The Hon. (Dr.) Pathmanathan Sathiyalingam

¶ 01 Hon. Presiding Member, thank you for the opportunity. Education is a basic right. Free education in Sri Lanka is a blessing, and I ask that it continue for our students. At the same time, opportunities in private educational institutions should not be denied, but the quality in private institutions and international schools must be ensured. There is no robust mechanism to guarantee standards there; we need one.

¶ 02 Resource allocation in education must be equitable. A family’s economic status heavily affects a child’s education. With the current economic downturn, if more burdens are placed on families, school dropouts will increase. In our areas, before GCE (O/L), around 16% drop out; before GCE (A/L), around 35% drop out. Therefore, we need increased allocations for student nutrition and health—particularly for personal hygiene improvement programmes in schools. For differently-abled students, and for low-income families, the increased allowances are welcome.

¶ 03 We thank the Government for increasing allowances for low-income families with differently-abled children, funding for Vavuniya University hostels, increasing Mahapola, and increasing stipends for National Colleges of Education scholarship recipients.

¶ 04 On education reform, although full consultations have not taken place, we will extend full support to move forward. It is welcome to align schooling with the modern labour market. Society must be prepared accordingly.

¶ 05 In Vavuniya, Mullaitivu and Mannar there is a severe resource shortage. Vavuniya University has over 3,500 students but hostel space for only 1,000. Funding has been allocated for a sewage treatment plant, a canteen and a health centre—we appreciate this. As a former staff member, I highlight a major deficiency in solid waste management and sewage disposal at Vavuniya University, causing health problems and environmental pollution for surrounding residents. I request funds to establish a solid waste management system.

¶ 06 In our education zones, there are shortages of Tamil and Sinhala language teachers. Sinhala-medium students in Vavuniya have to go to Anuradhapura for schooling in some cases—please consider this in teacher appointments for both languages.

¶ 07 In the Vanni Electoral District, over 75% of students study in provincial schools. There is a 25% shortage of principals and 18% shortage of teachers. Critically, 67% of primary English teacher posts are vacant; around 32% of mathematics teacher posts are vacant in the secondary section. In Vavuniya District A/L, about 43% of subject-teacher posts are vacant; around 83% of General English (A/L) teacher posts are vacant. Please take note and fill these urgently. The North Central Education Zone, especially Vavuniya, has many needs. Also, a National College of Education building has collapsed; a student from that College is a Hon. Minister here—please take note and act.