The Hon. (Mrs.) Rohini Kumari Wijerathna

¶ 01 Hon. Chairman, I move: “That in respect of the Heads 126 and 212 to 215 and 335 pertaining to the Ministry, Departments and Institutions taken up for debate today, Tuesday, 25.11.2025, at the Committee Stage of the Appropriation Bill 2026, the Recurrent and Capital Expenditure of each Programme be reduced by Rs. 10 in accordance with tradition.”

¶ 02 Hon. Chairman, the Hon. Prime Minister Harini Amarasuriya has become the voice of “6 percent for Education.” It is a special opportunity for me to speak here representing the many who took to the streets in protests and marches. In 2009, Prof. Sumanasiri Liyanage’s call to allocate 6 percent of GDP for education became a conceptual demand; in 2012 there were long marches; universities closed for months. Over the years, countless human-hours of university students and academic staff were lost. Those who demanded 6 percent for education are in this Government today, but allocation stands at around 2 percent.

¶ 03 In the 2024 Presidential and General Elections, 70-80 percent of the education sector voted for you to resolve these issues with that promised 6 percent and to end the 76-year curse. You say you have had a comfortable 13 months. Yet this Government will go down in history as the one that could not spend even 20 percent of the already meagre capital allocation for education in 2025; 12 percent was allocated merely to settle past work in 2024. Education is the sector with the most promises and the biggest disappointments, where the largest number were misled — professors, doctors, educationists, principals, teachers, undergraduates and graduates. Even NASA scientists were misled. That is why we say education reforms are needed — not just to read and write, but to comprehend what is written and said.

¶ 04 The Government’s flagship project is “education reforms,” but what is said, done and shown are at odds. The reforms being shown today have no authorship; no ownership. No one says it began in 2017. The first three pages were removed and it was presented as an internal party product. Therefore, what we have is a reform document without a birth story. Madam Minister, please do not allow the Ministry to be influenced by those buzzing around teachers like drones who do not know the taste of the curry; do not allow them to influence the sector.

¶ 05 I must remind the Hon. President and you: these reforms are like Gotabaya Rajapaksa’s “Organic Farming - 2.” There was no science, no process, no plan; that is why that Government began to collapse. If you proceed like this, your Government too will face the same fate. When touching education, do not forget policy and principles. Education must be seen as a fundamental right, not merely an investment; equal opportunities must be ensured for all.

¶ 06 Let me recall four recommendations of the Education Reform Committee we once served on: 1. Free education is a fundamental principle and Sri Lanka’s National Education Policy Framework must not compromise it. 2. Education is a fundamental right and must be affirmed and protected in all reforms. 3. Equality and social justice must underpin resources allocation and ensure equal access and opportunities for all students, disregarding popular beliefs or ideological biases. 4. Education is effective only if students’ basic needs are met; hence, as a prerequisite to any reform, social safety nets including school nutrition and health protection must be strengthened.

¶ 07 Madam Minister, tell us which of these observations are incorporated into your current reforms. There is no clear target; it is largely a curricular tweak. There is no focus on reducing disparities and gaps; no clarity on funding.

¶ 08 We know that by year-end, about USD 130 million from ADB remains unutilized. The ministry, provincial ministries, zones and teachers now think this reform drive is aimed at spending that money. It took six months to table, yet core issues are not addressed.

¶ 09 Funding: in 2023, education received 1.8 percent of GDP; by 2025, it is 0.99 percent. Globally, Sri Lanka ranks among the lowest in education spending. The equity gap is stark.

¶ 10 School classification: National Schools get the big ladle; Provincial Schools follow; Estate schools get the smallest. Type 1AB: 9.8%; Type 1C: 19.6%; Type 2: 32.4%; Type 3: 38.2%. “Good/popular” vs. “non-popular/difficult” schools: of 10,096 schools, 5,837 (57.8%) are viewed negatively. Only 1,418 schools (9.8%) can offer all four A/L streams. Do your reforms answer this?

¶ 11 A hardship allowance of Rs. 1,500 for teachers in difficult schools is meaningless against travel and boarding costs. Make it at least Rs. 15,000.

¶ 12 By enrolment: 7,910 schools have fewer than 500 students; 9,219 have fewer than 1,000; only 844 have 1,000-4,000; just 33 have over 4,000, yet they receive the lion’s share. Do small schools have pools, IT, smart boards?

¶ 13 Small schools with fewer than 50 students number 1,506. Closing them is not a solution. 16% drop out before O/L; 35% after O/L. In difficult areas like Walapane, Wilgamuwa, Hasalaka, Dambulla, Rattota and in the estates, closing small schools will harm children. Schools with fewer than 50 students have 43,986 children and 8,744 teachers. How many buses will you provide and from what funds?

¶ 14 If these are closed, without changing Grade 1 admission circulars, where will those children go? Arbitrary radius rules worsen inequities. Reforms must deliver equity.

¶ 15 Teacher imbalance: 3,117 schools have fewer than 10 teachers; 278 have more than 100. A National Teacher Transfer Policy exists; implement it.

¶ 16 There are 16,000 Development Officers serving in schools; if you remove them, schools with under 10 teachers will increase. It will take four years for new teachers to graduate, while many current teachers will retire. Students in difficult areas will suffer more. Total teachers: 388,346; principals about 4,000. Exams and interviews are over, yet recruitments are delayed. In Central Province, especially Wilgamuwa DS in Matale, there is the highest shortage. In 2023, after exams, 532 were recruited in May, 493 in July; 643 are pending. Please absorb them.

¶ 17 On salary anomalies: What about the Subodhani Salary Report that we all agreed upon then? A teacher died during a protest demanding its implementation. When will the remaining two-thirds of salary adjustments be paid? Without restoring teachers’ and principals’ incomes, how will you carry out reforms?

¶ 18 At O/L, 1 in 4 students fails Maths, Science and English; a key reason is teacher shortages. What solutions do your reforms provide?

¶ 19 On subject-wise disparities: the percentage of students failing all subjects: Trincomalee 3.8%; Mannar 0.8%; Matale 2.9%. This is not an issue of student intelligence, but system failures. Under the same textbooks and teacher training, how do such disparities arise? Please inform the country.

¶ 20 Within the same zone, ranking disparities are immense: Colombo Zone’s Devi Balika is national rank 1, while Colombo 14’s Vijayabahu MV is rank 3,643, within 10-15 km. In Matale, Science College is 1, while Alkaduwa Tamil School is 3,456. In Naula Zone, the best is rank 610 while Adatawala Vidyalaya is 3,325. Where are the policy reforms to address this? Your document only revises syllabi, not policy. A phased reform starting 2023 with Grades 1-6 and 6-10 was needed. Who opposed it then?

¶ 21 Assessment: beyond tweaking GPA and modules, how will reliability be ensured? Parents lack devices to scan QR codes embedded in modules. Free education risks being quietly monetized if parents must bear device costs.

¶ 22 I table the documents containing these details.

¶ 23 Another urgent issue: universities cannot pay visiting lecturers. For basic and special degrees, visiting lecturers are paid Rs. 1,500 per hour; even that is taxed at 36%. Travel reimbursement is still at Rs. 12.50 per km — a 20-year-old rate — while a simple trip between Colombo, Kelaniya and Sri Jayewardenepura costs more than Rs. 2,000 even by ride-hailing. Some universities have not paid visiting lecturers for two years. Either increase the allowance to a sensible level or at least provide permits or vehicles, as transporting theses and materials by bus is impractical. There are over 4,200 double cabs for officers — extend some relief to academia too.

¶ 24 Despite many doctors and academics in this House, few speak on their own sectors. Today universities face severe issues. Earlier, lecturers left due to weak finances; today, many leave due to excessive workload and denial of sabbatical leave.

¶ 25 I also extend congratulations to Minister Chandana Abeyratne on being conferred the Honorary Professor title by the University of Kelaniya; henceforth he should be addressed accordingly. I table the relevant letter. If possible, confer an honorary professorship as well to our former Speaker from the Kelaniya/Sapugaskanda area who is struggling to secure relief for his degree status.

¶ 26 The University Grants Commission must immediately intervene in fake PhD rackets — even foreign degree-for-money schemes operate openly — while government delays recruitments and new programmes, pushing students to private pathways.

¶ 27 Hon. Chairman, I will conclude. External degree students at Sri Jayewardenepura University are not receiving lectures; payments to visiting lecturers are halted. Qualified academics from foreign universities are being blocked from recruitment due to entrenched departmental heads; several have gone to court: Dr. B.M.W. Jayasundara vs University of Colombo; Damin Chathuranga and Dr. Namal Nishantha vs University of Kelaniya; Dr. Kumuduni Kariyapperuma vs Sabaragamuwa University. These are serious allegations. As someone who served in a university, I urge you to pay special attention. Bring all educationists and experts together to craft productive reforms. The university system is collapsing. Please lead urgent action.

¶ 28 Thank you.