The Hon. (Dr.) Anil Jayantha - Minister of Labour and Deputy Minister of Finance and Planning

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, today’s amendments to the Universities Act are connected to our policies and to economic development. The changes proposed are not whimsical; they result from discussions with universities and a conscious effort to improve administrative efficiency and democratic governance, reducing hierarchical power centres common across institutions.

¶ 02 Two areas are addressed: selection of Deans and appointment of Heads of Departments. First, Deans are to be elected rather than appointed. Second, Heads will still be appointed, but with broadened pools and processes to reduce subjectivity and favouritism. For Deans, eligibility expands beyond Heads of Department to include down to Senior Lecturers Grade I, thereby opening competition and strengthening democracy. This recognizes that younger academics with skills and capacities should have opportunities. The aim is improved administrative efficiency and a more democratic environment.

¶ 03 On broader education reforms: participating with the Hon. Prime Minister at the World Economic Forum, we saw how critical vocational education is. In many countries, around 70 per cent of the population reaches high vocational standards. Our reforms integrate such pathways through competency-based recognition and progression, moving towards a skills-based system that builds analytical, problem-solving citizens, not just job-seekers. Recent criticisms were baseless; our reforms are to build genuine human capital—thinking, working, producing, and relating capacities grounded in humanity.

¶ 04 Thank you.