The Hon. Dhanushka Ranganath

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, earlier an Opposition Member spoke rather anxiously. After years in local and provincial bodies, even as Chief Minister and Minister, they now ask why we have not done in one month what they could not do in years. Hence their agitation.

¶ 02 Under the proposed Supplementary Estimate, providing Rs. 6,000 for school supplies is welcome. Our country has faced a grave economic crisis brought on by decades of flip-flop politics, turning the nation upside down. The worst victims were innocent schoolchildren. The damage to education has been severe.

¶ 03 Human capital is decisive for economic growth. The crisis led to a marked setback in children’s education. Over 55% of schoolchildren suffered adverse impacts, with greater hardship in rural and plantation areas. Therefore, we are pleased that the National People’s Power (NPP) Government is allocating Rs. 6,000 per child in rural and plantation low-income families.

¶ 04 In districts like Kalutara, more than 45,000 people live in plantation-related areas, with 36 estate-sector schools. Those children are struggling even to access education; their rights have been eroded. Many lack NICs and birth certificates, limiting access to education. If this measure is insufficient, we must bring more progressive proposals to advance their education. Estate schools lack teachers and facilities because past rulers neglected them. Now we have the opportunity to fix this.

¶ 05 We also faced baseless allegations from the Opposition—claims that the stock market would crash, the dollar would hit 400, foreign relations would collapse, and tourism would fail. None of that happened; the rupee is strengthening, foreign relations are better than before, and tourism is rising, particularly this December. They also said we would cut Aswasuma; instead we expanded access.

¶ 06 They even tried a no-confidence motion against a former Speaker, tied to murky funds. We urge the Opposition to act responsibly and to support this Rs. 6,000 grant for schoolchildren in hardship.

¶ 07 Thank you.