual transfers to resume from April 2025. The response also stated that irregularities in school admissions had been reported, and that intermediate-grade admissions would henceforth be made only through circulars where vacancies exist, not by ad hoc letters. Vacancies were reported in the Sri Lanka Education Administrative Service, Teacher Educators’ Service and Principals’ Service, with recruitment processes under way, including pending PSC procedures, Cabinet approval for principals’ recruitment, and further examinations to fill remaining posts. Oral Answers to Questions Corruption & Governance ReformPublic FinanceEducation Read →
8 March 2025 AI summary On behalf of the Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education, the Deputy Minister requested two weeks to provide an answer to the question. The question was ordered to stand down. Oral Question: Various questions (Q.259/2024, Q.381/2025) Parliamentary Procedure Read →
27 February 2025 AI summary Norwood Divisional Secretariat, established as a sub-office in 2019 and fully operational in 2023, is serving about 250,000 people with around 110 officers from premises of only about 1,500 square feet. Due to overcrowding, long travel distances, transport costs, and inadequate facilities—especially during rainy periods—officials and the public have requested a temporary relocation until a proper building is provided. A proposal to use a building associated with the railway station was submitted to the District Coordinating Committee on 30 January, but the matter remains only a proposal and is not a final decision; the relevant Minister is expected to address the technical and location issues. Adjournment: Motion on Prevention of Relocation of Norwood Divisional Secretariat to Hatton InfrastructurePublic Finance Read →
18 February 2025 AI summary Hon. (Dr.) Madhura Senevirathna said Meelad Muslim Vidyalaya’s enrolment had risen sharply, creating a shortage of classrooms and no assembly hall, with 26 additional rooms needed. He explained that the temporary use of Sumantha Vidyalaya, approved by provincial authorities and renovated with about Rs. 2.5–3 million, had led to community tensions, prompting officials to examine alternative locations. He stated that the Dehiwala Coordinating Committee had decided to use Nikape Vidyalaya for immediate accommodation, and said the Ministry would implement the move peacefully while upholding equal educational opportunity regardless of ethnicity or religion. Adjournment Debate: Additional Building for Meelad Vidyalaya, Dehiwala EducationEthnic Reconciliation & Devolution Read →