The Hon. (Dr.) Harini Amarasuriya - Prime Minister and Minister of Education, Higher Education and Vocational Education

¶ 01 Hon. Speaker, this is the reply to the Question raised under Standing Order 27(2) by the Hon. Leader of the Opposition on 08.01.2026.

¶ 02 There is no suspension. Under the education reforms, modules are being introduced in place of traditional textbooks. For Grade 1 and Grade 6 to be implemented in 2026, 106 modules in all three languages have been prepared and printed. In the English Language 1, 2, 3 module, an inappropriate web reference was detected and that lesson part has now been removed from the module.

¶ 03 All 106 modules will be distributed to all schools by 21 January 2026. The new Grade 1 curriculum will commence on 29 January 2026 and Grade 6 on 21 January 2026.

¶ 04 This reform process began in 2018 focusing primarily on curriculum framework development. Successive governments planned implementation in 2023–2024 but it was delayed. Curriculum revision is now about 10 years overdue. After the new Government assumed office in 2024, the National Education Commission’s 2022 National Education Policy and the National Institute of Education’s (NIE) new curriculum modules were reviewed. Our approach is a transformational change of the whole education system, not merely syllabus replacement—covering curriculum, human resource development, infrastructure and administrative reforms, assessments, and public awareness. The overall concept “A Transformational Change in General Education in Sri Lanka – 2025” is submitted as Annex 01.

¶ 05 No violation of children’s right to education or human rights arises from these reforms; in fact, delaying reform is what violates their rights.

¶ 06 Work on curriculum frameworks and modules assigned to the NIE since 2019 continued; despite pandemic/economic constraints and recruitment freezes, no direct obstruction to module preparation at NIE is observed.

¶ 07 The NIE studied international curriculum processes of Singapore, South Korea, Australia, Finland, India, Japan, etc., and local research. Modules have been progressively revised since 2020, with quality reviews and a 2024 pilot in 103 schools covering all Provinces. Findings informed revisions.

¶ 08 Several NIE pilot studies and surveys (Annexes 02–07) and the formal process followed by NIE and the Department of Publications in module/text development (Annex 08) are submitted.

¶ 09 Originally, web links/QR codes were to be embedded by NIE. The new Government directed NIE not to embed web links going forward. NIE’s Academic Affairs Board has now decided to discontinue web links for all future terms/grades. Current links mostly refer to Creative Commons or Government sites, where transparency and procurement concerns do not arise.

¶ 10 The Task Force for Digital Transformation in Education has developed a child online safety policy and guidelines on educational technology, to be referred to NIE’s Academic Affairs Board.

¶ 11 No financial benefit accrues to NIE from embedded links.

¶ 12 About 138,000 teachers handle Grades 1 and 6; approximately 127,000 (around 92%) have completed training, with pending training to be completed before term start where disasters delayed sessions. Internet is not mandatory for teaching under these modules; it is only an aid. Teacher guides provide all needed content; assessments can be done without internet, with future digital entry planned.

¶ 13 In 2025, 2,400 teachers underwent ICT training; further measures will be taken to enhance teachers’ ICT capacity.

¶ 14 Under the Digital Economy Ministry’s funding, Rs. 1,600 million has been provided to Provincial Education Departments to supply smart boards or computers to schools lacking digital devices; 2,498 schools will receive smart boards, to be procured provincially and distributed by February 2026. Of 6,236 secondary schools, 4,363 have some form of internet; discussions with the TRC will enable connectivity to the remaining 1,873 by March 2026.

¶ 15 Thus, physical/digital infrastructure will not be a significant impediment to implementing new policies in Grades 1 and 6 in 2026, with a phased rollout: Grades 2 & 7 in 2027; 3, 8 & 10 in 2028; 4, 9 & 11 in 2029; 5 & 12 in 2030; and Grade 13 in 2031.