The Hon. Amila Prasad

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, to conclude: many who pass or fail G.C.E. (O/L) or (A/L) have no formal document attesting to skills they actually possess—e.g., a welder skilled through practice but without certification, unable to migrate or seek formal employment. I request that the Government establish, fund and empower an institution to assess and certify such practical competencies to an NVQ-equivalent level, including for tourism-sector workers who lack formal proof of skills.

¶ 02 You promised to support education and to pay special attention to children with special needs. Yet I have a document indicating the full-time special-needs allowance has been reduced from 10 percent to 6 percent. Please clarify.

¶ 03 University academics state that creating new faculties is being discouraged on grounds of inadequate fiscal space, though costs would be small. Is funding being withheld while claiming education is the priority? Please address this inconsistency.