The Hon. Sajith Premadasa — Leader of the Opposition

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, today is 05 February 2026. I thank you for the reply to a question raised on 10 October last year, even after four months. Regarding university sector vacancies, especially those due to brain drain, we did not receive clear answers. On school closures, though you say there are none, we hear regionally that closures are happening; we need formal clarification.

¶ 02 Your Government came to power promising to grant two-thirds of the teachers’ demands—this is still not implemented. Also, schools are fundraising from parents to purchase TVs and smart boards—e.g., Veeraba Model School, Sri Medhananda Primary in Panamure, and Royal College—as reported by parents. The Ministry should provide required equipment to uphold free education.

¶ 03 Your national policy aims at digitization, but IT is introduced only from Grade 6; digitization should start at least from Grade 1, ideally in English medium, aligning with the global K–12 approach. This has not happened. I draw your attention to this.

¶ 04 Finally, during the four months taken to answer, issues escalated. We have learnt that the Faculty of Graduate Studies at Gampaha Wickramarachchi University of Indigenous Medicine is to be closed. We need a clear answer; otherwise this undermines free education. We also hear of a move to remove the Faculty of Dental Sciences at the University of Sri Jayewardenepura. Are you dismantling free education?